[tim3320070]

Except for the "nameless, faceless" comment which ain't so un-xenophobic...

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tim3320070 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Except for the "nameless, faceless" comment which ain't so un-xenophobic...

Eh?

se

 

[Ham Sandwich]

My concern with Monoprice cables is that I'm unsure about the quality of the soldering (or whatever they do) to the connectors. Is the connection just hanging on by a single strand poorly soldered? I'll never know. I have similar concerns with the base level MonsterCable and similar cables. I have no idea how the manufacturing of cables like that is. What kinds of machines. How automated. How much QC. Etc. I have little confidence in quality manufacturing. Course it is also unsound to base feelings of quality manufacturing based solely on the price of the cable. An $80 cable could be made to the same manufacturing standards as a Monoprice cable. Price means nothing.

I use Monoprice (for RCA) and Hosa (for 1/4" TS and TRS) cables so I'm not all that concerned.

If I was to splurge on cables it would be to get Blue Jeans or similar. Something where I'm more confident of the build quality and cable structure compared to whatever it is that Monoprice uses.

 

[BIG POPPA]

I would go BJC, Real people making real cables. The shop is a few minutes from my house.

 

[FraGGleR]

I won't get into the political side of the debate, but I have to chime in and say that the monoprice "premium" line are thick, stiff, and built like a tank. At least look at the pictures to get an idea. They use two coax wires together to make a mini to mini. Super rock solid. The plastic molding (compression molded plastic), is not very pretty, but the actual plugs (RCA) are very nicely machined (I have paid $5/piece for connectors that looked fancier but were not nearly as nicely made). I make my own cables, where I feel I get the truest bang for my buck, but Monoprice hasn't let me down with anything so far (7 years of using them).

 

[chadbang]

Thanks for the tip on these monoprice. I looked at the photos and they look quite nice. I'm going to try some. I dont believe in spending a lot for cables, but I don't like junk either. I actual prefer cheap Radio Shack cables which look similar in construction to the monoprice. I hate cables with big heavy Canare connectors just waiting to break your phono jacks off your cd player circuit board, so these look perfect. I bought a pair of Blue Jeans once and promptly sold them. Why? I paid 20 bucks for them and they sounded just like a pair of 5 dollar radio shacks. I hate when I get screwed on price to performance ratio, so the left the house pretty fast.

 

[lmswjm]

FWIW, I like BJC Belden digital cables. I didn't like their Belden cable used as a balanced IC.

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ham Sandwich /img/forum/go_quote.gif My concern with Monoprice cables is that I'm unsure about the quality of the soldering (or whatever they do) to the connectors. Is the connection just hanging on by a single strand poorly soldered? I'll never know...

This is exactly why I prefer BJC over monoprice and the like. The wire of the monoprice cable is perfectly fine, but you want to make sure that the termination is properly done and tested. Paying a little extra for BJC (or something similar) will clear any possible doubts you might have later on. Unless of course you'll start hearing differences in so called "audiophile cables", but that a can of worms.

 

[Mehve]

I use them both, and don't hear any audible differences in normal operation, but the one area that I did notice a difference was in the shielding in high-interference environments. In my case, it was an wooden open-bench computer setup, and the cables were picking up interference. Between the two, the BJ cables blocked considerably more of the interference. Although this is obviously a worst-case scenario.

 

[PabloDiner]

Though i do agree in supporting quality work and US made products, is the sound quality degradation dramatic enough to notice a big difference?

 

[JamesL]

Quote:

 Between the two, the BJ cables blocked considerably more of the interference. Although this is obviously a worst-case scenario.

But its also nice to know that your $2 monoprice cables blocked considerably more interference than many vastly pricier self-proclaimed  audiophile cables would have. 

 
I've only used one cable from BJC, and I don't really like how bulky and stiff they are.  A larger diameter means they can design the cable to have that ultra-low capacitance, but its not significant in most systems.  Monoprice is better in this respect but still kind of bulky.  I use belkin cables for short runs, and make my own cable for longer runs (for which I can calculate the capacitance myself)

 

[PabloDiner]

Quote:

But its also nice to know that your $2 monoprice cables blocked considerably more interference than many vastly pricier self-proclaimed  audiophile cables would have. 

 
I've only used one cable from BJC, and I don't really like how bulky and stiff they are.  A larger diameter means they can design the cable to have that ultra-low capacitance, but its not significant in most systems.  Monoprice is better in this respect but still kind of bulky.  I use belkin cables for short runs, and make my own cable for longer runs (for which I can calculate the capacitance myself)

where do you get your raw cable from?

 

[JamesL]

Quote:

where do you get your raw cable from?

 
I usually have some cable on hand.  Redco.com has a good collection & price for studio-grade cable and is where I get most my stuff, but if you're looking for more exotic stuff(for better or worse)... takefiveaudio, moonaudio, partsconnexion, michaelpercy, thecableco, for starters
 
and then theres.. ebay,soniccraft,vhaudio,vt4c,homegrownaudio,qables,parts-express,markertek,cryoparts,doublehelixcables,diyaudiostore,canford.co.uk,audiophonics.fr,hifidiy.net,thlaudio off the top of my head.. some of which I like, and some of which I don't

 

[PabloDiner]

 
Quote:

 
I usually have some cable on hand.  Redco.com has a good collection & price for studio-grade cable and is where I get most my stuff, but if you're looking for more exotic stuff(for better or worse)... takefiveaudio, moonaudio, partsconnexion, michaelpercy, thecableco, for starters
 
and then theres.. ebay,soniccraft,vhaudio,vt4c,homegrownaudio,qables,parts-express,markertek,cryoparts,doublehelixcables,diyaudiostore,canford.co.uk,audiophonics.fr,hifidiy.net,thlaudio off the top of my head.. some of which I like, and some of which I don't

thanks for the recommendation, i will be ordering some raw cable soon so its nice to have some options available

 

[PabloDiner]

Well, i had no idea there was such a thing as an $8000 dollar per meter speaker wire (thecableco), so i went ahead and ordered from BJC, (total $71 for 4 cables)