Monster cables

[Amaroque]

What is everyone's opinion on the monster cables that electronic stores push? I see monster DVI cables and such, for like $100 or more.

Is this worth the 5-10x increase in price? Or would I be better off investing in higher quality components (audio and video) with this money?

Should I just use a "standard" gold plated cable?

In short, does anyone notice a perceptible difference?

 

[OnceoveR]

you will notice a difference, but its up to you if its worth the price.

i suggest you make some of your own cables, like they did on systm

http://revision3.com/systm/avcabling/

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

negative

 

[ProviaFan]

Monster cable may sound better if you have utter crap now, but then again so would a new set of your own custom-built cables (see the linked article posted above) for a much lower cost.

 

[TankGuys]

Is there a difference? Yes.

Is it worth the price? Maybe.

Will it be a difference that you ACTUALLY notice? Maybe.

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Amaroque
I see monster DVI cables and such, for like $100 or more.

That's the epitome of what's wrong with Monster. OMG pwned

 

[swamyg1]

MONSTER is like the BOSE of cables (total HYPE)... totally a waste of one's hard earned money. They are masters at marketing and it is guaranteed you will not notice a difference. Goto any high end HIFI or Home Theatre sites and search the forums. You can get quality cable (heavy duty guage cables with premium connectors) at a fraction of the price. Save your money for better equipment... Goto any of these websites:

www.monoprice.com
www.Bluejeanscable.com
www.cablesforless.com

While Monster does make good cables, it's definitely not worth the price... you can get the same high quality cable elsewhere, you just need to know where to look. Personally I think the "premium" cables at monoprice are the best bang for your buck. Here is your HDMI to DVI cable.

 

[CraigRT]

I buy Ultralink cables.. They are every bit as good as Monster for 1/2 the price.

I love my Ultralinks. I also get them @ cost so it's no big deal to spend a bit more on cables

 

[obeseotron]

Monster cables are very good, just totally overpriced for simply being higher gauged than normal wire. Buy some of the suggest alternative high quality cables without the totally inflated price. Also this only makes a difference if you have relatively good quality stuff on both ends of the connection.

Edit: With things like DVI and other digital connections, it's usually a works or doesn't type of situation, not like analog where small amounts of noise is introduced by things like EM radiation. It's a digital signal and it it is being interfered with it will be readily apparent, like huge artifacts that you see on digital cable sometimes or a failure to sync up and display something in the first place.

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Nothing else needs to be said.
I always knew that the PS2 power cable was holding the system back. There is no eye rolling icon big enough for Monster Cables.

 

[alimoalem]

we have one for our TV (65" HDTV bought a couple years ago) just to make sure all our parts stay safe. it's like buying a PC P&C power supply compared to a fortron. the fortron works fine but if you have a $3000 powerhouse computer, you'd most likely put a higher quality PSU (to all of you: this is just an EXAMPLE. i'm not sure if my analogy was correct..just trying to prove a point)

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
we have one for our TV (65" HDTV bought a couple years ago) just to make sure all our parts stay safe. it's like buying a PC P&C power supply compared to a fortron. the fortron works fine but if you have a $3000 powerhouse computer, you'd most likely put a higher quality PSU (to all of you: this is just an EXAMPLE. i'm not sure if my analogy was correct..just trying to prove a point)

Consider your point not proven. Buying expensive cable does absolutely nothing over buying reasonably priced cable that also performs as well (if not better). Low quality cable won't damage anything either, but performance may not be up to par.

 

[Snooper]

I remember back in the late 80's when a lot of the "Monster" cable stuff was just getting going for the home audio buffs. One of the higher end audiophile mags did a structured test between several different speaker cables all the way from the stock wire that came with the speakers to Monster Cables to 14 gauge zip cord (yes, the stuff you use to plug your lamp into the wall with!) to some really small, really crappy stuff they found.

They did three different tests if my memory is working, a double blind A-B test with assorted listeners, they generated a full frequency test signal with an amp, sent it down the wires under test and compared what came out with what went in on an scope, and then they measured all the parameters of each cable (resistance, capacitance, inductance, resenance frequencies, etc.).

The double blind listening test was very interesting. There was NO difference between ANY of the cables except the supper small gauge crap wire. On the measured performance, the winner was the (wait for it....) 14 gauge zip cord! All the hype about the low oxygen, low capacitance nature of the MCs proved to be bunk. It made no measureable difference what so ever. They also showed that the electrical effects of the cable were completely irrelevant to sound quality as well, as long as the wire was big enough to carry the power without inducing significant voltage drops.

The winner overall was the cheap lamp cord available at any hardware store for pennies a foot! It's even worse when you talk about digital connections. About the only thing you are going to pay money for (ok, SHOULD pay money for!) is better connectors that fit the plug WELL, better insulation (thicker, more flexible, etc., but only to a point!) and a bit larger gauge wire (only needed for long runs or high power analog signals anyway) or just a bit better construction overall. Most of the rest of that is just marketing hype.

 

[shortylickens]

Oh, boy.

Wheres YoYo when you need him?

For my own experience:
Unless you plan on using gold or platinum, it really doesnt freakin matter.

 

[John]

Get your DVI, HDMI, toslink, and other assorted cables from http://www.monoprice.com or http://www.partsexpress.com like the rest of us savvy shoppers. If you want quality custom assembled A/V cables look no further than http://www.bluejeanscable.com

Monster cable = lots of snake oil and profits for retailers.

 

[erikistired]

99% of the time, no. in certain situations (like the monster cables for the klipsch 2.1 speakers) they can rock hard.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: fisher
99% of the time, no. in certain situations (like the monster cables for the klipsch 2.1 speakers) they can rock hard.

Indeed, I've noticed that the small cables for my Klipsch Promedia 2.1's may be a bit underrated, but it will be a cold day in a burning lake before I buy Monster cables for any purpose, even if they would be an "improvement" over the existing cables. I presume the connections on the back of the speakers are standard (what would they be, anyone know?), so rolling my own shouldn't be difficult.

 

[John]

IIRC the Klipsch PM 2.1's have a single minijack on the back of the satellites and regular terminals on the sub. my PM 5.1's have standard terminals on all speakers.

 

[fire400]

They are heavy duty cables for professionals. But for the elite professionals, don't get Monster Cables.

Like someone said earlier, they are better than generic brands, but you can always find quality-like cables at other retailers/e-tailers for a more reasonable price.

I've done tests on the different systems with different cables, and to my understanding, even Target Corporation sells quality cables that are non-Monster, and still offer very exceptional quality.

 

[osan0001]

Monster cables look soooooo good though! If you have loads of money to spend, Monster cable is something to help get rid of it, although there are more expensive alternatives. Me, I just bought some GE Ultra (or something similar) component cables and audio cables from Target for pretty cheap. Those cables listed in this thread look pretty good also. As far as lamp cord goes, that is what I use for my front speakers. It's pretty funny that people actually buy Monster brand DVI cables, especially when most monitors and tvs that use them come with one. I guess they look nicer than your typical black and white connector though. It is possible that you get cleaner and more vibrant zeroes and ones going through the connectors, especially when the lenth is ~ 6 feet, which totally makes a difference in digital video.

 

[RanDum72]

Unless you use really crappy cables in the first place, Monster cables make NO difference whatsoever. You canget those RCA, Phillips, etc..cables from Walmart, Target, etc..and they will be just as good. My current TV is the Sony SXRD 60-inch model. My DVD player is the Sony DVP-NS3100ES. I also have a Samsung DVD-recorder/VCR combo with HDMI out (forgot the model). The Saumsung came with an HDMI cable. I happen to have the Partsexpress Dayton HDMI cable (the premium one), another really thick no-brand cable that I got online, and of course Monster cable that a friend insisted on buying. I tested the Superbit version of "The Fifth Element". Guess what? NO difference whatsoever in picture quality. The only thing that is out of the ordinary is that with the HDMI cable that came with the Samsung, it takes just a little longer for the Samsung to sync with the Sony TV. The Sony DVD player had no problems with any of the cables.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: osan0001
Monster cables look soooooo good though! If you have loads of money to spend, Monster cable is something to help get rid of it, although there are more expensive alternatives. Me, I just bought some GE Ultra (or something similar) component cables and audio cables from Target for pretty cheap. Those cables listed in this thread look pretty good also. As far as lamp cord goes, that is what I use for my front speakers. It's pretty funny that people actually buy Monster brand DVI cables, especially when most monitors and tvs that use them come with one. I guess they look nicer than your typical black and white connector though. It is possible that you get cleaner and more vibrant zeroes and ones going through the connectors, especially when the lenth is ~ 6 feet, which totally makes a difference in digital video.

:rays for sarcasm::

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: alimoalem
we have one for our TV (65" HDTV bought a couple years ago) just to make sure all our parts stay safe. it's like buying a PC P&C power supply compared to a fortron. the fortron works fine but if you have a $3000 powerhouse computer, you'd most likely put a higher quality PSU (to all of you: this is just an EXAMPLE. i'm not sure if my analogy was correct..just trying to prove a point)

Very bad analogy.....

Theres not a whole lot of PSU`s that perform better than a PC Power & Cooling PSU!!


But there are alot of lesser priced PSU`s that will do the job.

As far as Monster cables there are many many brands that are just as good but only half the price...

The same cannot be said of PSU`s.

What can be said of PSU`s is that there are alot of different brand PSU`s that can do a good job of powerting your equipment.

 

[hardcandy2]

Go to any high end stereo/video site that runs tests and look up the test results on cables for yourself. Monster cables elicit a lot of reactions besides objectivity since they are such a crappy corporation as far as honesty and hype go.