Home Theater Cables
February 19, 2007
Home Theater Audio/Video Cables
No home theater is complete without the cables that connect everything. Most components come with free cables that allow you to hook up
your system and get it running. In most cases, though, these cables are worth what they cost. Upgrading to higher-quality wire can make a noticeable difference. Larger speaker wire passes more of the amplifier’s signal on to the speakers themselves, assuming that the length is relatively long (25 feet) or the speakers are hard to drive (less than 4 ohms). Cable runs of less than 10 feet might make less of a difference.
There are plenty of affordable, decent-quality home theater cables. Upconverted or high-definition signals should only be run over short lengths, though, with regular, not mini, sized cables. You should also keep line-level audio cables as short as possible, unless you’re using balanced cables, which can be longer. The only thing to do is to audition different brands available from your local dealer.
