Is Monster Cable really worth the price?
http://www.monstercable.com/
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M$5 Answers
Let's start with what I can say off the top of my head. Monster Cable is much more expensive and doesn't really have an effect on the quality of the connection. The primary benefit I've experienced is that the cables don't get twisted as easily and are more easily secured.
This Gizmodo post from last year has a major beef to pick with Monster Cable. They allege that Monster Cable gives no benefit to HD connections and that good components in whatever you're connecting it to can offset anything that is detracted from using a bad-quality cable. It goes much deeper into detail on some technical things that are hard for me to parse together. Definitely the best source I've seen on this topic, though.
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M$
I would be ESPECIALLY skeptical about any consumer level Monster Cables; it seems every big box retailer is selling them almost exclusively these days (Best Buy, Circuit City), and they are selling for upwards of $100 - $150, especially HDMI cables and optical cables. Please. Find one that works, plug it in, and it never even moves... Again, for professional "on the road" use, it may be worth getting an instrument cable because they are better constructed, but otherwise, I do not think they are worth it.
audio producer/engineer, musician
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M$
I hope that puts it into perspective.
From a technical standpoint there are differences in quality in the copper. Purity levels and things like oxygen free might make a small difference, but for a cable transmitting a digital signal that is already compressed it won't be noticed. Very cheap cables might fray at the end or be more susceptible to tight coiling, but it is cheaper to replace them every year than buy monster cables.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
johnsonaaron - Thanks for taking the time to add your comment.
Oh gosh. Does the "useful" button go away after I select the best answer? I'm sorry... I was going to click on "useful" for each of my responders' answers.
The only thing to add to any of this, is that the only way a signal could ever benefit from higher quality is ANALOG signal. Any digital cable that you buy, HDMI, DVI, VGA, are all carrying digital signal ie 0100110011001001 with these applications, the 0's and 1's either get there (and the cable works) or they don't get there (and the cable doesn't work) there is NO possibility of degradation of quality because the signal is digital. The only cable type that could benefit from higher quality in theory would be analog cables (RCA, speaker, composite) because these are analog and could benefit from the reduced resistance or other premium cable qualities.