school me on rca's

[KRYPTO 10+ year member]

Going with a sound quality build and looking for a nice set of cables. What should I look for in them, are the subwoofer cables actually special?

What does the db ratings stand for?

Any brands to look at or stay away?

General info, advise, or recommendations would be grateful

Thanks

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[Wingsfreak9 10+ year member]

check out knu's new line of mks rca's...pricey but built well

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

As long as there not the no name brands ure usually fine. I had xscorpions, tsunamis, memphis and changed to RF from xscorpion just the other day, sounds the same to me(this was on sub). Ive never seen a real change among car audio brands. Just atleaste get a decent brand, kicker, RF, memphis. Im sure with knu's there made with higher quality wire but ive never heard em so cant input on that.... My tsunamis lasted about a 2years then died >.> Ive come to believe they kill my PR1000.1's bran new inputs also so dont buy there RCA's lol

 

[Wingsfreak9 10+ year member]

just make sure whichever rca's you decide to go with are shielded

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

I look for twisted pair and sturdy construction.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

I remember reading a big debate about this in the last month or so, (shielded over twisted) and which ones work for car audio and home audio. IIRC, twisted was best for car, and shielded was best for HT. I'm sure a few others will chime in here soon enough.

But if I suggested some, it'd be Knu's Karma SS cables: http://www.knukonceptz.com/productMaster.cfm?category=Karma%20SS%20RCA%20Kables

should get the job done, or their next step up, the Krystals, are very good looking.

From what I recall, for subwoofers, interference isn't as much of a worry for their narrow fq range. But higher quality ones are recommended for the speaker amps, IF you are getting interference.

 

---------- Post added at 08:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:59 AM ----------

 

I remember reading a big debate about this in the last month or so, (shielded over twisted) and which ones work for car audio and home audio. IIRC, twisted was best for car, and shielded was best for HT. I'm sure a few others will chime in here soon enough.

But if I suggested some, it'd be Knu's Karma SS cables: KnuKonceptz - view products for category Karma SS RCA Kables

should get the job done, or their next step up, the Krystals, are very good looking.

From what I recall, for subwoofers, interference isn't as much of a worry for their narrow fq range. But higher quality ones are recommended for the speaker amps, IF you are getting interference.

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

I'ver tried everything in the middle budget range they all sound the same to me. Only difference I've ever had was between the cheap rcas and the middle class ones, the cheapos pick up electical noise pretty easy and kindly add it to you music for a nice little constant buzz ambiance. Supposedly the high end RCAs have better sound quality, but I just don't think the difference is enough to warrent the $ unless $ isn't an issue.

 

[KRYPTO 10+ year member]

Cash isn't an issue

I was looking at Moster 400 series, and Stinger HMP3 (I believe)

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

Knu is better value and quality than Monster and Stinger

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

The Knu Krystals are really nice for their price. They are heavily shielded so they are kinda thick.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I've used everything from Radio Shack to Monster cables and never noticed a difference. Nowadays I use whatever Crutchfield is selling.

Twisted RCA's are a waste of money. Unless the amp's inputs are differential it makes no difference, regardless of what the advertising hype says.

 

[Spaz v1]

Audio Cables - RCA & 3.5mm

 

[Z1NONLY 10+ year member]

I've used everything from Radio Shack to Monster cables and never noticed a difference. Nowadays I use whatever Crutchfield is selling.
Twisted RCA's are a waste of money. Unless the amp's inputs are differential it makes no difference, regardless of what the advertising hype says.

Sure, grounding one of the conductors kills the natural noise-cancellation properties of twisted pair, but many amps run balanced inputs now, making twisted pair almost a no-brainer.

 

[KRYPTO 10+ year member]

What about the db ratings, specs and science that goes into a quality set (signal loss, ohms, channel crossing, etc) type of connectors, gold plating stuff like that

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

What about the db ratings, specs and science that goes into a quality set (signal loss, ohms, channel crossing, etc) type of connectors, gold plating stuff like that

You mean marketing hype?