Blue Jean vs. Monster

r.camacho1
r.camacho1 Posts: 36
edited October 2005 in Basic Hookup/Wiring Questions
I wanted to get your guys opinion on blue jean cables compared to monster cables (MV3, HDMI, MXHP speaker cable.) Are the blue jeans that much better, or is it something that is based on personal prefrence? thanks
Post edited by r.camacho1 on
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  • r.camacho1
    r.camacho1 Posts: 36
    edited October 2005
    I believe that the monster MXHP speaker cable is 12 guage if I remember correctly.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited October 2005
    Here's the deal with these two companies

    monster is a cable maker, Blue jeans is a cable "put together". What that means is Blue jeans buys wire from Beldon and Canare and puts it together. This is exaclty what custom installers do. Your buying custom install grade wire. Nothing special. Just good quality standard level stuff.Monster Designs and makes there wire. They have many many grades of wire. They go from standard quality to high end quality.

    Dollar for dollar your going to have to decide for yourself. I have listened to Monster custom install grade vs beldon custom install grade and it's basically the same. Not much better anywhere. Sometimes the Monster actually is a better quality cable.

    Video cables again are very close except the silver series. Silver video seems to have better color control and depth. Copper works fine but Silver is the last word in perfection in video cables.

    What does this mean to you? What you make of it. It still comes down to how any cable performs in your system. Blue jeans might work better then again so could Monster.

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,649
    edited October 2005
    Dan is spot on. I want to add one thing about M. Their business practices leave a lot to be desired and therefore I wouldn't give them one red cent of my money, neither should you. There are many more choices in cables than the two you named and a lot of them are much better.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    Yeah, yeah....what they said. :D
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited October 2005
    Monster is a huge company. I don't agree with alot of things they do like suing other companies for using the word Monster. I don't personally own there wire anymore.

    Soon I will not own Monster anything in my house. I have my own reasons for not wanting to own there products.

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • cfrizz
    cfrizz Posts: 13,415
    edited October 2005
    I like my BJC IC's just fine, they go on & off like a dream & they are considerably less expensive the Monsters stuff.
    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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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2005
    GRRRREAT writeup on Monster by Mantis. Yeah i wouldn't buy anything from them anymore either. Not because there's a quality issue- their stuff is quite good, at least to my mid-fi ears. i guess it's just principle more than anything now. The only thing i have of them is two sets of 'nanners' for my rti4's.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • sickicw
    sickicw Posts: 456
    edited October 2005
    I just upgraded from some 14 or 16 gauge circuit city monster wire to 10 gauge blue Jean wire, and the sound is much much better. don't know if its the brand or gauge, but you cant go wrong with blue jean if you just want some good cheap wire. I think it was about $1 per foot or so...i also agree that monster is over priced.
    Speakers: LSi9 x 2, LSic, LSiFX x 2, Velodyne HGS-15
    Amps & Power: Rockford Fosgate T8004 x 3, Cascade Audio APS-55 power supplies x 5, and 1 farad capacitor.
    Electronics: Denon 3806, Toshiba HD-A1, & Sony KDL46XBR2
    Accessories: Anti-IC interconnects, 8 Mondo Traps from Realtraps, and Salamander furniture.
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  • gadgetman
    gadgetman Posts: 28
    edited October 2005
    HOW do you rate the cables the cables at your top notch audio store will rate ixos cables over monster and blue jean cables. yes monster is over price
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,649
    edited October 2005
    Huh???
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited October 2005
    F1nut wrote:
    Huh???
    cablebonics
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited October 2005
    gadgetman wrote:
    HOW do you rate the cables the cables at your top notch audio store will rate ixos cables over monster and blue jean cables. yes monster is over price

    Ixos makes very nice sound cables. Compared to monster again you have to hear it in a system to compare. personally I perfer Ixos over Monster dollar for dollar. As far as top notch cables vs Blue Jeans, again Blue jeans is not a top notch cable, it's professional grade install quality which is a step up above patch cords.

    Shame the cable swap program went down as that was a good place to start learning about quality levels of wire.

    All generally say this , you get what you pay for. Wire is no different.There are many great deals out there but again you get what you pay for.

    Want solid advise?? Go around to all the local hi fi stores in your area and start talking with them about the wire they carry and what would be the correct llevel of cable for your given system. This way you can start trying out cables that should be in your system. Basically this is how I got my start many years ago.

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Posts: 168
    edited October 2005
    I never had any problems with Monster Cables, and I don't have any secret reasons for hating them or their company either. I hope that doesn't make me a bad person.......
    SuperDave
    Yamaha RX-V992 (Center,Rears)
    Adcom GFA-5500 (Mains)
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    DirecTV DVR Whole House
    Polk LSi25 Mains
    Polk LSiC Center
    Infinity RS1 Rears
    Monster THX Cables
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,197
    edited October 2005
    I use Monster in my system and have been very happy with the sound. I had a chance to demo a few cables for comparison and all cable's seems to have their pluses and minuses. The catch for me is I got my Monster Cables (400i MkII) for free. If I had to spend my hard money I'd definetly choose a different cable simply because Monster is over-priced and I don't care for some of their business practices. I am currently looking for different cables, but I want to make sure they will make a positive improvement before I spend the cash. If your system is up to the task you should hear subtle differences between cables, some less than others as some cables will sound similiar. It's a part of fine tuning the synergy of your own system. The only way you will know for sure is to try them on YOUR system.

    This is coming from soemeone who wasn't always convinced cables could make a difference, but they do and I'm a believer now. Again your system has to be up to the task. If you don't hear a difference there's a good chance your system isn't capable of reproducing the subtle changes.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,780
    edited October 2005
    If you don't hear a difference there's a good chance your system isn't capable of reproducing the subtle changes.

    Either that, or you don't have as good an imagination as those who do hear a difference. :rolleyes:
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,197
    edited October 2005
    WilliamM2 wrote:
    Either that, or you don't have as good an imagination as those who do hear a difference. :rolleyes:

    Let me guess, you've never changed cables around and heard a difference :confused: . Well to each their own. However I used to think it was everyone's imagination as well, but then I actually tried it and......guess what, some cables do sound very different. If you've tried it and find no difference then that's great and you speak from some experience with your own system. But, if you've never tried it then you can roll your eyes all you want, it means nothing.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,780
    edited October 2005
    Yes I tried many cables when a local dealer was offering home auditions. Waste of my time and his.

    I do like cables with an excellent build quality, and I'm willing to pay extra for it. But I have been unable to fool myself into thinking that they sound better.
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited October 2005
    I can tell the difference in sound between cables...many others can too...many can't...I'm not changing their mind...they're not changing my mind...I'm hallucinating...they're deaf... These dead end discussions get so tiresome. WHO F****G CARES! :rolleyes:
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,649
    edited October 2005
    Basically, I agree with Shack, but just for S&G's, what cables have you tried and on what gear?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited October 2005
    I did the blind test on my wife and she could tell the difference. Look up the word skeptic, her picture is there. I believe that it TOTALLY depends on the quality of gear you are using. Just my $0.025. I need more for US Funds. Like the Man said, To each his own.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited October 2005
    So sorry to inform but cables matter, can make a small to large difference depending upon voltage output/input of source/receiving gear based upon resistance ratio's. Amazes me when non-believers try to influence others, when really trying to convince themselves. Seems like there has got to be a proverb in there somewhere!! :)

    RT1

    Sometimes Vodoo can kill you.
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  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,200
    edited October 2005
    Most people look at the price of some cables and think "I'm not paying that for wire" but most of those people will spend more then that on a speaker pair of amp.

    People who are close minded are missing out on some of lifes little treasures. There loss.
    I'm not into trying to convince anyone if wire makes a difference or not. It's there audio journey to figure that out on there own.

    I did did you?

    Dan
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,649
    edited October 2005
    mantis wrote:
    Most people look at the price of some cables and think "I'm not paying that for wire" but most of those people will spend more then that on a speaker pair of amp.

    Is it just me???
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • ND13
    ND13 Posts: 7,601
    edited October 2005
    F1nut wrote:
    Is it just me???


    Nope
    "SOME PEOPLE CALL ME MAURICE,
    CAUSE I SPEAK OF THE POMPITIOUS OF LOVE"
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited October 2005
    (edit) I thought we were talking about interconnects, not speaker cables. Maybe next time I'll take the time to read the entire thread. :rolleyes:

    Nice to see you're still here F1. You're the senior citizen of the lot now. ;)
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • Holydoc
    Holydoc Posts: 1,048
    edited October 2005
    Comancho,

    I have had very good luck with Bluejeans cables. They are very well put together. I use the 10gauge on my front and center speakers as well as for my 7.1 pre-outs.

    I also have Monster Cable XP running to my back speakers. I used the Monster to replace very thin cheap wire that was installed for me (see http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32049 for the full story). Let me stress that I was very disappointed in the fact that Monster cable does not give you a gauge size and also has a solid plastic core.

    Though I cannot tell you which cable is best, I can testify that buying a cable that is too thin or has too much resistance will cause a dramatic difference in sound. However, I am not experienced enough to be able to say that a 10gauge $1000/foot cable sounds any better than a 10gauge $0.10/foot Home Depot extension cord.
    Holydoc (Home Theatre Lover)
    __________________________________________
    Panasonic -50PX600U 50" Plasma
    Onkyo -TX-NR901 Receiver
    Oppo -Oppo 980HD Universal DVD Player
    Outlaw -770 (7x200watt) Amplifier
    PolkAudio - RTi12 (Left and Right)
    PolkAudio - CSi5 (Center)
    PolkAudio - FXi3 (Back and Surround)
    SVS - PB-12/Plus (Subwoofer)
    Bluejean Cables - Interconnects
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