# How much does the quality of RCA cables matter?



## Thenewguy007

I searched & the prices go from $1 to $3,000 for simple red/white RCA audio cables.
  
 I'm using some cheap cables that I had lying around to connect my amp to my DAC & wondering how much of a difference would $50, $100, $200 or even $300 RCA cables would improve the sound quality?
  
 Is there a brand or specification (copper / silver/ gold???) I should be look for that everyone recommends?


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## cel4145

thenewguy007 said:


> I'm using some cheap cables that I had lying around to connect my amp to my DAC & wondering how much of a difference would $50, $100, $200 or even $300 RCA cables would improve the sound quality?




Depends on who you ask. Some people say that science tells us you can get a well made cable for not much money, and spending more doesn't help. Others believe that there are benefits to spending lot more. 

If you want to know all the science arguments regarding this debate, you'll have to go to the sound science part of Head-Fi.


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## Thenewguy007

O.k without going into the science part, can anyone here give me some anecdotal recommendations on what they bought that they thought improved the sound.
 My cable is filmsy & cheap, feels like it can fall apart any day.
  
 I won't be spending hundreds, but would like to know if anyone here can recommend a cable that is priced under $100 & to their ears, sounded better than the cheap stuff?

 So can someone point me in the right direction on maybe some cheap Chinese cables on eBay or anything?


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## cel4145

Ghent Audio makes good cables. Factory direct from China. Takes about week or so to get them. Often cheaper if you buy from their website than their ebay account.


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## obobskivich

No idea on "cheap Chinese cables on ebay" but there's always Monoprice and whatever generic or otherwise mfgrs you can find on Amazon (they usually have discounted prices on "name brand" like Belkin and Hosa as well as various unknown brands). As far as cables making a difference, this is IME so take that for whatever it's worth. I think the potential is there, primarily WRT build quality and shielding. This doesn't have to mean crazy expensive cables, but there are plenty of unshielded RCAs with really dinky connectors out there (and some shielded RCAs with dinky connectors too) - going up to something that's better put together can solve those problems. As far as this imparting any benefit to the music - I honestly can't say. I own some relatively expensive (still in that sub-$100 category but more $$$ than pack-ins or whatnot), and have tried some genuinely expensive ($100s/meter) cables, and would say IF there is a difference, it is extremely subtle. I think this is very much a "past the point of diminishing returns" consideration. 

As far as what brands I would suggest, I've never had problems with RadioShack's "premium" or "gold line" (or whatever it's called these days) stuff, Belkin, Hosa, Grado Labs, or AudioQuest. I've had few problems with Monster (and never signal problems) and many generic brands. I've had very mixed success with Monoprice - their standard/basic cables have never given me an issue, but their "premium" cables have had a near 100% failure rate over time, all because the connectors they use are not awesome. 

On metals and such: 

Pure copper will oxidize, so if you have a pure copper cable you want to make sure the jacket/etc is well put together. This is more commonly a concern with speaker cables but it's something to think about regardless. Gold plating is used to prevent this, but it isn't the only way to address that issue. Nickel plating is also used on many connectors. I honestly can't say if there's a difference in terms of longevity, but I have relatively old (at least 10 years) cables as examples of each that are still working properly. 

I can't imagine that anyone is making pure gold cables (the cost would be unbelievable); I've read about "solid silver" cables but never seen one in person (I have tried cables with silver plating and I'm not sure it made any difference - it looks pretty though) - I know silver can also oxidize. 

Finally something to keep in mind: whether or not you end up liking cables as another component class for your system, realize there are *tons* of fakes out there. Especially for more popular brands like Kimber, Monster, and AudioQuest. I've seen fake Monster cables over the years and the quality is usually abysmal; Kimber and AQ claim similar things about fakes they have observed of their own products too. If you end up wanting to go with a premium cable like that, I would strongly suggest figuring out who is the proper dealer for whatever brand you want to try, and going that route.


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## Speedskater

If we exclude some junk cables sold on EBay, just about any reasonable 1 or 2 meter long RCA coax cable will sound the same.  But with long interconnects to powered speakers or sub-woofers the cables need to be good.  Blue Jeans Cables LC-1 sets the benchmark for long interconnects.
  
 Often when people write about interconnects sounding different, it's a situation specific problem that the cables are changing. So the sound change is not repeatable or reproducible.


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