Home audio & video: Monster Cable - good or evil????
Waste of Money
by Barbara866 - 2/16/07 7:31 AM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58I bought Monster Cables for my stereo speakers and brought them back.
My husband got some left over Romex 2-12 that we had left over when we electrified the hog barn -- used that and it works great.
Speaker cable is just wire and any gold plated connector cables can handle audio and video.
The big difference in cables is in Ham Radio and CB radio.
premium cable business is fraud
by pzul_wisner - 2/16/07 7:49 AM In reply to: Waste of Money by Barbara866monoprice.com HDMI cables are great and high quality and cost less than $20. I tell people to buy the cables they have at the store so they can watch their new TV when they get home (usually they only offer premium cables between $50 and $130). Then order replacements from monoprice.com and return the overpriced cables to the store when the new ones arrive. The store deserves to have the cables returned because they have not offered you a good value and they have sold you a TV that you cannot use without buying an unfairly priced accessory. The fact that it's a standard practice does is no excuse.
Aside: I also bought a really nice HDMI 5-1 switcher from monoprice for about $120. It automatically switches to the device that's turned on. It comes with a remote but you won't need it.
HDMI 1.3
by bevillan - 2/16/07 8:08 AM In reply to: premium cable business is fraud by pzul_wisnerToo bad that HDMI 1.3 switchers are hella expensive right now. I don't think I will invest in another HDMI switching component till HDMI 1.3 switching shows up in AV receivers. My current Onkyo reciever only does HDMI 1.1/1.2 switching.
Pig barn wire!
by PWSCHNEIDER - 2/16/07 8:14 AM In reply to: Waste of Money by Barbara866Barbara866 is right!! Use the least expensive wire you can find, borrow, steal, and last buy.
Why not start out using the least expensive wire/cable and if that doesn't work, take THAT back and try the next LEAST expensive wire/cable.
I challenge the average guy who has, over the years, practically deafened and blinded himself trying to be some kinda superman for his ladies to discern to any sensible degree a large difference in signal quality whether for audio or video between cheap wire/cable and the snob stuff costing X amount of dollars more!!
Monster cable alternatives
by gambit56 - 2/16/07 9:52 AM In reply to: Pig barn wire! by PWSCHNEIDERIt's interesting reading some of your experiences. I bought a Samsung 42" S4233 plasma in the fall (which I absolutely love!) and have slowly upgraded my cables. I have bought all of them either on eBay, or through on-line means and have these comments.
I subscribe to Shaw Digital Cable and use a Monster Ultra THX 800 HDMI to DVI connection directly between the box and TV (eBay -$20 OEM). For my LG DVD player (not HD) I have a Monster Ultra THX 1000 component video connection (eBay - $25 OEM). In both cases, I noticed a remarkable improvement in the picture quality from the old composite/coax connections I was using when I first bought the TV. Especially on the HD channels, the picture is remarkable (to test yours out, I would recommend watching an episode of CSI: Miami....the colours are pretty vivid in HD!) Even with normal cable broadcast, there was a noticable picture signal boost, including making the "snow" more defined!
With the DVD player, the Ultra 1000 made a huge difference from normal composite cables, even without an HD player (not planning to upgrade until the Blu-Ray/HD war is settled).
Lastly, I bought all of my audio cables (2 digital optical, 1 subwoofer and 1 RCA) from a company called KnuKonceptz. I found them on eBay, but they also sell their product from their website. All I can say about their cables is WOW! I run optical from the DVD and Digital Cable box into my receiver and the RCA (comparable to the Monster 800 or 1000 and $40 vs $150 or more) from the cable box to the TV (too bad an HDMI connection needs a seperate audio feed). The audio cables are so clear, that I can't watch anything without significant buzz in the speakers. I have just bought a 12-guage twisted speaker cable from Konceptz, which I should have within a few weeks, to improve the quality.
I am happy with both the Monster and other cables, but I would never pay full retail price for the Monster's when there are comparible alternatives out there at much less cost. My estimate is I spent approximately $300 (incl speaker wire) for what would have cost much closer to $1,000 if I went all Monster at retail cost.
Er, what?
by hothersale - 2/16/07 1:47 PM In reply to: Monster cable alternatives by gambit56I don't think you understand the topic. Obviously there is no comparison when going from composite and coax connections to component and HDMI connections. When you bought your Monster cables, you didn't just buy a different brand of cable, you bought a whole different TYPE of cable.
We're talking about the merits of Monster-brand HDMI/DVI cables vs. much cheaper, non-Monster HDMI/DVI cables. (Same connection type.)
Monster cables are good quality but they are the biggest rip off on the planet.
Monoprice.com makes excellent cables at unbelievable prices. If your cable length is relatively short (say, 10 feet or less), you can take Monoprice's cheapest cable and put it up against Monster's most expensive cable and I guarantee you will see NO difference in picture quality. Do yourself a favor and save yourself several hundred dollars.
(Of course, the people who have already blown their bank account on Monster cables will claim it does make a difference. What a surprise.)
Monster - crap IMHO
by aggielaw - 2/16/07 10:28 AM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58Let me preface this by saying I'm what most would call an audiophile, but not so much a videophile - but only because I'm waiting for the home theater format wars to end and technology in general to evolve sufficiently to drive prices down to where I'm comfortable that I'm getting something that I'll be happy with for years.
At any rate, I have had poor experience with Monster Cable. I first tried their audio and video cables 10 years ago. I didn't see any difference between their video cables and the stock cables. The audio cables were noticeably different than zip cord - and the difference was not a positive one. The top end became rolled off, and the bass became louder, but very muddy.
After a while, I found the Acoustic Research cables a previous poster noted, and they were a very nice upgrade. For audio cables, I highly recommend KimberKable 4VS (the cheapest cable they make); even in a high-end home theater I wouldn't use anything else (although cables go in to the tens of thousands of dollars.) The only exception to using Kimber 4VS IMHO would be if you had a dedicated home theater room (complete with room treatments), very high-end speakers (which, with one exception, I've not seen below 5k for 5 speakers [sub not included]) and watch mostly concerts. If you meet all of those criteria, I'd say buying more expensive audio cables would be worth while. My recommendation then would be a small, relatively unknown brand called "Reality Cables" by Gregg Straley. You'll find them on the 'net - realitycables.com I think. These are what I use in my audio system, and though I've experimented with many cables costing as much as $1k for a 3-foot run, I've not found any cables that beat these.
Power conditioner: very much needed for a couple of reasons. First, a good power conditioner will clean the transmission line, eliminating various things that will affect your sound, and maybe your picture, too. More important, however, is the ability to keep constant, clean current running to your components. Sure, your components are built with a tolerance for fluctuating input voltage, but ideally you want constant voltage going to your components. For this, you'll want a power regenerator. I've tried several of these - Monster, Belkin, and the new APC. The new APC models are clearly superior to the other two IME. For home theater, I would recommend the APC J15. I use the higher-end APC S10 for my audio components, and when I finally buy home theater components I'll likely use the J15, unless I sink $15-$20k into my home theater (as I have with my stereo;) in that case I'll probably bite the bullet and buy an S15 or even an S20. The power regenerators bring you everything: stable current, clean power, and spike protection all in one box. They are worth their weight in gold, IMHO.
Good luck, and please let us know your final solutions for your home theater!
Agree - KimberKable basic is appropriate or any true
by NM_Bill - 2/16/07 11:30 AM In reply to: Monster - crap IMHO by aggielawaudiophile. I don't quite qualify as "true", just a longtime audiophile wannabe.
Though others here disagree, I do believe in power conditioners as I've clearly experienced their improvement effects.
As such, you've stoked my interest in your mentioned APC J15.
Might you easily be able to guide me towards info & reviews of that?
Good info resource and seller
by enemil - 2/16/07 11:34 AM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58I used to visit the avsforum.com and somebody there recommended a seller called Blue Jeans Cable, http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/dvi/index.htm. Their website contains alot of info about hdmi cables and also sells high quality, inexpensive cables. However, I don't know if they ship to Canada.
I purchased one SDI cable from them, and the cable was well-made, high-quality, and much more inexpensive than any other place I could find. I'm getting ready to order an HDMI/DVI and an HDMI cable from them.
And I also must mention that my relative who worked at Best Buy said that they used to receive something called Monster Bucks (i.e. Monster Certificates) for selling Monster cables. Plus I heard that Best Buy units receive bonuses based on their sales, which seems like a backdoor commission. Monster cables are good, but Best Buy's workers might be a little biased.
No way!
by Brianstech - 2/16/07 2:35 PM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58I got totally fed up with buying cables locally when a USB cable was half the price of the printer I bought it for. Ten foot USB cables cost me less than $2 each now.
Fourteen foot Cat5E cables for $40 at Compusa? No WAY! Last time I ordered some they were about $1.67 each.
Tired of highway robbery? Cablewholesale.com
http://www.cablewholesale.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?body=Search&text=hdmi+cable
Their 6 footer HDMI: $16.50. Monster and BB can kiss off.
EVIL.............
by Riverledge - 2/16/07 8:28 PM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58MONSTER....EVIL PRICE.
river.
Radioshack cables
by Tyrhaynes - 2/16/07 9:30 PM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58I use two 6' radioshack hdmi cables, 6' Radioshack SVGA cable, a high end Monster 7' 1/8" to two RCA/phonos, and a 2 meter high end digital optical monster cable for sound to my HtiB. Nothing is close to monster for SOUND since that is their specialty and how they started. When I had a band and did recording almost half of our various cables were Monster and every professional studio I have ever heard of is completely Monster set up.
Though for the HDMI I couldn't perceive any difference between the 40 dollar Radioshack cable vs the 130 dollar Monster.
Most people don't really need a Monster cable unless your an audiophile with high quality components.
The longer the run the greater the importance of quality cables. A buddy of mine (professional installer) uses Monster coax (RG 6 F pin) when he was running three hundred feet of cable underground even though it was very expensive because he didn't have the luxury of an inline booster or two underground! Otherwise when he is wiring he just orders newegg middle of the road coax with good shielding. You really don't won't to go cheap for your coax if you are getting HDTV channels and a decent amount of additional channels because you aren't gonna get all your channels especially your lower channels and the one's you do get are crap. If you are using rg-59 just recycle it for its copper. Also be very careful of your splitter.
An important thing to consider is the quality of your components. If you have just a low end tv and a low end sound system then a lower/medium quality cable is all you need (never use the crappy cables that come with electronics). The better your equipment the better the cable you need or in other words your weakest link is what you need to avoid. If you buy a 2k tv and use a composite connection you just wasted your money especially for the sound quality.
Gold plated isn't a huge deal. Supposedly it is better because it doesn't corrode but it has no other redeeming qualities that I can think of. The only benefit is that if they go to the trouble to gold plate then hopefully they went to the problem of constructing a decent cable.
Personally I wouldn't buy anything from Walmart or Sam's club because of their business ethics and especially because of their lowered quality electronics and spot-welded bicycles and planned obsolescence policies (see Walmart the movie: the high cost of low prices). Try Newegg (great website high quality products and trustworthy), Radioshack (reasonable prices with the moderate possibility of a really competent salesperson), Costco (favorite place to shop), or even Best Buy or Target (just don't talk to any of their associates lol unless you want a free laugh) for your cables before you buy some piece of junk from Walmart...
monster cable is great
by Bluswif2 - 2/16/07 9:37 PM In reply to: Monster Cable - good or evil???? by keman58Monster cable is great, the quality is good and the picture quality is definately better.
for the price!!! WHO YOU KIDDING???
by Riverledge - 2/16/07 9:59 PM In reply to: monster cable is great by Bluswif2river.
Their splitters suck
by westcat - 2/17/07 2:01 AM In reply to: for the price!!! WHO YOU KIDDING??? by RiverledgeI used a Monster splitter and it sucked. The cable co. came out when I called with reception problems and replaced the splitter with one of their generic looking ones and that solved the problem. If they can't make a decent splitter, I doubt their cables are anything great. After reading this thread, they sound like a ripoff.
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