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Monster Interconnects...Did I jump the gun?

post #1 of 19
4/5/08 at 12:43am
Thread Starter 
Ok, I've gone on an impulse online buying frenzy spurred on by a 10% off coupon for Monster products. "'ve never used anything but "Wal-mart specials" for my interconnects and decided to get some reasonably priced interconnects with a good rep.

I did some minimal research on the Monster MKII 400 series interconnects (both dual RCA, and 1/8 to RCA for MP3). Reviews were about 3/4 positive, but the 1/4 negative were really negative. I went with the popular vote see as how I am a discerning newbie and the prices weren't too bad. I can't (and won't) spend more than $30 on a cable for this system and it seemed to fit the bill.

Is Monster the "Bose" of cables, or did I do ok? They'll be connecting an older Onkyo receiver to an even older Onkyo CD player. The speakers are Monitor Audio 303's.

Make me feel great (or shatter my self-confidence) - either way I'll be better off...
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post #2 of 19
4/5/08 at 2:04am
Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but you kind of did. Monster is pretty much the "Bose" of cables. That being said you didn't get shafted TOO much. For future purposes, you may want to consider monoprice cables (here are their RCA's: For only $2.19 each when QTY 50+ purchased - PREMIUM 2 RCA Plug/2 RCA Plug M/M 22AWG Cable - 6ft | RCA Audio Cables)

They're actually pretty high quality for the price, and are pretty much the same quality as Monster's, at a much better price point.
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post #3 of 19
4/5/08 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 
royalcrown,

Thank you for your candidness, It is pretty much what I figured after the order had been shipped. Oh well, I'm sure they'll take them back....

So, Monoprice's cables are as good as the MKII 400 cables? I do like the price, but if there is any advantage the Moster cables have over the Monoprice cables, I think I would just keep the Monsters.
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post #4 of 19
4/5/08 at 11:10am
Consider looking at Bluejeans cables. They're a good value and you can choose the quality you want/can afford.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/
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post #5 of 19
4/5/08 at 12:54pm
Weirdly enough, the big bad Monster seems to be getting litigious with Blue Jeans Cable. Kinda icky…

Monster cable threatens Blue Jeans Cable with legal action... - AVS Forum
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post #6 of 19
4/5/08 at 1:42pm
The problem with monster cables is the price, not the performance. If you got a good deal on them, they will sound just as good as any other cable.

See ya
Steve
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post #7 of 19
4/5/08 at 1:47pm
Go ahead and use the Monster Cables. They sound the same as any other cable and the build quality is good. I've owned a few over the years and they hold up well.
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post #8 of 19
4/5/08 at 2:17pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, I'll keep 'em. I need to order some stuff from Monoprice soon and will try out one of theirs side-by-side with the Monster just for grins. I've even thought about building my own sometime and it would be interesting to try out all three. Just no time right now for that sort of thing....

Thanks for the suggestions! (if you've got more to add to the discussion, please do...)
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post #9 of 19
4/5/08 at 2:40pm
It's very fashionable to bash Monster cables. I have no problem with using Monster's cables and have seen them used in some very high end systems. Don't fall victim to fashion and spend money you don't need to spend. Keep the Monster's and spend your money on some music instead. Thats what this hobby is suppose to be about.
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post #10 of 19
4/5/08 at 2:43pm
monoprice is probably the best place for cables. Also Monster is WAY overpriced for digital products, but if you get a good deal on it, its pretty good
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post #11 of 19
4/5/08 at 4:11pm
If you do test them side-by-side, I'd be surprised if you found a difference.

EDIT: It's already been said, but I should've clarified in my post: Monster cables aren't worse than the monoprice cables, they're just no better and cost more.
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post #12 of 19
4/5/08 at 5:28pm
Sad truth is the only way to be certain about a cable is to try it yourself. I am in favor of less $spent and less effort spent in looking for the best cable, and more listening to music. Seems some people have spent big $ on cables and have tiny little music collections. Thats backwards.
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post #13 of 19
4/8/08 at 12:31pm
Well, it's all about what you're willing to spend. Haven't tried Monster's interconnects, but I started out with Monster speaker cable, upgraded to Kimber Kable and then bumped up to SignalCable over about an eight-month period. Each time there was a noticeable difference, but could I have lived with the Monsters? Probably. But I'm glad that experimenting proved that there was much better out there.
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post #14 of 19
4/8/08 at 3:04pm
I have really good results with Acoustic Research's Performance series cables in my home theater setup. I have also used their Pro series and also some Monster Cables in the past and can not honestly tell much difference in the three except for physical appearance. Considering that the Performance series is about 33% less than either of the other two, I have pretty much downgraded to the Performance whenever I have added or replaced a cable in the past few years. Have also used them in installing customers systems. They are a reaaly good entry level cable IMHO.
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post #15 of 19
4/8/08 at 3:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ronnielee54 View Post
I have really good results with Acoustic Research's Performance series cables in my home theater setup. I have also used their Pro series and also some Monster Cables in the past and can not honestly tell much difference in the three except for physical appearance. Considering that the Performance series is about 33% less than either of the other two, I have pretty much downgraded to the Performance whenever I have added or replaced a cable in the past few years. Have also used them in installing customers systems. They are a reaaly good entry level cable IMHO.
AR use twisted pairs, for the signal cables, even while a lot may argue, IMO is better to use the old coaxials...
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