Eagle_Driver
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jun 22, 2001
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Now that my Monster Interlink Portable 400MkII cable came in, I am gathering my four mini-to-RCA cables for this round-up:
My listening tests are done on a Sony D-EJ2000 PCDP connected with the various ICs to a Grado RA-1 battery-powered amp, driving a pair of Cardas-cabled Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The CD used was the recent Sony (Columbia/Legacy) US DSD-remastered CD reissue of Masterpieces By Ellington (CK87043, 2004).
Before I get to the mini-to-RCA comparison, I want to make this clear:
If "ultimate" (or as close to ultimate as a particular portable audio player can get) sound quality is what you're after, and you're going to connect it to an amp that has only RCA inputs, then buy a mini-to-RCA IC, not a regular RCA-to-RCA IC with any RadioShack adapter. That's because the RadioShack adapter degrades the sound quality of a Monster I400MkII RCA-to-RCA cable to about the level of an I200 or an I100 IC.
Now, on to the comparo:
The RCA-branded cable made the sound a bit muddy and bloated. However, it is the only cable that's bidirectional rather than unidirectional, so it does have its uses (like connecting the output of a full-sized audio component to the input of a component that has only a mini-stereo jack).
The AR cable is a step up from the RCA/RadioShack IC in sound quality. But IMHO it's still bested by the more expensive Monster ICs in this comparison. (Keep in mind, however, that this is part of the the bottom-of-the-line series of ICs from AR. AR also sells a mini-to-RCA cable from the Pro series which would have been much more competitive in performance with the Monster ICs.)
The Monster 200 is another small step up from the AR cable in overall performance. When you upgrade the ICs to this level, you'll start to notice the improvements in the air and PRAT. Unfortunately, the problems with the loose fit of the 200's RCA connectors overshadow whatever virtues that the 200 delivers. Which lead me to upgrade to...
The Monster 400MkII is yet another step up in performance - a much more refined version of the 200. IMHO, it is easily worth the extra dough over the 200 - but only if your portable player is up to snuff, and you don't try to use the crappy-sounding headphone out to connect the IC to (if you do the latter, you might as well save yourself the dough and go for a cheaper IC).
As for the flexibility (softness) of these cables, the cheap RCA is by far the most flexible, followed closely by the AR. Surprisingly, the Monster 200 seemed much stiffer than the same company's 400MkII cable, despite the use of solid-core connectors in the latter.
Conclusion
The winner of this roundup is the Monster Interlink Portable 400MkII. And though I would recommend this cable (among those ICs that aren't outrageously expensive) for connection between a portable player and most headphone amps, some of the other ICs in this roundup may be better for certain applications, such as recording.
Eagle_Driver
- RCA 6' cable with "gold-plated" plugs (purchased from Target), $4.99
- AR Performance Series 1m AP042 cable (purchased from Best Buy), $12.99
- Monster Standard Interlink Portable 200 1m cable (purchased from Best Buy), $19.99
- Monster Interlink Portable 400MkII 0.75m cable (ordered from Beach Audio), $21.34 (NOTE: This cable retails for $29.99)
My listening tests are done on a Sony D-EJ2000 PCDP connected with the various ICs to a Grado RA-1 battery-powered amp, driving a pair of Cardas-cabled Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The CD used was the recent Sony (Columbia/Legacy) US DSD-remastered CD reissue of Masterpieces By Ellington (CK87043, 2004).
Before I get to the mini-to-RCA comparison, I want to make this clear:
If "ultimate" (or as close to ultimate as a particular portable audio player can get) sound quality is what you're after, and you're going to connect it to an amp that has only RCA inputs, then buy a mini-to-RCA IC, not a regular RCA-to-RCA IC with any RadioShack adapter. That's because the RadioShack adapter degrades the sound quality of a Monster I400MkII RCA-to-RCA cable to about the level of an I200 or an I100 IC.
Now, on to the comparo:
The RCA-branded cable made the sound a bit muddy and bloated. However, it is the only cable that's bidirectional rather than unidirectional, so it does have its uses (like connecting the output of a full-sized audio component to the input of a component that has only a mini-stereo jack).
The AR cable is a step up from the RCA/RadioShack IC in sound quality. But IMHO it's still bested by the more expensive Monster ICs in this comparison. (Keep in mind, however, that this is part of the the bottom-of-the-line series of ICs from AR. AR also sells a mini-to-RCA cable from the Pro series which would have been much more competitive in performance with the Monster ICs.)
The Monster 200 is another small step up from the AR cable in overall performance. When you upgrade the ICs to this level, you'll start to notice the improvements in the air and PRAT. Unfortunately, the problems with the loose fit of the 200's RCA connectors overshadow whatever virtues that the 200 delivers. Which lead me to upgrade to...
The Monster 400MkII is yet another step up in performance - a much more refined version of the 200. IMHO, it is easily worth the extra dough over the 200 - but only if your portable player is up to snuff, and you don't try to use the crappy-sounding headphone out to connect the IC to (if you do the latter, you might as well save yourself the dough and go for a cheaper IC).
As for the flexibility (softness) of these cables, the cheap RCA is by far the most flexible, followed closely by the AR. Surprisingly, the Monster 200 seemed much stiffer than the same company's 400MkII cable, despite the use of solid-core connectors in the latter.
Conclusion
The winner of this roundup is the Monster Interlink Portable 400MkII. And though I would recommend this cable (among those ICs that aren't outrageously expensive) for connection between a portable player and most headphone amps, some of the other ICs in this roundup may be better for certain applications, such as recording.
Eagle_Driver
