MojoLists

What cables do I need? This is one of the most common questions in home theater and it is one surrounded in myth and marketing deception. This article will focus on digital cables, HDMI, Coax and Optical cables to be precise.

Digital cables have the simple job of passing along a signal, and this is the important part, it is a digital signal. Digital signals make it to the destination or they don’t, the cable can’t add warmth or bass, it can’t bring out the high end or improve the image on your HD Television. Digital either works, or it doesn’t.

Bandwidth is the only factor that matters when buying digital cables like HDMI, Coax or Optical. HDMI cables carry both the audio and video in a single, easy to use cable. Marketing by stores and manufacturers (I am looking at you Monster Cable) implies that you need an expensive cable to make that new Blu-Ray look and sound right on your new 1080p display.

This is where they begin to flat out lie to the public, as I said above, a signal either makes it or it doesn’t, any HDMI cable will work, you get a picture or you don’t. HDMI cables are self-checking for errors so they work, period. There is no magic cable that improves the picture or sound, so one last time for those in the cheap seats, YOU EITHER GET A SIGNAL OR YOU DON'T, it is digital.

Digital audio cables are a little different however the general facts remain true, the cable doesn’t improve or change the sound of a digital signal, they simply pass on the ones and zero’s which cannot be colored or changed by the cable. The only thing that is different here is that you need to ensure the cables are 75 ohm, which gives more than enough bandwidth for digital audio.

Not all cables are 75 ohm, the skinny cords that came in your DVD player box are NOT 75 ohm, they should not be used for anything. Coax and optical digital cables do not error check but again, as long as you are looking at a 75 ohm cable you don’t need anything else.

Radio Shack offers these cables at a reasonable price, Monster Cable  is outrageously priced but there is not anything physically wrong with them, they are a good cable brand. I prefer Blue Jeans Cables, they are hand made and look great, all for a very reasonable price.

Blue Jeans Cables can be ordered in different colors to make component identification behind a rack easier. They also carefully match the ends so you know exactly which cable in a bundle does what without tracing it back to the source. I use them for my digital cables so that all my cables match but I could easily save a few bucks by going to Radio Shack.

Analog cables require a bit more consideration than digital, I will be discussing them in the next article.

Choosing Analog Cables