Here is a question that is often asked and that is of extreme importance: does cabling really matter? The answer is Y E S! Quality cabling matters and makes a world of difference. It’s the dealbreaker between owning great gear versus owning great gear that delivers the BEST PERFORMANCE that it can. So make sure you incorporate quality cabling as you put your budget together for your system! We are going to show you why it matters and also the design attributes that actually make for excellent cabling!
WHY is cabling important? Noise and interference are all around us, coming from elements that are part of our everyday lives. Wi-Fi Routers, Bluetooth devices, alarm systems, generators, and more. SUPER IMPORTANT! The environments that our components are used in today are very different from the environments our systems were working 20 years ago! These circumstances demand we use better cabling for our systems to get the best performance. And don’t forget! Inside all of our components are circuitry, circuit boards, circuit paths, and layout of circuit boards, all of which are susceptible to creating noise as well!
There is a difference between DISTORTION (which can happen within a cable based on the design and the materials used) and NOISE & INTERFERENCE (external). Using high-quality cabling helps keep these intruders out of your system’s signal path. Build quality matters, not just for performance but for long-term reliability - better design and materials minimize distortion!
Design attributes and WHAT to look for in quality cables:
Conductors: really important! They’re all the individual signal paths inside the jacketing of a cable. Sometimes there are only one or two, but there can be as many as 19 (such as the HDMI that we all have!)!
High-Quality Metals: conductors should be manufactured from high-quality metals and solid conductors perform better than twisted strands. A smooth path for your signal helps minimize distortion.
Cable Directionality: let your audio video signals travel unimpeded by the grain structure of the drawn-down metals that are used to make conductors.
Shielding and Insulation: extra credit if the cable has some attributes that help deal with noise dissipation.
Build Quality Matters: trust a specialist! A company that’s been around for a long time and whose sole business is the design and manufacturing of high-quality cabling.
Having a system deliver the optimum performance it can, is the end game here, so we hope to have clarified the subject, and remember: it’s never late to upgrade your system’s cabling, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions. Contact us through the chat right here at the bottom-right of the page!