Does it really matter if a Cable is gold plated, or made by a well known company like Belkin / Sony, so on?
Question: I would like to know the answer to this question as I'm looking for a cable extension for my Hifi headphones, and was wondernig if it was worth spending the extra money for something gold plated, and made by a brand like Sony or Belkin. Thanks a lot! :D
Answers: All the same.
If you have any stereo connections that are not gold plated that you have had for awhile, look at them and notice that they are not as shiney as when they were new. Gold plated doesnt do that. That oxidation cuts down on your system getting the full signal. I work at a reputable electronic store and have for 15 years. I have had the oppurtunity to match quality cables with that from a reliable very large dept store . The master bulk buying is not always good. Name on a cable is nothing, just concentrate on gold plating. They dont corrode.
I can't hear the difference... The theory is that the impedences of the cable should match the headphones and the amplifier as perfectly as possible, if not either excessive loss or distortion would occur. Gold connectors have lower loss and in theory be better, but I have only heard audiophiles claim that they can hear the difference. Unless your amplifier and your headphones are top of the line, there is no way that any distortion caused by the cable could be discerned from the distortion of the amp or headphones.
There are a few ways to look at this. The advantage of buying a well known brand ( such as Sony or Belkin ) is that you are assured a bit more quality and less issues should the item fail or have to be returned. Belkin is well known for charging silly prices for simple cables, but I have never had one fail. I can't say the same for the 99 cent store cables I've had to buy in a pinch to get by.
As fas as gold plated goes , it's really a non issue for consumer grade equipment. While alot of snake oil sales people will try to get you to buy the gold cables in order to make the store/commision money, you won't see any difference or any improvement that will stand out if it's just your average off the shelf consumer stereo system.
Gold plated plugs are usually reserved for the audiophile who has a $10,000 amp, and $1200 speakers who can tell you the difference between a click and a pop when they play a record on their $5000 turntable. :)
Ok, why gold plate the connector? It's because gold is a good conductor and will not oxidize unless the gold plating is of lousy quality. Good connection means smooth electrical transmission, and if the connector is not good or firmly secure you will hear some annoying distortion.
I believe most reputable electronic manufacturer will have a good quality product wheather gold plated or not you won't be able to hear to much of the difference. If you have a Sony headphone buy back a Sony extension cord, if an AKG or Sennheiser buy back the same brand of accessories and just in case it doesn't works well, go make a complaint and they will have no excuse to blame it on the extension cord.
Short and simple. Soundwise and video wise you will not be able to tell the difference. I could give you all the blah, blah, about signal loss, corrosion, life of cable etc...but bottom line, unless all the connections are gold plated (ie. the component your hooking up to, the headphone connecter) are all gold plated as well, then no, it's a wash.
The brand doesn't really matter, but the gold does. We do not use gold because it is such a great conductor, but rather because it does not corrode/oxidize over time so it remains a good conductor almost indefinitely. It is also important to have shielding and that the cable is the correct kind of cable. Generally speaking there are only two types of RCA cables, 75-ohm coax and balanced audio. It is important that you ahve a correctly manufactured version of the cable type you need.
Not really, the gold tends to oxidize(rust) slower than regular RCA plugs.
Cable sound quality is always a hot topic amongst audiophiles. Some say different cables sound different, and some say it makes no difference whether you spend $2 or $2,000 on cables. Through my 20+ years of experimenting with different cables, I have found that gold plating does improve the contact of the audio signal as well as preserve the contact from oxidation. If sound quality is important to you, then it will be worth the few extra bucks for gold plated connectors. Well known name brands do really mean that the sound quality will be better. And usually companies that make consumer electronics don't specialize in making the best sounding cables for the money.
To point to in the right direction, and not knowing how much you are willing to spend on cables, I would recommend brands like DH Labs (mid-prices, outstanding sound for the price), or Cardas (spendy, but excellent sound), or Kimber (mid-to-high priced, but excellent sound), or Monster (low-to-mid priced, good sound), or even Phoenix Gold (a good start into decent sound for cables). Listen for yourself if you have the chance, because that will give you the best test as to what you will get for your money.
if you can get 24K gold go for it,it's pricey but it's the best
Answers: All the same.
If you have any stereo connections that are not gold plated that you have had for awhile, look at them and notice that they are not as shiney as when they were new. Gold plated doesnt do that. That oxidation cuts down on your system getting the full signal. I work at a reputable electronic store and have for 15 years. I have had the oppurtunity to match quality cables with that from a reliable very large dept store . The master bulk buying is not always good. Name on a cable is nothing, just concentrate on gold plating. They dont corrode.
I can't hear the difference... The theory is that the impedences of the cable should match the headphones and the amplifier as perfectly as possible, if not either excessive loss or distortion would occur. Gold connectors have lower loss and in theory be better, but I have only heard audiophiles claim that they can hear the difference. Unless your amplifier and your headphones are top of the line, there is no way that any distortion caused by the cable could be discerned from the distortion of the amp or headphones.
There are a few ways to look at this. The advantage of buying a well known brand ( such as Sony or Belkin ) is that you are assured a bit more quality and less issues should the item fail or have to be returned. Belkin is well known for charging silly prices for simple cables, but I have never had one fail. I can't say the same for the 99 cent store cables I've had to buy in a pinch to get by.
As fas as gold plated goes , it's really a non issue for consumer grade equipment. While alot of snake oil sales people will try to get you to buy the gold cables in order to make the store/commision money, you won't see any difference or any improvement that will stand out if it's just your average off the shelf consumer stereo system.
Gold plated plugs are usually reserved for the audiophile who has a $10,000 amp, and $1200 speakers who can tell you the difference between a click and a pop when they play a record on their $5000 turntable. :)
Ok, why gold plate the connector? It's because gold is a good conductor and will not oxidize unless the gold plating is of lousy quality. Good connection means smooth electrical transmission, and if the connector is not good or firmly secure you will hear some annoying distortion.
I believe most reputable electronic manufacturer will have a good quality product wheather gold plated or not you won't be able to hear to much of the difference. If you have a Sony headphone buy back a Sony extension cord, if an AKG or Sennheiser buy back the same brand of accessories and just in case it doesn't works well, go make a complaint and they will have no excuse to blame it on the extension cord.
Short and simple. Soundwise and video wise you will not be able to tell the difference. I could give you all the blah, blah, about signal loss, corrosion, life of cable etc...but bottom line, unless all the connections are gold plated (ie. the component your hooking up to, the headphone connecter) are all gold plated as well, then no, it's a wash.
The brand doesn't really matter, but the gold does. We do not use gold because it is such a great conductor, but rather because it does not corrode/oxidize over time so it remains a good conductor almost indefinitely. It is also important to have shielding and that the cable is the correct kind of cable. Generally speaking there are only two types of RCA cables, 75-ohm coax and balanced audio. It is important that you ahve a correctly manufactured version of the cable type you need.
Not really, the gold tends to oxidize(rust) slower than regular RCA plugs.
Cable sound quality is always a hot topic amongst audiophiles. Some say different cables sound different, and some say it makes no difference whether you spend $2 or $2,000 on cables. Through my 20+ years of experimenting with different cables, I have found that gold plating does improve the contact of the audio signal as well as preserve the contact from oxidation. If sound quality is important to you, then it will be worth the few extra bucks for gold plated connectors. Well known name brands do really mean that the sound quality will be better. And usually companies that make consumer electronics don't specialize in making the best sounding cables for the money.
To point to in the right direction, and not knowing how much you are willing to spend on cables, I would recommend brands like DH Labs (mid-prices, outstanding sound for the price), or Cardas (spendy, but excellent sound), or Kimber (mid-to-high priced, but excellent sound), or Monster (low-to-mid priced, good sound), or even Phoenix Gold (a good start into decent sound for cables). Listen for yourself if you have the chance, because that will give you the best test as to what you will get for your money.
if you can get 24K gold go for it,it's pricey but it's the best
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