QuestionWayne, I am in the prcess of installing a new audio system in a basement I just finished. I have a 50" Samsung LED plasma, Klipsch 5.1 /5 speaker system & sub. I am powering it all with a Yamaha 525 watt receiver. My questions is regarding the HDMI cables I plan on using. Is there really worthwhile spending $25-35 each for the top of the line cables versus the $8-15 dollar standard cables? If seen so many different opinions on these, I'd like to hear what you think.
AnswerThe short answer - buy the cheaper cable. The long answer (at least partially) is below.
HDMI is one of the largest sources of myth and misinformation in the cabling industry. The fact of the matter is that all HDMI cabling (with one exception) comes from China, and in China there are about 5 main manufacturing plants that supply almost all of it. Regardless of the brand or cost, if you do a bit of research, you'll find that some of the most expensive cabling comes from the same factory (even the same line) as some of the least expensive cabling. Retail pricing on HDMI can reflect markups of up to 500% over cost - that's why some "monstrously" large companies can offer free replacement. Selling a cable that costs $2.50 wholesale / $50 retail can give a pretty wide profit margin for such offers...
As far as signal / picture / sound quality is concerned - you have to remember that the HDMI signal is digital. Digital signals are nothing but data (1's and 0's). If the data is getting from point A to point B, the receiving device will do the proper decoding, and you'll have a perfect picture. If there are errors, they will present themselves quite obviously as "sparkles" or very obvious lines or blocks of missing picture. There's no real subtlety - and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to push an expensive cable on you.
A perfect analogy is morse code - as long as the person on the receiving end of the message gets all of the "dots and dashes", they'll be able to read the message exactly how it was sent (telegraph, shipboard signal lights, even tapping a pencil on a tabletop). That's very much how digital signals work, REGARDLESS of the transfer method.
The company I work for has a great information center all about HDMI here:
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/hdmi-cable-information.htm?hdmidept
Of course, you are free to purchase from whomever you choose, but this site will give you real facts about HDMI without the flowery marketing that clouds the truth about this particular format.
Please feel free to write back to me if you have any further questions.
