Home Theater Hacks

Hack #57. Don't Be Swindled into Buying Overly Expensive Cables

Many salespeople will try and get you to spend thousands of dollars—just on cables! Often this is just modern-day snake oil, so be wary of what you hear.

Wiring and cabling are the plumbing of your home theater. If a plumbing salesperson came to your house and told you that all your plumbing was inadequate and had to be replaced with $1,000-per-running-foot, gold-plated, high-pressure, 6-inch-diameter piping, you would tell him to go and (insert your favorite impolite phrase here).

Don't be hustled by audio/video salespeople trying to sell you overspecified and superexpensive wiring and cabling. Here's some information to help you understand what is important and unimportant about wiring and cabling.

A Community Divided

To be fair, home theater enthusiasts are pretty divided on the subject of cables. Some insist on buying the highest-grade cables. Others opt for higherend cables, such as those from Better Cables (http://www.bettercables.com.) Still others actually will construct their own cables, such as for connecting speakers [Hack #79] and even power cables [Hack #80]. And, finally, some believe that all of this is hogwash, and they go with what others might call a lowerend cable. Note that several of these viewpoints are represented in this chapter. Read all the hacks and decide for yourself, but whatever you do, make an informed decision!

About Wires and Electricity

Let's start with a little bit about wires ...