Carbon HDMI cable
Casey from Bend, OR on 6/22/2025
Outstanding HDMI cable. Noticed the sound difference as well as the picture quality right off the bat. The quality of this series of cables were top notch. The braided cable is stiff but to me I feel you are truly getting quality. I run all Audioquest cables on all my systems from top tier to there lower tier of cables and I must say Audioquest to me is the way to go.
Pros: Quality sound and picture.
Cons: None to speak of.
0 of 0 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
John from Philadelphia, PA on 6/20/2025
0 of 0 found this helpful
Worth the money!
Michael from Pennsylvania on 4/22/2024
I use this for eARC only for streaming Netflix and Amazon Prime from my Samsung q8fn 65" through my Marantz sr8015 and NAD Masters M28 Amplifier with My Focal Kanta 2 HT setup. I must say the PQ and SQ has very nice a crisp sound compared to a old AudioQuest Cinnamon I had. I also use the AudioQuest Vodka for my Oppo 203 just for picture and another AudioQuest Carbon just for music and another Cinnamon AQ for cable box. These are are well built cables and worth the money when you own highend gear!
Pros: Toppl notch build quality!
Cons: None
8 of 9 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Carl from Collinsville, CT on 3/24/2024
To be honest, I was hesitant in buying this cable. I read the professional reviews saying that all HDMI cables are the same and either they work or they don't. There are user reviews who state that they didn't see nor hear a difference from their old cable. Nonetheless I went ahead and bought the Carbon 48. Did I see a difference in the picture? Nope. Did I hear a difference? Yes I did. Was it day-and-night from my older cable? No. But subtle enough that there was a difference. The treble was a little crisper. I bass was a little smoother and lower. The sound stage seemed to be fuller. Now some would say that all of this is placebo. Maybe. But if this is the case, this cable does a great job with the placebo effect! Granted, this cable is expensive. But if you want to squeeze out the best sound from your speakers, Carbon 48 is the one to get. Don't forget; you've got 60 days to determine if Carbon 48 is right for you.
Pros: Well constructed.
Cons: Stiff.
5 of 7 found this helpful
Great cable, steep price
Wayne from Louisville, KY on 1/14/2024
Great cable, steep price. (Not Crutchfield's fault. Same price at other sellers. I just want to support Crutchfield 'cause I like 'em.) Noticed a difference right away.
Pros: Great cable
Cons: Steep price
5 of 5 found this helpful
All good.
Keith from Lake Orion, MI on 1/9/2024
All good, highly recommended. You will not be disappointed.
Pros: The sound quality is highly exceptional.
Cons: Non.
4 of 4 found this helpful
Carbon cables are great!
Rickey from Temple, TX on 11/27/2023
Nice seamless picture and the sound they produce is awesome!
Pros: Great picture and sound.
Cons: Pricey, but I like them!
3 of 3 found this helpful
Nice Cables
Don from Alamogordo, NM on 11/6/2023
Very nice heavy duty cable. it's not exactly flexible, but it certainly is strong. video appeared slightly better too, as did the sound clarity. i bought these for future growth so might be way overkill for some. make sure you get them a little longer to help routing
Pros: QUALITY
Cons: not super flexible
5 of 5 found this helpful
Carbon for the Win!
Bryan from East Lansing, MI on 9/4/2023
Although pricey, this is a very well made cable that has great synergy with my Sony OLED TV and 4K UHD player. Upgraded to this from the Audioquest Cinnamon 48, which is no slouch. In comparison, with Carbon you're getting a thicker/sturdier cable and a slight edge in richness and clarity of color and heftier low end. If the price of Carbon is stretching your budget, the Cinnamon is a very respectable step down. Point being, both are excellent but yes, in terms of which one is "better" overall, it's the Carbon. One more plus I love with Audioquest's cables is the HDMI connection is very secure.
Pros: Noticeable improvement in picture + sound Impressive low end detail (not subwoofer, referring to front towers) Strong, secure connection Excellent build quality
Cons: Thicker than many HDMI cables which may make it tricky for in-wall runs
2 of 5 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Klaus from Fountain Valley, CA on 5/26/2023
Upon initial inspection the build quality is immediately apparent. I have (3) of these, to connect HTPC HDMI to HDMI splitter. The splitter feeds video to new 4K TV, & audio to Bryston BDA-3 DAC. The quality of both video & audio is fantastic, it is very 'crisp'. They are difficult to get sharp bends (not a con, part of the overall quality factor), compensate for this & get longer cable for your application.
Pros: -Build quality excellent -Does it's job well & has most recent specs for data throughput on HDMI
Cons: -Thick cable that likely shouldn't be forced to bend sharply, but shouldn't be considered a con; it is the nature of the design.
4 of 4 found this helpful
Another Winner
Joe from Cheney, WA on 5/19/2023
The carbon 48 is a well built cable. Yes. it is stiff and you need to work the cable to connect it. Take your time and do it right. You will be rewarded with a superior picture. I have tried many HDMI cables in the past. None makes my equipment look or sound as good.
Pros: Current HDMI Standard
Cons: Npne
3 of 3 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Terry from Phenix City, AL on 4/22/2023
I got two of these cables, one for eARC from receiver to TV and one from Blue-Ray player to receiver. The one for eARC seemed to be a slight improvement but I couldn't tell any difference from Blue-Ray to receiver.
Pros: Confidence that I have good connection and a slight improvement in sound and video quality.
Cons: A little on the stiff side and price is quite high.
2 of 2 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Micah from Denver, CO on 4/14/2023
Drastic improvement compared to a generic HDMI 2.1 cable. Video is great, and audio is exceptional. I use this mostly with 2 channel PCM on a highly resolving system, and the improvement in detail, sub base, air, etc is easily noticeable.
Pros: Improved 4K HDR contrast and brightness. Drastically improved 2 channel PCM audio.
Cons: Very stiff cable.
2 of 3 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Bryan from Irmo, SC on 1/19/2023
1 of 1 found this helpful
Worth it upgrade
Paul from Plainfield, IL on 1/10/2023
Purchased these cables after discussing what system I have and what my expectations were moving forward. I'm planning to have these cables in my system for some time viewing everything from sports to old movies. so the choice was pretty clear to me building a system that was 8K compatible. Once installed I saw that they were a huge improvement over the old HDMI cables I had previously.
Pros: Better picture clarity Smooth more lifelike picture
Cons: None
2 of 3 found this helpful
made a difference
Richard from SAINT MATTHEWS, SC on 1/4/2023
These really made a difference. So much negativity about things like this for your home audio system. I found from my experience that hdmi and speaker wires can make a difference. Started off with the Forest 48, then Cinnamon 48 to the Carbon 48 and finally the Vodka 48. Every time i went up in the series i noticed a difference, until the Vodka 48. No need to to go above the Carbon 48. I couldn't tell a difference from the carbon 48 and Vodka 48, plus the Vodka 48 or over $500 a cable. When i say difference (better audio quality and video quality)
Pros: Does make a difference in audio quality and video quality
Cons: Can get expensive the higher you go up the series.
7 of 8 found this helpful
Carbon 4K 8K cable
Fred from Franklin, PA on 11/18/2022
Cables have upgraded the audio, and video from Apple TV 4K to 4K TV. Very stiff cable.
Pros: Good audio and video upgrade.
Cons: Very stiff
1 of 1 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Ronald from Harrison, NY on 10/20/2022
2 of 2 found this helpful
Carbon Rules
Robert from Pittsfield, MA on 10/2/2022
1 of 1 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48 HDMI Cables
Robert from FARMINGTON HLS, MI on 5/9/2022
The idea of spending this much money on HDMI cables was not initially considered. My wife and I had purchased a nice 4K television but once installed we were not amazed with the picture quality. The picture did not express the 3-dimensional depth of field and visual sharpness at all. I had grabbed a new $40 HDMI cable when I made that purchase, and almost immediately I began to think that was a mistake. So, I did a lot of research regarding HDMI cable contribution to picture quality. As a result of my cable study, I decided to invest in these AudioQuest Carbon 48 cables! This turned out to be the best possible solution to bringing out the finest detail and 3-dimensional images that our 4K television was capable of. I have zero regrets in spending this much money on first class cables!
Pros: Transformed the definition and picture quality of our 4K television.
Cons: None
13 of 13 found this helpful
Divine sound
Susan from Wenatchee, WA on 4/17/2022
Makes a huge difference. Had 4k hdmi previously. Upgrade creates clear, concise sound. No attenuation. Worth the money if you have it. Waited decades for home theater setup.
Pros: All of the above
Cons: Very stiff. But malleable.
3 of 3 found this helpful
Great!!
Crutchfield customer from Topeka, KS on 8/29/2021
I used it for my new receiver to my new 65' TV. It works great!
Pros:
Cons:
6 of 7 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Crutchfield customer from Philadelphia, PA on 8/16/2021
2 of 2 found this helpful
Worth the price
Crutchfield customer from Iowa on 6/18/2021
Got this for the EVGA RTX 3090 ftw3 Ultra and The LG CX 77in Class. Works perfectly! Shipping was fast as well.
Pros:
Cons:
7 of 7 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Crutchfield customer from Fort Worth, TX on 3/8/2021
I know the cable is expensive but well worth the money for the improvements in picture and sound quality. I am happy that Crutchfield carries quality products like audio quest.
Pros: Sound and picture quality improvement.
Cons: Price.
3 of 5 found this helpful
AudioQuest Carbon 48
Crutchfield customer from Manchester, NH on 2/28/2021
Long break in time but final results are a significant upgrade
Pros: well made
Cons: pricey
0 of 1 found this helpful
Great cable for my use as 4k HDMI 2.0
Crutchfield customer from Monroe, WA on 2/17/2021
Fantastic cable with the understanding that it has top notch build quality. First, this isn't a review of its hdmi 2.1 capabilities (which can only be found in gaming currently). That spec is very slow to certify those 2.1 cables, in the mean time for lower demanding equipment (movies in 4K) I find this cable to work perfectly! Does it beat out my old hdmi cable, yes. Where is the sweet spot to deliver more than the bandwidth and idea signal without spending too much? Not sure.
Pros: Zero complaints about signal quality, sound, throughout. Beautiful picture on my OLED and great sound via my processor.
Cons: The cable is stiff! The input of my processor is upside down and the output of my device is right side up. Took some work to gently get the cable to allow this without forcing or straining the line.
3 of 3 found this helpful
Hdmi2.1
Crutchfield customer from River Vale , NJ on 1/30/2021
Must have for 2.1 connections for LGOled, 77pua Tv.
Pros: Best that there is.
Cons: Price point
3 of 5 found this helpful
