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$499 Denon DL Link Cable Is Just Cat5!

9K views 44 replies 24 participants last post by  granduncle 
#1 ·
We all know of a certain monstrous company that waaaaaaaay overprices its cables, but now Denon has taken the prize:
AK-DL1

$499.00

Denon's 1.5 meter (59 in.) ultra premium Denon Link cable was designed for the audio enthusiast. Made from high purity copper wire and high performance connection parts, the AK-DL1 will bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction from any of our Denon DVD players with the Denon Link feature. Attention to detail when building this cable was used by empoying high quality insulation, tin-bearing alloy shielding and woven jacketing to reduce vibration and to add durability. Additionally, signal directional markings are provided for optimum signal transfer. Rounded plug levers help prevent breakage.
http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3429.asp

I've been working in the LAN/WAN/Global networking field for years and I've never come across a technical parameter of data called "nuance"... :D Sadly I expect some fools to gladly part with their money for these LAN cables and even be proud of their purchase! :rolleyes:
 
#9 ·
There are people who probably wouldn't blink at $500 for a roll of toilet paper. In fact, they probably have no idea how much it costs.

Do not doubt they will sell some of these cables...the top-of-the-line Denon HT pre-pro/amp are $14k+ here. The disc player ~$4k. etc. etc. There are people who don't have time to find out about stuff, they'd lose money spending 5 minutes to save $500. And they tend to stick to one brand, like tell the servants to have a Denon system installed...IOW they aren't enthusiasts.

To the person who mocked the directionality: if a cable is truly "directional", then that usually means the shield is only grounded at one end, usually that is the source end thus the directionality. I would be surprised if this would make the slightest diff for Cat5 cable, but I've never used Cat5 in an HT system for A/V transfer. It can make a big diff in audio (especially) and digital coaxial cables as far as noise reduction. For a buck or whatever you could put your own shield on...
 
#12 ·
^ I have a little more tolerance for pricier cables used in the analog domain, but virtually none for those in the digital domain.

When I say "tolerance", I mean I make my own out of top-quality materials...refuse to pay what they ask for inferior quality pre-made cables surrounded by real thick pretty insulation and lots of marketing mumbo jumbo.
 
#14 ·
Yep, and you can tell by the heavy duty construction that while your equipment sits motionless on its shelf for years it won't suddenly get kinks in the cable that might suddenly choke off the nuance, which could result in discomfort for your dinner party guests as they're sampling the ceviche. ;)
 
#16 ·
I just love how the jacket design reduces vibration! We all know how important it is to reduce vibration in network cables. You don't want to be shaking those bits right out of the cable
Or maybe it helps reduce the possibility of it shaking loose from it's connection?

It that street price or MSRP? If it's the latter, no store that I know sells stuff at MSRP.


Made from high purity copper wire
Everyone knows the price of copper has gone up a lot over the past year. (maybe that's one of the reasons for it's price tag) ;)
 
#17 ·
At that price it should have gold plated, solid silver conductors and connectors. I own some Denon equipment. Their high end stuff is good but definitely for audiophiles and people with too much money. The low end stuff is just "me too" equipment trading on the name. There is some decent equipment in the mid-price range for people who are heavily into A/V. A $499 cable is just a rip off unless it solves a $1000 problem. :cool:
 
#18 ·
At that price it should have gold plated, solid silver conductors and connectors
And four one-hundred dollar bills packed in with it - that's just obscene. Whenever I see a blatant money grab like this one (especially with 'nuanced' ad copy or some similar justification) it gives me a bad case of 'Monster scepticism' and makes me question the value of the manfacturer's other products.

I took a look through other manufacturer's sites to see if others were trying the same. I didn't find anything similar, and it was reassuring to see ad text like the following on Yamaha's digital cabling unit (a commercial piece):

Then you can simply connect a standard Cat-5
Ethernet cable between the console and NAI48-ES to transfer all audio channels plus remote control signals for compatible devices such as the AD8HR remote head amplifier. You can even use standard Ethernet hubs and routers to create any network configuration that suits your needs.
 
#23 ·
And four one-hundred dollar bills packed in with it - that's just obscene. Whenever I see a blatant money grab like this one (especially with 'nuanced' ad copy or some similar justification) it gives me a bad case of 'Monster scepticism' and makes me question the value of the manfacturer's other products.
Yep, Denon has gone so low to a place, where even "The Monster" would not tread. :)
 
#19 ·
The NAI48-ES is a Yamaha product for professional sound systems. No comparison. Professional audio products often use standard interfaces and deal with signals that have no encryption because they are from an original source.

OTOH, Denon's equipment deals with copy protected digital signals and must be approved by copyright holders. It took years to get 'Denon Link' approved. Now it's an expensive proprietary interface owned by Denon. Will a standard RJ45 cable work? I don't know. However, creating proprietary interfaces and charging a premium for the cables is nothing new in the home/business component market. After all, somebody has to pay for all the engineering work to design the interface and get it approved. It's just one more way that the DMCA is costing consumers tons of money with little real benefit.
 
#20 ·
Can anyone lend me one of these $499 cables? :D With my ohmmeter I'd map out the wiring and see whether it uses standard Ethernet-on-RJ45 wiring or whether they've crossed a strand or two or more.

Anyways, the point is that once I know the wiring map I can cut and crimp my own patch cable from my own Cat5E stuff and create it all for about 1/100th the cost of their cable, and I'm certain that electronically it would do just as well.
 
#21 ·
Will a standard RJ45 cable work? I don't know.
Yes it will.

From here

There was no light for Denon link evident on the player's front panel, hmm. I pulled out a generic CAT5 cable I had in my office and replaced the Denon cable that had shipped with my DVD player. Guess what? It worked just fine. Swell, Denon's supplied cable (which costs $45 by the way) was a dud and my free CAT5 cable that a friend made up for me worked perfectly. I had wondered if Denon Link was standard CAT5 and now I had my answer. If you want to install your player more than 6 feet from your receiver, you can with regular CAT5 for a few cents a foot.
 
#24 ·
The NAI48-ES is a Yamaha product for professional sound systems. No comparison.
The quote is from their DCU, not the NA148-ES - though it can be used with it. Either way, I mentioned it was from a commercial product, not a consumer product.

As for 'no comparison', I beg to differ. It's using standard RJ-45 connectors and ethernet standard wiring to communicate with other devices from the same manufacturer. At least Yamaha is calling it what it is.

Denon may be doing unique and proprietary things with their 'Denon-Link' data once inside the devices, but under the window dressing I don't see anything proprietary about that interface. The 'high quality' connectors in their 'detail' view look like the same crimp-on, plastic tabbed, gold pin RJ45 plugs one would get when building any other network cable, and the twisted 4-pair cable is visually very similar to that you'd get from any network cable supplier. When we run our company's data at gigabit transmission rates to over 300' on copper, we depend on getting good quality cable and connectors as well.

What's especially galling is the implication that spending this much cash 'will bring out all the nuances in digital audio reproduction'. From proprietary hardware and processing algorithms in their equipment - possibly, but not from using this cable.
 
#25 ·
This goes along with brands selling high price components, HDMI, coaxial and optical cables. It has been proven again and again that, in the end, there is little to no difference at all between a cable you buy say at 20$ and the one at 100$.

Denon litterally thinks they can make people think that they have the cable of choice (yeah right). Of course there are always suckers for stuff like this and if they don't research they deserve to be robbed that much.

Denon is obviously considered an "elite" brand where a sale of only 1 receiver is the equivalent of 10-20 receivers for other manufacturers which is why they can afford to sell less units. However, things like these never last and we have seen "elite" brands go down big time.

Look at Sony. They were once considered "the brand" to get. Not anymore (I'm not giving Sony hate here as I have many products of theirs, I'm just stating fact)!

In the end it's also the consumer authorities that have to look into these kind of things and ask manufacturers like Denon (or Monster) their justifications for such a high price product when two shelves below you can get (and lets be honest with each other for every day use) THE SAME thing for 10$.:rolleyes:
 
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