There are several types and dozens of brands of audio cables. The choice depends on what one wants to hook up and how concerned one is about sound quality. Generally speaking, 5-7% of the total system cost is considered adequate to be invested in cables. If one’s just listening to background music, news shows, etc., or if sound quality isn’t all that important, one can use practically any cable - even the cheap ones that come packaged with many audio components.
The true audiophile believes that only the best will do, and they will commit the dollars to obtain cables that are not only sturdier, but provide optimum performance of their audio system. You can spend hundreds of dollars for audio cables, audio interconnect and gold plated connectors, but to the audio elitist the price is worth it, not only for the sound quality, but also for bragging rights. Still to many of us, it is hard to justify the added expense for the improved sound quality.
The four different types of cables are analog audio cables, audio video cables, audio speaker cable and digital cables. Their job is to move a signal from one point to another without unchanged. This is accomplished along with minimizeing losses, through control of the amount of Resistance, Inductance and Capacitance at audio frequencies.
To pass analogue line level audio signal between componets, RCA connections are employed. RCA audio cables are joined in stereo couples, with a connection for the right channel and one for the right channel of audio. For line level analogue connections it is a good idea to employ cables which have low capacitance and properly shielded to avoid interferences and external noises from getting to mix to the signal.
Video Cables may be the most important cables as the signals that are passed through these cables are at a very high frequency. The higher the frequency, more critical it is to have proper impedance, adequate shielding and solid terminations which audio video cables provide. Thus, a video cable should be well shielded and should maintain the proper characteristic impedance.
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.
Audio cables come in two different types and are usually a single cable. The first type is an optical cable; it transmits digital audio signals as pulses of light. The second form is coaxial cables look like standard analog cables, but what they do is transfer digital audio signals.
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.