http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/rss.xml From raw data of media players to powered signals to drive speakers, cables are the glue that connects your system. But they aren't magic, and you don't need to pay 30% of your system budget to get good picture and sound. Learn about the different kinds and qualities of cables available. We push through the BS and bring you the facts. hourly 12 2006-12-01T00:00 http://www.audioholics.com/static/logo.jpg http://www.audioholics.com/ http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/pear-cable-science A Case Study in Applying an Audioholics A/V Education to Identify Marketing Drivel. In this follow-up to our initial article, we will look at Pear Cable as a case study in evaluating exaggerated marketing claims about the audio performance improvements attributed to cables. We will use known science, established engineering principles, and the educated opinions of well known audio engineering practitioners to look for contradictory statements, mistakes and misuse of engineering knowledge, and exaggeration of the audible significance to certain aspects of audio performance. david 2008-05-11T04:20:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-gauge Lately we’ve been getting hit with the common question “what speaker wire gauge should I use”? More often than not, we’ve seen Audiophiles choose a higher gauge esoteric wire over a lower gauge generic zip cord cable simply because they were sold some marketing nonsense that these magic cables would improve your systems mojo. This guide cuts through the nonsense and gives some solid recommendations on selecting speaker wire gauge based on cable length and impedance of your loudspeakers. Gene 2008-01-21T15:32:47+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/hdmi-1-3-cables-bitrate With the advent of HDMI v1.3 and 1.3a, consumers are starting to really get confused about cables and what they need to worry about when selecting a product that's going to be compatible with the new specifications. We interviewed Steven Barlow from DVIGear to get a handle on why this is a more complex issue for some, and a non-issue for others. He allowed us to assimilate much of what we discussed into this article you are reading now. clint 2007-08-22T09:57:21+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/whats-the-matter-with-hdmi HDMI, as we've pointed out elsewhere, is a format which was designed primarily to serve the interests of the content-provider industries, not to serve the interests of the consumer. The result is a mess, and in particular, the signal is quite hard to route and switch, cable assemblies are unnecessarily complicated, and distance runs are chancy. Why is this, and what did the designers of the standard do wrong? And what can we do about it? Check out this informative article from our friends at Bluejeans Cable. Kurt Demke 2007-05-16T21:10:19+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/bi-wiring-part-2-the-cable-conundrum One of the arguments presented in the web forum thread I’ve already examined on a previous article is that there is a difference between a bi-wired speaker system and conventional wiring due to a difference in their cable power dissipation behaviours. So let’s examine the systems described in the thread and see what difference there may be between them in practice. Jim Lesurf 2007-03-29T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/bi-wiring-from-amplifier-to-loudspeaker “Bi-wiring” is a controversial topic. Some people are quite certain it makes an audible difference. Some others are convinced that it can’t actually make any difference at all. The purpose of this analysis is to try and decide whether it is at least theoretically feasible that bi-wiring can make any difference. This is a tech article meant for propeller heads and not a general overview. Jim Lesurf 2007-03-20T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/thinking-in-isolation-2013-a-primer-on-ground-loops There is a humming sound coming from the speakers. A faint dark bar rolls from the bottom of the image to the top, changing colors and distorting the picture as it goes. What’s this? How is this possible? All this equipment is new and your home is only a few years old. Welcome to the nefarious neighborhood of the ground loop! This article details how to resolve a ground loop to help you achieve noise free connection of your equipment. joe 2007-01-18T22:25:31+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/un-sound-advice-about-cables Over the holiday break, I decided to peruse my local A/V retail shop for a new Plasma for my master bedroom system. While I was walking the floor, I couldn’t help but listen in on a salesman espousing cable nonsense to a customer in attempt to land a sale. This article editorializes this experience. Gene 2007-01-03T11:51:48+00:00 Editorial http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/selecting-the-right-hdmi-solution-for-your-custom-installation Digital is everywhere in today's home theater environment. But, despite this proliferation of digital technologies and content, most digital devices still rely on analogue interfaces. The use of analog in this digital environment is the weak link in the chain affecting the ultimate quality of the content. joe 2006-09-06T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/dielectric-absorption-in-cables-debunked Before we debate the relevancy of Dielectric Absorption relating to speaker cables, and commonly perpetuated by many exotic cable vendors and cable cult hobbyists, let us first define the roll of a dielectric. Gene 2006-07-12T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/a-practical-hdmi-cable-solution-installation Every house I've ever purchased, built and lived in all had one thing in common. A room built for Home Theater. Regretfully I had to sacrifice that in this house and after a long debate with my wonderful wife, I had her agree to allow me to have a Home Theater System in our one and only living room. But there was a huge contingency attached to this contract. She did not want to see any wires. We'll, everyone knows the impossibility of this monumental task. Mark Johnson 2006-03-22T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/hdmi-fiber-optics-copper-cable-considerations When it comes to HDMI / DVI connectivity, you have two choices: Copper or Fiber Optics. Which is right for you? As digital displays become more popular, and more people understand that a DVI or HDMI "pure digital" connection delivers the best HD picture quality available today, the decision of which type of cable to use is challenging and requires thoughtful consideration. Minsoo Park 2005-12-04T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/impact-acoustics-interview-on-the-rapidrun-cabling-system We were absolutely stunned by the very innovative and practical new cable product Impact Acoustics announced at CEDIA this year - the RapidRun. So much so in fact that they recently received our 2005 Product of the Year Award for the most innovative cable product. In order to learn more about this product in preparation for our formal review, we conducted a detailed interview with Joe Cornwall the Business Development Manager for Impact Acoustics. Gene 2005-11-30T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/apc-interview-on-power-conditioner-devices Over the past few years we have put forth our best effort to demystify the industry on cable snake oils and ficticious claims. While this battle isn't quite yet over, we are happy with the progress that is being made to educate consumers on sound engineering concepts about these products. Gene 2005-11-07T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/debunking-the-myth-of-speaker-cable-resonance It has recently come to my attention that some exotic cable vendors (Transparent Cable immediately comes to mind) and esoteric audio magazines (Stereophile comes to mind) claim that speaker cables exhibit electrical resonance at audio frequencies and that the RLC nature of the cable drastically changes at these frequencies causing the alleged cable resonance. Gene 2005-09-24T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/balanced-vs-unbalanced-interconnects This article is a primer for discussing the differences and applications for balanced vs unbalanced cables. Dr. Henry Ott 2005-02-08T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/video-cables-from-the-inside-out When reading descriptions of home theater cable products off of packages in a big-box store, or off of websites online, it's sometimes hard to get a clear understanding of just what, exactly, is inside a length of cable. It often isn't clear where the engineering-speak ends and where the marketing-speak begins, and the marketing-speak certainly isn't usually designed to aid understanding. Gene 2005-01-24T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/understanding-in-wall-speaker-video-and-audio-cable-ratings We're often asked questions about the suitability of particular cables or speaker wires for in-wall installation, and it's not surprising; with surround speakers being wired all around home theater rooms, ceiling-mounted projectors being located across the room from their video sources, and video and audio being distributed all over the home, it's natural that people want a clean installation. Gene 2005-01-18T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/understanding-digital-interconnects Keeping a signal in the digital domain until the very last instant before it is converted into the compressions and rarefactions that are sound - or the illumination of pixels or scanning lines that are images - is generally considered the best platform available to the contemporary audiophile. Regardless of the signal's origin we can all agree that multiple trips through analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters cannot do anything positive for the listening or viewing experience. joe 2005-01-01T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/speaker-cable-length-differences-do-they-matter More often than not, I see the common question pop up in our forums regarding speaker cable length differences between two or more speakers. Folks often wonder if the cable length between the main front channels need to be identical or close to identical. They are often misinformed by exotic cable vendors or cable forum cult hobbyists that cable lengths need to be kept identical to a void amplitude or phase/time delay differences between the two. Gene 2004-12-27T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/video-cable-shielding All common video signal types--composite, RF, s-video, component, SDI, and the various flavors of RGB--are ordinarily run in coaxial cables, or, as the shorthand term goes, "coax." The features of coax which make it ideal for handling these multiple signal types are its excellent impedance tolerance and its shielding; here, we'll discuss what shielding is, why it's needed, and what the best types of shields for video cable are. Gene 2004-12-02T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/the-truth-about-interconnects-and-cables I refuse to prove that my cables will make your system sound better", says the snake oil vendor, "for proof denies faith, and without faith, you will hear nothing. Rod Elliott 2004-11-16T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/audio-video-connections-guide For both the newcomer and the old hand alike, connecting equipment in the most efficient and effective manner can be a painful chore. It is hoped this article will improve your background knowledge concerning potential A/V system connection schemes and where each is most appropriate. The next time you find yourself in a "connectivity quandary" perhaps the ideas shared here will help you to quickly solve the riddle of which wire goes where and why! joe 2004-11-11T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/signal-and-connector-types There was a time, not so long ago, when television hookups were pretty simple. There were two screws on the back of the set, which went to two spade lugs on a 300-ohm twinlead antenna line, and that was it. Apart from plugging the set into the wall and waiting for the tubes to light up, there wasn't a whole lot else to know about connections. Gene 2004-11-10T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/exotic-materials-and-cable-construction A lot of discussion of quality cables focuses on the materials used in cable construction. Just as with any physical product, the materials cables are made out of influence their performance characteristics, and so people want to know that the cables they're buying are made from the best possible materials. Gene 2004-11-02T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/silver-saboteurs-are-silver-audio-cables-better Certainly silver has always had a place in the wire and cable industry. It's long been a fixture in military and high temperature applications. In the case of Teflon wire, you have always seen silver as either the sole metal present or at least as the plating. The silver is necessary to counteract the corrosive process for coating Teflon to the wire. clint 2004-10-13T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/dvi-and-hdmi-video-connections During the next few months, many manufactures will release new consumer electronic products with DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connectors. DVD players, cable/satellite set-top boxes and High Definition televisions and projectors are the prime targets for these connections that provide superior digital picture quality and eliminate the need for unnecessary analog to digital conversions. Thomas Steves 2004-09-24T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/toslink-interconnect-history-basics The transmission of signals using a beam of light was a topic for science fiction writers just a few short decades ago. The ability to harness the incredible speeds and data density capabilities of the optical medium was considered a "holy grail" for communications pioneers, who first began exploring this power of light in 1966. However, it took the digital revolution to bring fiber optic transmission to the mainstream. joe 2004-09-21T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/thiel-audio-interview-on-cables During our review of the THIEL Audio SCS3 system, we pinged designer Jim Thiel on some technical questions regarding the loudspeaker designs and the choice of internal wiring and crossover topologies he employed in the speaker designs. With his permission, we captured the interview which oddly focused more on the topic of cables than it did loudspeakers as can be seen below. Gene 2004-09-12T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/preparing-your-own-diy-speaker-cables Contrary to audio cable marketing; anyone can cut, strip, and install banana plugs on speaker wire. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to do exactly that. Dan Banquer 2004-09-03T00:00:00+00:00 Tech Article