For audio these do make some sense… for any others like hdmi though…
Nope. There is no data to back that up.
Audio cables are an analog signal, this means signal integrity matters more as it has a direct impact on sound quality. We use gold conctact on things because it prevents corrosion and has lower resistance. On a HDMI cable it won’t impact quality at all (it’s digital) but might reduce corrosion enough to increase the life of the cable.
analog audio, yes maybe. But not digital. Digital does not work like that.
You mean analog cables like those shown in the picture?
Only (consumer) digital audio cable i own is a usb headset and apparently gold plated usb is so stupid there not even trying to sell those.
I am not convinced that the meme author didn’t know what they where doing and this is ragebait though.
Gold protects from corrosion it makes equal sense on a 3.5mm caböe and an hdmi connector.
From what I can recall, the reason gold plating is so common is because it protects the connector from wear and corrosion.
That’s right, but it’s mostly good for a more permanent connection. Like a patched music console. Fun fact. Chrome nickel ends for gigging musicians are typically better since they are constantly being plugged and unplugged. If you use gold ends on cables you’re constantly disconnecting and reconnecting you will just wear away the plating more quickly.
This is a bad example. Aux cables use analog signals therefore signal integrity actually matters for sound quality. If this was a cable used for digital signals like SPDIF of HDMI or USB then it wouldn’t effect quality; that being said using gold or another coating (someone mentioned chrome nickel) will help with reliability and corrosion over time.
It’s actually a good example. Putting aside corrosion, there is no difference in sound (that’s what the meme is about). Coming to corrosion: oxidation will increase the contact resistance which is not frequency dependent. So, at max, it will make the signal slightly smaller but not “worse”.
Actually, mixing gold-plated plugs and tinned receptacle contacts is even worse considering the mismatch in contact resistance
Gold plated is good, because gold is rather chemically inert. Oxydation of steel/aluminium will cause small contact points of high resistance, that cause heat and accelerate oxydation. Rarely a problem though, and very easy to hear. One problem you might get with cables is if a long signal cable is too thick and long it can act as a capacitor and filter out a bit off the high frequencies. All in all “audiofile” grade cables are bullshit at best.
There was a website sound-westhost or something where they wrote good about a lot of audio topics. I can dig it up if you are interested and can’t find it yourself.
