How to try to justify the high price of a cable and make a serious mistake when evaluating its characteristics
If the already famous Apple chamois for 25 euros seemed expensive to you, you will surely be shocked to know that AudioQuest sells an HDMI cable for the modest figure of 4,500 dollars. And it is true that it is of very good quality, although not only does it not improve on the best that Apple sells, but it also its price is not justified and it is more than likely due to an error of perception.
In a way, it is a bit reminiscent of what happened with Apple’s USB-C cable for 180 euros, which was highly criticized for that price and the truth is that it had good reasons to be justified. In the case of AudioQuest, they cannot justify that price, which far exceeds other identical cables.
Why does a “simple” HDMI cable cost so much?
We would understand that this HDMI could be a special version bathed in gold or with some special element that, although it does not improve its functionality, can serve to satisfy those types of consumers (which there are) who want to show off luxuries even in accessories like this. However, this does not seem to be the manufacturer’s goal.
It was in a Reddit thread where this AudioQuest cable first appeared for exactly $4,495 (about 4,200 euros). It is a cable of about 25.4 centimeters in length, which uses the HDMI 2.1 standard, and is capable of transporting images of up to 8 and 10K, in addition to a speed of 48 Gb per second. All topped with a silver conductive material and offering level 6 noise dissipation.
The conductor material, the manufacturer’s excuse to sell a cable for almost $4,500. And it is also a mistake
Some users on Reddit believed it was a mistake, but if we take a look at the manufacturer’s website, we can see that that $4,495 cable is not the only one with a high price. Given the circumstances, GameStar wrote to the manufacturer and obtained the following response (translated):
“The quality of the conductive metal is critical to the best performance of the cable because the conductor surface is the only area of the conductor with 100% current density at all frequencies. The smoothness of the conductor surface is of utmost importance because The surface is a guide rail for the entire energy envelope. The best conductive metals have fewer grain boundaries and a low oxygen content for low distortion and high performance.”
This being the case, we can even understand the high price. However, the manufacturer makes a serious mistake in this. And in digital cables like this one, the quality of the conducting metal does not affect it in the same way as in analogue cables and therefore is not influential when it comes to dissipating noise. At least not in cables with a length that, as in this case, is only a quarter of a metre.
Another unequivocal excuse that it is an unjustified price
Also The manufacturer raises doubts about noise dissipation. Or at least, it’s not convincing enough. Also asked by the aforementioned media, they stated the following:
“Unwanted radio frequency (RF) noise has always been picked up and induced in the cable. This contamination ultimately masks and distorts critical parts of the audio/video signal. Because this (parasitic) RF signal that causes distortion is more present today than ever in history, we must rely on a broader arsenal of noise dissipation technologies: Our Level 6 is our highest level and consists of DBS Level RF noise from graphene and carbon.”
At this point we must take into account that Optical audio outputs are immune to electromagnetic interference thanks mainly to the fact that these are transmitted through light and not through electricity. Therefore, although it is not a manufacturer’s error, it is true that it does not serve as a justification for that high price.
Perhaps the excuse could be its good quality for audio transmission, but the truth is that experts usually opt for other types of cables in analog format, since they continue to offer better quality than digital cables like this one.
If we pay attention to the recommendations of the HDMI standard, technically Any cable that meets certain minimums will work and could be worth just 20 euros.. Obviously, as with almost any product, depending on use and expectations, it may be worth investing a little more. However, reaching those prices seems absurd. Especially when you get the same thing for much less.
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