What makes a good cable?

Good cable quality is a prerequisite for good performance

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."

This well-known saying symbolises the importance of high-quality cable technology in electronic systems, such as audio or video cables. The reason for this is simple: if performance is wasted in second-rate cables, even the finest components will have no effect elsewhere. The best or most expensive cable should not be bought blindly, because it cannot utilise its quality advantage in less demanding applications. Instead, the cable quality should be selected according to the area of application. A keyboard, for example, does not need a USB cable with the best possible shielding or gold-plated contacts to connect to the PC. However, when using an external hard drive, these features can make a significant contribution to the most interference-free, stable data transfer possible.

Signal transmission in the audio/video sector is also a particularly fault-intolerant application. Only by using high-quality materials (e.g. solid copper conductors and gold-plated contacts), selecting the right wire cross-section and good shielding and sheathing can excellent image and sound transmission be guaranteed. In the following, we will take a closer look at the properties just mentioned to help you find the right cable for you.

Quality factors

The wire cross-section

The importance of the wire cross-section can be illustrated using the example of a tap: If the diameter is particularly large, more water can flow through the tap. Applied to a cable, this means that the larger the core cross-section, the better the transmission properties. As thicker cables are more expensive and bulkier than thin ones, the principle here is: as thick as necessary, as thin as possible. The smallest possible cross-section - and therefore a large part of the overall cable quality - depends on various factors: The higher the quality of the core material, the lower the power to be transmitted, the higher the speaker impedance for audio signals and the shorter the cable, the thinner the cross-section can be selected.

The AWG number comes into play with the wire cross-section. This American coding (AWG = American Wire Gauge) for copper wires determines the wire thickness and the permissible attenuation, whereby a lower AWG value represents a thicker wire and therefore better transmission properties.

The material

The performance and benefits of a cable are significantly influenced by the material used. Various cable technologies are available for private users and industry. Copper cables offer many practical advantages. Due to their elasticity, they can be laid flexibly and are particularly physically resilient. As they hardly rust, they have a long service life. Copper cladded aluminium alloys (CCA), which we take a closer look at in the article "Loudspeaker cables", are characterised in particular by their good price-performance ratio.

Glass fibre is the most commonly used material among fibre optic cables. As a non-metal, this material is absolutely corrosion-free, resistant to interference and works without resistance. This means that considerably more data can be transported over longer distances with the same diameter than with copper. However, a large part of the fibre optic network is still being expanded, which is why copper is still dominant in many households. In contrast, fibre optic cables are now very frequently used in high-performance, closed systems.

Sheathing

The cable sheath is the outer protection for the core or cores. It protects the inside of the cable against mechanical stresses, environmental influences or destruction by chemical substances. It also provides contact protection so that people do not come into contact with the electrical conductor. If necessary, it can also withstand rodent bites thanks to special reinforcements. Halogen-free sheaths, which are flame-retardant due to their composition and therefore provide fire protection, are of particular importance. This is an important safety aspect.

For plugs and sockets (so-called connectors), a reliable and consistent signal flow at the contact point is essential. Gold shines here with perfect properties and provides smooth contact surfaces as well as protection against rust and wear. The aforementioned aspect of shielding also plays a role with connectors. Even the best cable technology and the best cable protection will come to nothing if the transmission is exposed to electromagnetic interference in the connector area due to a lack of shielding. A shielded cable and a shielded plug therefore ensure transmission quality: this is where the wheat is literally separated from the chaff!

Interference suppression components - crucial for cable quality

Shielding

Cables transport energy in the form of light (fibre optic cables) or electricity (e.g. USB cables or patch cables). Even connectors with the best cable quality are subject to interference from other electromagnetic fields. A well-known example is the interference in audio signals caused by ringing or locating mobile phones. The installed cable technology can provide a remedy here: Cable shielding protects the signal from this type of interference. For this purpose, the cables are covered with a metal foil or wire mesh. A distinction is made here between the shielding of the wire pairs and the conductor bundles.

Both variants are used for particularly high-quality cables. If too little attention is paid to the shielding, data packets in patch cables, for example, sometimes have to be sent several times until the transmission is completed correctly. This results in an overall reduction in data throughput. The formula is therefore simple: the better the shielding, the better the signal transmission. The high quality of the high-quality patch cables from InLine® is even proven by a test protocol.

Sheathing

Ferritkerne

USB cables are only one area of application for so-called ferrite cores to suppress the signal. They are particularly suitable for high-power devices without their own power supply (e.g. 2.5" hard drives) and smooth out signal unevenness that can be caused by hubs or cable lengths of over 1.80 metres.

Comparison of InLine cables and inferior cables

With this example, we would like to show you the differences in quality using the example of an HDMI cable. At first glance, the cables look the same and were sold with the identical product designation. The content makes the difference.

Comparison product with the same article description

The comparable product has a total of only 13 cores with an overall thinner core cross-section.

Useless filler material, mesh (50% of the cable cross-section!)
No plastic foil around the 4 aluminium-shielded wire pairs
Wire pairs not "twisted pair"
Strands for "ground" missing
Only one single strand for earth

HDMI high-speed cable from InLine

The InLine cable has 15 signal wires and an additional 4x earth for the wire pairs. We achieve even better signal quality by using a thicker wire cross-section for the crucial strands.

Braided shielding available
Foil shielding
Aluminium foil per wire pair
1x earth to total earthing
Ground

The difference becomes even clearer in the detailed view. In the third-party cable, the white, useless filling material takes up approx. 50% of the cable cross-section. The cable sheath is also significantly thicker than the InLine cable. High-quality cables, such as those from InLine, utilise this unused space for more strands with a significantly thicker diameter and additional braided shielding, which can optimally shield signals from external interference factors.

Quality cable from InLine

Cables can be found at very different prices. High-quality cables are generally expensive. With an in-line cable, however, you get more than just a connection - you invest in reliable, interference-free signal transmission that makes images sharper and sound clearer.

Thanks to high-quality materials and special shielding, InLine cables minimise interference and ensure an optimal experience, especially with high-resolution content. The long-lasting quality also saves you replacement costs in the long term. A small additional investment that pays off - for interference-free enjoyment and the best performance you can expect from InLine.

InLine® USB 3.2 Gen.1x2 Cable, USB-C male / USB-A male, black, 2m

7 Variants available.

InLine® USB 3.2 Gen.1x2 Cable, USB-C male / USB-A male

The InLine® USB 3.2 cable, with USB-C plug to USB-A plug, enables fast data transfers of up to 10 Gb/s, supports powerful charging with max. 27W and impresses with its robust workmanship and optimum shielding.USB 3.2 Gen.1x2 cable USB-C plug to USB-A...

InLine® HDMI cable, HDMI High Speed with Ethernet, male / male, black, 1.5m

18 Variants available.

InLine® HDMI cables, HDMI High Speed with Ethernet, M / M

Optimal price-performance ratio: Cost-efficient alternative with up to 50% savings compared to premium cables. Suitable for fixed installations: Ideal for workplaces, conference rooms or home theaters where the cable remains permanently installed. Lo...

InLine® Patch cable, S/FTP (PiMf), Cat.6, halogen-free, copper, green, 15m

86 Variants available.

InLine® Patch Cable S/FTP PiMF Cat.6 250MHz copper halogen free

Interference-free Gigabit transmission: Double S/FTP shielding (PiMf) for stable network connections up to 250 MHz. Halogen-free cable sheathing: Ideal for safety-critical environments such as public institutions and industrial facilities. Reliable s...

InLine® SAT Cable Premium 2x shielded 2x F-male >85dB black 1m

5 Variants available.

SAT cable premium, InLine®, 2x shielded, 2x F-plug, >85dB, black

SAT connection cable with F-connectors, double-shielded, >85 dB for low-interference signal transmission Low-interference signal transmission: Double shielding consisting of aluminium foil and aluminium braiding reduces external interference and e...