hdmi cables/speaker wire (1 Viewer)

[jimDi]

Iam confused.

Iam purchasing the Yamaha RX-V2600 receiver
With the Mitsubishi HC3000 FP...

Iam looking for HDMI wire and speaker wire.
I am new to this and have search the web for hours.
I need a 25 foot HDMI..the prices range from $80 to $500 for the same length..How do I know whats a good cable?..
Same thing for speaker wire..Its seems everybody says stay away from Monster cable...I read that cat5 wire can be used and it wooks great..Is that true cause I can get it for 18cents a foot at my Home Depot?

Thanks in advance, Jim

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

HDMI is a digital format, so it isn’t too picky about the cable. The prices on them is flat-out ridiculous, so get the cheapest one you can find, as long as the construction quality is good.

For speaker wires, use 12 or 14 gauge. I’m sure you’ll be happy with the stuff they sell at your local big box hardware store. If not, try Parts Express.

My all time favorite is the 12 ga. Megacable that Radio Shack used to sell. I’ve heard that Monster made it for Radio Shack. Finely stranded, really supple jacket, so it laid out on the floor all nice and pretty and flat. The big red ID stripe on one lead was a big plus, too. RS used to sell it for $1.00 a foot – a bit high, but not outrageous – actually worth it for the quality of the cable.

Unfortunately RS doesn’t sell it any more, but a Google search found this site selling 25 ft. spools of the stuff for dirt cheap. Never heard of the vendor, so I can’t vouch for them. They appear to be a surplus dealer, so I imagine when it’s gone, it’s gone.

http://www.mylife4christ.com/ProductInfo.aspx?id=703997

For any speaker wire you might run in-wall, you’ll need to get some that’s CL2 or CL3 rated.

The Cat 5 wire is a gimmicky thing that people with high-end systems use. They say it sounds better than regular speaker wire, but if it does you’d have to have a system as expensive as theirs, and hearing as finely attuned to tell the difference.

What they do, I believe, is strip off the outer jacket and braid the individual strands together (probably as much of a PITA as it sounds). The stuff is something like 26-28 gauge – really tiny – so you’d have to bundle up a lot of it to get it up to 14 or 12 gauge. Aside from that, with the outer jacket removed, the insulation on the individual conductors is barely there at all. This means the amount of abuse Cat 5 "speaker wire" will be able to withstand is practically zero.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Jim. Welcome to HTF.

You dont need to worry nearly as much about a digital cable in terms of quality. The digital nature of the signals makes them fairly in-sensitive to the cable.

A long run - could be a different story. Early cables did not do well over longer runs. Later cables did some things differently so you could do longer runs.

Try contacting www.bluejeanscables.com and see if they recommend their cables for 25' distances. The owner is a member here and will give you a honest answer. And he wont sell you a cable that size unless he believes it will work.

Speaker wire: I agree with Wayne. Get some good 12 ga like the Sound King stuff from www.partsexpress.com and use it for everything.

If you get confused about different adviced - make sure you understand if the person/site has a Music or HT background. Things that are important in the Music world, are sometimes much less important in the HT world. Speaker wires are one of these.

Hope this helps.