Audio cables have always been a very sticky subject for audiophiles. For some, there is no question that cables make a difference. For others, the only cables that make a difference are bad cables. Now, it appears that Audioquest may have made a presentation that demonstrated the audio superiority of their cables but there’s a twist. It was for an HDMI digital cable and not an analog cable.
Dr. Mark Waldrep, who we’ve previously interviewed here regarding high resolution audio, first noticed this video on YouTube and has since written several blog posts about it here and a follow-up here. The issue has become big enough that Audioquest’s CEO has responded.
From our perspective here at the Poor Audiophile, we’ve talked about HDMI cables, how to address HDMI sync issues, and even the differences between cheap and expensive HDMI cables. In a nutshell, if an HDMI cable is affecting the signal, it’s measurable and can be seen through what’s called the “eye diagram” that we talk about in-detail in this article.
We would take the position that as long as the HDMI cable is certified and is passing the signal properly without degrading the clarity of the eye, then it will work just fine and won’t be better than any other cable.
It will certainly be interesting to see what happens. We’ll be staying tuned ourselves to all the updates Mark is posting on his blog.
I'm with you, as long as a cable is certified to get a signal over X number of feet it's the same as any other cable. Digital is binary, either it's there or it's not. I'm not sure how AudioQuest thinks they can get it more there.
Mark has had a series of exchanges with them which he's posted on his blog. It's worth following.
Affecting and effecting. Please get it right.
Thanks for catching that typo!
Damn homie, relax.
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