When it comes to audio cables, there are several brands and types available, with the choice depending on what you are trying to hook up and how concerned you are with the quality of the sound. In general 5-7% of total cost is adequate for investing in the cables for the system. If you are not terribly concerned with sound quality and are just listening to things like news and music in the background then you can use pretty much any cable, even the cheap one packaged with your system.
People who are more keenly interested in higher sound quality have more options. Cable specialists have products designed for increased quality and durability. Some of these cables can cost as much as five hundred dollars or more. While many people have trouble telling the difference between sound coming through the most expensive cables and through ordinary cables, there is an elite that believes that no price is too high when it comes to owning the very best equipment for the ultimate audio experience.
The basic purpose of a cable is to transfer the signal from point A to point B unadulterated. At audio frequencies the goal is to minimize losses by controlling the amount of Resistance, Inductance and Capacitance. There are four basic kinds of cables that one can use which are analog audio cables, audio video cables, audio speaker cable and digital cables.
For passing analog line-level audio signals between components, RCA connections are used. RCA audio cables are grouped in stereo pairs, with one connection for the left audio channel and one for the right. For line level analog interconnects it’s a good idea to use cables that are low in capacitance and are well shielded to eliminate interference and external noise sources from mitigating into the signal
Video Cables are possibly the most critical cables since the signals that pass through them are at very high frequencies. The higher it is, the more critical to have a proper impedance, proper shielding and good terminations that audio-video cables should provide. So, a video cable must be well shielded and must keep the proper typical impedances.
Audio speaker cables are generally quite thick, with two conductors. At the tip they may be tipped with metal pins, banana plugs, spade plugs, or even just bare wire. When connecting it is necessary to ensure closest and tightest possible connection from cable to amp or loudspeaker in order to minimize contact resistance. It is also important to remember that the speaker cable runs should be kept as short as possible and not to loop excess cable as it can potentially increase cable inductance.
There are two basic types of digital audio cables, optical and coaxial. Digital audio signals are transmitted as pulses of light by optical cables, while coaxial digital cables transfer digital audio signals. Coaxial digital cables look like standard analog RCA cables, and are usually a single cable, but analog RCA cables have normally double plugs, providing stereo audio. These both, optical and coaxial are a special group of cables.
Depending on your choice of audio requirements for sound quality, there are a host of cables available in the market. Most general purpose users do not need to look at the brands and quality of cables and the cheapest ones that come packages with the equipment work fine. Choosier customers may have to spend several hundred dollars to satiate their high quality desires. The main objective of these specialized cables is to transmit audio signals from one point to another unchanged. This involves minimizing losses by controlling Resistance, Inductance and Capacities at audio frequencies. Various specialized audio cables include audio video cables, audio speaker cable, analog ones and digital cables.