Good cable source for component, toslink ?? (1 Viewer)

[KenNCrawford]

I am setting up my new Yamaha RX-V2400 and want to use component cables between the DVD/CD player and Recvr for the best picture quality AND the TV monitor and Recvr. I also need a Toslink between the DVD/CD and Recvr for surround sound quality.

I have looked at the two sources with banners on this forum but I still don't know enough about all this to make on informed decision. If you are employed by or some how connected to one of these two sites I welcome your input but please disclose who you are.

Your input and experience are very welcome.

Please advise.......

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Ken. Welcome to HTF!

Dont bother pushing video through your reciever unless you have 2 or more component sources.

Your reciever can act like a switch - but only for video signals of the same type. If you only have 1 source of component video - what are you switching between? (Think about it and it will become clear.)


Here are some numbers for you:

Standard video (aka 480i) = 4 Mhz max
Progressive Video (aka 480p) = 13 Mhz max
HD Video (aka 720/1080) = 35 Mhz max

You CAN buy ordinary component cables from Radio Shack/Best Buy and use them for HD. And they will appear to work, but they only have to be compatible with Standard Video frequencies.

The custom cable sites sell thick, ugly cables designed for the broadcast industry. These cables and connectors are built with HD video frequencies in mind and are "HD Compatible".

The retail, non-HD rated cables will run you about $40 for the basic cables. Custom cables run about $50-$90. The higher-end Monster cables run about $220. The custom cables will rival/surpass the more expensive retail versions.

My advice: stick with budget cables for lower-grade sources like VCR, CATV and Sat recievers. But for a progressive scan DVD player or a real HD tuner - here is where you want to spend a bit more for a custom cable.

(Of course: the custom cable sites make/sell some very good composite and SVideo cables for not much more than retail cables. Very good stuff - but unless your display is larger than 40-50 inches I am not sure you would notice any difference.)

 

[Steve Griswold]

Personally, I find Blue Jeans Cable to be an excellent supplier of well-made coax cables. They use the "industry standard" Belden cables with Canare connectors and compared with many other companies that offer identical / similar product, are very reasonably priced. Fast shipping too.

I have three sets of their component cables as well as a subwoofer cable and find their performance extraordinary.

In a pinch, however, Radio Shack Gold or Acoustic Research cables (available from Best Buy) offer decent performance at a similar price point.

For toslink, I use the glass toslink cables available from MCM-InOne Very heavy, shielded, and with gold plated connectors, even if the sound quality increase is marginal they definitely feel worth the money. They *were* priced very competitively and now they're become slightly more expensive. However, if you go to the Deals section of HTF and look at yesterday's posting you'll see a coupon code to bring down the 3m toslink price down to $14.95 which is unbeatable for ANY toslink cable.

Hope that helps.