What Cables Should I Use to hook up my Onkyo HT-S3200 to 40" LCD and Blu-ray player ? (1 Viewer)

[costafinkel]

Here's the thing, my stepfather has a 40" LCD and Blu ray player, both samsung.

I just received (TODAY) this Onkyo HT-S3200 and I'll hook it there. But in some months I'll take it to my home where I have a 32" LCD and a hi-def dvd player with hdmi jack.

But when I opened the onkyo box = SURPRISE!! No Hdmi cable, no RCA cable. This means, that I will have to buy it on my own.

Now, I had two generic hdmi cables here and I hooked the image with them. For the sound, I used an old cheap rca cable that was lying around here for years.

Everything works fine.

BUT, I wll buy my car cables on knukonceptz, so I was thinking I could also buy cable(s) for the home theater there too. Its gotta be there, so everything will ship in the same packet to me here in BRAZIL

QUESTION #1 -- Is there much difference from these generic (sony) hdmi cables, and some expensive ones, such as : http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=eKs-HD1

Its 25 bucks for one 1meter hdmi cable!!!! God, that's expensive. If there isnt much difference, I'll think I'll leave it hooked with the sony hdmi cables.

QUESTION #2 -- What is the best option to hook up the sound? I underthing NOTHING about cables, and I noticed there is a big load of cable types, such as optical, coaxial, component, and the old RCA.

There is also a good price variety, and some are really expensive. I'm sorry, but I'll have to cut a limit here, I cannot spend more than 10$ on this sound cabling. What is my best option?

Please, refer to their website (http://www.knukonceptz.com/index.cfm) and let me know what is my best option there (under the home theater section), If Klarity 1-meter (one meter is enough for me) RCA for 4$ would suffice or would be able to get another cable up to 10$ that would really make a difference on the sound.

Please guys, I have urgency because I gotta order my car's cabling too, so if you could help me I'd really apreciate.

thanx, Gabriel.

 

[gene c]

As you can see by this one from MonoPrice.com optical cables, or any cable, doesn't have to be expensive. But they can be as you see here.

You can also use a digital coaxial cable (same thing as the 75 ohm yellow video cable) like this one.

If you want to use the site you linked to then just get the cheapest one you see. It will work fine for your application.

 

[costafinkel]

WOW! That Audio Advisor is pretty expensive.

So, you're saying that my options are :

OPTICAL
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KHX-OP.10
$ 9.99

or

DIGITAL COAXIAL
http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=eKs-D1
$ 29.99

Is there a big difference between the two? I mean, does the coaxial transfers the sound with more quality?

If not, I think I'll go with the optical. The optical has better quality than the RCA, right? Because the RCA is cheaper, but if the optical is better and as its on my limit of 10 bucks I could get it. But only if it really transfers the sound with more quality then the RCA.

Do I need only one optical or a pair?

Gabriel.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

There will be no difference soundwise between coax and optical. The optical cable will be a little more fragile, and more expensive. More expensive you say? Then why is the "digital" coax $29.99 when the optical is $10? Because the "digital" coax cable is a sham. There is no such thing as "digital" coax. The SPDIF standard was written for a 75 Ohm RCA terminated cable. Another word for a 75 Ohm RCA terminated cable is - a video cable. That's correct, any yellow ended RCA cable that you get with every VCR or DVD player ever made is also a "digital" coax cable. So save money and dig out a yellow ended cable. I've had one in my HT for going on 10 years and it works fine.

 

[costafinkel]

So, the 9.99 optical will be fine?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Yes, the $9.99 cable will be fine. Again, all any digital cable does is carry "1s" and "0s". There is absolutely no difference, in terms of sound quality, between coax and optical or between any two coax cables or optical cables.

Regards,

Joe

 

[costafinkel]

Insteresting.. So, companies that charge 100$ for an optical cable are deceiving their clients?

 

[gene c]

Is there a big difference between the two? I mean, does the coaxial transfers the sound with more quality?

The only reason I like coax better is because it's not as fragile as most optical cables are. The one I linked to from MonoPrice is pretty stout, though. As for performance, as the others have said, they will both work the same.

Do I need only one optical or a pair?

You only need one whether it be optical or coax.


Some cables are better because they are made from better materials, offer better shielding and are more expensive to manufacture. But they won't perform better than the cheaper cable in our application.

To be fair, there are some highly trained engineers and "product specialists" who feel the more expensive cables will perform better under certain circumstances but you won't find many of them on this forum.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Originally Posted by costafinkel

Insteresting.. So, companies that charge 100$ for an optical cable are deceiving their clients?

I believe the correct term is "highway robbery." Deceiving isn't illegal, but charging $100 for 20 cents of copper and plastic should be.