Tips for Home Theater cables...why are they so expensive???

[Mosca]

Hey, I'm an audiophile.... hardcore. Tubes, electrostatics, vinyl. But that's my choice. If someone else wants to buy something different, or spend less money, I'm all for that, too. Anyhow, I do most of my listening these days to compressed digital; WMA and mp3 files. So the world turns.

The cool thing about video cable versus audio cables is that we are so tuned in visually. If there is a difference, you can definitely see it. But with listening, there is so much going on psychoacoustically; was my memory of what it sounded like before accurate? Do I hear a difference, or do I think I hear a difference? That's how people wind up spending $100,000 on audio cabling, and thousands of dollars with Shun Mook for Audio Pucks and Magic Bricks.

For me, I trust in what I hear. I've only been caught short once (the Bedini CD Clarifier). Otherwise, I think I've done OK; expensive, but no one who's heard it has complained.

As for video, I just don't watch, and the family doesn't seem interested. Not long ago I had some windfall money and made noises about getting a big screen LCD; the girls wanted to go to Disney instead. No one is really into it at my house, and I won't spend the big bucks to watch WSOP and so they can watch Flip This House and reruns of Josh & Drake.


Tom

[MACH1]

Originally Posted by Preacher

My HD direct TV box has USB ports in the back...

I haven't tried it, but I think that I could hook it up, and have it pop up as a removable hardrive on my computer...

Again, I haven't tried it yet.

Yes it works, but not that way. Its only for a external hard drive and it will only recognize one drive at a time.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by MACH1

Yes it works, but not that way. Its only for a external hard drive and it will only recognize one drive at a time.

Oh.... Okay. Like I said, I haven't tried it.

[Preacher]

Originally Posted by Mosca

Hey, I'm an audiophile.... hardcore. Tubes, electrostatics, vinyl. But that's my choice. If someone else wants to buy something different, or spend less money, I'm all for that, too. Anyhow, I do most of my listening these days to compressed digital; WMA and mp3 files. So the world turns.

The cool thing about video cable versus audio cables is that we are so tuned in visually. If there is a difference, you can definitely see it. But with listening, there is so much going on psychoacoustically; was my memory of what it sounded like before accurate? Do I hear a difference, or do I think I hear a difference? That's how people wind up spending $100,000 on audio cabling, and thousands of dollars with Shun Mook for Audio Pucks and Magic Bricks.

For me, I trust in what I hear. I've only been caught short once (the Bedini CD Clarifier). Otherwise, I think I've done OK; expensive, but no one who's heard it has complained.

As for video, I just don't watch, and the family doesn't seem interested. Not long ago I had some windfall money and made noises about getting a big screen LCD; the girls wanted to go to Disney instead. No one is really into it at my house, and I won't spend the big bucks to watch WSOP and so they can watch Flip This House and reruns of Josh & Drake.


Tom

Funny...

I like to kind go middle of the road on both.

I have a Phillips LCD 42 inch screen. It is very nice.. 1080p.

However, I spent a HECK of a lot less then I could have... even at this size or a bit larger.

Like I said, our sound system is now 10 years old almost... but it is GREAT still. The only thing that i really have upgraded for sound is the dvd player itself....


I like it because instead of going to movies for 15 bucks, plus another 20 for food... We can rent a movie, have dinner, popcorn, and a pop for about 15 dollars at home... and that includes the pizza!

[Hammer67]

Originally Posted by Preacher

Funny...

I like to kind go middle of the road on both.

I have a Phillips LCD 42 inch screen. It is very nice.. 1080p.

However, I spent a HECK of a lot less then I could have... even at this size or a bit larger.

Like I said, our sound system is now 10 years old almost... but it is GREAT still. The only thing that i really have upgraded for sound is the dvd player itself....


I like it because instead of going to movies for 15 bucks, plus another 20 for food... We can rent a movie, have dinner, popcorn, and a pop for about 15 dollars at home... and that includes the pizza!

Yeah. I have found that the difference between low end stuff and mid range is drastic while the jump from mid range is much more expensive with much smaller gain in quality. I find the middle road in most technology is the sweet spot.

For me, I am a movie buff so HDTV is the way for me. I am holding off on a High Def DVD player until the format war ends or is resolved.

I know that there are companies that try to sell expensive speaker wire out there, claiming a difference. I say BS. Speaker wire is speaker wire. Just get a low gauge.

With video cables, there are a differrence in quality when you jump from one type to another (quality goes RCA --> S-Video ---> DVI \ HDMI). But the difference between brands and costs are negligible.

[Mosca]

Originally Posted by Hammer67

I know that there are companies that try to sell expensive speaker wire out there, claiming a difference. I say BS. Speaker wire is speaker wire. Just get a low gauge.

With video cables, there are a differrence in quality when you jump from one type to another (quality goes RCA --> S-Video ---> DVI \ HDMI). But the difference between brands and costs are negligible.

Agreed, with the caveat that it's much easier for us to see a difference than it is for us to hear a difference. What that does is make the point that there might be a difference (in audio) moot; if it's there, but you don't recognize it, then who cares?

I've never spent money on a difference that I couldn't hear ($149 Bedini CD Clarifier excepted), but I will admit to occasionally questioning the price/value equation of something I bought. I have one really high end system, one middle high end, and one low high end... in the garage I use a Hafler preamp and a Conrad/Johnson tube amp with XM radio or a Walkman-style CD player running on line-out through Linnaeum speakers. That's mostly because I can't bear to get rid of anything, I just move stuff to a different room.


Tom

[Hammer67]

Originally Posted by Mosca

Agreed, with the caveat that it's much easier for us to see a difference than it is for us to hear a difference. What that does is make the point that there might be a difference (in audio) moot; if it's there, but you don't recognize it, then who cares?

I've never spent money on a difference that I couldn't hear ($149 Bedini CD Clarifier excepted), but I will admit to occasionally questioning the price/value equation of something I bought. I have one really high end system, one middle high end, and one low high end... in the garage I use a Hafler preamp and a Conrad/Johnson tube amp with XM radio or a Walkman-style CD player running on line-out through Linnaeum speakers. That's mostly because I can't bear to get rid of anything, I just move stuff to a different room.


Tom

One area of audio I can hear a difference is mp3's. I can't stand mp3's compressed at 128kbs. Which is what most download sites use. I ripped all my CD's and put them on an external hard drive. I started out in 128dbs and found that they sounded tinny or hissy. When I upped the bit rate to 320kbs, they sounded as good as the CD.

Food for thought for those of you doing the same.

[Mosca]

Originally Posted by NCSteeler

Best Buy and Circuit City are the new traveling Gypsies. They take advantage of those that don't know. They recently talked a friends parents into a 129 dollar antivirus/firewall solution for thier new computer. Anyone here spend more than 30 bucks on that? I personally run only free stuff.

I think some people pay more for the automation of the features, which makes sense I think. You and I are fine spending $30 (or free) and configuring it ourselves; but many of our friends want to install it and forget it, with the security of knowing that it is protecting them.

I think the real shame is that the money gets spent but doesn't provide security. You aren't really secure unless you are constantly vigilant. I got the absolute slickest phish this morning; it really almost hooked me. And I'm savvy about this stuff. But all the firewalls and virus solutions out there are worthless against quality human engineering. If I willfully give away the information, then what?


Yeah Hammer, 128 mp3 really sucks. But good WMA and AAC is pretty good, even though the files are smaller. For the casual listening environment I'm OK with 192 mp3 and up, and for serious listening I go with analog all the way.

[Preacher]

I can understand the bigger more expensive cabling, if you have to be very careful about shielding... say your running a LOT of wireless signals (a WHOLE lot), at the same time your in a high RF volume area.. etc. etc.

But for the normal person... Any HDMI for HDTV.. any optical/digital for sound... and your 5.1 etc. will sound great in a system...

The only thing I would be a little leery about... is the guage and quality of the speaker wire itself... but that is more to be careful that you don't lose too much signal before you get to the speaker... and again, that is based on setup.

[revefsreleets]

Speaking of, my girlfriends brother went to a tag sale at a doctors house, and found a couple of $10,000 McIntosh speakers for $100. Apparently, the doctors son wasn't real familiar with the brand.