I’ve always thought that Monster cables were a scam, and that the supposed quality improvement couldn’t justify the ridiculously high prices, and that it was quite annoying that they’ve monopolized so much shelf space in the electronics stores. It’s hard to get reasonably priced audio cables (though things are better at Home Depot). But really, I’ve always figured that most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Monster and lamp cord.
Well, it turns out that supposed audiophiles couldn’t distinguish between Monster and coat hangers. But I suspect that the scam will continue, with salespeople continuing to push them. There are probably great margins for both the manufacturer and the retailers.
[Via Geek Press]
Can someone explain why HDMI cables are so outrageously expensive? Typical price is o($100) for a six-foot cable.
I long for the days when a “fancy” speaker cable was one on which you actually soldered banana plugs (from Radio Shack, $0.99 for a pack of two). Again, you couldn’t tell the difference in sound between banana plugs and raw ends; it just made you feel better knowing that your install was tidy….
BBB
Cabling has huge margins. That’s where Best Buy makes all their money. You can usually pressure the sales guy into a big discount on a TV, stereo or whatever if you promise to buy a bunch of cables and a service warranty.
Obviously you should return the cables the next day and cancel the warranty within the 30 day trial period. They’re both scams. You can buy cheap cables online. Monoprice.com is pretty good, though I can’t say they’re always the absolute cheapest.
I heard a radio report that expensive placebos work significantly better than cheap placebos.
Same effect here. If you care about audio quality, buy the best speakers you can afford, nothing else really matters.
Note the rise in mp3’s an inferior source material to
a CD.
On my surround sound system I doubled up regular speaker cable and there was a volume difference on the long runs. That was a considerably cheaper solution than monster cables.
Greatest place in the world to buy cables is http:\\www.monoprice.com
Their prices are almost unbelievable low, but everything from a 30 foot HDMI cable to regular Ethernet cables has been great. No I do not work for them or have any affiliation, look for yourself.
I 2nd the vote for monoprice.com.
Hmmm… Why couldn’t metal coat hangars actually *be* a high-quality cabling alternative? Lack of shielding comes to mind, but if there was no significant interference in the area then the sheer thickness of the coat hanger wire would seem to give it an advantage — it would be a very high gauge wire indeed. I’m not an electronics expert, but from basic physics, more metal should equal better signal transmission. And heck there are all sorts of products out there that will let you use your home electrical wiring as an analog or digital network. So maybe the monster cables *are* better than the cheapy ones, but custom cables made from coat hangars are even better.
Am I all wet here?
Why couldn’t metal coat hangars actually *be* a high-quality cabling alternative? Lack of shielding comes to mind, but if there was no significant interference in the area then the sheer thickness of the coat hanger wire would seem to give it an advantage — it would be a very high gauge wire indeed
Well, actually, someone pointed that out in comments over there as well, and certainly in theory, they could. But I’d always thought that coat hangers were made out of steel, not copper or aluminum, so they wouldn’t be that great a conductor, but maybe it’s a heavy enough gauge that it doesn’t matter. Of course, the biggest problem with them would be the shock hazard, since there would be no insulation.
Well, I guess I’ll be connecting my speakers with rebar from now on!
Obviously you should return the cables the next day and cancel the warranty within the 30 day trial period. They’re both scams.
Cables, yes, but I disagree about the warranty. I bought extended warranty on my TiVo/DVD combo, and it saved me a lot of money (actually, I ended up getting new TiVo AND money back) when my daughter jammed the DVD tray.
Monster™ and similar cables are absolutely, perfectly functional for their intended purpose.
That purpose is separating fools from their money, an enterprise which is both ethical and profitable.
Regards,
Ric
jjs had the answer here. I remember doing the double cable trick when installing car stereos in the (gulp) 70’s on (double gulp) 8 track stuff. If it improved that old stuff, it should still work on in home stuff now.
No jokes, I’m not the oldest fart here and I know plenty of you remember 8 track tapes.
Yeah, you should spend the money on speakers and acoustically deadening the room.
Back when I taught physics, I’d set up a speaker playing a pure tone, and have the students just walk around the room and notice the dead spots. If you ever come up with a cable that can selectively attenuate a frequency as well as reflections off a bare wall can, patent it and be prepared to fight off the venture capitalists.
Absolutely right about both coat hangers and monster cable. You will get a noticable increase in volume on both long and short runs. I have used that big gauge copper stuff from an electrical renovation and it was quite good. It’s not very flexible, though.
Yes, but. A sensometric test with a “no difference found” result could indicate that there is no audible difference, or it could indicate that the experiment was not sensitive enough to detect the difference. If you validate the test with the same listener/room/equipment and a wire that should have an audible difference, then you have a better paper. Let’s try kynar wire-wrap wire.