Monster Cables Are a Rip Off

[Northern Wish]

From Marketplace on CBC the other night, they had some serious testing done on various cables ranging from $200 Monsters, to $12 internet cheapies. Guess what? NO DIFFERENCE.

Don't get hosed.

And don't shop at Future Shop- their director of product pricing was a total asshat dissing the testing methodology and claiming that the length of life of the cable contributed to price. But you would still have at least $180 to replace the cheap one.

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/packing_the_deal/

Sean

[ollie]

CBC must have seen my reply in the Car Stereo thread.

http://www.jambands.ca/sanctuary/showpost.php?post/510771/

Here's a related warning on the "Did I just get ripped off?" tip: don't buy Monster brand cables!! Ever.

[Northern Wish]

I saw it, but didn't want it to get lost in the sexual innuendo of bokonons post. I figured this was important news to a lot of folks on here.

[ollie]

I saw it, but didn't want it to get lost in the sexual innuendo of bokonons post. I figured this was important news to a lot of folks on here.

I agree. Bumped for exposure.

General rule of thumb is that most everything the dude at Future Shop tells you is a complete lie.

[AD]

http://futureshopsucks.com/

[bouche]

I bought a cable from monoprice that bridged HDMI to DVI for 6 bucks. It was $100 at futureshop at their cheaper ROCKETFISH brand. Monster was twice that price.

[jonyak]

The fact of the matter is, that it is transmitting a digital signal... there is no way you could get signal loss through a cable. The only thing the receiver need is either and "on" or an "off" that is distinguishable. and with todays receivers the difference in these 2 signals can be so small and still be used.

The data transmitted is encoded on these digital signals. So theoreticaly you could use a piece of speaker cable and as long as you had 2 different states at the other end you don't lose anything.

now this differs with analog signals because then you are actualy sending the data itself over the wire. and if you get interference it can distort the signal, or if you end up losing some of your signal it is never replaceable.

sorry if I got a little nerdy there.

[phishtaper]

on phish tour in '95, marc nutter, a taper / equipment salesman (sonic sense) from denver, started hocking monster cables for mics. they had a clear transparent cover with thick silver braided wire inside. with the emerging, large assortment of new digital gear hitting the market, a lot of tapers had developed a gotta get the best thing available mentality, including analog mic cables. marc had a variety of different cables, but these things looked so cool, a lot of people bought them. for a couple of years, half the tapers section had these very distinctive cables. over time, it became known that they were good cables, but didnt live up to the hype.

[LXQ42]

this differs with analog signals because then you are actualy sending the data itself over the wire. and if you get interference it can distort the signal, or if you end up losing some of your signal it is never replaceable.

Also, with Analog Video feeds, there is a signal loss over distance. That's why if you're sending video over distance (ie. concert video) you'll see repeaters along the line to increase the signal power and avoid loss.

[mattm]

My only thing with wires is that I like them to be gold plated at least so that moisture won't damage them but other than that, over short distances (average 6 feet or so) there really isn't a difference.

There is a difference over large distances with better quality wires. The reason for this is the same as analogue but different in a way. With digital, the information will not degrade but what actually degrades is the amount of power running through it so that the receiver has a hard time determining the two different states. Good wires will be able to hold a consistent power level over longer distances (think HDMI connected home theater where 100' of wire is needed to get to a projector, etc). On these lines, you can just get repeaters that boost the signal fixing this.

The other thing is that higher quality cables have better insulation and therefore are less affected by outside interference. Enough interference can cause a change in the power level and more importantly, the timing of the signals can change, confusing the receiver (timing has to be pretty exact and large magnetic fields can affect this). This would only ever be noticed in an area with a bunch of equipment running that hasn't been properly shielded (which most equipment is).

Verdict: 99.99% of time it doesn't matter which wire you get if you're just trying to get a signal, the info won't change. If the situation warrants better quality wires, a company like Monster is not the way to go, there are much better high end companies out there. The main reason one should get high end cables is for durability rather than signal if digital is involved and this will almost never be anyone that is just connecting home stereo/video equipment.

Edited February 29, 2008 by Guest

[bouche]

My only thing with wires is that I like them to be gold plated at least so that moisture won't damage them but other than that,

why are you gettting your wires wet???

[fluffhead77]

http://consumerist.com/362926/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables

Coat hangers all the way baby!