RadioShack cables? (1 Viewer)

[BrianKR]

I saw these at a local Radio Shack Fusion AV cables
I almost picked them up. Has anyone tried these cables?
I am undecided on what cables to order online and I was just going to give up and run out and buy these but I need speaker cable, component, s-video and stereo cables as well, so I am patient.

I am replacing "all" of my cables and speaker wire in my room to match the new pre/pro and amp.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I replaced a set of Monster component cables with a set of the Fusion A/V cables because of some chroma delay problems I had. After I put on the Fusion A/V cables, I checked chroma delay with Avia and guess what? No more delay! All colors lined up perfectly at 0 (whereas green and red were off with the Monster Cables). Picture quality was notably improved.

For the price, they're really sweet. And given that I was able to measure an objective difference by swapping cables, you can bet they get my recommendation!

 

[RobWil]

Those are probably excellent cables but no better than the ones you can get at heartlandcables.com or bluejeancables.com. That same cable at RS for 29.99 would cost $15 at heartland and $11.95 at bluejean (plus shipping). At $15 more per meter, per cable that adds up quick. Bluejean has cheaper shipping so that cable would be $11.95 + $5.75 = $17.70. A set of 3 component video cables would be around $42 shipped, etc, etc. Just another option, but yeah...those are good cables at RS.

 

[Chu Gai]

Well it's nice that your chroma delay went away, but since when was the group delay variation on cables under 500 feet bad enough to introduce a differential Y/C delay?

I am replacing "all" of my cables and speaker wire in my room to match the new pre/pro and amp.

Are your old ones somehow defective or are you just wanting to replace the cables so that they all come from the same source or something?

 

[RobWil]

Uh oh! :rolleyes

 

[BrianKR]

Why do I want to replace all of my cables?
Basically to have better quality cables and to give my whole system a cleaner appearance and make it easier to manage.
I wouldn't mind having all the same manufacturers cables. I would at least like to use the same brand and proper lengths so I am not tripping over wires when I add or more equipment around.

Sound good?

Is there a place online that "you" would use all of their products for your entire setup?

 

[Shane Martin]

Is there a place online that "you" would use all of their products for your entire setup?

Depends on how much you are willing to spend. I wanted to go with ZUcabling but went with Acoustic Research's cabling for now.

http://www.ac4l.com is a decent place for online cabling if you don't go with one of the custom houses like bluejeans or cobaltcables or even catcables.

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Well it's nice that your chroma delay went away, but since when was the group delay variation on cables under 500 feet bad enough to introduce a differential Y/C delay?

Hey, I'm just telling you what I observed, thread-farter.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Official Notice: Let's keep the discussion on topic and not snipe at each other.

 

[Chu Gai]

I acknowledged your chroma issue but assuming your cable lengths are typical, its unlikely the cable change was responsible for what you observed. Rather moving things around and some jostling may have had more of an effect. If you want an alternative source of information I'd be happy to give you someone at Belden whom you could discuss your findings with. Same goes for you Shane of course it means you might have to have a discourse with some scientific people...*shudder*.

Basically to have better quality cables and to give my whole system a cleaner appearance and make it easier to manage.
I wouldn't mind having all the same manufacturers cables. I would at least like to use the same brand and proper lengths so I am not tripping over wires when I add or more equipment around.

Sound good?

Is there a place online that "you" would use all of their products for your entire setup?

Well I think it'd help to understand and differentiate between what's real and imagined as well as what electronic parameters are important with regards to the cables your interested in getting.

Speaker Cables:
12 gauge available from a number of sources including a fairly attractive blue cover from KnuKonceptz will run you well under $1 a foot. Then you can terminate them as fits your needs. Bananas, spades, whatever. Unless you've got speakers with a low impedance drop in the 10-20kHz region, and will be running long lengths, there's no need to go further unless you feel like it (that would imply lower inductance geometries). There are no audible differences.

Interconnects: Rather than repeat what's been said before, please refer to the following
link which will provide information and allow you to budget your monies appropriately and allow you to ask questions from whomever you're considering buying from.

Video Cables: Regardless of your display unit, if you're running out of your DVD, your bandwidth tops out at about 50 mHz. Not very high and it's the DVD that's the limiting device here. GE's from Target (12 feet?) are around $20 and exceed the capabilities of your device. If you want to go top shelf just for the hell of it, then RG-6 or RG-59 made from Belden, Canare, Gepco, Commscope, the list goes on are fine. They usually come with a decent Canare RCA connector that's not too overpriced and is machined well. Prices though will be higher but then you get the length you want. For ease in flexibility I'd consider the ones with stranded center conductors and the RG-59 which is a little smaller.

Keep in mind, if you cut your lengths too precisely, you may find yourself in a situation where you can't move things around.

 

[Shane Martin]

GE's from Target (12 feet?) are around $20 and exceed the capabilities of your device

They may exceed the spec(i guess) but they produce a far INFERIOR picture than the afformentioned Radio Shacks as well as the AR's I've been using. I returned some of these just about 2 weeks ago. I used test patterns on avia to compare the differences as well as the usual Fifth Element Superbit disc.

 

[Chu Gai]

maybe you didn't let them break in enough pity you didn't snap any digital pictures for posting.

 

[RobWil]

Awww, jeez! :rolleyes

 

[BrianKR]

Interesting read Chu.
Thx for the link.
I am not looking to spend a fortune on cables. I'd rather spend it on room acoustic material and components.
I just want some decent cable/wiring and more exact lengths.

 

[Chu Gai]

well hopefully it'll mean you've got a feel for what to look for and maybe pose some questions to at least maximize your 'theoretical' advantage.