The electronics industry is always coming up with new and improved ways to deliver audio and visual signals to customers. For the most part, the focus is on the big-ticket items like televisions, stereos, and the like. However, what many people may not realize is that the cabling used in these A/V systems should be considered a unique product in and of itself, and that there are some real benefits to using premium cable products to connect your home electronics. Here are three of them:
• Reliable – The old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true far more often than not. Premium cables are usually significantly more reliable than those manufactured by less reputable manufacturers. For example: many cable products advertise that they use OFC (signifying oxygen-free copper) and gold plated connectors, which is fine. What they don’t advertise is that there are 2 different grades of OFC rating, and verifying which grade a product was used in the manufacture is incredibly expensive. This means than some companies use the cheaper connectors, and there is little way you would ever know as an end-user.
• Performance – Simply put, cabling products manufactured out of higher quality inputs transfer their signals better. This can become incredibly important as the length of your cables increases; the variance in performance between HMDI cables 20+ ft. in length between manufacturers is enormous. Signals degrade as they pass through any medium, and premium cabling makes that resistance as low as possible, leading to the highest possible quality signal transference.
• Durability – A final area in which premium cable products stand out from their competition is in their durability. Many inferior products will suffer serious issues related to performance within a year or two after installation, and the expense and hassle involved with finding the offending cable and replacing it can be substantial. On the other hand, premium cable products are actually quite likely to outlast your devices themselves, given the product cycle most televisions are constructed on these days.
Premium cable products do offer measurable and significant advantages over cheaper, generic cables. While they are subject to the law of diminishing returns much as anything else is, for most people investing in higher-quality cabling will end up being a wise choice in the long run. They may pay a few more dollars upfront, but will have an opportunity to enjoy higher-quality entertainment from their devices, and can rest assured that they will have fewer technical glitches and breakdowns to deal with as well.
• Reliable – The old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true far more often than not. Premium cables are usually significantly more reliable than those manufactured by less reputable manufacturers. For example: many cable products advertise that they use OFC (signifying oxygen-free copper) and gold plated connectors, which is fine. What they don’t advertise is that there are 2 different grades of OFC rating, and verifying which grade a product was used in the manufacture is incredibly expensive. This means than some companies use the cheaper connectors, and there is little way you would ever know as an end-user.
• Performance – Simply put, cabling products manufactured out of higher quality inputs transfer their signals better. This can become incredibly important as the length of your cables increases; the variance in performance between HMDI cables 20+ ft. in length between manufacturers is enormous. Signals degrade as they pass through any medium, and premium cabling makes that resistance as low as possible, leading to the highest possible quality signal transference.
• Durability – A final area in which premium cable products stand out from their competition is in their durability. Many inferior products will suffer serious issues related to performance within a year or two after installation, and the expense and hassle involved with finding the offending cable and replacing it can be substantial. On the other hand, premium cable products are actually quite likely to outlast your devices themselves, given the product cycle most televisions are constructed on these days.
Premium cable products do offer measurable and significant advantages over cheaper, generic cables. While they are subject to the law of diminishing returns much as anything else is, for most people investing in higher-quality cabling will end up being a wise choice in the long run. They may pay a few more dollars upfront, but will have an opportunity to enjoy higher-quality entertainment from their devices, and can rest assured that they will have fewer technical glitches and breakdowns to deal with as well.
