Are all cables created equal?

[reko19]

I know there is always a debate on the A/V forums, is $200 HDMI cable better than $20. As I am about to pull the trigger on the cable order for the whole house, want to make sure I won't have issues down the road. Prices are all over the place. Found a web site that seems ok, prices are good, review are good, etc. No brand name, made in China. But then again I would imagine most of them are. Not sure if I could post a link here so I'll just post cable specs. Any red flags? Thanks.

500Ft RG6 Quad Shield DUAL Coax and Cat5E DUAL Composite Cable
2 RG6 Quad Shield and 2 CAT5E in one cable: 4 cables in one!
For CATV: Cable, Satellite, and HDTV
60% Aluminum Braid
For use with CATV. Cable and Satellite
2x RG6U, Quad Shield Coax Cable
60% Aluminum Copper Braid
2 x CAT5E 350Mhz network cable, (24AWG, 4pair, UTP, CMR, Solid)
Reduces intallation time by only having to run 1 cable rather than 4
500' Spool
PVC Jacket (CMR Rated)
Color: Blue
UL® or ETL® Verified

1000FT CAT6 550MHz PVC BULK
-Suitable for 10BaseT and 100BaseTX Fast Ethernet and 1000BaseT Gigabit Ethernet connections
-Meets TIA/EIA 568B.2 Standard
-UTP... Unshielded Twisted Pair
-PVC CMR Jacket
- Solid Bare Copper Core
-Rated up to 550MHz
-23 AWG
- With Center Spline
-ETL® Verified
-RoHS Compliant
-1000FT Pull Box

 

[tmbrown97]

I don't order CatX cable from the internet - I buy from a local supply house... but make sure what you're getting is quality. There is a scam out there where people are selling copper coated aluminum wires for Cat6... make sure it's real copper (looks like it from the specs). That spec does say PVC jacket - unfortunately you can't touch it before you buy it. The cheaper Cat6 has a thin jacket that doesn't cut well making it harder to terminate and increasing the likelihood of you nicking it while trying to cut the jacket. The good stuff you can just lightly score then bend and snap off - so there's really no risk of cutting too deep and scoring the wires inside.

For the most part though, it's rare that a $200 HDMI cable would be any better than a $3 unless there's a specific problem you're trying to overcome, such as long distance coupled with interference. It's all 1's and 0's in the end for digital content - either they get there or they don't. It's just a placebo effect for people who think they can tell the difference.

 

[wuench]

The answer is not all cable is the same. Especially with RG6 there is copper clad core, and solid copper etc. When I was shopping for structured cable, I couldn't find any that had solid copper core. I usually buying all my cable from Worthington.

 

[reko19]

I don't order CatX cable from the internet - I buy from a local supply house... but make sure what you're getting is quality. There is a scam out there where people are selling copper coated aluminum wires for Cat6... make sure it's real copper (looks like it from the specs). That spec does say PVC jacket - unfortunately you can't touch it before you buy it. The cheaper Cat6 has a thin jacket that doesn't cut well making it harder to terminate and increasing the likelihood of you nicking it while trying to cut the jacket. The good stuff you can just lightly score then bend and snap off - so there's really no risk of cutting too deep and scoring the wires inside.

For the most part though, it's rare that a $200 HDMI cable would be any better than a $3 unless there's a specific problem you're trying to overcome, such as long distance coupled with interference. It's all 1's and 0's in the end for digital content - either they get there or they don't. It's just a placebo effect for people who think they can tell the difference.

thanks for the pointers on what to look for

 

[wuench]

Yeah, and for HDMI, AVSForum knows what they are talking about. I ususally buy Monoprice thorugh the AVForum link to get the discount. They are inexpensive and really well built cables. They are very transparent about how the various cables are constructed and price them accordingly.

The biggest problem I have run into is with an HDMI cable that used cheap connectors that were slightly smaller and didn't fit well. I thought my projector had a bad HDMI port, it drove me nuts, but I bought a 25' monoprice and it solved all my issues.

 

[reko19]

Yeah, and for HDMI, AVSForum knows what they are talking about. I ususally buy Monoprice thorugh the AVForum link to get the discount. They are inexpensive and really well built cables. They are very transparent about how the various cables are constructed and price them accordingly.

The biggest problem I have run into is with an HDMI cable that used cheap connectors that were slightly smaller and didn't fit well. I thought my projector had a bad HDMI port, it drove me nuts, but I bought a 25' monoprice and it solved all my issues.

monoprice is the best for this sort of stuff, as a matter of fact they sell bulk cat 6 as well. unfortunately they don't sell bundled cable. didn't know there is a discount thru avf forum, how does this work?

 

[Del91574]

The answer is not all cable is the same. Especially with RG6 there is copper clad core, and solid copper etc. When I was shopping for structured cable, I couldn't find any that had solid copper core. I usually buying all my cable from Worthington.

Bingo, that's the largest part of the issue I've seen where price is put first in the equation.

Not saying all vendors are bad, nor all cable is bad, however some is best left as "builder grade" or less.

A quality cable is easier to work with, as mentioned. Coax especially, the jacket is more supple and you won't see/feel the braid through it.

I've heard and read a lot of articles about counterfeit category cables coming over from China, with fake UL listings, non-classed jackets and suspect conductor materials and quality. The worst I see with coax is usually the braid and materials, with aluminum being the major component and copper clad steel as the center core.

 

[relay]

Another vote for Monoprice here.
Their CAT 5e and 6 cables that are plenum rated and top notch cables.
Been using their HDMI cables for many years. They break down their HDMI cables into "good" "better" "best" if you want to spring for heavy gage for long runs and such.

 

[Neurorad]

If the topic of cable construction really interests you, I suggest Stephen Lampen's Pocket AV Installer's Guide

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Video-Installers-Pocket-Reference/dp/0071386211

Interesting read, and informative.