Problem with unidirectional HDMI cable

Support
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If I turn on the AVR with the NUC PC already on then I have to reboot before I can see the amp; this can take 5-10 minutes. This is not the way I want to run Roon.

I believe that my AudioQuest HDMI cable is the problem here. The cable is directional and the handshaking seems only to work if I turn the AVR on first.

How do others get around this issue? Can someone suggest an audiophile quality HDMI cable that works in both directions?

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try with an hdmi,org certified cable:

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There’s no such thing as a “unidirectional” cable. As @kc1 said, try a different cable, ideally one you’ve tested on some other system to make sure it works.

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that’s exactly the reason they have the ^^ certification program, so that you won’t need to try cables every time :wink:

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OK so I meant directional HDMI for goodness sake.

Before I got Roon, I played my audio on the same NUC PC via Foobar2000. I found the AudioQuest cable made a notable difference to sound quality. But then I wasn’t running the NUC PC as an always-on server. Now I would like to have Roon always available.

Are you suggesting that any certified HDMI cable will sound as good as the AudioQuest with my Arcam AVR?

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Any single specimen of even a high quality certified cable can be broken though. Not that I ever actually had a broken $10 HDMI cable from Office Depot, but it’s a possibility :slight_smile:

A “unidirectional” cable, of course, is broken by design and unlikely to work at all anyway…

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I use certified HDMI 2.1b ones (as above) which means they will do what they are designed to do.

Haven’t even seen any AudioQuest cables in the Licensed list:

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That’s interesting; I haven’t seen that list before.

I note that the Chord HDMI cables aren’t on the list either, and they are directional also.

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if you look at the hdmi specs, Ethernet Channel (HEC), Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), etc are bidirectional. So obviously, their cables do not adhere to the specs, or they didn’t bother to send them to be tested …

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Same difference :slight_smile: there’s alternating current going through these cables, they can’t be directional. And if they were (i.e. there were a rectifier built in) they would not work because HDMI is a bidirectional protocol.

Exactly the same.

If they work as HDMI cables, they aren’t really. It’s just marketing.

In any case, this is going to degenerate into a cable thread and get closed down if it keeps going.

To solve your specific problem, first, easiest and cheapest step would be to try a different cable. If everything works, cable is the problem; you can replace it with another AQ cable if you really want to, as long as you can take it back if it does not work. I you still have the same issue, the problem is either with the Nucleus or the AVR.

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I would suggest getting a standard certified cable to test that it works the way you want it to without having to reboot. If so, then you know your original cable is the issue, and you can confidently search for a different cable if you wanted.

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FraudioJest at it again. Directional HDMI FFS!

Try an Amazon Basics HDMI cable. If it doesn’t work, you can send it back at their cost, no quibble.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-Black/dp/B08BS181P2

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Hi all

I could be wrong, but with Audioquest cables, aren’t the arrows an indication of grounding direction.

Arrow to show main signal path, grounded at the other end :man_shrugging:

Edit: now I’ve read my own shared link and what carp :crazy_face:

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Is your Audioquest cable an “active” design? I am no expert but Audioquest seem to be using their arrow markings for two different types of “directional” cable.

Some of their “directional” HDMI cables are “active” cables that are engineered to carry signals in one direction over long distances:

Some of their “directional” HDMI cables actually work in both directions but include audiophile marketing claims that they will sound better in one direction.

What is the name/model no. of your Audioquest cable?

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Audiophile Quality, yep sure why not :wink:

@Ron_Wagstaff , what AVR are you using? Have you enabled any CEC settings that will perhaps allow your nuc to trigger the AVR to turn itself on to the proper input?

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FraudioJest.con/job

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Do you have a TV or projector attached to your AVR?

If so, try disconnecting it from the AVR and see if that makes any difference to the NUC/AVR behaviour. It could be an HDMI handshaking issue across the complete chain, rather than a cable issue (although this is certainly a possibility).

If it is a handshaking issue across the complete chain, then this can be tackled, but it’s not cheap; see:

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When I replaced the AudioQuest with a ‘regular’ HDMI cable everything worked as I want. The AudioQuest cable is from the Pearl range; it’s only short, 0.6m and was purchased in 2021.

The Arcam is an AVR390 which has HDMI 2.0a connectors and a reputation of having handshaking issues. I haven’t enabled CEC, that again is reported as causing all sorts of issues.

The Arcam is connected to a Sony 55XD8005 TV again by a regular HDMI cable.

Hope this answers all the questions.

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