necros

OK first, here's my current setup..

I have a sony home theatre reciever package.. 5 speakers plus subwoofer.. cost around $600 when I got it 6 months ago, goes for closer to 500 now I think, (should be here: http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer...ht-dw710.shtml ) and I have the cheapest Sony DVD player you can get, cost me $250 ( http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer...dvp-s360.shtml ) ... and a 2 year old Sanyo 25" TV with just 1 RCA video & audio port in the back

Anyway, the way it works is the reciever controls everything.. so, I have 1 rca video cable going from the reciever to the tv, and my dvd player has 1 rca video cable going into the reciever, and 1 optical wire thingy for the sound. (Also have a dreamcast and cable tv going into the reciver, and I just switch back and forth to whatever I wanna use)

Anyway, I started out with the speaker wires that came with the sterio. I recently upgraded to monster cable for the speakers, and I heard no difference in sound quality whatsoever. I changed the generic RCA cables for audio and video to monster cable, and saw no difference in picture quality (but my TV sucks so even if it did make a difference I wouldn't know) or sound quality. My entire system is connected using all Monster Cable now... and I don't see or hear any difference in quality at all.

So.... why spend all that extra cash on expensive cables, if it's not gonna do a dang thing? Everyone I talk to says it's the best, but I kinda get the idea now that people just say that only because it's expensive, so if it's expensive, they think it's better?

I dunno.. I feel kinda cheated I guess

vlad

this is a holy issue...

no, the cables do not make a difference. Good connectors do, but that matters most if you plug and unplug the system alot.

Good shielding is also nice, but most shielding is enough.

I have read comparisons of the high dollar stuff agains lamp cord wire and it took an o-scope to tell the difference. (your ears is far less accurate.)

necros

well as far as connectors, on the rca cables and stuff, it's just the monster cable from end to end, the connectors are big and heavy-duty looking

for the speakers though, I just have the naked wire itself as the connector.. just stripped a half inch of the rubber casing part off the wire and stuck it in the little holes in the speakers and the sterio.. I also bought these special connector things that were supposed to go on the end of the wire, but they were a little too big for the speakers holes.. they fit but like real tight

vlad

I am using bare wire on my speakers and on my amp as both have the 5-way binding posts. The biggest difference you will see on speaker wire is making sure you have large enough wire gauge to carry the current. The smaller the gauge number the larger the wire. For most people 12-14 or even 16 gauge is fine.

Pantera

This is definitely a very touchy issue amongst the HT forums. You'll have a bunch of people telling you that cables matter and just as many saying they don't. I think in your case, most people would agree that the cables won't make a difference because you're not running a high end sytem. If the signal from your receiver or your speakers are the weak link, cable is not going to improve anything.

Personally, I wouldn't spend too much on wiring, but I also don't have a high end system. But I also wouldn't use low quality wiring either, which is what I would guess came with your system originally. Something of decent quality and reasonably priced is probably good enough for 90% of the people out there.

But if you're running a $10,000 system, maybe it's worth it to buy some expensive wires. A rule that I've heard is to spend about 10% of your total system on wiring. In your case, that would be about $50-$60. There will probably be others to tell you different, but those are my thoughts.

ZenDog

Necros,
For your system the extra money on cables and wires is basically wasted. I would return those wires if you are not happy with their performance compared to their cost. I suggest going to a local Radio Shack and picking up some of their good cable and wire that not only costs significantly less, but also performs very close to Monster cables and wires. I agree with Pantera and Vlad 100%. In my opinion, unless you have an elite HT setup, Monster wires and cables are just money better spent on other HT equiptment.

Josh H

Monster Cable is better than the crap the comes packed in with home theater equipment. However, it is not any better than the much cheaper Radio Shack Gold Cables IMHO.

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Josh Hinkle
My DVD's
My CD's

BEC

quote:<HR>So.... why spend all that extra cash on expensive cables, if it's not gonna do a dang thing?<HR>

Some people do see/hear improvement on their systems. The effect may be dramatic or subtle, real or imagined, but it still is improvement that people want to pay for.
Sounds like the best option for you is to return/sell the cables.

Sometimes, it's also for the added insurance that there is no weak link in the system. Typically, these systems are already quite expensive and owners feel like they don't want to take any chances.

quote:<HR> Everyone I talk to says it's the best, but I kinda get the idea now that people just say that only because it's expensive, so if it's expensive, they think it's better?<HR>

CAREFUL! A hard-core cable proponent will take those as fighting words.

There maybe people who are just "fooled" by the price tag or who want bragging rights of expensive cables. However, many pro-cable people are very critical listeners/viewers w/superb gear. I would not assume they are all imagining things.

BTW, Monster is not the say-all-end-all of quality cables. There are many other equal or higher quality cable makers out there.




[This message has been edited by BEC (edited September 29, 2000).]

BoBoish

As far as speaker wire, Recoton sells 30 or 40 feet of 12 ga for $2.99 (www.recotondirect.com), which is just as good as any other speaker wire. For connectors and my optical cable I used Acoustic Research, which is basically the same as Monster Cable but just much cheaper....www.avconnect.com. I have also heard that www.partsexpress.com has good quality banana plugs for cheap.

Bo.

cruzness

I had at first been sceptical about buying Monster cables. So a friend who happens to install home theatre systems gave me a couple to test out. When I used them on the VCR and on the 200 disc CD player to connect them to my receiver ( all Sony components) I was impressed by the difference in sound quality. Eveything was much sharper than the Rca cables I had bought from radio shack. When I tried out the cables on the DVD Player (also Sony) The improvement was no as drastic as with my other components. Still it impressed me enough to get me to go and replace all my cables to monster( I even bought their surge supressor) the only cables I did not change was my speaker wire( my speakers are all Bose and already come with their own special wiring) I am now a firm believer in the fact that the wires that are connected to the reciever do make a difference whether they are monster (my preference) or Acoustic (highly rcommended by my friend also)

[This message has been edited by cruzness (edited September 29, 2000).]

tommy28

cruzness,if that acoustic reasearch thats what i use...a real nice cable...ts

4KRG

These threads always make me laugh

Go buy yourself some monster cables from a place that has a 30 day return policy, go buy some radio shack high end gold plated cables (should be obvious what I mean here when you get into the store) we all know radio shack has a good return policy on cables.

Take your new cables home and find a reference source of YOUR choice (I personally would not choose a VCR but that is just me) Swap the cables around many many times until you are sure which sound/lok better and then RETURN the cables YOU do NOT like and tell every one else what they can do with THEIR opinion.

Simple enough?

TThiel

Imagined or real? After reading the debates at the Home Theater Forum regarding cabling. I went out and bought the 16GA cable. The monster cables were like $1.25 per ft. while the other were $.85 per ft.
(I went with the cheaper brand)
The gauge I was using previously I believe were 10ga.

IMHO there is a difference in the Base quality but only if played loud enough! And if you have a very good amp and very good speakers. My problem is that when I pump up the volume high enough to hear the difference, my wife starts complaining about the noise level and the vibrations I'm creating. It also seems to make a difference in the clarity of the spoken dialog and doesn't sound muddy when combined with the base noise.

But whether or not it's real or imagined, I like to think that I had made the right decision and didn't waste my money. And I'm sticking with it!

(You know the sound of two hands clapping, But do you know the sound of ONE hand clapping?) I do! Because I have the 16GA wires!

Justin Doring

Monster Cable is far from the best stuff out there, but it's good enough for most systems. I use their 12 ga. wire and entry-level interconnects in my mid-fi ($13,000 list) HT system, and I noticed a very, very slight improvement over the generic interconnects, so it doesn't surprise me that you saw and heard no difference in your system. At least when you upgrade, you won't have to worry about wires! In my high-end 2 channel system I use Nordost, and the difference between that and the Monster stuff is night and day.

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"Home is where the theater is!"