What is wrong with Monster Cable?

[TimSchirmer]

I actually don't mind monster stuff, I've gotten quite a few used monster cables, and have been quite happy with them.
I do agree that for the money (when buying new) one could do better. At least their cables are not horrible. We must also keep in mind, there are a LOT of audiophile cables out there which have even worse performance for the price. I actually like some of monster's accessories. They made AWESOME phono cartridges back in the day. It's also nice to know that i could drive to the local best buy, waste a bit of money, and walk out with decent cables whenever I need them.

 

[Budgie]

Monster was one of the first audio cable companies. They have been doing it for a long time. I don't like the cheaper cables they sell, but some of the better products sound just fine. (Monster is not currently fashionable, because they have been around a long time.) The pro mic cable they make is very nice (studio pro 1000), and I use it in my system, for balanced connections. Monster also manufactures cables for some other companies, such as AR.

 

[dngl]

I'm with y'all on the monster cables being crap, but monster power is a good deal.

 

[kelly]

I own several monster inteconnects, mostly of their higher lines so I feel somewhat qualified to address this.

The reason I own them is basically because of what jerikyl said. They're everywhere. Most of my interconnects were bought in a frantic "crap, I need another set of interconnects--who's open on Sunday?" followed by a trip to Best Buy and an eventual standing in the aisle decision of "screw it, just get the best one they sell, it's only a little more."

Now, remember, I claimed to not be an audiophile. For me, I not so long ago believed that cables came down to build quality and shielding and little else. The Monsters were a well known brand and they looked to be of good quality.

Recently, I got to finally start auditioning and swapping out other cables to discover that... the Monsters are actually pretty bad, even relative to other cables that cost the same. I agree with JMT's assessment that they're overpriced and not very good. At this point, I'd much rather take a chance with any of the DIY cables than the Monsters and I regret having blown so much money on these over the years out of ignorance.

I typically believe a bad product is reason enough not to buy from a company but in case you wanted one more--I'm also pretty offended by the stunts Monster has pulled over the last year involving bullying small web sites out of their URL names. Do some searched on Head-Fi or on the internet if you want to read more about that. Bad products and bad corporate behavior are reason enough for me to wish the company would just go out of business.

And this, I remind you, comes from someone who owns SEVERAL of their products.

 

[Andrew LB]

Quote:

Bad products and bad corporate behavior are reason enough for me to wish the company would just go out of business.

But when you look at the big picture, this creates competition, which benefits the consumer in the end.

Btw.. thanks for all the information guys. Ill be sure to go through other companies when buying my analog cables. Currently, my high end monster cable optical cables are doing just fine and i doubt changing those out will make much of a difference... for now.

 

[Tom M]

Is monster cable really that bad or for that matter any audio cable? I've heard stock cable(the stuff that comes with your gear) against various highend cable including monster and I could not hear a difference. This was done a while back when I started this hobby. I might have to give another listen but I have a feeling that cables might all in reality sound the same. An article in a magazine called the "sensible sound" has also made this claim a number of times. It might be that expensive cable only help to dress our systems up rather than improve the sound. yes I do have monster stuff. I own a number of pairs of the 400mkii. They sound just like the stock cables to me. They are just sturdier,less likely to break, and at 40 dollars a pair they are alot more expensive. It think they are only worth about 10-15 dollars no more. Infact paying anymore is probably foolish. I was foolish. I paid 40 dollars for each pair I have. I just keep them and use the same old ones on any new equipment I purchase. So to make a long story short I think that most cables are probably all the same. They each just have a different look and price.

Down with those evil high priced cable companies! Down with all the foolishness! ha ha ha ha haaaa

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tom M Is monster cable really that bad... I've heard stock cable(the stuff that comes with your gear) against...moster and I could not hear a difference.

This kind of answers itself, I think.

 

[JMT]

Quote:

.....but I have a feeling that cables might all in reality sound the same. An article in a magazine called the "sensible sound" has also made this claim a number of times.....

The author didn't happen to go by the name of "Ricky," did he?

 

[Tom M]

Who's Ricky?

 

[JMT]

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ighlight=ricky

 

[jerikl]

How is Monster's video cable? That's the kind of cable the guy and I at Best Buy were getting into an argument about. For anyone who has the AR S-Video and Monster S-Video cables, is there a discernible difference. And, if so, which one is better?

About interconnects. I kind of know what you mean Tom M. With my system (moderately priced components -> AMC CD8b, MG Head OTL, Senn 600 w/stock cable), it's hard to tell the difference between different cables. The difference varies from CD to CD too. I pulled out several different pairs of interconnects this weekend and compared for about 15-20 minutes. Just short and quick. I listened to 4 different varieties, 2 DIY, 1 cheapie, and 1 pair of Outlaw's. Listened to a Bela Fleck acoustic CD, could not really tell much of a difference at all between the 4 pairs of cables. Put in some Norah Jones, and there was definitely a difference with her voice in all cables. The Outlaw's proved best by far. But, mind you, I was listening really closely, and I just don't listen like that when I am listening to the MUSIC. By that, I mean, I don't think I would notice if you swapped the cables on me without my knowledge. I might, but I doubt it.

I later put the Outlaws back into my speaker system (nothing special: AMC CD8b, NAD C350, AR PS2062 bookshelves... looking to upgrade soon), and w/o ABing, notice a definite improvement. At least that's what I am hearing. So, I don't get it. With some setups, it's easy to hear a difference. Others, it's near impossible. I remember when I compared the stock cable to the Equinox cable with the Senn 600's... big difference. Equinox is clearly a higher quality cable. I wish I knew why things are the way they are, but I don't. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe it's a lot easier to tell the differences between interconnects with better components. Maybe if I had a better source... I don't know.

Should be receiving a whole bunch of cable/connectors this week to try another DIY recipe. Going with Canare GS-6 guitar cable. If that doesn't work, it's on to the Belden 89259. BTW, anyone know a good source for this stuff in Dallas? OR, anyone wanna buy a 100 foot roll and split it? I can get a 100ft roll for about $120 or so.

 

[aeberbach]

Anyone not buying video cable at a professional supply store is probably wasting a lot of money. You can have the same stuff that the professionals and studios use for a small fraction of the cost of Monster cable.

 

[kelly]

Quote:

Originally posted by aeberbach Anyone not buying video cable at a professional supply store is probably wasting a lot of money. You can have the same stuff that the professionals and studios use for a small fraction of the cost of Monster cable.

Know any online professional supply stores?

 

[aeberbach]

Sure, I like markertek.com - they have lots of cool stuff and deliver fast.

 

[Tom M]

Is it true that cable is not suppose to add or subtract anything from the audio signal? If so then what is monster cable or anyother high end cable add or taking from the sound. If I don't hear a difference between monster and stock cables then it stands to reason than the monster cables are doing the same thing as the stock cables. Now my question is this..What are these cables doing to the audio signal? What do other cables do?