Hello everybody,
I am an owner of a midrange Home-Cinema separates (Denon DBP-4010UD player + Denon AVR-3808A receiver + set of 5.1 custom made horn-speakers).
A few years ago, when I built my system, I believed I shoud use a bunch of good quality interconnects, so for the HDMI section I chose the super-duper and award-winning Van Den Hul Flat HDMI cable, worth no less than 70 GBP for a 1.5m length. I bought a total of 4 interconnects.
I believe it is proper to mention that all VDH Flat cables were bought from an official reseller, they came sealed in their original packaging, so there was no doubt of their genuine nature and origin. Well, the first 'red light' came out when I began installing those cables - I noticed that they were extremely stiff and rigid, abnormal for a home system interconnect - infact there was no felixibility at all, so making all those connections was not an easy job. Finally, everything was laid correctly and securely and seemed to work OK.
Unfortunately, sometime ago I noticed that there is a problem with the HDMI connection between the player and the receiver - signal drop-outs and breaking, audio and video suddenly disappearing, HDMI input icon missing on the receiver, etc. It happened with all types of media played - BR, CD, DVD, Super Audio CD, DVD Audio, etc.
So, I started examining the situation. I looked carefully over the HDMI sockets on the player and the receiver - they seemed fine, VDH cable plugs fit in there securely, nothing appeared loose or damaged. Then I connected the player directly to my TV, using the same VDH Flat cable - the problem persisted, poor HDMI connection with drop-outs.
Well, it all appeared then that my Denon DBP-4010UD player has a problematic or burnt-out HDMI section. By this time i NEVER EVER suspected something could be wrong with the renowned Van Den Hul Flat HDMI cable.
Before taking my player out for servicing, I decided, just in case, to test it with another HDMI cable. I disconnected the VDH Flat and put in some cheap and noname cable-operator supplied HDMI lead.
And... everything worked just great! I tried all types of audio and video - Stereo PCM, Blu-Ray stream, DD and DTS 5.1 - everything was absolutely flawless - picture, colors, contrast, music and voice - everything! No drop-outs, no signal breaking, no flashing HDMI icon.
I have to admit, it was a kind of a shock for me - the almighty Van Den Hul Flat was proven wrong and defective!
Leaving the emotions aside, I decided to reveal and denounce this multiple-award-winner piece of junk, using a simple knife, a pair of clippers and a camera, forgetting about my badly-spent 70 quid.
The results were no less than HORRIFIC!
1. Cable disassembled. Note the yellowish latex-like outer shell and the whitish plastic core, that is very stiff and not flexible at all. Cheap, ugly and plain-looking materials, seem absolutely not in place, nothing in common with Home Cinema/Hi-Fi:
2. The so-called 'insulation' and 'screening' - deficient and skimpy. As you can see, there is only a thin foil arount the 5 groups of conductors, no mesh or copper braid present, no individual or overall screening either. Simply unbelievable:
3. The heart of the cable - the conductors themselves. The biggest disappointment ever.
You can easily notice that these poor-looking stranded wires have nothing to do with copper or silver, they are infact made of some cheap metal. Moreover - on one of the photos the multi-strand conductor is found corroded and blackened, which is not acceptable at all for such an awarded equpment. I don't know what Van Den Hul think of OXYGEN FREE COPPER SOLID CORE (OK, no silver added if its too expensive), but using a 50p cheap multistrand noname material conductor for making a 70 GBP interconnect, is no less than a clear insult to all their customers and a big rip-off at the same time.
4. And finally - the HDMI plug and soldering. They looked so-so, with a lot to be desired about casing and solder points. Cheap nylon housing, not so proper welding, only the copper foil around the inside made a good impression. Due to technical reasons I did not make photos of these, but believe me, it was not 'land of milk and honey' at all.
Well, that's my story. I hope someone will find it helpful and enlightening. No need to say I am deeply disappointed. I've heard and read about 'paid reviews' of selected merchants and/or manufacturers, but I did never believe such a piece of junk could earn that many wins and 5-star ratings. As you did see above, there is nothing so special inside, just the opposite - cheap materials, bad insulation, poor screening, horrible low-level conductors, mediocre assembly. Even 7 GBP is shamefully much for this glitch, not to speak of the real retail price of 70 GBP.
I feel obliged to declare that I am not a Home-Cinema/Hi-Fi professional, I do not work in a competitive company, I am a private customer and this thread is only my initiative.
I am open to questions, suggestions or comments, there is nothing to hide or keep.
I am an owner of a midrange Home-Cinema separates (Denon DBP-4010UD player + Denon AVR-3808A receiver + set of 5.1 custom made horn-speakers).
A few years ago, when I built my system, I believed I shoud use a bunch of good quality interconnects, so for the HDMI section I chose the super-duper and award-winning Van Den Hul Flat HDMI cable, worth no less than 70 GBP for a 1.5m length. I bought a total of 4 interconnects.
I believe it is proper to mention that all VDH Flat cables were bought from an official reseller, they came sealed in their original packaging, so there was no doubt of their genuine nature and origin. Well, the first 'red light' came out when I began installing those cables - I noticed that they were extremely stiff and rigid, abnormal for a home system interconnect - infact there was no felixibility at all, so making all those connections was not an easy job. Finally, everything was laid correctly and securely and seemed to work OK.
Unfortunately, sometime ago I noticed that there is a problem with the HDMI connection between the player and the receiver - signal drop-outs and breaking, audio and video suddenly disappearing, HDMI input icon missing on the receiver, etc. It happened with all types of media played - BR, CD, DVD, Super Audio CD, DVD Audio, etc.
So, I started examining the situation. I looked carefully over the HDMI sockets on the player and the receiver - they seemed fine, VDH cable plugs fit in there securely, nothing appeared loose or damaged. Then I connected the player directly to my TV, using the same VDH Flat cable - the problem persisted, poor HDMI connection with drop-outs.
Well, it all appeared then that my Denon DBP-4010UD player has a problematic or burnt-out HDMI section. By this time i NEVER EVER suspected something could be wrong with the renowned Van Den Hul Flat HDMI cable.
Before taking my player out for servicing, I decided, just in case, to test it with another HDMI cable. I disconnected the VDH Flat and put in some cheap and noname cable-operator supplied HDMI lead.
And... everything worked just great! I tried all types of audio and video - Stereo PCM, Blu-Ray stream, DD and DTS 5.1 - everything was absolutely flawless - picture, colors, contrast, music and voice - everything! No drop-outs, no signal breaking, no flashing HDMI icon.
I have to admit, it was a kind of a shock for me - the almighty Van Den Hul Flat was proven wrong and defective!
Leaving the emotions aside, I decided to reveal and denounce this multiple-award-winner piece of junk, using a simple knife, a pair of clippers and a camera, forgetting about my badly-spent 70 quid.
The results were no less than HORRIFIC!
1. Cable disassembled. Note the yellowish latex-like outer shell and the whitish plastic core, that is very stiff and not flexible at all. Cheap, ugly and plain-looking materials, seem absolutely not in place, nothing in common with Home Cinema/Hi-Fi:
2. The so-called 'insulation' and 'screening' - deficient and skimpy. As you can see, there is only a thin foil arount the 5 groups of conductors, no mesh or copper braid present, no individual or overall screening either. Simply unbelievable:
3. The heart of the cable - the conductors themselves. The biggest disappointment ever.
You can easily notice that these poor-looking stranded wires have nothing to do with copper or silver, they are infact made of some cheap metal. Moreover - on one of the photos the multi-strand conductor is found corroded and blackened, which is not acceptable at all for such an awarded equpment. I don't know what Van Den Hul think of OXYGEN FREE COPPER SOLID CORE (OK, no silver added if its too expensive), but using a 50p cheap multistrand noname material conductor for making a 70 GBP interconnect, is no less than a clear insult to all their customers and a big rip-off at the same time.
4. And finally - the HDMI plug and soldering. They looked so-so, with a lot to be desired about casing and solder points. Cheap nylon housing, not so proper welding, only the copper foil around the inside made a good impression. Due to technical reasons I did not make photos of these, but believe me, it was not 'land of milk and honey' at all.
Well, that's my story. I hope someone will find it helpful and enlightening. No need to say I am deeply disappointed. I've heard and read about 'paid reviews' of selected merchants and/or manufacturers, but I did never believe such a piece of junk could earn that many wins and 5-star ratings. As you did see above, there is nothing so special inside, just the opposite - cheap materials, bad insulation, poor screening, horrible low-level conductors, mediocre assembly. Even 7 GBP is shamefully much for this glitch, not to speak of the real retail price of 70 GBP.
I feel obliged to declare that I am not a Home-Cinema/Hi-Fi professional, I do not work in a competitive company, I am a private customer and this thread is only my initiative.
I am open to questions, suggestions or comments, there is nothing to hide or keep.
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