Your Universal Remote Control Center
RemoteCentral.com
Audio, Receivers & Speakers Forum - View Post
Previous section Next section Previous page Next page Up level
Up level
The following page was printed from RemoteCentral.com:

Login:
Pass:
 
 

Page 1 of 2
Topic:
Good vs Cheap Cables
This thread has 16 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Wednesday December 8, 1999 at 02:14
Harlon
Historic Forum Post
Last Christmas our "stereo" system consisted of a 20" inch ProScan TV, a $99 Hitachi VCR, and a 15 year old portable cassette deck. After the VCR broke and the cassette deck ate three of our Christmas tapes, my wife and I decided we needed an "upgrade".

In putting together the home theater system each time I would buy a component I would also buy good cables. Although there is a lot of information out there on various components there is little information on cables (except for the manufacture's hype). Since many of these cables run anywhere from $15 to $70 or more for one cable, when figuring all the cables needed I wondered if it was worth spending the money.

Last week the final pieces of the system arrived, the DVD and CD players (I'm still waiting for the Pronto that is backordered). In my frantic haste to set up the players I realized that I didn't have my good cables. Throwing caution to the wind I used the cables that was provided in the box. Where was the stunning picture and sound that I read about from these components? I was really disappointed with the DVD and CD players.

I debated about spending ANOTHER $100 bucks on three cables but since I'm already $3000 over budget hey-why not! What a difference! There was the great picture and cool music trapped in the cables. I would never have believed it if I hadn't experienced it. Many of you may already know this but for those of you who are like me just getting started spend some extra money for good cables. After this experience they really seem to be worth the investment. Any thoughts to the contrary?
OP | Post 2 made on Wednesday December 8, 1999 at 03:11
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
The quality of cables is important. Not just for signal quality via a bigger wire, but for how well the plugs connect to your equipment (and resist bending), shielding, management and even ascetics. I have noticed improvements between cables, but more dramatic has been the DEGREDATION caused by certain other cables. I limit myself to around the price range of the second to third-tier of Monster cables. Recently I replaced a pile of old Radio Shack cables with Acoustic Research. A bit more than I wanted to spend, but they're very nice.
OP | Post 3 made on Wednesday December 8, 1999 at 15:00
John Chao
Historic Forum Post
Harlon,
In respect to cables, you should budget yourself about 10%-15% of the cost of the total system towards cables. If you are investing in a $250 dollar DVD, don't go with the $50 S-video and the $100 digital coax! Invest wisely, flip through various theater mags (they do have comparison tests every now and then), and just use your best judgement. If you still are unsure, write a post to this forum, or simply email me.. I'll be glad to help you out.

John
OP | Post 4 made on Wednesday December 8, 1999 at 19:48
fryguy
Historic Forum Post
What kind of cables did you use that you liked so much Harlon? You are right there is not much info out there! I have a Chiro amp and C800 chiro pre amp and 5.1 processor I need cables for plus a dvd player from christmas (I hope!)
OP | Post 5 made on Thursday December 9, 1999 at 15:26
Harlon
Historic Forum Post
Like Daniel I stayed with the second to third-tier Monster cables on just about everything. Out of desperation when I couldn't find the Monster cables I did purchase a few high end Radio Shack cables. I'm not too happy with them but they seem to be doing the job although they are not connected to the major components.

John makes a good point of price although I think you have to average the cost across your system. (How that for rationalization!) For example I found the Toslink cables to be EXPENSIVE but well worth the money! If I was to take all my cables and average the cost I came in about 10% of the cost for the entire system.

I like the Monster cables although I would liked to have had more choices. I found the selections of cables to be very limited in the many audio shops around the DC area.
OP | Post 6 made on Thursday December 9, 1999 at 15:31
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
One thing I was always looking for was a 0.5 meter video cable. Yup, very short. But I needed it just for a jumper -- even though Monster apparantly made such a beast, no one around here carried it. I now live with a 1.0 meter cable, but I too find selection limited. Hardest problem I had was finding three identical 6' high-quality video cables for my TV's component input -- every where I went only had two, and never the same brand or series as the last place! :-)
OP | Post 7 made on Friday December 10, 1999 at 00:26
nick
Historic Forum Post
daniel ..have you tried phoenix gold?....they make identical component video cables in one pack..i use them for my system and they are better than monster...i rate monster with acoustic research...
OP | Post 8 made on Friday December 10, 1999 at 10:29
tweakman
Historic Forum Post
WWW.GLOBE-MART.COM sells some Monster and Phoenix cables at discount. I've been ordering from them with good results. Either brand would be a big performance step up from the cheap stuff.
OP | Post 9 made on Friday December 10, 1999 at 22:42
John Chao
Historic Forum Post
To all:
For all of you that need special length Monster cables, please feel free to email me. Our stores last year was the number one retailer of Monster product, which includes, cables, power centers, end connectors, and even speakers!!!
Any time that a customer requests a special length cable, I get it red labeled Fed Ex to my store directly. Monster does not mess around with us. As a matter of fact, the reps from Monster actually threw us a dinner party last xmas for being the number one retailer in the US.
We specialize in the Monster name because, a. they are the first company who actually made "high end" cables because they noticed a difference, b. they have over 50 patents on their cables, more than any other company by far, c. they are known internationally in over 77 countries, d. they really do offer performance for a reasonable price.
Daniel, Monster does offer M1000 and M500 component interconnects for DVD and progressive HD type inputs. If ya need any, please let me know.

John
OP | Post 10 made on Wednesday December 15, 1999 at 23:48
Marc
Historic Forum Post
The best upgrade I have ever made with my system was when I invested in good quality interconnects and speaker wire about 4 years ago. The improvement was stunning. People tell me that I am nuts to spend extra money on a pair of cables, but I think THEY are nuts not to.
I use PBJ's for audio on my DVD, CD and LD. I took a BOX full of cables home one weekend and listened to all of them, and there were noticable differences in all. The PBJ's just seemed to be the most revealing of the lot and very nuetral. I also use Tributary's for S and digital.
Don't think you need to limit yourself to a dollar amount vs. the price of your equipment. Find a dealer that will allow you to try several cables, take them and spend a weekend with them, then decide. The cables that sounded best in MY system ended up not being the most expensive. BTW, Monster seemed to muddy my system a bit, a lot of that has to do with my gear.
OP | Post 11 made on Thursday December 16, 1999 at 00:19
Martin Butler
Historic Forum Post
I switched from Monster cable spkr. wire and interconnects to Tributaries spkr. wire and interconnects.The Montster Cable was good but a little muddy .The Tributaries were clearly superior, More detail, clearer lows and mids with a greater sense of the room in which the recordings were made. I haven't compared the video cable yet, but my monster video cable was a clear improvement over standard rca cable. VLO is another great cable maker. I have some of their interconnects and they are as good as the Tributaries.These are all in a "moderate " price range.
OP | Post 12 made on Thursday December 16, 1999 at 00:52
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
When I bought a new amp I switched from old 16-guage cable that had been around since the 70's, to new 12-guage cable. Not exactly expensive stuff, but there was a HUGE difference. I ran short so had the left front speaker set up using the new stuff, and the right front using the old cable. The left was noticably louder and clearer, to the point where after a day or so later I couldn't stand it and went out and bought the rest.

Maybe one of these days I'll upgrade to something even better...
OP | Post 13 made on Thursday December 16, 1999 at 11:24
Martin Butler
Historic Forum Post
Daniel,I"m shocked! You must get good cables immediately. Any effort at good sound a reasonable price is undermined by cheap cables. Start with speaker wire if you don't want to change them all right away. Tributaries are about $3. a foot. Try the Monster XP on the longer lengths like rear surrounds to lower overall cost.
Then try at least one good interconnect. Spend at least $30-$100 on one pair.I bet you will change the rest of them shortly thereafter.
OP | Post 14 made on Thursday December 16, 1999 at 15:26
Daniel Tonks
Historic Forum Post
Well, the speaker wire only ran about $1/foot. But this was a couple years ago (before I got into all this). The problem was I need about 120 feet for my two rear channel speakers. In fact, just running the rear speaker wire behind the drywall turned into a mini room renovation.

The interconnects ran about $60 or so for an A/V pair... the ones used for my component input ran $120 for three.
OP | Post 15 made on Friday December 17, 1999 at 00:00
Martin
Historic Forum Post
The Monster XP cable is about the same price as your old cable but will probably sound a heck of a lot better on your rear speakers. As with computer technology you can get a lot more bang for the buck than a few years ago. Try a better cable on the front and center spkrs. , as they are a bit more critical for movie viewing. There is an excellent article in Home theater mag. Nov. 98 issue called Audio Cable Face-Off , check it out if you can. All of the brands mentioned here are reviewed.
Page 1 of 2


Jump to


Protected Feature Before you can reply to a message...
You must first register for a Remote Central user account - it's fast and free! Or, if you already have an account, please login now.

Please read the following: Unsolicited commercial advertisements are absolutely not permitted on this forum. Other private buy & sell messages should be posted to our Marketplace. For information on how to advertise your service or product click here. Remote Central reserves the right to remove or modify any post that is deemed inappropriate.

Hosting Services by ipHouse