Do RCA wires Matter?

[topspin 10+ year member]

I am wondering why there is such a big price discrepancy between different brands.

Is there really a difference? I was under the impression that wires just conduct electricity, and therefore wires are wires are wires, they are all the same....

am i right, or is there a big difference?

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[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

super expensive ones dont make a big difference.

just get a good shielded pair.

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

not really

but then again probably 50 people are gonna tell me im 100% wrong and start in with a buncha technical bs

edit: i have cheap-o rca's going from headunit to fronts amp, with cheapo tiff cables going from fronts amp to sub amp , and it sounds fine to me, rcas ran right next to 1/0 power cable going to rear battery

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

All the "technical BS" points to there being no audible difference between decent cables and the super pricey ones.

 

[WantedIsHere]

yea.... they matter...imid level rcas are usually great for most... knu makes awesome rca's cheap with good quality i have used many brands of rca and last 5 installs i have gone with knu....cant beat good quality and price in one...

 

[m4i2k2e2 10+ year member]

yea and no. if you buy the ones from wal mart you could get interference. i bought some rockford fosgates, good shielded pair is all you need.

 

[audiobahnuser18 5,000+ posts]

Just get a good sheilded pair some people i know just car how they look with there setup but sound/electrical quality no diffrence at all just the brand really.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

there are those of us who prefer unshielded as well //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I've been running some $10 boss cables for years, and recently mixed in some $8 Sound Quests - never a failure, never a noise problem.

 

[XanderMoser 10+ year member]

Just watch out for "twisted pair". You don't want that for car audio because you have an unbalanced connection, not a balanced connection. Just make sure what you get is shielded. Don't spend all your money on cables instead of other equipment...Refer to this thread for more info...

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10820&highlight=twisted

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Just watch out for "twisted pair". You don't want that for car audio because you have an unbalanced connection, not a balanced connection. Just make sure what you get is shielded. Don't spend all your money on cables instead of other equipment...Refer to this thread for more info...
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10820&highlight=twisted

Twisted pair is better for noise rejection than shielded. All the decent cables out there are twisted pair design. Some are even unshielded and still don't exhibit the tendency to pick up noise. It doesn't have to be a balanced signal to benefit from twisted pair, simply AC. Most decent amps have the signal isolated from ground and that is really enough to take advantage of the noise immunity of a twisted pair cable.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

I use whatever I find used for cheap...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif