Audioquest Pearl Vs Amazon Basic HDMI cable

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So I had an Audioquest Pearl lying around the house. It came free with my Denon amp. Anyway I was planning to sell it however I was bored and I thought I would just use it.

I always swore by the Amazon Basic cable and was under the belief that HDMI 2.0 cables are all the same...oh boy I was wrong.

The picture looked much crisper and less grainy. Colours looked more natural. Upscaling seemed better. HDR mode instantly switches on without the screen going black for a bit. I was in slight shock.

I tried a certified premium cable (Monoprice) and it had the same performance as the Amazon Basics. But this Audioquest Pearl has really sold me.

Ther is a video in YouTube that compares both cables and you can clearly see a difference so it's not just me.

For people like me who want to best of the best picture I think it's worth spending a little extra.

Food for thought I guess. I would like your thoughts on this. Anyone agree or disagree?
 
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Your Source is Outputting a highly encrypted (you know jumbled up) data stream (protected by HDCP) which your Display device (equipped with a decryption Key) has to decode and then display and you believe a length of copper strands (sitting between the Source and the Display) somehow has an affect on the data (which it would have to de-crypt, alter [somehow knowing which bits to alter to improve the image] and then re-encode).

Great if it is working for you but seems a dubious claim.

Joe
 
Lol it's up to you whether you want to believe me or not. I have had my PS4 turn off my TV various times when playing HDR games. It's stopped now that I've changed the cable. Maybe I had a dud cable? Who knows?

However the part that sold me is that now it instantly switches to HDR on my TV without any black screen or lag so this cable is doing something right.

Each to their own I guess.
 
Not a problem believing you had a faulty cable which was causing switching and handshake issues.

Joe
 
However the part that sold me is that now it instantly switches to HDR on my TV without any black screen or lag so this cable is doing something right.
That is simply symptomatic of a faulty cable. You would have got the same results with a new basic cable. The temptation is always to buy an expensive one as the perception is that they will give a better PQ when a cheaper one fails. You won't get much cheaper than what Sky supply with their SkyQ boxes and I've had no problems with them on 4K signals.
 
Hope its not too late to put a reply up here: Sounds like, as others said, a bad cable and nothing to do with a 'superior' replacement.
I myself did spend a modest amount on QED cables but not with the hopes of getting greener greens, or superior spatial awareness with treble to make the angels weep - I just didn't want to ever wonder if the cables were ok (ie is that my hardware causing that issue or the cable) so I went for pricier ones in the hopes that they would be made to a more durable standard. (I'm a fiddler...I'm always unplugging and replugging things to tidy up or add new additions to the cabinet)
 
Unless it is an active cable the so long as the cable is working correctly and is the correct standard, high speed or premium cable required for a job there is no difference.

There has been comprehensive tests done to capture pixels and compare between a number of cables ranging from the cheap and nasty to the 4 figure mark. No difference in the pixel output, all the same .....
 
So I had an Audioquest Pearl lying around the house. It came free with my Denon amp. Anyway I was planning to sell it however I was bored and I thought I would just use it.

I always swore by the Amazon Basic cable and was under the belief that HDMI 2.0 cables are all the same...oh boy I was wrong.

The picture looked much crisper and less grainy. Colours looked more natural. Upscaling seemed better. HDR mode instantly switches on without the screen going black for a bit. I was in slight shock.

I tried a certified premium cable (Monoprice) and it had the same performance as the Amazon Basics. But this Audioquest Pearl has really sold me.

Ther is a video in YouTube that compares both cables and you can clearly see a difference so it's not just me.

For people like me who want to best of the best picture I think it's worth spending a little extra.

Food for thought I guess. I would like your thoughts on this. Anyone agree or disagree?
I agree with you! I know theoretically it shouldn’t make a difference but I‘ve had great success with the same cable. I suspect the difference is as much to do with the Audioquest cable actually being made to the correct spec and tolerances as anything else but for me it’s been money well spent.
 
I agree with you! I know theoretically it shouldn’t make a difference but I‘ve had great success with the same cable.

Another gullible one...

There is no theoretical about it, it has been tested to death, heck even What HiFi haven't done any HDMI reviews for years, the Pearl one was in 2011 ...

Have a read of Andy's responses back in 2010


I suspect the difference is as much to do with the Audioquest cable actually being made to the correct spec and tolerances as anything else but for me it’s been money well spent.

Well that would be a really dumb assumption. HDMI.org are responsible for the categories of cables and tests and yet Audioquest don't even do them or mention their spec. They have no premium certified cables!

It's an encrypted digital stream at the end of the day, if you disrupt it you lose the signal ... :facepalm:
 
Another gullible one...

There is no theoretical about it, it has been tested to death, heck even What HiFi haven't done any HDMI reviews for years, the Pearl one was in 2011 ...

Have a read of Andy's responses back in 2010




Well that would be a really dumb assumption. HDMI.org are responsible for the categor
Another gullible one...

There is no theoretical about it, it has been tested to death, heck even What HiFi haven't done any HDMI reviews for years, the Pearl one was in 2011 ...

Have a read of Andy's responses back in 2010




Well that would be a really dumb assumption. HDMI.org are responsible for the categories of cables and tests and yet Audioquest don't even do them or mention their spec. They have no premium certified cables!

It's an encrypted digital stream at the end of the day, if you disrupt it you lose the signal ... :facepalm:

Elvenmunky asked for other people’s thoughts and opinions and I’ve simply offered my own findings. I’m not trying to make anyone else spend money just speaking from my own personal experience.

Please read Joe Fernand’s reply as a good example of how to express opinions without using adjectives like “gullible” or ”dumb” and your post would be far more credible. Such a shame you feel it necessary to belittle whilst referencing research whose findings are different from mine. I don’t dispute their conclusions they’re just different from my own experience.

We are of course all entitled to our own opinions but we should be able to do so in a civil manner.
 
So where is your research? Sorry but saying you tried a different cable and saw a difference doesn't cut it any more. It might have been back 10 years ago but time moves on cables have had extensive testing and proven no difference.

I would love to know about the control setup in these tests. You can have different settings per input on your TV, with some tvs having different support on different inputs. This itself may be the cause of some of the differences people see. There are too many biasing factors.

For a website (audioquest) that advertises audio is directional and we listen to each cable to make sure it is the right way round is marketing hyperbole. They don't meet any of HDMI.org specs or don't seem to advertise as such.

Persisting this myth does cause people to spend unnecessary money and afaik no one had managed to win the million dollar prize for proving a difference. Heck if I was a cable company selling this stuff it would be great to win that prize. Guess what no one has done.... :(

Maybe my choice of words was a little harsh but it is somewhat frustrating when you state maybe a cable is better because it is closer to spec when the company in question does not abide by any of the rules or certify its cables. :)

I haven’t seen an HDMI cable review for years, which might explain why audioquest have no “expert” reviews of any of their HDMI cables listed on their website.
 
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The only time that Amazon Basics HDMI hasn't worked perfectly for me is the 15 metre run between my AVR and projector.

I use a fibre cable for that and I hated having to pay £50 for an HDMI cable!
 
Surely they'd only be any use if made from solid gold or, a better option, unobtanium.
 
There is a new material on the market that exceeds the specs of Unibtanium, it’s called Russandrewsite. It achieves performance beyond most materials that are normally constrained by the laws of physics. Unfortunately it also costs 10 to 20x more to achieve these feats of netherworldliness.
 
<sigh> I fail to see how a cable can make greens any greener or reds any redder. Maybe the more expensive cables have proprietary electron scrubbers.
 

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