A way off topic, but a lot of us might be buying cables over the holiday season to connect new toys together.   I have long hated monster cable and their outrageous prices yet seemingly endless ability to be pushed by the big box stores...

Read this and neat article on Monster Cable going after "Blue Jeans Cable"
http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/blue-jeans-strikes-back

And recently Monster sued a Monster Mini Golf chain, too.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/26/monster-cable-at-it-again-sues-mini-golf-company/


BTW - I believe there are companies in Canada that make & sell cables ( http://www.infinitecables.com )

A fun luch-time read...

Thanks for the links, guys. Very eye opening.

Duane

monoprice.com has great prices as well but it's US.

You think Monster Cable is expensive (and they are NOT top of the line), I custom built Audioquest Rubylitz interconnect cables decade or more ago and I still think I am paying them off.  Sweet sound though. Anyone still using lamp cord for speaker wire and thin RCA cables for interconnects because they don't hear the difference qualifies as partly deaf (but may have an earlier retirement than I).  

Quoted from websherpa

You think Monster Cable is expensive (and they are NOT top of the line), I custom built Audioquest Rubylitz interconnect cables decade or more ago and I still think I am paying them off.  Sweet sound though. Anyone still using lamp cord for speaker wire and thin RCA cables for interconnects because they don't hear the difference qualifies as partly deaf (but may have an earlier retirement than I).  

This has been scientifically studied, when blinded, people cannot tell the difference between cheap and expensive audio cables. As long as you don't know which cable you're listening to, you cannot tell if it's the high quality cable or the low quality cable.

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I'd rather send my money to Wayne for an MM then buy cables for more than $10 a piece. I too second the recommendation for monoprice.com.

Also, don't forget that if you're looking for digital cables (HDMI, DVI, optical/spdif), as long as the cable works, then it is phsyically impossible to make the signal sound/look better. The signal is digital!

WHen I was in Computer sales, cables were a hight profit sale. Namely over 400% easy.

I have done that test before myself purchased a 15$ cable from wallmart and a 200$ from monster and the 15$phillips one was just the same.
The only thing i noticed diffrent was that if you pull out cable to much like maybe 25 times a day it will wear out.
But come on once you hook it up how many times will you unplug and plug back in your DVD or xbox360?
The 200$ cable went back.

Quoted from ethous

I have done that test before myself purchased a 15$ cable from wallmart and a 200$ from monster and the 15$phillips one was just the same.
The only thing i noticed diffrent was that if you pull out cable to much like maybe 25 times a day it will wear out.
But come on once you hook it up how many times will you unplug and plug back in your DVD or xbox360?
The 200$ cable went back.

Cables are the ink cartridges of the A/V world.. just go to Joe's computer shop and buy them there.  I just bought a 6-foot HDMI cable from Sayal for $14.99, does the trick just fine.  Digital -> Digital = loss less, don't be fooled into spending $100+ on a video cable, it's really a waste of money.

I listen to you guys and there is some truth in what you are saying, but audio cables do make a difference, BUT ONLY WITH THE PROPER EQUIPMENT.  Monster cable, Acoustic research and these low end cable companies are as you guys state "a waste of money".

But if you are talking High End Audio, that is another story, they make the biggest difference. I was very involved the hobby and at one point my audio system was well over $30K. All vacuum tube equipment. The cables used in that system made an UNBELIEVABLE difference. The most shocking difference i ever noticed was in the power cord, yes the AC cord. It left me speechless as I could not believe it. For my system I used Cardas Interconnects, MIT speaker cables. Every single cable I tested and I kept made a noticable difference. I still have one power cord at home that cost $1200 USD. I have drastically scaled back my audio system since, but still use Cardas interconnect in my theatre room. But I agree with all of you with Monster Cable, do not waste your money, it is just as good as the made in China stuff you can buy anywhere.  

In no way am I saying the thieves at Monster have it right, they are ripping people off.  However, there is SOME truth in quality of cabling can bring better quality of video or audio and that is with shielding. Take speaker cables, depending on the cable quality, interference from ceiling lights/electrical power could cause issues that many don’t hear but some do.  Additionally, I agree that for most of the tests there is none to minimal difference however I could challenge the tests depending on the participants, the equipment used and the environment.  On the “participants” issue, what I mean by that is this: there are a couple of people I know who see no difference between a Hi-Def BluRay and a DVD.  Those same people never saw a difference between laserdisc and VHS and they don’t hear a substantial difference between dolby surround pro-logic and Dolby Digital 5.1.  They aren’t wrong, I don’t think they are deaf it’s a subjective thing so I would say it’s up to the user. If someone sees a difference between a monster cable and a cheapo, who am I to say he’s wrong?  I may not see the difference but I will just say I think he’s paying too much for a difference in quality “I” don’t see.

Bottom line: I do agree Monsters are thieves. Last year, I ordered a 4 port HDMI switch box and 3 HDMI cables from a company based in Vancouver (an EBAY store). I paid $8 per cable and they work just fine .