MONSTER CABLE SPEAKER CABLE...

[Tom Bombadil]

One of the most famous speaker cable "comparisons" was conducted by John Dunlavy, the designer behind the award winning Dunlavy speaker line, from back in the 1990s. He sat up a "comparison" using his top of the line speakers and some very expensive front end gear and amps. He ran 12AWG cable along with very expensive, very thick cables to the speakers. In the audience were several audiophile magazine reviewers, he never published the names as he guaranteed anonymity. He then ran his "comparisons," playing some music, stopping to go behind the speakers to switch the cables, announcing which one was being used. The reviewers agreed that the expensive cables were significantly better and explained how they affected the music. This went on for a while. Then he announced that he never once switched the cables. All of the tests were conducted using the 12AWG cables.

 

[nolasally]

yup! One always hears what one wants to here! I like Johns style...

 

[mech986]

In before the lock, although the OP's question is still a valid one.

Regarding the heater wire, probably well broken in running current way in excess of what a typical stereo system will push. That's why I'm partial to used arc welding wire. Just a bit hard to terminate and it keeps pulling my speakers down off their stands.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I'm all for using good quality cabling. Monster 12ga is certainly good speaker cable. Or 14ga. Finding it on sale is a good thing. Whether it is better than using something like 14ga power cords is a good question. I know many use very inexpensive cables, but I believe that spending a reasonable amount to get a good 12/14ga cable is worth it.

 

[Bostown]

Weighing in on threads like this is always interesting. Monster had some good cables. Not all but some, yes they were stupid expensive and Noel Lee is a D-Bag for sure. With the market being what it is, monster is a Budget cable on the used market. But NOT all monstaer cable is a good deal. There are a handful that are really well made , Many that are the same cable just labeled differently and were sold at various price points although they were no differences in construction or geometry.

So for the cost of radioshack RCA cables you can probably pick up a set of Monster Interlink 400, 500, m550i , or on a good day. interlink "reference" ( original not the later mkII). or interlink litz cable. There are others that are a good buy , Can cables make a difference? Yes, do they always make a difference? NO! Does price reflect perfeormance. hell effin no, the cable and tweaks market is full of PT barnum mother so and so dudes who are shilling "magic" in the form of cable or spikes or isolation feet, ambient field conditioners or whatever. Sometimes its in the damn name. they try to sell you on a posh sounding brand or model name . "Audio chinchilla". Or. MAgic , zen, phantom, voodoo, super, and the ever famous "reference" . Blah blah blah.

The marketing is hype BS, and an attempt to have you make the association to quality or performance through brand marketing marketing. I mean , i love the look of the less loss website.. Wood is natural so the sound is associated to warm or natural, but its all dressing , as is tech flex and special powered interconnects etc. thats not say that many folks dont hear a difference. The mind is a wonderous thing. Placebo effect is real. Just like water boarding makes you feel like you are drowning when you aren't. Cables on risers and electric insultaors , for some equate to better sound..

But back to Monster cable. Bargains are out there because the brand is so tarnished that there is little market value left in their interconnects. Folks will shell out big coin for siltech, acoustic zen, von gaylord etc. becuase those names have some allure to the fashion conscious audiophiles. Its like whats happening with the ls3/5a. Its become a status symbol in asia so the prices despite the performance is now through the roof. Same could be said for some of the high end cable brands. Monster cable will work. So will zip cord. Just dont pay for the hype. And these days. monster has little if any.

 

[westend]

I still use Cat5e twisted together. I haven't found anything better. I still have bits of 14 ga clear jacket in use but I think it's one of Walmart's specials.

 

[Jayrosc]

I always feel like my car seems to run better after an oil change. I know it really doesn't, but I enjoy the illusion anyway. While I have never heard a difference in any speaker wire I've used, my hat is off to those that feel they do and benefit from it. My system sounds better after I clean the room up too.

 

[ghamilton]

I remember getting some MIT spkr cable a while back. I was SURE it would sound better because it had a little box built on each cable to do something to the sound. I took them back because the top end was rolled off. They were MORE expensive and really looked cool. The less expensive monster sounded much better with no roll off on the top.
On the other hand,...I ordered some Vampire Wire when they were still making it and it was a bit too harsh in the upper mid and treble. I couldn't return it so I gave it away to a family member. Money lost. It was suppose to sound better. It didn't.
I could hear a difference,...but the more expensive stuff isn't always better! This monster cable (50 ft for $16.00 on amazon) is by far the best deal. (see earlier post)

 

[try1256]

I still use Cat5e twisted together. I haven't found anything better. I still have bits of 14 ga clear jacket in use but I think it's one of Walmart's specials.

I made up a set of cables using 4 runs of cat 5 per cable terminated with Audioquest banana plugs. HUGE improvement over the 12 gauge stranded wire I had been using. Much more and cleaner bass, smoother midrange and more extension in the highs. The improvement was immediate and substantial.

 

[crazy-in-az]

I use whatever I find in the bins at goodwill. Some of the stuff I found was "high end" years ago.

 

[Lesterbest]

I remember getting some MIT spkr cable a while back. I was SURE it would sound better because it had a little box built on each cable to do something to the sound. I took them back because the top end was rolled off. They were MORE expensive and really looked cool. The less expensive monster sounded much better with no roll off on the top.
On the other hand,...I ordered some Vampire Wire when they were still making it and it was a bit too harsh in the upper mid and treble. I couldn't return it so I gave it away to a family member. Money lost. It was suppose to sound better. It didn't.
I could hear a difference,...but the more expensive stuff isn't always better! This monster cable (50 ft for $16.00 on amazon) is by far the best deal. (see earlier post)

I wish I could remember the forum that showed a customer who had the temerity to break open the sacred network box to discover a zobel network. That told me everything I wanted to know about a co whose sole credibility was choosing & debasing a great univ.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Monster couldn't compete with Yard Masters

 

[transmaster]

I honestly think what happened to Monster Cable, who originated the oxygen free fat cable boogaloo, was the Internet. It was one thing reading about how fabulous this speaker wire was in the audio magazines by just a few audio journalists . To seeing reviews from hundreds of people online. With the internet you have places like Audioholics that not only listen to such cables but put instruments on them to see what is going on. What is really damning is Audioholics duplicating extremely expensive speaker cables for a small fraction of the price. Even the oxygen free copper voodoo is suspect because if you look up the standard specifications for copper wire you find out all present copper wire is oxygen free. So "zip cord" 2 words that will turn some audiophiles into screaming Baboons is also oxygen free. From where I sit the difference between is in the flexibility, quality of the insulation, and wire. You can get wire from Monoprice that is identical to Monster Cable in every way, 100 feet of 12AWG will cost you $29.94.

One area that I am a believer, to a limited extent, is interconnects. Here you are directly coupling separate electronic circuits. how the 2 circuits are matched up through the interconnecting cabling will effect the sound which people who have good hearing can discriminate. What I have never seen done is a test setup that interconnects 2 audio circuits with an interconnection where capacitance, resistance, impedance, inductance etc. can be varied, and the audio output could be observed against a standard. If this turns out to be true I can see high end Audio equipment sold with custom made cables that exactly match the coupling spec's needed for the best sound from each unit. If you are talking about interconnects between tube mono amp's, and a pre-amp custom one off cables that exactly match up all electronics would be be a no brainer.

 

[NAD80]

Looked up that MIT Cable found on .head-fi.org/t/666348/the-inside-of-a-450-speaker-cable-b.... If you have money to burn. Transmaster that would be a speaker cable (interconnect) test.

 

[Lesterbest]

Looked up that MIT Cable found on .head-fi.org/t/666348/the-inside-of-a-450-speaker-cable-b.... If you have money to burn. Transmaster that would be a speaker cable (interconnect) test.

Glad you found it. Another blk eye for cable cos & the bogus BS in their white papers.

 

[transmaster]

Goodie!!! Thanks.

I am a hamradio operator and I have a fully equipped service bench. I can see coupling variations in some of the circuitry I tweak. With this experience when you look at the claims made by some of these outfits for their cables and interconnects they are using Radio frequency transmission characteristics on audio frequencies. It does not work that way.

I remember the dirty look I got from a Audio shop that sold Kimber Kable. It just so happened KK had a line of speaker cable that looked like the braided power cable on an antique console radio I had. I purchased 6 feet of it when I told him what I was using for it he looked at me like one of the PETA's Lettuce Ladies getting handed a triple with cheese hamburger.

 

[Lesterbest]

For quite a few yrs, audio print & web site mags have devoted a disproportionate amt of space to cables. IMO, this is driven by ad $. Is it any wonder countless reviewers have draws & probably closets full of "permanent loaner" (talk about a disingenuous phrase) cables that most cos feel aren't worth returning? "And so it goes....................."

 

[MannyE]

My take is that I hear a difference with thicker AWH cable on my speakers. I just do. Of course, I buy the cheapest cable I can find which is usually either microphone cable (really pliable and neat) or just plain thick stranded power cables. With a little effort in dress up using some nice banana plugs and shrink wrap, they look as nice as thousand dollar cable. White power cord wire with black tech wrap looks really nice.

When it comes to interconnects I will pay a little more for the cosmetics and if I can get custom lengths. I don't think I have ever heard a difference in interconnects, but I just enjoy the system more when everything back there is nice, neat and uncluttered. But $100 or more for a meter of wire ain't happening baby. However, if I need 10 inch patch cables I'll pay a premium to have them made up. Making interconnects that are well put together is not very easy and I have no problem paying for it within reason.

But I also won't argue with the guy that feels he needs to spend $1,000 a meter on cryo-treated silver and spun glass with solid gold connectors..it's his money and he can spend it on whatever he wants!

 

[transmaster]

When it comes to interconnects the quality of the terminating plug is what counts. and I favor Belden cabling. Belden is a studio standard, if it is good enough for a professional recording studio it is good enough for me.

 

[MannyE]

When it comes to interconnects the quality of the terminating plug is what counts. and I favor Belden cabling. Belden is a studio standard, if it is good enough for a professional recording studio it is good enough for me.

Belden is great cable. I used to have tons of it from when the TV station I worked at threw literally miles of it away during a redesign of the building.