There are several types and dozens of brands of audio cables. The choice depends on what one wants to hook up and how concerned is about sound quality. Generally speaking, 5-7percent of the total system cost is considered adequate to be invested in cables. If one’s just listening to background music, news shows, etc., or if sound quality isn’t all that important, one can use practically any cable - even the cheap ones that come packaged with many audio components.
The true audiophile believes that only the best will do, and they will commit the dollars to obtain cables that are not only sturdier, but provide optimum performance of their audio system. You can spend hundreds of dollars for audio cables, audio interconnect and gold plated connectors, but to the audio elitist the price is worth it, not only for the sound quality, but also for bragging rights. Still to many of us, it is hard to justify the added expense for the improved sound quality.
Analog audio cables, audio video cables, audio speaker cable and digital cables are the four basic types of cables that can be used to transfer sound. These cables transfer the audio signal from point A to point B unaltered. You control the amount of Resistance, Inductance, and Capacitance thereby minimizing losses at audio frequencies.
RCA connections are utilized for passing analog line-level audio signals that go between components. RCA audio cables come grouped in stereo pairs, one connection is for the right channel and one for the left audio channel. A good idea for line level analog interconnects is the use of a cable with the following qualities: well shielded to eliminate interference and external noise sources, and low in capacitance.
The most important cables are video cables as very high frequency signals travel through them. audio video cables provide proper impedance, adequate shielding and solid terminations found with high frequency, and the right type of cable can be critical. So the shielding and maintenance of the proper characteristic impedance need to be aspects of a video cable.
Audio speaker cables are normally quite thick and have two wires: they may be tipped using spade lugs, banana plug or simply bare wires. It is required to be sure that the connections are really tight to the amplifier and the loudspeakers to reduce contact resistance to a minimum. You should never forget to keep the speaker cables as short as possible and avoid looping cables too much since this may augment cable inductance slightly.
Digital audio cables are a special group of their own. Of these there are two types: coaxial and optical. Coaxial digitals look just like standard analogs, but transfer digital audio rather than analog, while optical cables use light as a transmission method for audio signals. These types are also usually a single cable, where analog types are generally double plugs to stereo sound.
Although there are many types of audio cables, expensive ones are not necessary if listening to background music and radio broadcasts etc. The job of the cable is to pass the signal from source to output minimizing any interference. Paired RCA cables, preferably low in capacitance and resistance should be used for line level analog interconnects. audio video cables should have adequate shielding as a high frequency signal is used. audio speaker cable needs to be secured tightly to ensure low contact resistance. Special digital cables are available namely, coaxial and optical which transmit light pulses and digital signals respectively.
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audio cables,
audio video cables,
digital cables,
inductance and capacitance,
true audiophile,
very high frequency