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Just like anything else in life, quality can make a noticeable difference. A cable that costs you $1.72 might have unreliable solder connections, poor insulators, incorrectly aligned pins, low grade metals and cheap components. You should consider brands like Audioquest, Pro Solutions, Monster. Yes, you'll pay a bit more, but you'll know you've got good quality cables connecting your good quality gear. Don't forget that power conditioner/surge protector (Panamax or Monster are recommended).
I paid $1.65 on ebay after listening to a radio station engineer tell about getting a great deal on surplus cable and making their own cables. He went on about how people were getting ripped of by gold tipped connectors and super shielded cables when the transmission difference between common run cable and the high end stuff was bearly measurable on the oscilloscopes. It seems that most of the difference is strictly in the perception and thus the expectation of a difference.
The quality of my picture and sound is so good I could not tell any difference when I compared with a $139 monster cable. Guess which cable went back to the store?
Logically, if you buy something at a higher price, then you would expect higher quality! The thing that I learned in life is not black and white, but there is a middle area!
For my HDMI, I got a Sony just because it goes with my Sony HDTV and my Sony PS3!
I have the cheap $3 cables from Amazon as well as a $60 one that came with the component I purchased. Neither one is better than the other.
I will agree with the above post on that the cheaper one is probably not going to last a long if its handled often (plug/unplug, coil/uncoil etc)... but at 20 times the cost, I can have 10 laying around and still save 50%. And for me, those cables have never been touched since I plugged them in.
The only time I would be concerned is if I have a longer than average run.
But for average distances (6-8')I absolutely see no need to pay THAT much more. Albeit I've come to the conclusion that buying cables (any type) at big box stores are just rip offs.... Ethernet cables at $20-$30 a run? um.... the $25 router comes with 2 cables.
I paid $1.65 on ebay after listening to a radio station engineer tell about getting a great deal on surplus cable and making their own cables. He went on about how people were getting ripped of by gold tipped connectors and super shielded cables when the transmission difference between common run cable and the high end stuff was bearly measurable on the oscilloscopes.
Your engineer friend is right. I've worked with television engineers and most of them make their own cables. Those guys and gals know that there's nothing magical about the signals that travel down these cables. Either a cable works or it doesn't.
If you think your gear is important, just imagine how important a piece of equipment is at a radio or TV station. Signals pass through there that are viewed/heard by many thousands of people. Commercials pass through there which mean many thousands of dollars of revenue for the station. If cables s/he made caused bad pictures and sound, do you think an engineer would keep his/her job very long? When the stakes are high, the people who know choose inexpensive cables.
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