If the cable is from a vendor that has certified then I'm not going to personally worry about it. It's like getting certified CAT6e. Doesn't matter if it's Tripplite, TerraGrand, Blue Jeans Cable.
It's all certified and I'll get 10GBps performance.
Audioquest HDMI cables
- Thread starter Bruce B
- Start date
If the cable is from a vendor that has certified then I'm not going to personally worry about it. It's like getting certified CAT6e. Doesn't matter if it's Tripplite, TerraGrand, Blue Jeans Cable.
It's all certified and I'll get 10GBps performance.
I don't see the reason why they shouldn't be able to get the certification. If market demands such a cables, I'm sure they will deliver. Whatever one thinks about differences between HDMI cables, and the improvement they bring (or not), you cannot deny those are quality cables.
So you wouldn't buy this one...it's not certified: http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-52-49-Braided-Cable/dp/B00IL3TZSQ
I wouldn't buy that one since it takes a moron to believe there's a difference
The interesting item is that AQ's own $350 CAT6 Vodka cable was marginal 6a on a Fluke meter. It was handily bested by a $12 cable.
You could be absolutely right, I have no idea. I'm terrible at predicting the future so I don't even try. All I can go by is what interests me, and so far I'm satisfied with standard HD video and 5.1 sound. The real question is whether sufficient people will care enough about the "extras" to pay more and go to more effort. For example, how many people will buy and install 11.2.4 speakers and subs to support Atmos? I sure won't! But obviously screen resolutions will only increase, and costs will come down, so we'll surely see advancements there.
--Ethan
I think you are referring to AQ. If I am reading the situation correctly, they will not be able to get the official certification unless they become an "HDMI Adopter" via the HDMI standards organization. They do not currently appear to be an eligible adopter, nor do a lot of other audio/videophile cable guys. So, no independent, industry standard certification for them. That seems quite fair to me.
I find it curious myself why a cable manufacturer would not participate. I believe that it is only a matter of time, a few years perhaps, before UHD and HDMI 2.0 become dominant in the marketplace. So, if AQ wishes to continue to market HDMI cables in the coming era of HDMI 2.0, it should be interesting to watch and see how this all shakes out. I expect AQ will be forced to join the adopters, get their certification, but they will still claim quality beyond the basic certifiable performance in their marketing. They will continue to offer a family of about 5 cables in different colors, different fancy names, different silver content at various price points which will take you to ever higher levels of audio/video nirvana. In other words, the "sausage factory marketing" concept I referred to in a previous post will continue, in spite of the speed bump of then having first to get a certification from HDMI.
My recollection of the details is hazy. But, as earlier versions of HDMI - 1.2,.3,.4 etc. - were introduced for hi def and Blu-Ray playback, there was no official certification process. Manufacturers could claim anything. Monster attempted in their own branding to establish and distinguish their own cables as Hi Speed, etc. to suggest greater suitability for hi def. I recall some online reviews that poked huge holes in that via eye pattern measurements compared to other cables. I do not think Monster ever became much of a factor in HDMI, and rightly so. Will AQ follow that path?
Ethan, you are part of the people's majority...good...and very normal.
I mean that most people are satisfied with the things they are used too, and generally referred to "My 1080p picture from my front projector delivers all the quality I need."
It's the "I" thing with each individual's own lifestyle and habit/routine in sync with their aspirations/desires (or not) and with their own financial resources. ...Very well.
I too am in a similar situation; satisfied enough with the little I have, and I don't have infinite supplies of cash in my piggy bank. ...Very well.
I will though, very soon, install four speakers on my ceiling, and replace my pre/pro with the new more advanced surround sound immersion...Dolby Atmos & DTS:X (and Auro-3D too for an extra fee).
As for UHD picture, that too eventually, and you are right; it won't take long that all TVs and front projectors will be UHD. ...And with lower prices.
Already there was a Samsung 4K 3D 60" TV on sale @ Best Buy for only $999.
And there are front projectors from Optoma ($600-700) with better 3D picture than some hi-end JVC 3D front projectors costing 5 times more.
Our forum is called "What's Best". And prices for the best is very relative, plus they fluctuate.
Some can afford $130,000 pair of loudspeakers, others $280/pair.
There is a balance inside each one of us, and that balance changes with time...just like new babies of today look like 2016 babies and us babies from the 50s looked like babies from the 50s with the technologies of our time. Today we don't look like babies anymore and we cannot come back in time and look our best like when we were 25 years old and energetic and good lookin' with several girlfriends in our address's book.
We adapt with today, we have not much choice. Or we can still live with our VCR machines and VHS tapes.
When we were kids we did not have computers and cell phones. Today all the kids live with those toys. And football players get better contracts...more money.
All this to simply say that not matter our own lifestyle we are discussing in an internet audio/all things best forum...WBF...and that's where we're @ ...AudioQuest HDMI cables for the Ultra High Resolution picture and 3D immersive audio. ...Certification and not, and prices all over the map. ...We are looking for the BEST, the best balance that can suit most everyone (the average smart bunch of people like us) to make the wise choices for the best performance and with the less money possible to obtain, reach that goal.
We look for wisdom, intelligent logic, smart attitude, ...we make comparison, we try to understand the justification for higher prices, we balance the essence.
We are @ What's Best Forum, and that is what it is. Not necessarily the most expensive, prestigious and best looking, but the simplicity of the art form with intelligent design and performance for the less money investment possible. The money we save we put in better life's values...the education of our children, the healthy food from our gardens, and in cleaning the air that we all breathe around.
The world of entertainment: Music, Films, fast cars, watches, OLED UHD TVs, Laser Front Projectors, bigger kitchens (renovations) to invite more friends @ our cocktail parties, state-of-the-art dedicated home theater rooms, to entertain our families and friends with movies and sound, our dedicated sanctuaries (sound system rooms), our piece of land in our backyards...mountains to climb to stay in shape...exercise, our lakes and oceans to go fishing and boating and sailing and relaxing...sports, our condos and cabins and mansions all over the world to stay in when we travel, our private planes, helicopters, our business cards and conference rooms for the executives we manage, our skyscrapers we design and build for the people so they have a place to stay and habitat, ...all of this is what we do to entertain ourselves from life's multiple activities.
We look for simplicity within extravaganza. We build before it can be use: http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/photo...completely-empty-of-people/ss-BBpHfro#image=1
Anyway, we're lucky here in this continent, because after I've read the news this morning after a 4-year old was sentenced to life in prison for killing someone when he was only one-year old...! Very true :http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world...son-for-murder-in-egypt/ar-BBpIkdF?li=AAggNb9 ...And yesterday I've read that a 15-year old was beheaded (ISIS) for having listened to pop music @ his Dad grocery store! Very true too: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ding-caught-listening-western-music-Iraq.html ...I mentioned them just to say how lucky here we are to have HDMI cables @ all prices...from $5 to $15,000+ and pairs of speakers from $35 (Logitech) to $2,000,000/pair (Anesthesis).
Yes Ethan, UHD front projectors are the future now, and Deadpool is one of the newest films playing right now in Dolby Vision @ a dedicated theater nearest you.
And in just few months it will be released on Blu-ray in 4K with Dolby Atmos. ...And we all want an HDMI cable that can get us that UHD picture and 3D audio with full resolution and definition, certified or not. And no one here wants to pay more than say $200 for that cable, even less would be better...best.
But, we want measurements to confirm that it can do the job with top notch performance. ...That's all, with a good solid head on all our shoulders, with verve and zest and wit.
Sure, you're happy for now with what interest you. ...With what you're satisfied with...and me too. But nothing is stopping me to explore the best for the less.
I want to get knowledge for what's best out there for less than what I paid with the lesser I have right now.
Simply put; I want to spend less money today and tomorrow as compared to yesterday, and have the best entertainment value possible, ten times better (or three, or two, or six, or twelve, or...) than what I got right now.
Ten years ago a plasma TV was $10,000. Today plasma is dead.
Twenty years ago an 8GB USB stick cost about $200. Today it costs $5 and it's better.
Thirty years ago they sent people in space with tons of computers filling an entire section of the spaceship. Today they sent people in space with only a laptop.
Forty years ago there weren't HDMI cables and our receivers where stereo receivers (2-channel). Today the receivers are 13.2-channel receivers, with 9 HDMI inputs and 3 outs.
Fifty years ago we had AM mono radios. Today we have Tidal and Roon.
Sixty years ago we had tubed round TVs. Today we have 3D front projectors for $400 (Optoma - street price). ...We need an HDMI cable (1080p - about $10...MonoPrice).
Last edited:
^^^ Well that's all great, and I'll be interested to hear what you think after you install your ceiling speakers.
--Ethan
--Ethan
Last edited:
I swore to myself that I wouldn't comment here again, and while I'm not going to go look for it, I'm sure I already explained this in an earlier post -- but maybe I can stop at least some of the both friendly and accusatory speculation about myself and my peers -- I'd like to point out that the money-grab licensing scheme by HDMI LLC, and UL, and DPL, is of course being resisted by legitimate manufacturers.
AQ cables are already tested by the lab that approves High Speed and Premium Speed, etc., HDMI certification. AudioQuest HDMI cables are manufactured by an HDMI adopter, who is also a member of the HDMI consortium -- but we don't get to put the little gold Premium Speed labels on the box unless we pay thousands of dollars for the testing of each model and each length, and then pay for each and every little label -- and even if we did, someone would complain that we didn't have UL certification (not much of anyone will ask about DPL, which was first to the game, and in light of the silly competition, maybe the most reasonable of the group).
I don't expect to ever give-in to this scheme for the AQ brand, but in my other business supplying OEM and customs brands in the mass market, as I wrote previously, I will pay-to-play if the buyer insists. At least that business only usually involves 3 lengths of a single model.
As for the "Need for Speed" marketing that Monster did years ago, to my awareness (and despite very poor audio performance), Monster Cable HDMI cables always met the various Standard Speed and High Speed requirements. As short cables can easily pass much more data than the minimums, Monster chose to rate some of their models as capable of speeds higher than anyone has yet asked for -- and they downgraded some of their cables in order to make the ladder more obvious. It was pretty funny seeing a down-rated Monster cable on the rack at Best Buy, next to a properly rated RocketFish cable for the same price. The Monster was just as capable as the RocketFish, but Monster was self-penalized by the game they were playing.
Monster, Nordost, AQ, Kordz and some other brands are their own approval process. It's the all-cables-are-the-same no-brand cables that sometimes didn't met HDMI standards. Of course, I can be as cynical as some of you some of the time. One of the most expensive premium brands of audio cable makes USB cables that do not meet USB specs -- but one rotten apple doesn't mean all apples are rotten.
Sincerely, Bill Low
Pretty effing rich from AQ complaining about a money grab. Laughing my ass off.
So AQ cables are made by someone else within the consortium, but don't get the label. It of course cost so much to get the label the cables with approval from the maker of AQ cables probably sells them for much less money than AQ goes for. We don't get the label with AQ, but Bill Lowe gets the bucks. Really makes me wish I paid extra for the AQ brand doesn't it?
Yes, own approval process. Just trust the big dollars paid and the brand name supported by glossy ads. I have to stop before I bust a gut laughing at it all. For cables made by someone else on behalf of AQ. You can't make this stuff up.
Unlike the legitimate question as to whether HDMI cables can affect the sound, the matter of who manufactures cable is as plain as night and day. Anyone who respects facts doesn't have to spin a fantasy instead.
Almost no consumer cable brand you've ever heard of owns their own factories. Belkin is about the exception. Sony HDMI cables are made by the same independent (HDMI adopter and consortium member) factory I use, though to different specifications.
BTW Sony made a directional premium sounds-better HDMI cable. Sony believes in sound! However, their design doesn't sound as good as my cable.
This episode was an unexpected new low ... there was no interest in the truth, there was no attempt to honor the aesthetics of a measurement-based forum, only a fantasy rant. I'll go back to being part of the silent majority.
The TOS warns against self enforcement and disrespect for industry experts.
I think it is an honor to have Bill here. There are those who will never accept cables as a worthwhile product. We get it. i have my own skepticism. I'll never understand why cables cost more than the device they are connected to. Bill is in the business to make money. Hopefully his products provide good value for the money. Presenting anecdotal evidence or meausrements are fair game. It would appear that attempts t orig a demo would be an admission that the the product is inadequate. Even if Bill had no knowlledge, he is still responsible. If he wants to manitan his credibility,the person responsible should be called on the carpet If there is merit to the claim the person should be publicly disciplined.
Because Bill is here we have an oppurtunity to pick his brain about his products. That's true even if your primary goal is ot gather information to attack him.
Maybe Bill was like to discuss his attempt to wire Paul McGowans IRS system.
I think it is an honor to have Bill here. There are those who will never accept cables as a worthwhile product. We get it. i have my own skepticism. I'll never understand why cables cost more than the device they are connected to. Bill is in the business to make money. Hopefully his products provide good value for the money. Presenting anecdotal evidence or meausrements are fair game. It would appear that attempts t orig a demo would be an admission that the the product is inadequate. Even if Bill had no knowlledge, he is still responsible. If he wants to manitan his credibility,the person responsible should be called on the carpet If there is merit to the claim the person should be publicly disciplined.
Because Bill is here we have an oppurtunity to pick his brain about his products. That's true even if your primary goal is ot gather information to attack him.
Maybe Bill was like to discuss his attempt to wire Paul McGowans IRS system.
Sony also makes an audiophile SD card (all powered by the same SD slot that powers non-audiophile SD cards)
I think the Sony directional HDMI kills AQ's highest cost HDMI and does so at a fraction of the cost. Your design doesn't sound as good as their cable.
Everybody, please conduct yourselves professionally and treat industry members with respect. Insults, etc. will he removed and administrative action taken.
Lee
Lee
The files of the video made available by Mark and by Amir were at different sample rates, but it was easy to confirm that both included essentially the same audio manipulation (though not as complicated as what Mark surmised). I had assumed from the moment Mark's revelation was made visible to me, that the video probably had been doctored -- but I couldn't turn "probably" into "definitely" without having the video available.
The files I received definitely reveal fraud. A judge or jury might still not condemn if those who created the video put up a cogent defense, at least casting doubt on where and when the manipulation took place. However, the dealer who initiated and paid for the video production, and the video production house, went quiet immediately. In an absence of any reasonable defense by either of these parties, I am left to assume that both those parties participated in the fraud.
It's not a perfect world. The dealer and production house are not going to be smitten or struck down, or fined or otherwise held responsible -- though I suspect they have been chastened.
And so have I been chastened about having been gullible. Almost no one else at AQ even saw/heard the video at the time the dealer posted it -- At least I was suspicious enough to ask for verification that the video was authentic, but clearly I was gullible in accepting a lie for a reply.
I probably will continue to be suckered now and again through life ... which I maintain is better than never believing anyone.
The end of a tempest in a play-set teapot. The little over 400 people that saw the video over the year or so that it was up, were not likely to have suffered. If any of them bought an AQ HDMI cable from this dealer, the means of enticement might have included criminal activity, but the consumers got a high performance cable, whether tested by eye pattern test or for sound quality. Most AQ HDMI cable sales are for $39 and $69, the average of all AQ HDMI cable sales is near $69.
Thanks Bill for driving this to a conclusion!
Any chance that AQ can recreate the demo in house and post on the web? I would be more than happy to contribute $$$ for this type of demonstration.
Regards TJC
Any chance that AQ can recreate the demo in house and post on the web? I would be more than happy to contribute $$$ for this type of demonstration.
Regards TJC
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |