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HDMI confusion: Monoprice vs. Blue Jeans

So I read the Audioholics 50 cable HDMI shootout, and became convinced that HDMI either passes or fails. That is, it either successfully transmits 1080P data (for example) or it does not.

I happened to have a 6 foot Monoprice HDMI cable and a 6 foot Blue Jeams HDMI as well. For the heck of it, I ran both cables from my cable box (1080i), DVD player (480i), and XBox (1080p) just for the sake of comparison.

The thing is, the Blue Jeans cable definitely had bolder colors, and the Monoprice definitely was a bit more muted but slightly more detailed in presenting images. Another possibility, of course, is that I am clinically insane.

So does this mean that there actually *are* differences among HDMI cables, just as there would be among component video cables (I tried several of those before settling on Tara Labs RSC)? Or am I simply a crazy person who saw non-existent differences and the signal passed (as opposed to failed) on both cables and looked identical, and my eyes simply deceived me.

Any assistance on this issue would be greatly appreciated, especially as concerns other HDMI cables you've tried and loved vis-a-vis others (if indeed such distinctions exist in HDMI cables).

Thanks!
thedautch
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,982 posts
 
I A/B'ed an $8.00 HDMI cable from Firefold versus a $150 top-of-the-line Monster Cable and actually preferred the Firefold.
buff's avatar
buff
210 posts
 
There are differences in HDMI cables. It does not mean that a $500 cable is better, but there certainly are differences. There are some very high performance cost effective cables out there too. Wireworld for instance.
hifisoundguy
630 posts
 
The very cheap HDMI cables do not have accurate colors and they have poor depth of field and poor color depth and they use very cheap connectors and do not last very long too. The better and much higher priced HDMI cables gives you an amazing depth of field and very accurate colors and great color depth. The best HDMI cable that I have found is Wegrzyn's pure 4N solid-core silver signature HDMI cable...it uses the best pure silver..and best silver solder and HDMI connectors that money can buy. I'm not connected to this company in any way.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
I found monoprice to be much better than stock cable. I bough the Wireworld Silver [used] it is visably better as is the Van den Hul I got for my wife's TV. But not in the proportion of cost to performance. Anybody who is still using stock needs to go to the monoprice or other good cable. The more expensive ones CAN be better but the law of diminishing returns sets in.
m297904
93 posts
 
If you choose Monoprice, be sure to choose the Professional or Premium version. The most significant difference is the gauge of the wire used - 22 or 24 vs 26 or 28ga.
For short lengths, the gauge may not be a factor for signal loss but the chances of getting a quality soldered internal connection is much higher with the heavier gauge.

I've opened up enough cables to know that a quality soldered connection is NOT a given - even for high-priced boutique cables.
The quality of the connection has a HUGE influence on the quality of the signal. More so than the wire itself especially for short runs.
Durability of the cable itself is another factor to consider - 28ga is not a good choice for something that may be flexed a lot.
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