Review of Audio Cables.

Audio cables. The connectivity of your home theater system is crucial to its performance. Believe it or not there are multiple different ways to connect the components of your home theater system. There are also just as many cable choices to connect all of them as well.

NOTE: - Click if you are looking for information specifically on speaker cables to connect your receiver to your home theater speakers.

Many home theater packages (Home Theater in a Box) contain all the cables you will need to connect your system, both audio and video. If not, then you're in the same boat as everyone else. You face the complicated and daunting task of buying the right cables, at the right length to reach between your components, and with appropriate and useful options such as gold plating. If left to defend for yourself, I will outline all of the possible cable types below. Review what equipment you have and which audio cables you will need from the choices below.

RCA cable This is an outdated analog cable. It is otherwise know as the red and white or left and right channel audio cable. This connection is not for home theater. You will most likely use this connection for camcorders, VCRs, cable boxes, satellite receiver, and other peripheral components.

Optical (Toslink) Digital Audio cable This is one of the current standards for audio connection between your DVD player and receiver. This cable allows for transfer of multi-channel digital audio signals between the DVD player and receiver. Dolby Digital and DTS sound decoding requires either this audio cable or the next type.

Coaxial Digital Audio cable The other standard for digital audio connectivity. This cable will also connect your DVD player to your receiver to allow for multi-channel (5.1, 6.1, and 7.1) digital sound. This is Dolby Digital and DTS sound.

For any cable you require, you will invariably have 3 choices or options when you are ready to purchase. Pressure within the industry has chosen the "monster" cable as the premium choice. It certainly is with regard to price. You will also be faced with a mid-level choice as well as a discount or "bargain" choice priced well below the other two options. Click to see all audio cables available .

I urge you not to consider the bargain or low priced option regardless of how attractive it seems compared to the other choices. There is a difference in the performance of these three cable options. The mid-level pick is a good choice, the "monster" cable is actually better. Seriously, the pundits will try to convince you that the larger diameter "monster" cable is superior. They are partly right. In the future it will be. By future I mean within 2-3 years. Make the investment now. Don't waste money now only to upgrade in the future.

Go with the premium choice.