New inter connects (1 Viewer)

[George Martin]

Hi all.

I have a question for you all or should I say I want to ask your opinion. Right now the wiring and interconnects in my system are a majority of Radio shack gold. There are also some Tributaries and AR in the mix. The store I work for has just become a Monster Cable dealer, which means I can buy Monster cable at a subtancial discount. I have been looking at the M-550 series an I have figured I can replace all the cables in my system for about 300.00. This does not include speaker wire, which I can buy bulk from the store at cost. Is it really worth it to go Monster. Oh buy the way at the Monster training class I did win a HTS-2100 power bar. I have yet to hook it up but I hope it will do what they claim.

 

[Saurav]

For $300, I think you could very easily build yourself a set of cables which would measurably outperform anything you can buy. Other than that, I've heard so many mixed reviews about Monster that I really don't see much of a consensus. I think the 5xx series usually gets pretty good reviews for being better value-for-money than their cheaper lines.

 

[Chu Gai]

You have to ask and then answer the question if there is a need to upgrade. Assuming your present cables are not damaged in anyway and are not suffering from any sort of oxidation, personally, I can't see a reason why you should. During your training class, did they teach you how to evaluate whether one cable sounds better than another? This is not as trivial a matter as some would think.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

George,
Chu is not a believer in cable upgrades making a sonic difference so he dissents on all these types of posts.
I would upgrade, because you can get better results than Radio Shack.
I recommend Audioquest cables in your price range. They are great value for the money.

Lee

 

[Chu Gai]

Good to see you again Lee...hope all is well with you and your family

 

[Saurav]

What would be the point of living in a world where everyone agreed on everything?

 

[Alf S]

I have to agree with Chu.

Unless you are experiencing problems, the odds are, IMHO, EXTREMELY slim that you will notice a difference jumping from the cables you have to the Monsters. Seems like more of a lateral move if anything.

If you think you need to upgrade, I'd take a one pair home (since you work there, shouldn't be a problem), and hook it up to the one component you feel needs "improving" the most in sound quality, listen, and decide if you hear a SIGNIFICANT change in sound. If not, return them to your store and pocket the $300 for something else. If of course you are blown away by the new improved sound the Monsters spill forth, by all means dump $300 into more cables.

Just my opinion...

Alfer

 

[Saurav]

I don't think that's quite what Chu was trying to say

 

[George Martin]

well guys thanks for the replys. I have not made up my mind yet.

And CHU they did not teach us how to determine if one cable sounds better than another. But with what they showed us about how MONSTER was built it's got to be better that Radio Shack.

I just trying to get some help in justifing buying $1000.00

worth of cables for 300.00. Even if they dont sound better I can say I have all Monster Cable.

 

[Alf S]

Even if they dont sound better I can say I have all Monster Cable

:rolleyes
Please tell us you're joking??
Certainly you wouldn't throw away $300 just to brag to friends that you have Monster Cables (especially if they DON'T sound better than what you have)??
If that's not a waste of money, I don't know what is.
This defenitely goes to show that some folks just like to say they have "brand X boutique" wires/cables even when the product doesn't make a bit of difference.

 

[Chu Gai]

well if having the brand monster in your system somehow makes you feel better, then by all means buy them. 70% off of list is substantial to the enduser and Monster, the store, and the store manager are still making money. this is a common technique by companies to foster brand loyalty and to have individuals throw in their own testimonials when speaking with other individuals. human nature is such that we all want to feel that we're a part of something. it can be a lonely world without that feeling of connection and this is not lost upon those marketing products. I'm sure Monster, due to their size, employs rather sophisticated quality control techniques and they do have a lifetime warranty I think (don't lose your receipt). as for myself, I'm not of the mindset that brand names matter all that much. It may well be that the construction of Monster cables is superior but as to whether the alleged superiority means anything especially in terms of sonic or visual improvements over say RadioShack or AR or GE for the enduser is something that is testable. by that i don't mean 'reviews' in publications either. that is one of the reasons for the training that monster provided which is to grind their own axe. to that end, i am a proponent of rigorous testing for the purposes of determining if there are visual and sonic differences. that of course involves the removal of bias. However ask yourself the following question? If you were to change jobs, move to a different audio store, and let's say that the store you moved to does not carry Monster and instead carries Chilean Umber (a fictitious name...i think!). You'll get training on this particular wire and the presenter will tell you how much better it is than Monster. It's got xenon infused copper to drive out every last vestige of oxygen and the strands are woven in a unique patented method. Maybe it has a sheath of nuclear grade teflon or a controlled molecular weight and the plating on the connectors is rhodium that comes from a particular country and has been micropolished. Maybe you'll see electron micrographs illustrating the differences between that cable and your Monster that you dropped $300 for. Mind you now, its exclusive and all the audiophile sites and magazines are raving about it. You have the opportunity to buy a complete set for 80% off and its only going to cost you $450. What do you do? Myself I'd look for a way to justify that cost on the basis of performance but others may well enjoy owning them because they were a bargain or they're exclusive. Valid reasons for some and not for others.

An alternative approach if you wish to lighten yourself of $300 and one that may well yield a greater satisfaction would be to work on the room and the placeemnt of your existing system to enhance the sound quality i.e. minimizing frequency humps, reflections, etc. That's my $0.02.

 

[Dave E H]

I've found that Monster stuff isn't bad, just too expensive for what the quality is. If you can get a substantial discount, then I'd do it.

I do like their 'Monster Power' stuff - got 2 of their units and will probably get a third. That might be worth looking into.

Other than that, I now usually buy some canare variant - bettercables, cobaltcables and the like. I've looked into making them myself and just decided I had better things to do with my time. YMMV.

 

[Eric_Lakes]

George,

It seems to me that if you are going after name brand recognition, you will never win. Monster Cables are by far not the cream of crop. As far as most recognizable, YES. But best cables, NO. In the same respect as with BOSE speakers. Most recognizable, YES. Best Speakers, NO! It's all about marketing. If you poll people what's the best Cable and Speaker, 8 out of 10 responses will be Monster and Bose. Because of that brand name recoginiton, both companies can sell their products for 2 to 4 times more then their competitors. Another good example, but not as lopsided as Monster and Bose is SONY. Take a look at BestBuy at the Sony 1075 Receiver, it list for $599. Ask anyone one that is into HT, if they had $599 what Receiver would they buy and I guarentee you that no one would say the Sony 1075. Ask the 8 out of 10 people that answered Moster and Bose, and most of them would say get a Sony. So the question is, are you tring to impress people that dont know anything about HT? If you system has all Sony products and you are using Bose speakers then by all means, go get those Moster Cables. But if you took the time to research your components and buy the best ones for your budget and what you need, then I would reconsider $300 worth of cables.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

George,
I would never buy cables just for the name recognition. Okay, I might be tempted by Nordost Valhallas
Still, I am sure you can do well with these Monsters (I still prefer Audioquest, though) with your discount.
This has got to be sonically much better than Rat Shack based on my experience. I would go for it.
One further cheap tweak: Caig ProGold ($10 and up) applied on your system contacts with pipe cleaners. This makes a surprising difference.

Chu,
Good to hear from you. Just thought we needed a disclaimer on your earlier post. I may see George Cardas in NYC soon - still trying to get a test together.
Lee

 

[Chu Gai]

No rush Lee...btw I am a proponent of clean contacts and all that. Many problems can certainly be traced to oxidation and poor electrical connections. Glorious weather we're having here these days. BTW, I do own a turntable that I bought many many years ago at what I thought was a hell of a price...a vintage transcriptor but I play on giving it to my son. I bought it because I couldn't pass up the price and it sure looked cool in its day. I only wish that when I had gone away to college many years ago that my mother didn't junk the two wooden, maybe 4 foot high or so tube radios that I had. And to think...they worked too! Even shortwave!

 

[Chris Carswell]

George,
What type of set up do you have? If we are talking about a Best Buy special then Nordost SPM Reference with Quattro Fil RCA interconnects all the way arround would make much difference. A good rule of thumb that keeps popping up is the 10% rule. You spend $2000 on your system set aside $200 for cables. If you want to spend $300 on cables as opposed to some other upgrade then by all means go for it. You need the cables anyway and I will say that they should help out over the current crap you are using.
I like what Eric_Lakes had to say. Also, Lee Scoggins
made a good point about cleaning your terminals. Just don't tell us you will be hooking all this up to your new KRELL gear you got at an estate sale

 

[Lee Scoggins]

A good rule of thumb that keeps popping up is the 10% rule.

This well intentioned but I must disagree. This rule may keep popping up, but many audiophiles wish it would go away. In my experience, I have found that cables are as important as any component. We regulary spend in the hundreds and thousands for the right cable, so I find this rule limiting...
I have found some expensive cables that sound good and some that sound bad.
Depending on the system, one may want to spend as much as 20%-40% or higher.

Lee

 

[George Martin]

well my system consist of the following.
Onkyo TX-DS989 receiver
Onkyo DV-M301 301 disc DVD/CD player
Onkyo DX-RD511 dual tray CD recorder
Pioneer PL-51 turntable
JVC XV-S60BK progressive scan DVD player
Pioneer SD-643hd5 64" RPT
Jamo cornet 195 mains
Jamo 7.2 center
Def Tech BP1.2 side surrounds
RCA Pro X55AV rear surrounds
Sub woofer- DYI with PE plate amp and Eclipse woofer
My Theater