Are expensive cables really worth it? Test of RCA analogue interconnects. 

Thank u, this is very informative. Your results matched my listening test with different cables= no audible difference.

I can't believe that they have a pair of cables like you tested for $24,000 !

Thanks so much for this comprehensive testing and analysis. I was about to go buy a pile of overpriced cables - which has always bothered me - when I found your channel. I’d buy you a beer if you were in California, but the best I can do instead is subscribe. Done!.

Nice to see test equipment used. Cheers mate

Real proper overview and comparison mate! Much appreciated.

Excellent test I appreciate your great work!

great video bro, love it

Absolutely correct. I've been in the Audiophile "business" for more years than I care to admit. High end cables are a marketing invention. We routinely did double-blind tests of cables varying in "quality" from whatever came with the component to $2500 cables. No one ever consistently identified any cable as sounding better. As far as sound quality, It's a myth. I will admit that high end cables are prettier. ;)

Decent quality copper (which most cables have) and decent shielding is all it takes for an interconnect to be of sufficient quality. There can be slightly more quality difference between speakers cables, as there's much higher currents moving through those, but again, there are extreme diminishing returns. Decent quality copper of sufficient gauge, and you're good. And I'm not going to claim that there's absolutely nothing to be gained from going with specific types of cables etc, but the differences are so small that your ears are likely to be a much more limiting factor. It's worth keeping in mind, that having multiple cables running behind a hi-fi rack or something, including power cables, is a source of noise, and it's why the skinny (unshielded) black "freebies" that come with cheap cd-players or similar can often sound somewhat less good, and it's helped hi-fi stores sell expensive cables for decades.

Thanks for this! It matches my experiet with cables.

I use "cheap" cables from Thomann called the sssnake SRR. They have a spring strain relief, thick but flexible outer and good metal connectors and shielding at 6 euros for a single cable. I honestly can't hear the difference when it's line level signal.

I made my own interconnect cables with Coax conductors. I am really happy with the results

Excellent contribution - Thanks a lot ! Especially with digital signals, if all the zeroes and ones are read, who wants more.

i like your vids, keep up good work

Good test. Thankyou.

I love this dude, he tells it like it is, with humour !

When you just spent 10.000 Euro / Pounds or Dollars on a cable you WANT to en WILL hear a difference. Even if there would be slight measurable differences, the question is whether our old ears can actually hear detect it them in these frequency ranges.

Great video, the author is more knowledgeable than me. I'm upgrading my audio system and considering replacing my cheap cables. I had but lost an article that explained what makes a good or bad cable. Different impeadence from source and return REQUIRES a capacitance that needs to be at a certain level. Too high causes frequency rolloff in the upper frequencies too low and the total signal degrades. at a certain point the capacitance is just right, any lower WON'T make a difference but may cause other problems. The tests in this video suggests all of these cables probably have about the same capacitance. I saw one reviewer ( to be kept nameless) compare a dirt cheap cable to a three thousand dollar snake oil ( in my opinion) cable. He tested the cables A B blind folded, and preferred B because he found the treble was too harsh in A, he felt B was warm and natural. Perhaps he should have lowered the treble when listening to A, but obviously cable B was restricting the upper frequencies, perhaps having too high a capacitance. By the way, cable B was the $3000 one.

So true, there is a lot of crap talked in hifi, and burning in cables is as you say, a bit of metal. It’s sad that some people play music to listen to the hifi system and not the music.

What is the Frequency Response software showing the graph, please?

Thanks for the great test! I'll save my $$$.

Great video! Many years ago I help install a Focal Grand Utopia/McIntosh system, and we asked we did much the same test with speaker and RCA, and the customer admitted they couldn't tell the difference … but went with the higher priced cables anyway. What can you do? Some people love throwing their money down the drain!

I worken in the Power cable industry for Prysmian, Pirelli and they have 200 factories in 120 countries making 60% of ALL CABLES WORLDWIDE. Cardas , Monster, and 100 other brands DONT HAVE CABLE FACTORIES. they get to the big companies talk to sales people and work out what they want and get it made,, Get their name printed on it and it goes from $60 a metre to $1000 a metre,, ITS A COMPLETE RIP OFF.

IMO if you record the signal and play in-phase and phase-inverted signal together, there are interaction between these two inputs. They react to each other and got some summing error. That's why they don't completely canceled out.

Howdy. Assuming the gear is High End. Lancaster HiFi says there is a difference between interconnects and shows measurements to back it up. Regards.

Well done. Probably will not discard my 50p cables after all!

Different horses for different courses. Short cable runs well, yeah, let's say cabling can be subjective. However, if one's system also happens to integrate a multi-channel setup too. To keep the noise floor to a minimum one really needs to go with shielded cables. Unshielded cables can often act as antennas for attracting RF, and the longer the cable, the better the antenna! Probably explains why when I used to disconnect my Heights and surrounds within 10 minutes, the noise floor used to come back down to satisfactory levels. The more cables I shield, the quieter the room becomes. In fact, the last group of cables I shielded were my HDMI's and Lo behold, the room became slightly quieter yet again. When friends came around, I used to show them loud it goes. Nowadays, I prefer to press pause and show them how quiet it goes. None of them gets it, of course 😂

What was the source? If it's electrically amplified the cable wouldn't matter, but if it's analogue, you might hear some difference.

In Akustik doesn't want to sell cables either. In any case, the cable capacity is a secret. This is not a secret with the Belden 1800F. 85 pF/m

When switching on the bedroom TV, I could hear the signal even before the soundbar came on. Managed to make it up to 80% quieter with an entry-level HDMI shielded cable. However, being extremely sensitive to this particular type of noise, and after putting up with it for over 6 months, I ended up purchasing its stable mate flagship cable. Now, the faint background signal noise has totally disappeared 🥳 Conclusion; many different forms of shielding!

with the cables that short wouldnt you be picking up the interference from the other electronic or the connectors to the cables? (meaning how close was your eraser box to the rest of the equipment?)

Great conclusion!🤣

Lamp cord and Penicillin.

Just A/B tested an Audio Quest Big Sur with a Amazon Basic interconnect cable. When playing DSD files the differnce is obvious. For CD files I couldn't hear real differences.

Best conclusion ever! 😂 Saved me from buying a Chord Company C-line. I’ll just use the big standard cables I have! Thanks.

Thank you for the video. If an expensive cable doesn’t scientifically better then a cheap one, and I “hear” better Audio ( placebo ) , That’s fine With me as at the end i more enjoy!

Man, you hit those so called experts on you tube straight up the what you me call it. Keep up the good work, de bucking these charletens.

The first piece of advice should be to avoid interference. For example, "isolate" your cable by changing its position. A few months ago I replaced the old cable with a Big Sur (RCA) and it was a major difference. However, two years ago I tried a similar expensive cable on another audio configuration and I did not feel any difference.

You can test if there were errors in your recording process. Record twice the same track with same cable. If the two recording cancel out each other, there’s a difference in cable. If they don’t, there’s an error in your recording process.

Car Audio is important. Bad rcas give alternator interference coming through speakers. Triple shielded twisted solves this. They cost more.

I'd take twisted pair or coax (read: physics) over 500 bucks worth of "shielding" any day of the week. Think of about it. If it's good enough for an oscilloscope to capture GIGAHERTZ frequencies, then it's good enough for your guitar or crappy record player. Usually the cheapo stuff is REALLY cost-reduced and has problems, so anything that isn't raw cheapo budget stuff, will basically be the same. A tiny layer of dirt on the connector will cause more problems than a premo cable will solve. Moreover, even when you GET your super audio cable connected to a machine guess what it's made out of? Simple strips of copper on a circuit board. Also every amplifier on a board adds noise regardless of cable.

Send signal 180 out of phase across two different cables. Hear nothing, then they are the same.

And again this proofs that there isn’t any difference between expensive and cheap cables. It’s all about plain electronic knowledge, it doesn’t make any difference as long as you don’t need cables that are longer than 5 meters, maybe than you need a slightly thicker gauge.

"AudioQuest Wind Cable Listening Test I hooked up my RME ADI-2 FS DAC V2 to a Topping A90 high-performance headphone amplifier alternatively using the Audioquest Wind and Generic able. The output of the A90 drove my Ether CX headphone. I could not detect a difference between the two in this limited testing. Mind you, there was more air when listening to the Wind. But then my wife who was in the kitchen informed me that the dogs had left the patio door open and whether I was OK if she closed it. Once she did, the air factor disappeared." Source: Audio Science Review

For speakers all that matters is sufficient thickness ie low enough impedance for length. Lamp cord is as good as $1500 cables. You buy fancy cables because you are credulous, or have money to burn, or have a need for the looks. Anyone who wants to know the real deal will look to RU-vid channel Audio Science Review, where Amir does high end scientific testing on all cables, backed up by blind listening tests, that confirm for instance that Amazon Basics RCA cables work and sound just as good as the most expensive products you can buy.

I'm maybe not the intended target audience of this video, yet it managed to hold my attention till the end and make me genuinely laugh out loud. Great video, loved the humor. The tune at 9:00 is extremely familiar, where is that from (a classic Trance track maybe)?

So… there are measurable differences.

Half a monkey for a cable that won't bend... what a nonsense! Great video. I like the studio-type cables - Mogami, Klotz, van Damme etc. - which can be custom made with decent connectors for not much dollar. I did hear a mini jack cable some years back that was a leap ahead of what I'd heard before and that was not especially pricey but did have good plugs (Switchcraft maybe?) that really snapped firmly into place, and I'm sure that helped.

Gotham Gac-1 Ultra Pro is the best wire for RCA in my experience. Flexible, robust and 4 layers of shielding (what really matters in RCA). And affordable no problem.

The best cable is simply the one with the lowest series resistance, the lowest capacitance and the lowest inductance. The most serious manufacturers indicate these values; others should be avoided. Connections must be of good quality for good contact and a good hold in place. Everything else is just talk !

Idk this is such a grossly over debated topic. I however didn’t believe in cable jargon for a while and would just buy thicker braided cables because they looked nicer (OCD). However, recently I upgraded my system a bit more (now about 40K) and have noticed a difference from using Amazon XLR’s to trying the AQ Yukon XLR, I picked various songs I am extremely familiar with and I REALLY wanted to not hear anything difference because the thought of spending 500 on pair of cables is teeth clenching to me. However, upon listening I noticed a couple of things, the highs of certain voices were not as scratchy or ear piercing as they were with the Amazon basics. 2. The “soundstage” as they call it seemed more open and transparent? Idk. Like I said I don’t think its going to make any crappy system sound 500.00 better, it’s only going to be as good as its source and components but if you have a decent system, maybe, buy accordingly to that range. There is one thing for sure I know, the human ear has NOT been measured to it’s entirety, there are things we can hear that have yet to be measured. One thing is certain, science, is always evolving.

People have been fooling themselves by buying crazy price cables that are pure silver & have brass connecters or alloy! Cable of the right thickness of pure copper with good shielding & copper connectors, that's it. Upgrade your speakers etc with the saved money & enjoy your music.

Oh shit, 22k for cables, I was thinking is it worth to buy 50$ Ground zero tripple shielded, was thinking it's overprieced.

Good test. The most important takeaway here is that the thin red/white RCA cables that are included for free in many electronics are dogshit and should be replaced ASAP. I know you didn't hear a difference, but you used a 6ft cable, and interference matters more at longer lengths. I replaced my cheap 15ft red/white cable with a one made of double-shielded 18AWG solid coaxial wire for £40 and it made a huge difference. Tweeters no longer hissed. But you certainly don't need a £1000 silver cable at all.

Oh, ah look at my cables! You know how much they cost ? Been there done that!

Finally, a review without voodoo of a wild imagination trying to justify why they spent so much. A big thank you.

The law of diminishing returns comes in quickly and hits hard, IMO. After about $25 per, you're just pissing mobey away.

Down with snake oil!

Thank you 😂😂😂

I can barely understand this guy but he's funny. i hope he carries on because the audiophile scene needs some cursing and home truths.

The difference between junk and good composite cable quality is between the $5 cables and the $25 shielded cables with decent copper. Paying hundreds or even thousands on a composite cable is ridiculous.

The answer to the question "do analog interconnect really matter" is simple and straightforward: yes they do. Any argument about it can be settled by a simple blind test. The claim that well-performing cables cannot pass a blind test is a myth. Also, good luck comparing cables using graphs... unless you have found a way to graph imaging, instrument separation, stage depth and width, trailing end of notes, and transients.

its all made of 75 OHM´S cables only different is shielding

i have audioquest sydney rca

The really cheap cable is made with screened cable.

This is the same racket as always. I am a fan of MM cartridges as a vinyl enthusiast. Ok I admit my MM cartridges are around $450 a piece. But the audio snobs look down on me because I like my Ortofon 2M black and they can’t sell me a moving coil for 3 thousand dollars because in my world that expense is unnecessary. When my stylus is worn I get another stylus for about 300 dollars. If the moving coil cartridge needs to be replaced that will be $3 thousand again. This is about music people. M U S I C first. If you can enjoy it be happy. This is not supposed to be a pissing contest.

Why the heck do you not include a well designed proper cheap shielded RCA cable that you can get for a few Dolllars? It will be the winner!

They sounded different and the graphs were different. This proves nothing. Well done for playing NES soundtrack though!

*Just buy decent quality RCA cables $20 a pair and it will be great for any system.* 😂😂😂😂

I can not say this enough... i seen a 20k price tag on some audioquest cables..20k!!! Who in there crack head mind will pay that?

I find the title most irritating. 1) If your system is low-resolution, you will not notice much difference between any components. You can stop here. Buy the cheapest. Assuming you have a high-resolution system: 2) Some cables ARE better than others for a variety of reasons. This can be a more pleasing sound depending on one's subjective preferences, soundstage, detail resolution, attack, extended perceived frequency response and so-on. 3) Some cables are more expensive than others for a variety of reasons. This could be materials, connectors, custom hand-made vs. bulk machine, treatments like cryogenics, burn-in etc. investment in research (quite rare in my opinion) and mark-up for small quantities, mark-up for brand names, sometimes quite obscene. 4) Are the expensive cables automatically better? Certainly not! For some you pay a premium for the brand name or snake-oil mystique. 5) Are the very cheapest cables the very worst? Not automatically BUT this IS more probable because of all the corner cutting and cost cutting (eg. PVC vs. Teflon insulators) to achieve the lowest price 6) Facit: audition cables in the price range you can and just can't easily afford. I have some really expensive cables I don't like the sound of as much as ones that cost less. My most expensive interconnects ARE the best I've heard in my system (and I auditioned others I didn't buy). Bonus: Q: What is a good sound? A: One you like the most. It's subjective. Get over it. And don't think that measurements will tell you anything. You have to audition anything you're considering. Return them if you don't like them. Anecdote: I auditioned two pairs of very expensive interconnect. Both claim to be made with science - one placing marketing emphasis on the biasing of the dielectric and one placing marketing emphasis on phase coherence at all frequencies. Over many hours of listening one pair made my system more musical, coherent and enjoyable and one pair made it sound like the musicians were in different rooms reading the same sheet music but really not playing together. Maybe this latter one more accurately reflected what happened in the studio and therefore was more "true". But it made much of my music un-enjoyable. And the other pair had the opposite effect. Which was better? The pair that let me enjoy the music and not the pair that showed up recording problems. That's psychoacoustics. And yes, it's real and subjective. All the best, Rob in Switzerland.

How is the exchange rate for “half a monkey”? 😂

I prefer gold and cryptonite

Bad boy yardy

pure snakeoil...

Jajaja

i just buy more expensive cables just because the connectors work better and the cables look better and are more flexibles

You watch my test video soon then go sell your equipment and just move to the country side so the city noise doesn't damage your ears further

LOOOL

I am especually amused by the claims made for power cords. At best they're better at maintaining the level of dirty crap juice coming in from the wall.

expensiwe cables is for naiwe richies

Go into a high end store and listen to 25k speakers. Near my home city is a shop that sells high and. He regulary makes listening nights where they start with cheap cables and go way up to the high end ones. There must be a reason, why his customers buy the expensive stuff afterwards. This test here makes not much sense, because his equipment is not near high end. He also does not use power filters, high end power cables etc. He also dont has a big stack of different sources like high end people have. They have way more interference. There must also be a reason why my 0,50 Cent ketchup cable sounds way worse then my second hand Audioquest Evergreen cable. Just because a youtuber says that this is snakeoil, it really is. We also dont know his testing device and software. I mean.. he made this on his PC, right? How do we know that PC is good enough and dont produces interferences? Also the connections from the PC to the whole setup is probably now high end. So many variables here. We dont know the samples of music he used.. where they high end or not? I just know, that i notice a difference when i use different cables. Also i know, that really expensive cables can sound worse sometimes. I trust my sense afterall. This is constructive critique btw. Im open for discussion and new tests any day.

So, the one test you didn’t do, or perhaps you did but couldn’t broadcast it. That is, the comparison between cheap and expensive hookers. Does an expensive hooker really perform better than a cheap one? Which one makes better music? And, is the cheaper more flexible one better because it’s easier to pull your plug out with out risking potential damage. If you’re going to encourage us to invest in hookerrs rather than cables, then please do the comparison. Oh, and here’s an interesting thought:- Some audiophiles like to ‘bi-wire’. Does that mean that 2 hookerrs would be better than one? Or, if you found a bio sexual hooker, you’d get 2 for the price of one!

What a lost of time and money!

Reel to reel? That is as bad as vinyl (tape hiss, wow, flutter). A cable isn't going to save you. Try a CD.

Bad ears most like4

Sorry but my ears tell me otherwise, I can hear the difference between cheap free cables and decent quality cables. I also happen to have some Silver plated speaker cables that some good man gave me for free when I bought his speakers. They sound more open and 3D than basic lamp cord speaker cables. That being said spending more than say $150 on a cable is ridiculous imo

Maybe it's your ears.

Get an ears transplant.

Cables make a bigger difference than DACs or preamps

Bogus comparisons, frequently response doesn’t provide sound dynamics, detail, air, etc this guy is half baked folks

I used a pair of cheap RCA cables and it got rid of your accent.

😂😂 what rubbish not a clue

😂😂😂 this video is a lie . Complete lie , only applies to these who use very low quality systems or have hearing problems or simply don't know their music to catch difference. There are many variables here and in many cases good cable will make a nice difference. In some cases for some people it will not make a difference, room acoustics make far bigger difference of course and if someone throw speakers into untreated room those nuances that cables bring may not be heard at all while same set up in a room with good acoustics will be heard very clearly . Also that AQ cable you show could a china made fake ...

Total BS. Snake oil. Anyone spending thousands of pounds for a mere meter of cable is either super rich or a total fool. I draw the line at so called directional cables. If you cannot hear the difference in double blindtrests there is no difference. This applies to any piece of equipment. I have a great number of RCA LP' the so called "shaded dogs" producesd in the latr fifties that are incredible. These were recorded using the standard cables of that period. When I read how a super expensive cable will reveal more nuances I must believe that the "golden ea"r reviewer is illuding himself or just being dishonest. You cannot reveal more that the original cable. Of course some cables are shielded better or built better but as to sounding better I must disagree. Audiophiles are like addicts and these revieweres and cable companies are plain enablers making lots of money. As to audiophiles, I wonder if they actually listen to music. They are listening to their equipment and convincing themselves that theu hear all sorts of detail.

Nonsense video

I love my Cardas Clear USB and Cardas Parsec RCA, and WorldsBestCable RCA using mogami 2549. and iFi Silent supernova power cord (has noise cancelling) my video RCA cables…Cardas Parsec versus WorldsBestCable (Mogami 2549 wire) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lXijf7TdF8M.html

the worst part, vast majority of them are made in china, THAT IS RIDICULOUS

You measured them to dispel myths, found clear differences in measuring, but then concluded that buying expensive cables was nonsense because you couldn't hear a difference when listening?