# Premium Cables Are A Ripoff



## ArthurDent (Feb 7, 2005)

found this on the Something Awful forums (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=1769298) , definitely worth reading:

YOU DON'T NEED PREMIUM CABLES!

What an amazing revelation! Yes, that's right, you don't get any noticeable gain with Monster Cable or any other "premium" cable for audiophiles or home theater...philes.

Every cable you can buy at any retail store, even including Radio Shack, is a complete ripoff. There's a LOT of money being made on people's assumption that premium cables make a difference - that's why there's so much misinformation about them. (You'll notice that most of the misinformation comes from current or previous employees of stores that sell expensive cables...)


Audio: You ever take a look at what they use in real studios? It's not Monster or any other "premium" brand - it's the no-names, because they know it doesn't matter, and you don't need to spend $80 on cables to hook up a $50 piece of equipment. Can be found for under 2 bucks.

You can also run "coaxial" (not optical) S/PDIF over the same cables - you don't need special "digital audio" cables. Also, there's no quality difference between optical and coaxial S/PDIF - it's the same signal, just different means of transmitting it.

What about speaker cables? Basic lamp cord of at least 18-gauge thickness is fine (thickness determines the maximum power you can pump through it). Buy a 300-foot spool at Home Depot in the same color as your walls for $10 and never buy another speaker cable.

Video: If you REALLY NEED "component video" cables (which are just "good" RCA cables), I guess you can spend $9 online instead of $50 at Best Buy, but I run my Xbox across 25 feet of walls to my HDTV in 1080i with a combination of regular old RCA audio cables and 1/8" headphone extension cables and it looks identical to a direct connection with the 6-foot super-thick "component" cables it came with (I got bored one night and actually tested this).

About gold plating: The only advantage to gold-plating is that the connectors won't corrode. But I have some RCA cables with nickel-plated connectors (the usual alternative to gold) from the 1980s that haven't corroded at all. Unless you're rigging up your stereo underwater in the ocean, I really wouldn't worry about it. I only linked to gold-plated cables above because the difference is like 30 cents, and at that price point, who cares?

USB: Retail stores make almost nothing on printers, so they jack up the price of every accessory to make a decent profit - including the cables. You know those $19.99 or $24.99 Belkin 6-foot cables? Those cost the store about $2. (One of the appalling things I learned while working in retail.) And the $30-40 "Gold" version? Yeah, those cost the store $4. If you buy a printer but it doesn't come with a USB cable, don't pay more than $4. There is no performance or quality loss... this is just crap the marketing managers make the employees spew at you to sell more $40 gold cables for their $30 printers.

The exception: The only exception to the "get the cheapest cable you can find" rule is if you're carrying a very delicate analog signal likely to have major signal loss or be subject to major interference. The only time this is likely to matter to you is with a VGA (computer monitor) cable. In this case, you don't have to go crazy with the Monster version or whatever, you should just get a relatively thick one with ferrites (those little wrap-around cylinder magnet things) near both ends.


---

There's a whole bunch of tips for all sorts of stuff in this thread, lots of interesting ideas.

Tips and Tricks You’ve Picked Up Along the Way…Part 4! [The Awful Forums]
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=1769298


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## Strimkind (Mar 31, 2005)

just a pointer...some dollar stores sell USB cables for 2$


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

PC World (I think) did an article several moths ago about this. No perceptible difference in audio, video and digital video cables. between the Starcraft $15 ones and the Monster $199 ones (or whatever the prices were)


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## gmark2000 (Jun 4, 2003)

Just wait until the "Golden Ears" start on this thread. They'll justify their $2k turntables and kimber cables.


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## ArthurDent (Feb 7, 2005)

*The Audiophile BS Page*



gmark2000 said:


> Just wait until the "Golden Ears" start on this thread. They'll justify their $2k turntables and kimber cables.



They can start by perusing this site, The Audiophile BS Page. 
http://s88932719.onlinehome.us/audio_bs.htm

Most of the images are long gone, but the text is still appropriate.

Being a musician, I would like to think I have pretty good ears, but I'm sure years of loud music on stage has had some sort of a detrimental effect. However, according to some tone generators and hearing tests, I still have better hearing than most. I guess I should count my blessings.

As far as equipment quality goes, I have found that most studios I've been to just use regular cables. I would tend to defer to their opinion on these matters, as I would believe a decent engineer over some Nakamichi sucker oops, I mean user any day.


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## MannyP Design (Jun 8, 2000)

I think there is some truth to premium cables--within reason--at least with regards to the quality of how the product is made, that is. I have a several "generic" cheap-o cables that had started to crackle or fuzz out after a month of usage.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Don't you need component cables to at least get EDTV with a DVD player (480p) and HDTV (1080i) with your HD TV.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## mikeinmontreal (Oct 13, 2005)

Around the time the Leafs last won the Cup.


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## skippy1416 (Jun 26, 2005)

I have always viewed quality audio equipment/cables with the law of diminishing returns.

Does a well chosen $1000 stereo package (including better cables) sound better than a $500 package? I think that it does.

Does a well chosen $2000 package sound better than the $1000 package from above? Probably.

Does a well chosen $4000 package sound better than the $2000 package from above? Maybe to some, maybe others would not notice any difference.

And so on.


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## Ants (May 6, 2003)

IMHO, interconnect and speaker cables can make a difference to overall sound quality or what's referred to as PRAT (pace, rhythm, and timing). More importantly, the individual components that make up your hi fi system will determine what you hear (and do not hear). It's not only your cables. Your source is the most important piece in your chain, followed by the preamp, amp and speakers last. Some may not agree with this but I find this to be true. Some may even have a good laugh at this but your audio rack will also impact what you hear. I heard a huge difference when I moved my hi fi from an entry level audio rack to a hi end one. It was clearly better sounding.

Also, most upper end system manufacturers and components will include interconnect cables. If your buying an entry level chain, then no need to spend hundreds of dollars on cables. A good audio store and rep will also inform you about your choices and price ranges. 

At the end of the day, it's an emotional repsonse - if you think you can hear a difference with hi end cables and you can justify the costs, then you will probably end up buying them.


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## planders (Jun 24, 2005)

Ants said:


> IMHO, interconnect and speaker cables can make a difference to overall sound quality or what's referred to as PRAT (pace, rhythm, and timing).


Seems to me that the only thing able to effect the "pace, rhythm, and timing" would be the musicians playing the music. That said, the gauge of speaker wires is important for longer cable runs.



Ants said:


> Some may even have a good laugh at this but your audio rack will also impact what you hear. I heard a huge difference when I moved my hi fi from an entry level audio rack to a hi end one. It was clearly better sounding.


And what would be the mechanism for this? Perhaps if you're playing vinyl records, the rack might have an impact--since vibration from a chintzy rack might transmit to the pickup. But for modern sources, you're dealing with digital information being converted to audio, with no place for vibration to enter the system. And there's nothing else that the rack could possibly influence, apart from the appearance of your system.



Ants said:


> At the end of the day, it's an emotional repsonse - if you think you can hear a difference with hi end cables and you can justify the costs, then you will probably end up buying them.


And thus, there's a market for little wooden blocks you can put around your room (at $400 each) to "improve acoustics." And a market for $2000 replacement power cords to "eliminate electrical noise." And a market for green magic markers that "reduce the harshness" of CD audio. There's a sucker born every minute...


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## Ants (May 6, 2003)

planders said:


> Seems to me that the only thing able to effect the "pace, rhythm, and timing" would be the musicians playing the music. That said, the gauge of speaker wires is important for longer cable runs.


Production values make a huge difference on what you'll hear. When referring to prat, it comes down to the ability to break down complex musical passages so you can clearly distinguish what each musician is playing while involving the listener. Records that didn't sound good on other systems just come to life. Bottom line, if my toes are tapping - I am happy!




planders said:


> And what would be the mechanism for this? Perhaps if you're playing vinyl records, the rack might have an impact--since vibration from a chintzy rack might transmit to the pickup. But for modern sources, you're dealing with digital information being converted to audio, with no place for vibration to enter the system. And there's nothing else that the rack could possibly influence, apart from the appearance of your system.


Yes, I play Lps and the turntable has benefited from a better quality rack. My Cd player also sounds better. So I cannot agree with you that a audio rack will not influence what comes out of your digital music player. 



planders said:


> And thus, there's a market for little wooden blocks you can put around your room (at $400 each) to "improve acoustics." And a market for $2000 replacement power cords to "eliminate electrical noise." And a market for green magic markers that "reduce the harshness" of CD audio. There's a sucker born every minute...


Personally, I do not use any power conditioners/replacement power cords - no need to. I think they degrade rather than improve performance. Yes, you can purchase all kinds of toys to "improve" sound but with a little patience and fine tuning, there's no need.


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## Daktari (Feb 21, 2005)

Ants said:


> Snip........*At the end of the day, it's an emotional repsonse - if you think you can hear a difference with hi end cables *and you can justify the costs, then you will probably end up buying them.


Also known as placebo effect. You buy high end, expensive gold tipped cables to go with the high end system that you are told will sound so much better than the previous one. When you plug everything in, it does. To you at least. 

All in all, to each his own. If it makes you happy, please by all means enjoy yourself.


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## Bosco (Apr 29, 2004)

There is a limit on how cheap you can go with cabling. The product should be well made using good quality connectors and the speaker wire should be at least 16 guage and as short as possible. You do want to minimize resistance in the line. 

I've helped friends hook up their expensive stereos and I've found the problem has always been improper hookup and bad speaker placement. It's amazing to see the look on their faces when you wire their speaker back in phase or hook up their expensive processor properly.

Here's a good "audiophile" site

http://www.ilikejam.dsl.pipex.com/audiophile.htm


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Planders you must be one of those 'digital sound is perfect" kind of guys and a marketer's wet dream....

Audio racks play a role in isolating vibration - CD players are good at error correction but not perfect - nothing wrong with reducing vibration there. A second role of racks is in isolating electronic/electric interference. Components stacked upon each other and wires pilled and crossed will cause interference. 

Cables have to be shielded properly - your digital scrap ones will certainly not be - poorly shielded cables act as transmitting antennas with high frequency digital signals.

There are so many aspect to musical reproduction and how they interact that yes some huskers will take advantage of that. 
A digital signal composed of binary numbers should be easy enough to transmit. It's either full voltage or no voltage (0 and 1). So in theory you have a square wave. What happens in real life is that "perfectly square wave" is actually sloped. Circuits cannot rise infinitely fast to full voltage and cannot carry a full range. 
Because of that slope, the decoder/receiver as to interpret the signal - call it an error or jitter - this is a known factor and accepted in the audio/physics/electronic world. Add that the whole chain of circuits are connected and you don't know your impedance of the complete setup some of that energy will bounce back towards the source and back to the decoder/receiver (so you now have the imperfect square and an echo). Some have recommended a faster DAC (that would pollute with electrical radiation) and/or longer interconnects amongst possible solutions. Now, back to our cables, part of the price of these high-end cables is the purity of the materials, the use of certain materials (copper, silver, gold), and the matching of good quality components, RF isolation - of course, optimizing for speaker cables will be different. 

With speaker cables, you have to realize that the speed used has to be the one of the frequencies in the material used - most "debunkers" refer to the speed of sound in air - but it's quite different. Think of sounds you hear underwater or putting you ear to a train track to understand that. 
Speaker cables have to tell with different impedances, ohms and this will even vary with frequencies (inductance and capacitance will behave as resistances....) - no cable will behave the same way under those circumstances. 

Power cords can make a difference as do power line condioners - again, we are not talking about the "relative value" of a component. Some audio stuff is pure bunk, granted, but let's not lump it all together...


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

Ants said:


> Personally, I do not use any power conditioners/replacement power cords - no need to. I think they degrade rather than improve performance.


The filtering on them can do that - especially on amplifiers.


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## Bjornbro (Feb 19, 2000)

I tried and I tried, but I just could not find anything relating this topic to "Anything Mac & iPod". :-( Mods, please move this tread to "Everything Else, Eh?".


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

ArthurDent said:


> Audio: You ever take a look at what they use in real studios? It's not Monster or any other "premium" brand - it's the no-names, because they know it doesn't matter, and you don't need to spend $80 on cables to hook up a $50 piece of equipment. Can be found for under 2 bucks.


What a piece of rubbish. Good recordings are not just slapped together. Some good recording studios do care about the signal path. Good recording engineers do care about the quality of the signal. Musician do care about sound quality. 
Quincy Jones, George Martin (amongst others) take great care in the way they record and capture the moment. Mercury Living Presence records (and CDs) sound superior to most recording because of the care in microphone(s) placement, recording equipment and mastering. 
You have some great recordings out there, just like you have crappy ones - equipment does make a difference in sound quality....


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## Heart (Jan 16, 2001)

Bjornbro said:


> I tried and I tried, but I just could not find anything relating this topic to "Anything Mac & iPod". :-( Mods, please move this tread to "Everything Else, Eh?".


Thread shuffle !


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## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

The dollar store cables are pure cheap. I've bought S-video at the dollar store where the plugs just fall off after a year.
I spend a few extra dollars getting the Philips or RCA branded cables from Wal_mart. They are better quality cables. Whether the sound is better, I don't know. The cables last a lot longer, though. 
I don't think I could justify Monster cables on my set-up.


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## RobTheGob (Feb 10, 2003)

IMO, good cables and good connectors are important to the overall performance and reliablity of an audio/video system. That does *not* translate into expensive cables however... 

I make most of mine own cables for less than what the "name brand" cables go for at Wallyworld. Just find a good cable component store and learn how to solder.


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## MacDaddy (Jul 16, 2001)

http://www.monoprice.com

Best place I have found to get cable from. WAY cheaper than the Retail Store! and good quality (I have never had a problem anyway) I have ordered lots from them.


/


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## PenguinBoy (Aug 16, 2005)

While there is all kinds of snake oil in the audiofool world, I believe that cables can make some difference, especially when compared to very low quality cables.

I'm a bang for the buck kind of guy, so I make my own interconnects using good quality cables and machined connectors.

I also think that measures like proper speaker placement, improving room acoustics, reducing vibration, etc, can make big improvements in sound for a relatively low cost.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

I thought it was fairly common knowledge that premium cables were a scam. 

Either way, I usually buy Monster 1 or Monster Standard (the two lowest levels they sell) if only because they don't feel like they are going to break when I handle them like the cheap ****e cables that most things come with do. It also helps that until recently I got a pretty steep discount on cables, too.

Oh, and there is one difference between Digital Coax and Optical: since optical signals are essentially just light, they are pretty much immune to EMI.


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## zigzagry (Apr 12, 2003)

Though I don't know a lot about the differences in cheap vs good computer cables I imagine it's the same with all cables and connectors. There are places to cheap out and places not to.

My knowledge of cables and wires is more in the car audio field. I run a 760 watt (100% aftermarket) car audio set up with 2 amps, 8 speakers, 8 volt line driver, two 1 farrad capacitors, etc. I knew that on occasion I was going to want to hook my iPod up to my receiver so I decided to buy a cheap 1/8th to RCA cable to plug into the dock connector and through the Aux in on the head unit (I do this because the FM transmitters are a joke on a decent system). This cheap cable was extremely poor. The sound quality was not a lot better than the FM trans signal. When I hooked up an older Stinger cable that I found laying around the difference was like night and day. Sounds great. Not as good as cd of course but very reasonable.
I definetly do cheap out in the odd spot. Never with RCA or Power cables though. My component set in the front uses 12 gauge heater AC cable for speaker wires (very gummy and flexible). I use an older, high quality 4 gauge, 4 ft long jumper cable as a ground cable. Other than that the rest or the wiring is all Lightning Audio and Stinger. You haven't heard music until you've heard it on a good car audio system.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

PosterBoy said:


> I thought it was fairly common knowledge that premium cables were a scam.


Please explain. A scam supposes that someone is misleading...
Why would "cheapie" cables sound the same as more expensive ones?


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

ArtistSeries said:


> Please explain. A scam supposes that someone is misleading...
> Why would "cheapie" cables sound the same as more expensive ones?


You have to make a distinction between "Substandard" cables that flat out are defective, the "Good" cables that meet the standard of conducting and shielding, and the "Premium" cables that you pay extra for some purported extra performance benefit.

Let's dispose of the Substandard cables first. Obviously there are cables that are so poorly made they cut out, fall apart, introduce noise, pick up radio stations and so on. We ought not to compare these with anything, they are junk.

Similarly, that 760W amplifier going to the subwoofer is going to require the gauge of cable appropriate for the power; 18-gauge lamp cord is not appropriate, so don't compare this to the Monster 6 gauge cable. You can, however, compare 6 gauge bulk cable against the Monster cable.

The comparison is between the "Good" cables and the "Premium" cables, of appropriate gague. The tests that PC World did showed small differences in the performance of like-specified cables, between the inexpensive and the premium cables. Some of the premium cables actually had worse measurements. But in EVERY case, the differences had no effect on the outcome, because they were well within the tolerances of the signals. 

You can go ahead and drop $100 on a cable if you like. The audible (or visual) difference will be small, if any. The reason that high end brands are considered scams is that they over-hype the supposed difference as a justification of their high price, and more importantly, the markups on these high end cables is insane. The store makes about $5 on a $12 cable. The store makes about $60 on a $100 cable. And the cables probably cost $2 and $5 respectively, at the manufacturing level. Do the math and you'll see that pimping high end cable is in the audio stores' best interests.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

" ... Audio: You ever take a look at what they use in real studios? It's not Monster or any other "premium" brand - it's the no-names, because they know it doesn't matter, and you don't need to spend $80 on cables to hook up a $50 piece of equipment. Can be found for under 2 bucks. ..."


Sorry, had to quit reading. Laughing too hard to continue.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

ArtistSeries said:


> Please explain. A scam supposes that someone is misleading...
> Why would "cheapie" cables sound the same as more expensive ones?


Because in spite of their price, Monster cables aren't <em>that</em> much better than the cheap ones.

Here's the trick: monster is better, but it's pretty much the best of the worst. With a little time and know how, you can make a better cable by buying the parts separately and putting it together yourself (and it'll likely cost less, too).

Most people I know who have told me how much better their picture looks or music sounds once they've hooked up their 100$ monster cables fail to mention off the bat that they've also just gone from composite to component video, or from composite 2 channel stereo to optical 5.1 digital surround.


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## oryxbiker (Nov 29, 2001)

The expensive cables monster cables I agree are useless. But in some sutuations, expensive cables are needed. Speaker wire for example has to be almost resistance free and high levels of intereference will induce currents into the wire. Now imagine your favourite rock concert. Its in a big stadium, and there is about 200,000watts or more of amplification power at the main stage. If your cables ain't sheilded enough, you can easily blow a speaker or amplifier. This is one of few situations that require a good quality cable, that of coarse, costs more than normal cable. But as far as AV cables go, the $5 cables from radio shack are more than sutable.


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## Bosco (Apr 29, 2004)

oryxbiker said:


> Its in a big stadium, and there is about 200,000watts or more of amplification power at the main stage. If your cables ain't sheilded enough, you can easily blow a speaker or amplifier. This is one of few situations that require a good quality cable, that of coarse, costs more than normal cable.


Actually the cable they use is a lot cheaper than your "premium" consumer cable. You won't find Monster cable in these rigs. 

BTW, speaker cable is not shielded. They use thick cable and keep the speaker runs short.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

oryxbiker said:


> The expensive cables monster cables I agree are useless. But in some sutuations, expensive cables are needed. Speaker wire for example has to be almost resistance free and high levels of intereference will induce currents into the wire. Now imagine your favourite rock concert. Its in a big stadium, and there is about 200,000watts or more of amplification power at the main stage. If your cables ain't sheilded enough, you can easily blow a speaker or amplifier. This is one of few situations that require a good quality cable, that of coarse, costs more than normal cable. But as far as AV cables go, the $5 cables from radio shack are more than sutable.


It is pointless to shield a speaker wire. The current being delivered by the amplifier to the speaker is so many orders of magnitude higher than any interference, that you can discount RF and almost all types of EM interference totally. The main concern with speaker wire is loss to resistance (heat), which is why speaker wires should be a short a run as possible, and as thick a conductor as possible.

Now at a concert, you'll notice that the amplifiers are racked on stage immediately behind the speakers (to keep those speaker cables short) THe signals are delivered through a snake from the mixing desk to the amplifiers at line level. Line level signals can travel much farther without significant losses. BUT - because the signal is relatively small, it is subject to interference, capacitance, and high end losses. Plus, when you amplify the signal at the end, you are equally amplifying all the interference. So Line level signal cables are much more important to be shielded well (and kept away from sources of interference like AC cables, transformers, motors, lighting dimmers, etc.) Microphone level signals doubly so, because the mic signal has to be preamplified to reach line level...


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## SkyHook (Jan 23, 2001)

.


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## ArthurDent (Feb 7, 2005)

gordguide said:


> " ... Audio: You ever take a look at what they use in real studios? It's not Monster or any other "premium" brand - it's the no-names, because they know it doesn't matter, and you don't need to spend $80 on cables to hook up a $50 piece of equipment. Can be found for under 2 bucks. ..."
> 
> 
> Sorry, had to quit reading. Laughing too hard to continue.


Yeah, some of it is a little over-the-top, but he makes a good point. The rest of the thread is definitely worth checking out.


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## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

Memo:
Fruity-Os taste just like Fruit Loops
Canadian Tire Oil works just as well as Vavoline.
Joe's Gas Bar makes your car run just as well as Petro-Can gas.
A Zellers jacket will keep you just as warm as a Tommy Hilfiger.
Life Brand vitamins keep you as healthy as Jameson.
Dollar store cables give the same performance as RadioShack cables.

On the flip side, premium cables are typically constructed better, and won't fall apart after multiple pulls and inserts.


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## gordguide (Jan 13, 2001)

If there is any doubt, let me say right from the start that "Monster Cables" are, if not a joke, then at least a good guffaw. They are not premium cables, except insofar that they meet what I would consider to be rather minimum standards, and at rather premium prices.

Although Monster does not make a "bad" cable, they hardly qualify as a "good" cable either. No self-respecting studio would have them, unless they needed something quick and sent the gaffer to get the best reasonable facsimile under the circumstances. Having spent some time in situations where time is more important than money, I can see a Monster cable showing up in the studio.

What I can't see is someone with any idea at all, and time to get what he really needs, actually buying them. In Pro situations, they are only for the desperate, when money is the least of your worries.

That does not mean that studios use junk cable. They most certainly do not, and it's not because they are made of money. The laughter I alluded to earlier was mostly due to the assertion that Monster Cables deserved to be in any studio, and that "no name" cable was it's preferred replacement. You could do worse, but frankly, studios need lots of cable, and can't afford expensive junk. Do you think that a commercial enterprise that needs literally miles of cable would not try to minimize costs? Why, then, do they spend thousands on very specific kinds of cable when Radio Shack ** could do it all for a hundred bucks? Why indeed?

" ... Audio: You ever take a look at what they use in real studios? It's not Monster or any other "premium" brand - it's the no-names. ..."

Well, let me tell you the "names" of the "no-names".

You will find lots of Belden, Mogami, and Canare cable in studios. You might find other, equivalent cable, but to be honest, every single cable has not just a "name" on it, but a rather detailed description, in a code you may not recognize, of exactly what it is and what it's made of, repeating every foot or so. "No Name" in a studio is not exactly the same as "No Name" on the spaghetti shelf of your local supermarket.

In fact there is no such thing as "no-name" cable in a studio. CBC uses mostly Mogami cable for microphones and audio, and Belden for coax and digital. That is not due to some misguided tradition, it's due to knowing what works and what doesn't, what failed and what didn't, and the determination to not repeat mistakes when it matters.

The author is right in that "premium" cable from Monster, etc is not particularly different. He is right in that you probably pay more than it's worth. He is most certainly wrong that it's all the same. Companies like Monster pay large sums of money to have the jacket say what they pay the cable company to say. There is almost always a cable in the manufacturer's standard stock that is just fine for the job, but has the disadvantage of having something like "Canare L-4E6S" on the side of it. Armed with the part number, anyone can buy that cable in bulk, and that's what studios do.

Certainly it's better if it says "Monster Super-Duper" instead. That way there is still a mystery involved, even if it came off the same factory line earlier that day. To be honest, Canare L-4E6S and a pair of Canare F-10 RCA's makes an excellent audio cable, and would cost you, for a 1 meter cable, roughly $15 and some solder and time. Monster would charge you at least $50 for an equivalent. But, a dollar or three? Not even close.

All of which is "premium" cable, all of which is chosen not for thrills or bragging rights, but sound principles of engineering and utility. The connectors will be, in general, more expensive than most consumer cables as well. There <i>is a reason</i> for such "unnecessary" expense. It's also worth mentioning that what a studio needs and what you need at home, even with a very high quality home system, are not the same. Durability is critical in a studio; you can do with stuff that works good but can't be trampled on at home. And so on.

What you will almost never find (remember: the show must go on: two pieces of copper pipe wedged between contacts and being held by roadies will suffice if you're live to millions of viewers and there's no time to get the "right stuff") is the kind of cables the author advocates. Junk is junk, and yes, it makes a difference.

For the most part, studios buy bulk, high quality cable, and solder the connectors themselves, using the generally accepted procedure and materials. When they buy pre-made cable, they buy from vendors that do basically the same thing they would do themselves, if they only had the time.

Monster Cable, in some cases, is equivalent to the stuff studios use. However, every studio happens to know what the cable is worth, and won't pay those prices unless they have no other choice. That's not to say they would settle for less, it's just that they know what good cable is made of, what it's worth, and how to make it themselves.

If anyone is interested, PM me and I will tell you how to make good cable yourself. It's not hard, and it's not expensive. However, you must adhere to some minimum standards, and the "dollar-store" cable the author implies is "just as good" is simply inadequate, period. Expect to spend $6~10 for connectors and $1~3 per foot. That is not expensive, and in fact is probably less than what you might pay in stores for lesser cable. But, it's a minimum standard of quality, and to do less is to rob yourself of what you paid for elsewhere in your system.

** To be honest, Radio Shack cable is much better now than it once was. Having said that, it is still no bargain.


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