A way off topic, but a lot of us might be buying cables over the holiday season to connect new toys together.   I have long hated monster cable and their outrageous prices yet seemingly endless ability to be pushed by the big box stores...

Read this and neat article on Monster Cable going after "Blue Jeans Cable"
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/blue-jeans-strikes-back

And recently Monster sued a Monster Mini Golf chain, too.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/26/monster-cable-at-it-again-sues-mini-golf-company/


BTW - I believe there are companies in Canada that make & sell cables ( http://www.infinitecables.com )

A fun luch-time read...

Thanks for the links, guys. Very eye opening.

Duane

monoprice.com has great prices as well but it's US.

You think Monster Cable is expensive (and they are NOT top of the line), I custom built Audioquest Rubylitz interconnect cables decade or more ago and I still think I am paying them off.  Sweet sound though. Anyone still using lamp cord for speaker wire and thin RCA cables for interconnects because they don't hear the difference qualifies as partly deaf (but may have an earlier retirement than I).  

Quoted from websherpa

You think Monster Cable is expensive (and they are NOT top of the line), I custom built Audioquest Rubylitz interconnect cables decade or more ago and I still think I am paying them off.  Sweet sound though. Anyone still using lamp cord for speaker wire and thin RCA cables for interconnects because they don't hear the difference qualifies as partly deaf (but may have an earlier retirement than I).  

This has been scientifically studied, when blinded, people cannot tell the difference between cheap and expensive audio cables. As long as you don't know which cable you're listening to, you cannot tell if it's the high quality cable or the low quality cable.

Read more

I'd rather send my money to Wayne for an MM then buy cables for more than $10 a piece. I too second the recommendation for monoprice.com.

Also, don't forget that if you're looking for digital cables (HDMI, DVI, optical/spdif), as long as the cable works, then it is phsyically impossible to make the signal sound/look better. The signal is digital!

WHen I was in Computer sales, cables were a hight profit sale. Namely over 400% easy.

I have done that test before myself purchased a 15$ cable from wallmart and a 200$ from monster and the 15$phillips one was just the same.
The only thing i noticed diffrent was that if you pull out cable to much like maybe 25 times a day it will wear out.
But come on once you hook it up how many times will you unplug and plug back in your DVD or xbox360?
The 200$ cable went back.

Quoted from ethous

I have done that test before myself purchased a 15$ cable from wallmart and a 200$ from monster and the 15$phillips one was just the same.
The only thing i noticed diffrent was that if you pull out cable to much like maybe 25 times a day it will wear out.
But come on once you hook it up how many times will you unplug and plug back in your DVD or xbox360?
The 200$ cable went back.

Cables are the ink cartridges of the A/V world.. just go to Joe's computer shop and buy them there.  I just bought a 6-foot HDMI cable from Sayal for $14.99, does the trick just fine.  Digital -> Digital = loss less, don't be fooled into spending $100+ on a video cable, it's really a waste of money.

I listen to you guys and there is some truth in what you are saying, but audio cables do make a difference, BUT ONLY WITH THE PROPER EQUIPMENT.  Monster cable, Acoustic research and these low end cable companies are as you guys state "a waste of money".

But if you are talking High End Audio, that is another story, they make the biggest difference. I was very involved the hobby and at one point my audio system was well over $30K. All vacuum tube equipment. The cables used in that system made an UNBELIEVABLE difference. The most shocking difference i ever noticed was in the power cord, yes the AC cord. It left me speechless as I could not believe it. For my system I used Cardas Interconnects, MIT speaker cables. Every single cable I tested and I kept made a noticable difference. I still have one power cord at home that cost $1200 USD. I have drastically scaled back my audio system since, but still use Cardas interconnect in my theatre room. But I agree with all of you with Monster Cable, do not waste your money, it is just as good as the made in China stuff you can buy anywhere.  

In no way am I saying the thieves at Monster have it right, they are ripping people off.  However, there is SOME truth in quality of cabling can bring better quality of video or audio and that is with shielding. Take speaker cables, depending on the cable quality, interference from ceiling lights/electrical power could cause issues that many don’t hear but some do.  Additionally, I agree that for most of the tests there is none to minimal difference however I could challenge the tests depending on the participants, the equipment used and the environment.  On the “participants” issue, what I mean by that is this: there are a couple of people I know who see no difference between a Hi-Def BluRay and a DVD.  Those same people never saw a difference between laserdisc and VHS and they don’t hear a substantial difference between dolby surround pro-logic and Dolby Digital 5.1.  They aren’t wrong, I don’t think they are deaf it’s a subjective thing so I would say it’s up to the user. If someone sees a difference between a monster cable and a cheapo, who am I to say he’s wrong?  I may not see the difference but I will just say I think he’s paying too much for a difference in quality “I” don’t see.

Bottom line: I do agree Monsters are thieves. Last year, I ordered a 4 port HDMI switch box and 3 HDMI cables from a company based in Vancouver (an EBAY store). I paid $8 per cable and they work just fine .

had a fight with a futureshop kid once, telling me i HAD to buy the goldplated OPTICAL cable for my dvd-receiver, i'm like listen ya jackass, OPTICAL IS LIGHT, ITS EITHER ON OR OFF, GOLD PLATING DOESN'T MEAN S**T

he was confused and i walked away

I'm unconvinced HP5P, did you do any blinded tests on the cables? How do you know it wasn't the $30k that made you think they were better? It's well established that the more money you spend on a product, the more likely you are to think it was worth it, even if the product is crap. Because of human psychology and innate biases, we need to rely on objective scientific testing for questions like this. I run into people all the time claiming that some study is irrelevant because it didn't look at 'their' form of woo-woo. i.e. a study comes out showing astrology doesn't work, but another astrologer says "of course not, that astrology that was tested was obviously bogus... mine is real!" Yet they don't provide any evidence, still. It's called the 'moving goal post'. It only turns out after the test was done, and comes out negative, that it "doesn't count". This argument about high end audio cables have been going on for DECADES. And still, no good evidence has yet been shown that anything better than a lamp cable makes a difference. But hey, if I spent $30k on audio cables, I'd want them to be worth it too.

Do wooden knobs on your stereo also help the sound? Many people claim it does, who am I to doubt them?

Quoted from jonny_eh

I'd rather send my money to Wayne for an MM then buy cables for more than $10 a piece. I

Very good choice Jonthan!

Quoted from The Loafer

there are a couple of people I know who see no difference between a Hi-Def BluRay and a DVD.  Those same people never saw a difference between laserdisc and VHS and they don’t hear a substantial difference between dolby surround pro-logic and Dolby Digital 5.1..

I like to call those people "wives"  

Who told you?!?   Actually, she doesn't always HEAR the difference but she's not that bad either.

Quoted from ALJO

Very good choice Jonthan!

Now that was funny!! Well played my Friend!!

Dave

The difference there is that it is actually plausibly that there is a visual difference between bluray and DVD. With audiophile claims, they're stretching the scientific plausibility of physics and what the human ear/brain can actually digest and what hardware can produce.

I said my system was worth $30K, not the cables. Before i bought any new cables I listened to my system with my old cables for an extended period of time, often with other friends in the hobby and then I plugged the new cables in. Often I would remove the new cables and put the old cable back, and test again. The only cables I bought were one one that made a significant improvement, so noticable that my wife would say "WOW". There is science here, if you believe it or not. They have interconnects and speaker cables made for Solid State amps and others for Vacuum tube equipment. No one i met in that hobby is stupid or blind or buys on reputation, like many do thinking Monster Cable is better. All the high end stores will LOAN you cables to test on your system,  because certain cables work better in certain systems. There is also a breakin period for cables, as they do sound different over time. I have many friend that are still in the hobby and often we exchanged cables and equipment for similar testing purposes. Sure there is alot of crap out there, but if you choose to go to the big box store, that is what you get.

Check out this website: http://www.cardas.com/content......rconnect  

They are one of the finest cable manufacturer's out there. I use the 300B cables in my home theatre and I am very pleased with the performance. They do not list pricing, but you will be in shock on what their high end cables cost. While you are reading, Read this review: http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/cardas_golden_reference_cables.htm

That is a sample of the science that goes on with cables.

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT accusing anyone of being stupid. It's very tough to believe that our own subconscious can play tricks on us. It's the same reason why people swear by the effectiveness of snake oil products like cold-fx, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other alternive meds, despite the fact they all have no scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. People and doctors swore by the effectiveness of blood letting for thousands of years, until it was scientifically proven 100 years ago it was ineffective (and kinda harmful). The only sure way to settle these controversies is with strict scientific studies with tight controls. Asking your wife her opinion does not count as scientific.

Now I expect this thread to go off track with people defending Cold-fx. (hey, if Don Cherry gets paid to promote it, it must work!)

I won't get into the audiophile stuff too much.  The zaniest things I saw was a wooden block sitting on top of a speaker (said to enhance the sound), and ceramic pots used to isolated the audio cables from the ground.  Did that 60k system need it?  I don't know but it sure sounded good.  Typically most users setups are in the low/mid range and or the source is sub optimal that they can never perceive the difference.

Re: monster cables.  Did you know that they sued Disney for the use of the word Monster in 'Monsters inc,'  Yup they are very aggressive about their trademarked name and tend to go after just about anyone who uses it.

There was a digg article sometime back about the cables.  Bottom line is that a digital signal is a lossless method, and unless the cable has severe damage, distance or interference its going to perform the exact same way.  Since most people are going to get a 6-10ft cable it makes no difference.

http://digg.com/hardware/Monster_Cables_Monster_Ripoff_80_Markups
http://consumerist.com/353938/monster-cables-monster-ripoff-80-markups


http://digg.com/gadgets/HDMI_Cable_Battle_The_Truth_About_Monster_Cable
http://gizmodo.com/tag/hdmi-cable-battlemodo/

Quoted from Meat Popsicle

Re: monster cables.  Did you know that they sued Disney for the use of the word Monster in 'Monsters inc,'  Yup they are very aggressive about their trademarked name and tend to go after just about anyone who uses it.

Crazy.. I wonder what they think of Monster.com, then

http://www.monoprice.com
http://www.monoprice.com
http://www.monoprice.com
http://www.monoprice.com

did i mention http://www.monoprice.com

Monster markets to people who don't know what they are buying. Two things they work on A. Fatter is better and B. It says "Monster"on it.

For some audio analogue signal applications yes there may be some truth to A. Digital on the other hand you either have a 1 or a 0 at the other end. If all but speaker connections go digital as they are, people will soon figure out where to invest in their cables and where not to. mess we run cheap a** Cat 5 all over the place to transmit digital information with very little loss.

http://www.infinitecables.com/   does make and sell Canadian cables.   They also sell/distribute cables from other countries.   I try to give them my cable-dollars before other retailers since its so hard to find anything made in canada these days.

HP5P is on the money. I'm assuming johnny_eh just isn't experienced enough yet, and is IMHbutexperiencedO basically, wrong (no offence intended we were all there once), and is regurgitating something he read somewhere at some time....   (That wasn't fair to say - I re-read it and it doesn't come off sounding like I intended - johnny_eh makes a good arguement, it just doesn't gel with my old fashioned analogue experience. Sorry Jon. WEB)

But then again you'd also be pretty stupid to spend $30k on audio cables because while ther eis a world of difference between $10 cables and $100 cables, there is very little between $100 cables and $1000 because you have reached a theoretical limit.

When you are able to purchase and audition true audiophile quality equipment and cables (that have been conditioned - did you know that you have to burn in cables for many hours to align their electrons in one direction only before they start to sound "sweet").  I was in audio/video production and editing for years, had a system based on carver amps, and have a 300B 15 watt tube amp (7.5 amps) with Kilpshorn speakers that can blow most modern 100amp ss amps right out of the water when it comes to voice ranges, faithful jazz reproduction and spatial sound quality.  

Do you isolate, filter and regulate your line voltage?  Most people don't know that shakey AC and line interference make an impact on amplifier performance.  Do you check if your speakers are in or out of phase (most people don't).

Most guys don't even realize that there is MORE information recorded in analogue vinyl than in most CDs (which are "sampled" - which means that audio is missing).  You have to play high quality digital recordings (or analogue albums) on a high end DAC (like a Pioneer Laser Disc transport - the poor man's high end DAC) or analogue amplifiers to truely understand the difference between "live" and "memorex".  Some people just don't have the ear for it, or they've already listened to enough music with headphones that they are going deaf.  Monster Cables are crap, but don't believe what they tell you about there not being a difference in the high end stuff, there is.  I use a high silver content wire for my speakers, and when auditioning them (hihg end audio places let you take home things for weeks to try before you buy - when I was learning I was told to condition the system first by leaving the steroe on for a few days), I used my own reference recordings, on my own system and you can tell the difference. (Like all true tests you only change one component (variable) at a time to test.) I made my own cables from quality and properly shielded and conditioned wire and you can tell the difference.

You CANNOT test any audio equipment in a store, it's nearly impossible since all the pieces are different, the acoustics are different, the recordindgs aren't necessarily your own.  You have to audition equipment in its final listening spot.  Most people don't also get that the difference can also be felt as "audio fatigue" that feeling that you have to turn off music because it is irritating.  Often its the audio quality and the quality of the recording or the quality of the playback equipment (including cables) that is causing that fatigue.

I once participated in a blind test at Applause Fine Audio and Art on Queen St. in Toronto (Robert Doughty).   I was a Ryerson student and didn't really have a lot of money to spend, but I like Jazz and have a good ear for music (I played the sax and woodwinds).  He was trying to demonstrate the difference between a low, mid, and high range amplifier (and these were already all in the "high" end - even though their prices weren't "out of this world").  I was seated with my back to the audio equipment, in a professional but large listening room. I came away stunned at the difference good equipment made.  And once he tricked me, using a vinyl recording instead of the reference high end CD quality, telling me he had switched cables, and I thought I was at a live concert.  Did I buy anythign form him?  No, I couldn't afford it.  But I did seek out the best that I could buy.

Hell, on the back of my old Yahama 1070 (which was their flagship digital receiver in its day) they actually used "U-bars" to connect the pre-amp and amp (which is a straight short unshielded piece of thick wire).  Replace that U-bar with the cheapest thinnest RCA interconnects you can find and WOW there was a world of difference.  Replace the RCA connects with short ruby hyperlitz interconnects with gold pro jacks and some audio gold lubricant (which helps bond the metals and eliminates the build-up of corrosion - just like on pinball connectors) and DOUBLE WOW - the stage comes alive even with stereo recordings and you can actually "place" all of the individual instruments and singers with your eyes closed.  If you've never experienced this with "only" stereo equipment, then you haven't lived yet.  

In any case I don't need to justify my personal experience because I haven't spent a whack on audiophile equipment.  I either built it myself or scrounged it together, and believe me, it does make a big, big difference.  I just want people to understand that lamp cord (which oxidizes quite easily) does not make the best speaker cable, and is not "as good" as higher end shielded cabling.  No how, no way.

A good read here: http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf

I have to laugh when people tell me that we can only "hear" frequencies between 20 - 20,000Hz when in fact harmonics above and below our "range of hearing" have a significant impact on our mood and enjoyment of music and audio in general (which is another reason that analgue equipment usually blows common digital out of the water).

Sorry about the "rant" I'll go back to my pinball nook now.  I hope no one takes offence, this was all meant in good fun and in the tradition of a good "us" vs "them" diatribe.

And cooke....don't say a thing!  

Quoted from necro_nemesis

mess we run cheap a** Cat 5 all over the place to transmit digital information with very little loss.

  

Actually because of the nature of twisted pairing, you can use Cat5 cable to make pretty good analogue speaker wiring with little modification.

P.S. I don't doubt people can't tell the difference between "bad" digital audio on one wire and on another.  That makes perfect scientific sense because you can't hear what's not there.

I throw this out there for fun: Blind Test: http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/null/65929 / http://online.wsj.com/public/a......html  and
http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/uan/1863  (Agreed these aren't exactly "scientific" double-blind tests.)

What does it prove?  Statistically 39% - 64% of people can't tell the difference between good and bad audio (taking into account that there was a 50 / 50 chance for a right guess without actually perceiving the difference), I jest - I mean tell the difference between changes in quality of audio, but audiophiles noticed the difference right away.  Imagine the test with Cardas (I auditioned Cardas, and was a Cardas "wannabe" but alas I could not afford, and was satisfied with the warmer sound of my AudioQuest interconnects).  

Edit: I think we should also conclude that differences in cable affect the resulting audio quality, but that doesn't necessarily make them "better" it makes them different, since "better" in audio terms is completely subjective.

I use shielded Silversonic for speaker wire. (That's on the Tube amp System).  For day to day fronts and centre I built my own speaker cables from Radio Shack High Performance S-video cables and good quality connectors.  Makes a world of difference on the cheap.

Sorry I've flogged this dead horse enough.  But I does like my music!

Sounds like you have the audiophile bug also, Wayne. I scaled back my system because the wife wanted a Home Theatre room. However I still have my Audio Research SP-10 all tube pre-amp/Krell amplifier with Wilson Watt/Puppy speakers. Still sounds sweet after more than 15 years that I have owned it. Quality equipment is quality equipment.

You will find it impossible to explain to most people that vinyl is better than CD's, but it is so much the truth. And tubes sound better than transistors. Somedays I miss sitting in my dimly lit room and listening to music, so now I just go and play pinball.  

this is getting way too technical, why don't we look at it this way;  if you're buying the equipment from a place like Futurshop or Best Buy, then pro A/V cables should be the last thing on your mind, and most definitely wouldn't be found at a place like that anyway... so for them to trick people into buying Monster cables is just as bad as their $400 warranties.  I appreciate you audio guys, I really do.. in fact, I admire it.  But you have to admit, for 99% of the rest of the population, a cheap $20 cable will do the job just fine!  There's really no need for a HDMI cable to cost 1/10 the price of the TV

Actually, even for the most basic system, it is worthwhile upgrading to shielded interconnects and lampcord speaker cables to shielded cables.  You don't have to go overboard and spend an arm and a leg, but just about anything will work better than the thin cheap rca hook-ups and regular speaker wire.  Even a $20 cable is a significant upgrade from stock in most cases.

That being said I'd change the interconnect cables before the speaker wire (or move to a thicker gauge lampcord) if I wanted to make the biggest immediate audio improvement.  

Also, cut off the ends of the lampcord speakerwire every once in a while (like year), as the copper corrodes (and it even creeps up inside the insulation) and expose some new wire for the speaker/amp connections.  Take those RCA plugs and carefully clean both the plug and connector with some solvent to degrease them once in a while (like every 2 years), and make sure they clamp on tight.  A good connection is as important here as it is in MPU connectors.  As for video and digital cabling I don't know much.

Anybody in the montreal area should make a point to check out the hi fi expo.

http://www.fsiexpo.com/epub/index.html

there's a world of difference if you open up your mind and ears..

i get depressed after the show because even if i win the lottery and could afford to spend 20K per component in the stereo, i can't think of any albums worth that chunk of change ($100K)  to reproduce accurately. but it would absolutely be worth every penny


and to keep this on track,  if you spend a few dollars improving the AC line conditioning in your house and spend maybe $100 on decent power cables, that is 90% of the improvement, the remaining 20% improvement, (unless you are mastering or mixing albums professionally), isn't worth spending thousands on.

for digital cables, it's an even simpler decision

http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/la_facture/2008-2009/Reportage.asp?idDoc=70016

Websherpa,
Letting a cable 'warmup'? That is total ridiculousness, if you've ever taken a physics or electronics class in your life you'd know that to be total bonkers. I find all your audiophile claims to be highly suspect. I'd love to be corrected though, show me some evidence. A scientific study published in a peer reviewed journal would suffice. Try Google Scholar.

Sampling does NOT lose information, if done at a high enough sampling rate. According to Nyquist's theorem, to PERFECTLY reproduce a signal of maximum 20khz, you need to sample at 40khz (sample rate = 2 x frequency). Considering that NO HUMAN can hear above 20khz, a the typical sample rate of more than 44khz or 48khz should more than suffice. On top of that, as you get older, your ability to hear high frequencies reduces, so I can probably hear higher frequencies than most of the people in this thread.

You can lose information with the number of bits used to store each sample though. I admit that the audio CD's usage of 16 bits leaves room for improvement, but not much. That's why the music industry tried releasing two competing HD Audio formats that had more bits per sample, that also added more than two channels of sound. How many bits per sample is enough? Some debate 20, some 24, but to me it's splitting hairs, and getting better sound equipment won't help.
While records encode their sound using analogue methods (as opposed to digital like a CD), they have their own downsides. Analogue formats are more prone to noise, crackles, and wear over time. A CD will sound exactly the same after 10 years of usage, records can be worn down though. In my opinion, if you like to actually listen to your music, more than once, records are not optimal. You're better off with a lossless digital copy of your music, encoded with something like FLAC or Apple Lossless. But if those files are created from a CD, it won't sound any better.

Feel free to waste your money on extremely diminished (or sometimes non-existent) returns on audio playback, I'd rather spend my money on pinball. Telling me that it sounds better, despite the fact that it's highly implausible that it can even sound different, is not very convincing. I remain skeptical. Even a personal demonstration wouldn't convince me due to everything earlier in the thread. The placebo effect isn't strictly limited to medicine. It can apply to anything subjective such as 'how good does this sound?'.

Oh, and Wayne, don't take my skepticism personally, it's what I do. I still like ya

Quoted from jonny_eh

Even a personal demonstration wouldn't convince me due to everything earlier in the thread.

Then continue to play pinball.

I am not trying to convince you of anything or telling you to buy anything. My comments are based on a lot more than a 2 minute demonstration and frankly there was a lot of things that i was very skeptical about. I am an Electrical Engineer, and alot of things made no theoretical sense to me. But there is theory and then reality and I speak from experience and what you wish to choose or accept, is totally up to you.

Fair enough, but when reality seems to diverge from theory, there's something wrong. Either there's a misperception of a reality, or there's a flaw in the theory. Considering how well established these scientific theories are, I'm going to assume misperception for now. Occam's Razor, and all.

Young pup, you have much to learn in this world.  

Just for the record I trained in electronics in High School and obtained an Honours standing in Physics and Chemistry, spent 2 years at UBC studying physics,  did a smack of reality altering drugs - which we'll refer here to as a course in metaphysics, got a degree in Film and Photography (ok, that's irrelevant, but its what happens when you do a smack of drugs), and am working through a George Brown Electronics Technician course (Go GB! Yay!).

I'm thoroughly open to the suggestion that the power of suggestion is powerful.  But in the end, if you know anything about metaphysics; human reality, so mediated by the apparatus we possess, is really only what 2 or more people agree on at any one time, the rest is illusion - so Enzo and I are right, in our world.

Also for the record, there are several inaccuracies in your arguments above, including that a 10 year old CD will play the same (DACs vary in their accuracy, and sampling method, and use algorythms to fill in when they either can't read information (due to scratches or oxidation) or aren't fast enough to keep up with the music being reproduced - by their very definition digital is always a compressed media), or that it contains as much recorded information as an analogue vinyl record or that humans can't sense harmonic sound above 20,000Hz and below 20Hz (in the form of dissonance, harmonics and interference) regardless of the ability of their cochlear cilia (I was also a Biology Honours student).  You are also forgetting about the science of harmonics which is usually strictly limited in digital media.

Quoted from websherpa

But in the end, if you know anything about metaphysics; human reality, so mediated by the apparatus we possess, is really only what 2 or more people agree on at any one time, the rest is illusion - so Enzo and I are right, in our world.

You've gone too Deepak Chopra for me now  

Oh, and one more thing. What makes you think music recording even have all this wonderful infrasonic and ultrasonic information? Do people also think the music studios are using super special hand made cables like you are using? Garbage in, garbage out.

When I've done recordings in a studio, there was a ton of noise on the recording that we had to clean up in post. I admit it was a crappy studio, but there's no such thing as a perfect studio, and I bet audiophiles would recoil in shock that recording studios are made for less money than what they spend on their home equipment.

Quoted from jonny_eh

When I've done recordings in a studio, there was a ton of noise on the recording that we had to clean up in post. I admit it was a crappy studio, but there's no such thing as a perfect studio, and I bet audiophiles would recoil in shock that recording studios are made for less money than what they spend on their home equipment.

actually, some artists strive for that classic reel-to-reel recording sound.. and then, ironically, have it digitally mastered     

This post is clogging up my "Most Recent Top 10 posts" search with something that has gone off topic.

I am offended.

PM to Sparky!

Monster Cable Sucks, Doug is right.  (Back on topic.)

Monster cables suck monstrously! I use tin cans with string, works fine!

I think you also have to make the difference  between Digital and Analog signals. Analog signals can and will receive any interference and transmit it to the device using it. Digital is information based so  its the information that i used and not the signal itself. Only if the signal is weak will it cause issues and that can happen  with faulty cables. But that is faulty cables and not crappy cables.

for instance, Computer store 40$ patch cable vs 1$ Dollarama patch cable. I see no difference in speed with my downloads.


Of course your result is only as good as your output devices (TV or Speakers).