Monster Cable

2michaud

Yes, ANOTHER question. do the blinking monster and other flashy expensive cables REALLY make a difference? or is it all smoke and mirrors.

Face

In my experience, as far as interconnects go, yes, sometimes a very big difference. Going from Monster to SignalCable speaker wire also made a noticeable difference all around.

tonyb

Read up,and listen for yourself.Do not compare cables of same quality and price.Though good bargains can be had,you still get what you pay for.Buy the best you can afford and don't look back.To me,Home depot cable is better than Monster.But thats my opinion.Beg,borrow,and steal what you can and listen for yourself.

2michaud

interconnects...as in dvd to amp for example? I have home depot 12 gauge already. happy with that. But my optical cable going from my computer to amp is cheap as anything. will a 150$ monster caable really be worth it?

ben62670

I was totally against cables making a difference, and even picked on "rich dummies" for their opinions on expensive cables. The best advice I can give on this topic is to try some good IC cables like PBJ's or mid priced Audio Quest between your amp, and Pre. I just recently upgraded my cheap optical to a $45 monster digital cable. I thought well 1's and 0's are going to be 1's and 0's right. There was a substantial difference between the 2. The monster sounded better hands down. I am not a big fan of monster. They are over priced for what you get, but for the $5 clearance price I paid I figured why not. I made some IC's out of solid silver wire with WBT connectors that sound much better than any of the aftermarket store types. The only other cable that sounded as good were Straight Wire EncoreII's. A lot depends on the resolution of your system. I someone has a standard chain retailer type equipment you will should not hear a big difference if not any over decent BB or CC type aftermarket cables. If you are using a receiver then you could try using a pair of cables between a source, and your receiver.
Enjoy; Ben

Kenji_lim

:rolleyes: monster cable???how much it cost?? quality good???:rolleyes:

ben62670

Kenji_lim wrote: »

:rolleyes: monster cable???how much it cost?? quality good???:rolleyes:

1 $5
2 better than standard comes in a box type.

Please reread my post. I have tried many different cables, and did quite a few DIYs, and have heard others. I don't even like monster as a company, but if they made a positive difference I will post it. Am I saying that is some thing I would stick to. Not nessecarily. I use digital for mocie viewing, and PBJ style IC's with nuetrik conectors for the 5.1 direct out(SACD's). My speaker cables are AQ star quad Type4 solid conductors, and one set has the DBS battery system. Neiter of those cable are cheap; $200 and $475 for each pair that I got on clearence for $100 for both sets:D I am not running crap except for my optical drives, and a real cheap TT.
Just to give you an Idea of what I am running...

Adcom GFA-585, GFA-5800, GFA-7500, and a GFA-555 all on one system
I also had a Sunfire Cinama Grand that I did not like, and sold an Adcom GFA-5400 that was a little under powered for my present system.
Outlaw 990 PrePro
Custome SDA's with 24 drivers per cabinet with Morel tweeters, Solen caps, mills resistor, and some upgraded inductors. Tri amped.
Polk RTA-15TLs as surrounds.
I am not bragging here, but letting you know what kind of system I am running.

engtaz

ben62670 wrote: »

1 $5

Just to give you an Idea of what I am running...

Adcom GFA-585, GFA-5800, GFA-7500, and a GFA-555 all on one system
I also had a Sunfire Cinama Grand that I did not like, and sold an Adcom GFA-5400 that was a little under powered for my present system.
Outlaw 990 PrePro
Custome SDA's with 24 drivers per cabinet with Morel tweeters, Solen caps, mills resistor, and some upgraded inductors. Tri amped.
Polk RTA-15TLs as surrounds.
I am not bragging here, but letting you know what kind of system I am running.

Why not brag.

ben62670

engtaz wrote: »

Why not brag.

I do it for me, and I like to share. Its not a status thing with me. I think a lot of people here feel like I do. I just wanted to share that I am into pretty decent stuff, not just saying things to feel important:)

engtaz

For all the hard work you did on the Custom SDA, it was a lot of hand made work. Bragging not to be pompous but to be excited all your hard work paid off and most of all it can be done.

heiney9

2michaud wrote: »

Yes, ANOTHER question. do the blinking monster and other flashy expensive cables REALLY make a difference? or is it all smoke and mirrors.

Yep, there is most likely 50-60 threads about your exact question. Try using the search feature if you are really interested in an in depth answer.

H9

Kahuna

I've always adhered to this phrase:

Monster Cables - You can rarely pay more, but you can ALWAYS buy BETTER...

dragon1952

2michaud wrote: »

interconnects...as in dvd to amp for example? I have home depot 12 gauge already. happy with that. But my optical cable going from my computer to amp is cheap as anything. will a 150$ monster caable really be worth it?

Most of the general public seems to think Monster is the epitome of quality. They're far from it dude. Don't think Monster when you're talking about higher-end cables. They may be adequate, they are definitely overpriced and they are far from the best.
Whenever I'm doing a search for speaker wire, for example like I am right now for some in-wall wire, the first thing I type into the search window is "-monster"

cfrizz

WWW.bluejeanscable.com

Makes very good cables that slip on & off like a dream, & don't cost an arm and a leg.

You can also try signal cable. Others here recommend them highly as well.

Even though Monster made a difference in my system, I will never buy from them again. Reason 1. too much money. Reason 2. they are the big bad bullies of the IC world & I don't like bullies!

heiney9

Cathy's advice about Blue Jeans cable is excellent and I personally use Signal Cable products which I feel are great bang for the buck as well.

www.signalcable.com

2michaud

Well, the blue jeans cable looks interesting...although I don't like the look of the small company, and also the look of the cables themselves. And I'm not about to pay 22$ for shipping for a 20$ signal cable to Canada :eek:

McCelery

I just purchased a Belkin digital RCA IC from Blue Jeans and was pretty damn psyched about the price. I got sucked into looking at a few websites with waaaay too many choices for ICs with marginal design and cost differences and my head was spinning. BJC is pretty easy to deal with, even if the Paypal interface is a little hokey. I can't wait to hear the difference over the current shoelace wire I'm running

Willow

where in Canada are you?

engtaz

cfrizz,
What type of bluejean speaker wires do you have or recommend?

cfrizz

I only have IC's from BJC. I have Monster Cable for my mains & center (I got them before I knew they were evil & before I joined this club!) And I have some of this in white for my back channels.

http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/store/category.cgi?category=acc_wire&item=a116100zz

At some point my brother is going to upgrade his speaker wire and I intend to recommend that he get the 10 gauge Belden 5000 series Cable from BJC. I would have it pre-terminated with banana's just for ease.

If I ever decide to change my speaker wire it is what I would get as well.

cfrizz

Michaud, that small company makes well built cables & has very fast shipping & outstanding customer service. I suspect that it has been growing by leaps & bounds. But I do understand about the shipping cost.:)

Here is a question asked on a thead on the Audioholics forum that the owner of BJC addressed personally.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33640&highlight=blue+jeans+cable

2michaud wrote: »

Well, the blue jeans cable looks interesting...although I don't like the look of the small company, and also the look of the cables themselves. And I'm not about to pay 22$ for shipping for a 20$ signal cable to Canada :eek:

engtaz

Thank you

cfrizz

You are welcome! That is why this board exists, to help others!

2michaud

Well, I gotta say, BJC is beginning to grow on me. Might be worth the ridiculous shipping in the end. I am in AB Canada.

Willow

wjat type of cables are you looking for ? I can check to see what I have around.. maybe some AQ, I know I have some AR pro II..

2michaud

Optical cable mostly. Some 10, 12 gauge might be nice too.

Willow

I'll check what I have and let you know !

cfrizz

That's why it took me to this year to get an MP3 player. I only use it when I am traveling. But it saved my sanity in June when I went down to see my brother in DC!

So as it stands now, It will get used about 2 times a year. Until it's needed, it just sits on top of one of my speakers.:D

Lasareath wrote: »

I did buy a SignalCable Silver iPod cable but after finishing my 1.2tl's and getting some high powered amps I stopped using my iPod because when I did A/B comparisons between my CDP & the iPod.

The compressed ripped MP3's were so lacking that it was depressing. Even at the highest settings of 320 bits it just sounded like crap!

Sal

madmax

Lasareath wrote: »

I've been using Phoenix Gold for years.

I did a big install in my 1990 Mitsubishi Eclispe GSX and after I totalled the car I ripped everything out and I have enough Interconnects to use for my home system that I harly had to buy anything since except for optical cable.

I did buy a SignalCable Silver iPod cable but after finishing my 1.2tl's and getting some high powered amps I stopped using my iPod because when I did A/B comparisons between my CDP & the iPod.

The compressed ripped MP3's were so lacking that it was depressing. Even at the highest settings of 320 bits it just sounded like crap!

I have 12ga Monster speaker cable. I always liked Kimber cable but I have never bought any.

When I went from Monster mini to Monster 12GA I noticed a difference.

I will eventually try other speaker cables and Interconnect cables, I just haven't figured out which ones I want yet.

Sal

Ha ha,
So someone else does have these Phoenix Gold interconnects! I bought a whole box of these years back and have used them ever since. Until you spend a LOT of dollars you won't find anything that sounds better. For example, if I need a longer cable than my MIT for some reason, out comes the PG cable. Its the only one I can stand in place of the MIT's and thats saying a lot.
madmax

auto_pilot

www.monoprice.com

www.pacificcustomcable.com (i believe that's it...otherwise google: Pacific Custom Cable)

Yashu

Monster Cable does produce some speaker wire that doesn't suck too bad, but it costs way more than wire that you can get from, say, Home Depot, or even Acoustic Research, wire that sounds better also.

As far as Interconnects go, I do not think Monster even should be considered for mid-fi.

I say this because you can buy some really awsome ICs online, and from smaller vendors, for really good prices (like Vampire Wire)...

Oh and there is this reason too... A funny graphic I found online sums it up pretty well, Monster and their aggressive litigation against anything or anyone using the word "monster", of course, unless they pay a cash settlement, like with Monster.com (the job site).