Monoprice vs Monster

hookem12
hookem12 Posts: 22
edited June 2011 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
Hey folks, I know monster cable prices are high but I am considering some used cables.

Is there any difference in performance of buying the more expensive cables? Also what is the best banana plugs to get? I will have a denon 2112

Thanks
Post edited by hookem12 on
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    Blue Jeans Cable :)
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • hookem12
    hookem12 Posts: 22
    edited June 2011
    what does that mean? lol
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,596
    edited June 2011
    Its the name of a speaker wire company he's recommending.....cheaper than Monsters stuff and most agree its better....
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    Its the name of a speaker wire company he's recommending.....cheaper than Monsters stuff and most agree its better....

    Exactly, I suggest you pay their website a visit
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Gatecrasher
    Gatecrasher Posts: 1,550
    edited June 2011
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    Its the name of a speaker wire company he's recommending.....cheaper than Monsters stuff and most agree its better....

    I'm not a real fan of Monster Cable as a company, but I think their cables are pretty-good quality even if they are somewhat over-priced.

    How do you quantify that other cables are better though?

    Have there been head-to-head comparisons in the AV magazines evaluating them against Blue Jeans or any other brands? I would imagine there have been some comparisons of various brands of speaker wires vs Monster Cable but I've never seen any. I didn't know until today that Blue Jeans doesn't really make their cables but are more of a fabrication (termination) company that uses various brands of cables.

    I guess you would have to compare equal guages and stuff like that to really be comparing apples to apples.

    Can you possibly post some links?
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    For the most part, I subscribe to the wire is wire way of thinking. I'll never fork out a lot of money for cables, just not worth the money IMO. The Blue jeans Belden cable is cheap, large enough gauge for any power level really, and is well built.
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited June 2011
    Monster will NEVER get my money on principle.....They're @sshole bullies:

    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/index.htm
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
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  • Gatecrasher
    Gatecrasher Posts: 1,550
    edited June 2011
    I agree that Monster Cable sounds like a lousy company from everything I've heard about them over the years, from trying to monopolize the market to suing everyone in the world who uses the name "Monster" (whether they are in the speaker business or not).

    I really have no desire to do business with them. They seem ruthless and bad for the consumers as a whole but I've never seen any real data showing that their cables are inferior to others.

    If Blue Jeans doesn't really make their cables and basically just fabricates them for you, why not make your own up like stangman67 did? Won't it essentially be the same?

    Do you save any significant money by doing it yourself vs having Blue Jeans custom-fabricate them for you?
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    Yea I saved a significant amount. It would have been 99 bucks from them for three 7 footers with bananas on each end, no braided sleeving. I bet if you asked them to put sleeving on it would have been another 30. I spent a total of 90 ish on the whole project, plus the satisfaction of DIY

    There's no issue running straight cable though, even unterminated. I just do bananas for ease of hooking/unhooking the wires.
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Gatecrasher
    Gatecrasher Posts: 1,550
    edited June 2011
    stangman67 wrote: »
    Yea I saved a significant amount. It would have been 99 bucks from them for three 7 footers with bananas on each end, no braided sleeving. I bet if you asked them to put sleeving on it would have been another 30. I spent a total of 90 ish on the whole project, plus the satisfaction of DIY

    There's no issue running straight cable though, even unterminated. I just do bananas for ease of hooking/unhooking the wires.

    Yeah it isn't hard to do. I'd probably rather do it myself anyway just to get it perfect (plus it's kind of fun as you mentioned).

    I bet you like working on your stang yourself too. :wink:
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    The car and I have a love/hate relationship. Been a lot of love lately, as it hasn't given me much trouble in the past year or so. That might change on my upcoming cross country drive though
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Gatecrasher
    Gatecrasher Posts: 1,550
    edited June 2011
    stangman67 wrote: »
    The car and I have a love/hate relationship. Been a lot of love lately, as it hasn't given me much trouble in the past year or so. That might change on my upcoming cross country drive though

    I don't mean to hijack the thread but post a pic one of these days.

    I love '67 Stangs (even though I'm a Chevy man at heart). :biggrin:
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  • EndersShadow
    EndersShadow Posts: 17,596
    edited June 2011
    Gatecrasher wrote: »
    I'm not a real fan of Monster Cable as a company, but I think their cables are pretty-good quality even if they are somewhat over-priced.

    How do you quantify that other cables are better though?

    Have there been head-to-head comparisons in the AV magazines evaluating them against Blue Jeans or any other brands? I would imagine there have been some comparisons of various brands of speaker wires vs Monster Cable but I've never seen any. I didn't know until today that Blue Jeans doesn't really make their cables but are more of a fabrication (termination) company that uses various brands of cables.

    I guess you would have to compare equal guages and stuff like that to really be comparing apples to apples.

    Can you possibly post some links?

    The "most agree they are better" part was that they provide the same quality at a lower price, hence they are better. Hell I have a NIB 25 foot spool of Monster cable that I dont ever plan on using in my setup. I keep it more as give-a-way wire for use with my friends systems :eek:

    Most like the Canare wire. Personally I went to my local hi-fi store and got Audioquest FLX 14/4 wire (for bi-wire) at the price of 1.25 a foot. I bought some locking GLS locking Banana's and using both made my own speaker cables.

    Regarding any reviews...I dont know if there are any that I am aware of.
    "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited June 2011
    Welcome to Club Polk Hookem.

    Monster cables aside from being bullies, their cables connectors go on so tight that it is extremely hard to get them off & can damage the receiver connector in the process.

    Monoprice & Blue Jeans cable are less expensive, well made & don't have a death grip.
    Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 channel 200wpc Amp, Oppo 103 BluRay, Rotel RCD-1072 CDP, Sony XBR-49X800E TV, Polk S60 Main Speakers, Polk ES30 Center Channel, Polk S15 Surround Speakers SVS SB12-NSD x2
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  • 27dnast
    27dnast Posts: 255
    edited June 2011
    I've give major thumbs up to monoprice. Great experience with their products... great customer service.
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  • stangman67
    stangman67 Posts: 2,297
    edited June 2011
    I've had positive experiences with monoprice as well. I ran their premium RCA's in my car install, they fixed noise issues even the high end brands wouldn't solve.
    2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave

    2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius
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  • Gatecrasher
    Gatecrasher Posts: 1,550
    edited June 2011
    EndersShadow wrote: »
    The "most agree they are better" part was that they provide the same quality at a lower price, hence they are better. Hell I have a NIB 25 foot spool of Monster cable that I dont ever plan on using in my setup. I keep it more as give-a-way wire for use with my friends systems :eek:

    Most like the Canare wire. Personally I went to my local hi-fi store and got Audioquest FLX 14/4 wire (for bi-wire) at the price of 1.25 a foot. I bought some locking GLS locking Banana's and using both made my own speaker cables.

    Regarding any reviews...I dont know if there are any that I am aware of.

    As much as I dislike Monster as a company (and their prices), I think their cables are good performance-wise even if they aren't worth the money they charge.

    I have a pair of Monster M1.4s bi-wires that I got from a relative and customized for my two front speakers. Then I went and got a 100 ft. roll of Canare Star Quad and fabricated wires for the center and surrounds.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited June 2011
    www.signalcable.com

    There are far better choices than Monster Cable and they are in fact an awful company when it comes to public relations.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • hookem12
    hookem12 Posts: 22
    edited June 2011
    Great info here
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  • JimAckley
    JimAckley Posts: 1,138
    edited June 2011
    dorokusai wrote: »
    www.signalcable.com

    There are far better choices than Monster Cable and they are in fact an awful company when it comes to public relations.

    x2!

    I only use Monster because I had a big employee discount on it while I worked at RadioShack. My vote definitely goes to Signal Cable as well. I have some short interconnects from them that I use on my SACD player and it sounds phenomenal.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited June 2011
    Post some pics of that Kenwood stuff Jim.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • JimAckley
    JimAckley Posts: 1,138
    edited June 2011
    Which ones? lol
    - Computer Rig -
    YAΘIN MS-20L, polkaudio RT5

    - Main Rig -
    Pioneer SC-37, Overnight Sensations, Samsung 52" LCD

    - Currently In Progress -
    Curt Campbell's Uluwatu LCR, LMS Ultra Gjallarhorn, JBL W15GTi stereo subs, 2.1 entertainment system for the gf
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  • fbm211
    fbm211 Posts: 1,488
    edited June 2011
    Canare 4S11 for DIY.
    Signal cable for built to order.Frank is a pleasure to do buisness with.He will even do special orders and offers a discount to CP members.
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