Punches Well Above its Weight Class We got to hear this budget HDMI cable at CES and we were blown away by what Forest did for audio via HDMI. We knew there were substantial differences in performance between HDMI cables, but when we heard Forest absolutely destroy a competitor's cable (which was three times the price) our jaws dropped. On both music and movies, Forest is smoother top to bottom, more focused and articulate, with a larger soundstage and greater separation of instruments.