[strawed]

Haven't seen any specific thread for the new Monoprice Monolith RCA Cables, so here we go.

I noticed these cables being offered by Monoprice a few weeks ago as their initial entry into the "ultra-premium" arena of RCA cables. Usually these kinds of cables are exorbitantly priced, but Monoprice once again undersells everyone else relative to features/specs.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18534

So, having mostly good experiences with Monoprice cables so far, I thought I'd give these a whirl. Was running Mogami 2964 RCA cables between my Schiit Modi Multibit > Jotunheim and I was both underwhelmed with the bass and overwhelmed with the treble/brightness.

Now I'm on day four alternating back and forth between the Mogami's and the Monoliths, and I'm pretty happy with the Monoliths. The boost in both bass clarity and quantity was immediately noticeable, and the fatiguing brightness I had with the Mogami cables are thankfully gone. All this was as advertised, so I hope these offerings stick around and even improve with Monoprice's sane pricing strategy.

My only complaints are 1) I wish they offered shorter lengths - the shortest option presently is 3ft and 2) the RCA connectors themselves could sit tighter for my liking, and they also seem unnecessarily bulky - in certain positions dragging my Modi off kilter. Otherwise, they are flexible enough for me and feel really durable. Would be interested to hear how they pair with other setups, etc.

 

[Speedskater]

Nothing wrong with Monoprice budget cables. But for long RCA interconnects, you can't beat the Blue Jeans Cable LC-1.

 

[Speedskater]

On second thought, I just looked up the cables:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18534

Total alternate reality nonsense.

 

[Allanmarcus]

On second thought, I just looked up the cables:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=18534

Total alternate reality nonsense.

I understand your reluctance to accept these might sound better, but until you try...

What the hell. I need some 3' cables. They are $12.99/ea when purchasing 2. There is a $5 off $25 promo, and free shipping. $20.98 for two! Order placed.

Obviously I will not be able to blind test these, but I'll give it a shot. I generally cannot hear subtle differences in things like amp, DAC, and certainly not cables, so it will be interesting if I can hear a difference.

What's interesting to me is that if these (or any) cables can alter (or transmit better) the FR of the signal, that should be measurable.

I also ready an article (sorry, no link) that discussed the virtues of the RCA phono plug. It turns out the jack/plug combination is self cleaning, so when you unplug, the better scraps and cleans itself. This guy recommended unplugging gear an plugging in a few times every so often to clean the stuff that can accumulate on the plugs, thus reducing the connection. Using doexit, I've heard, also helps. At any rate, the article postulates that if your RCA cables have been plugged for more than 6 months, then you pull them and replace them with new cables, you might be hearing a clean physical connection between the club and jack, and not any benefit from the cable.

So to truly test, clean everything first, then test between cables.

 

[Speedskater]

I understand your reluctance to accept these might sound better, but until you try...

All good accurate cables should sound exactly alike.

 

[Allanmarcus]

All good accurate cables should sound exactly alike.

Right, they should, but do they? I have never been able to tell the difference, but the best cables I have are mono price premium.

The key to your claim is "good accurate". The question is how to define that, then how to measure it.

For most of us without $30,000 measuring rigs, we'll just have to use our ears.

 

[Speedskater]

There are many known good cables out there, if a cable sounds different then you should ask why?
There are some almost free or free computer programs that measure frequency response and distortion.

But for interconnect cables, the differences will come down to:
Noise, interference and maybe ringing or even oscillation and these can be very situation specific.

 

[Allanmarcus]

There are many known good cables out there, if a cable sounds different then you should ask why?
There are some almost free or free computer programs that measure frequency response and distortion.

But for interconnect cables, the differences will come down to:
Noise, interference and maybe ringing or even oscillation and these can be very situation specific.

If you are referring to something like REW, then I'm aware of that. I suppose one course use REW to measure, switch the cables, and measure again. As good as REW is, I image we hear much more than we can measure with that.

Again, I'm a proponent of "prove it" myself. For $20 I'll test it myself. I don't think I will suffer from buyer's bias for only $20. I also agree that if I an hear a difference, that difference should be measurable. I'm just not sure a $75 mic and REW will be accurate enough.

At any rate, for $20, why not. I'll let you know.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Well, my cables came. They are very nice, physically. Very well built and flexible. I think the plugs hold better than the premiums. The premiums plugs can pull out too easily, and if I am playing with wire, the premium's pull out too easily when I don't want them too. I might just use some pliers and crimp them a little.

Can I hear a difference between the Monolith's and the Premiums? no. Does this mean others can't hear a difference? Nope. It just mean I could not.

Will I buy more either premium or Monolith? Nope. I will just make them using Mogami w2965 and Rean NYS373 plugs and little heat shrink. The cost will be somewhere between the two monoprice cables. and will be "Mogami Gold" quality.