re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Yes it would be "naa". A lot of people would be shelling out hard earned money for sub par cables. In my opinion BOSE are all show, better than generic but nothing special.

If you think BOSE are just show then you obviously haven't heard them or your def.
What a ludicrous statement.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth

www.gizmodo.com.au/2007/06/the_truth_about_monster_cable.html

www.gizmodo.com.au/2007/06/the_truth_about_monster_cable_1.html

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Search youtube for "Monster Cables" and you will get quite a few news stories from the US about how much of a rip off they are.

To Steve Moore if you can tell the difference between a cheap HDMI and an over priced Monster Cable I suggest you throw your wallet out. Your eye sight might not be going but your common sense and money sure are.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Alright. Your printers not printing some files? replace your usb 1.1 cable with the exact same one and see if that solves it. The reason people buy monster is for their increased bandwidth (in spasto speak bandwidth is just how fast data travels). So if your printer is not printing a document than the cable is damaged, it's not because the cable is not made by monster. If there is anything the monster will do its cut the amount of time in between hitting the print button on your computer to your printer beginning to print, but since USB 1.1 has an already slow bandwidth than there is absolutely no point to buy one. Onto their entertainment solutions now. OK so basically why are they so expensive? Because TV's are so cheap, there is more markup and profit to be made in two monster cables than within a single 3500 dollar tv, it's how stores operate. Usually if you see a deal the retailer has dropped the TV down to the retailers cost (or about $50 more) and added cables, warranties, delivery, cabinets, speakers, blu-ray players, blu-ray discs... the list goes on. If a salesmen is to achieve the demands that a company places on him then he or she is placed in a position to have to sell cables, because if the company wants to stay afloat, they have to sell cables. Simple as that, you can't make too much money when you're paying your employees more then the difference on a TV. PLEASE, before you go shopping next time, PLEASE do your homework. There are too many bodgy sales people out there.

(Sorry Andrew, but that's simply wrong. Bandwidth is capacity, not speed. It's four lanes on a highway instead of one. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Umm, if you can't notice the difference between a $5 cable and a $500 cable in a home theater set up, then my advice is to pack up your home theater and sell it. Your eye sight is going. For other digital stuff like USB cables- There is no difference, because the data was compressed digitally, and unpacks well... Video isn't that easy to compress well.

(Umm. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Monster cables are a massive rip-off.
I should know as I got stung at H. Norman by a salesman who it turns out did not know what he was talking about (Or was lying through his teeth). Mind you at that time I knew nothing about HDIM, 720p, 1080p, v 1080i let alone about the cable. I know now, lol, bit late. Well at least I only bought the monster 1.0m cable "Home Series" at 120 dollars Australian. I did note that after I opened that packet that it stated on the packet that it only run to 720p or 1080i. That is crap of course the cable displays 1080p with no problems. The reason that Monster markets their Home Series like that is they want you to buy the 300 dollar 1 mt
cable, which would have to be the BIGGEST RIP-OFF in history of cables.I should have bought a 15 dollar cable off the internet. H Norman must be making truck loads of money off Monster cables, how does 999 dollars sound for a HDMI400-50. I bet H Norman make more on the cable sale than on the sale of a 3500 dollar TV. Remember with a digital signal it either works or it does not, buy the cheapest cable you can find for short runs. For more information on cables (The truth) check out Blue Jean Cables. I will never buy anything from H Norman again, as I do not like being lied to. Thank goodness I brought the HD tv and the Xbox from Myer.

(Trust me Jonathan. There are plenty of other stores in Australia that would rip you off just as well. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/field-notes/ the-truth-about-monster-cable-266616.php

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

I must agree with Paul on this one. Don't waste your money.In analogue audio situations- ie speaker cables, the only thing that matters is the cross-sectional area of the cable. In other words, the longer the cable, the 'fatter' it should be. Digital is a different kettle of electrons.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Size doesn't matter but length does.
If you're trying to print using 10m of USB, forget it. move the printer or PC closer.

The only advantage that the bigger cables sometimes have better shielding but even that shouldn't be an issue unless the cable goes around a CRT screen.

(Yes, we've covered that USB length problem in another question Mike. Strange limitation to design in to a standard though. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

I have not heard of that brand USB cables myself, and if the standard cables what come with the items dont work there is something else wrong. Start looking at drivers and settings.
As for MONSTER CABLES in HIGH END AUDIO i have heard of, and are only Beneficial on long runs and you pay the price.
Also lets not forget (OFC) Oxygen Free Copper Leads, those are the ones i use which supposedly have less resistance per meter compraded to other patch cords and genrally have better overall insulation.
Cheers Frank.

(I could take you to task on a few of your points Frank. But I'm in a good mood. -PZ :-)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Honest truth with out being rude, good cables do make a diference but the price of Monster cables would almost pay of my mortgage, been down that road and its a name for fame road. Keep half the benjamin franklins in your wallet and the rest on cables and you will be more than happy.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Is there an advantage to use Monster cables for a home theatre. Speakers, power supply, etc... Thank you Regards Peter

(In my opinion, there's no difference between using Monster cables and any other good cable, You can get the same results for a fraction of the price. Others will disagree. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

i cant see a point in buying monster cable for printing, home theatre is a dif story, signal loss is only a small part of the problem when it comes to cheap cables, different signals travel through different cables in different ways... eg sub cable should be dif to video cable, if you're under the belief that signal loss is the only thing to be concerned with then you need to re-evaluate where you get your info from.

(I don't even agree with what you've said about home theatre Trev. In my opinion, as long as the cable is reasonable, and with good connectors and termination, it should be fine. There is no physical reason why ultra-expensive cables should outperform other good cables. Yes, the manufacturers will give all sorts of reasons and flkim-flam, but none of it is true. -PZ)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

The world needs to learn about computers before they start using them. The non-correct printing problem is most probably an issure with either your printer, your printer's driver or the application your printing from. Try and eliminate the factors. If some apps print right and some print wrong, its the apps. If all apps print wrong then its your printer or your driver. If you downloaded your printer driver from a generic driver download site, there's your problem.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Yes it would be "naa". A lot of people would be shelling out hard earned money for sub par cables. In my opinion BOSE are all show, better than generic but nothing special.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Yep Monster cables all the way. But why for a printer? It's not like it will get a better signal.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Just expressing my opinion on Andrew Collins response.
Bradley S. wants to know about PC cables for his printer mainly which shouldn't really cost him great amounts of cash.
Hopefully there's a Dick Smiths or other suitable shop near him which could put him on the right track.
As for Stereos/DVD/Surround sound systems/Hi-Fi equipment in general.
Well I guess most of us older guys have been down that road and come out screaming at one time or another :):)
Good luck Bradley :)you'll sort it out mate. Cya PC lovers.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Yes!. Get a monster cable if you have a monster WALLET. Or a Black AMEX card.

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

I dont think fancy expensive cables should be used with comps, I dont see the point. But when it comes to a 1080 HD Plasma TV then I would personally splash out on monster cables (which I have hehe).

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

hi Brad. this topic is very contentious but let me offer you some simple advice from someone who's been around a while (i'm 45). when it comes to signal leads like RCA or RF leads, the rule of thumb is simple, the shorter the better. a lot of hum and noise can be generated by having these leads too close to mains leads so try to isolate them as much as possible. when it comes to speaker cable, 4 gauge (bigger than 8 gauge) is fine but the same rule applies to speaker cable, the shorter the better. to put the resistance factor to the test, i unwound a 25 metre roll of 8 gauge (standard) speaker cable and connected it to the back of one of my speakers. i then got more 8 gauge cable but the length of cable for this speaker was only about 3 metres, a pretty standard length per channel in most homes. i then measured the resistance of both speakers with my digital multi-meter. as you can imagine there was no real difference between them. this does not mean i advocate running speaker leads in excess of 25 metres in length per channel. it was only to put this argument on a domestic basis to bed once and for all. there is one thing that i am finding more and more as technology progresses, especially in older homes like mine and it's hum caused by an earth loop. it would be easier to "google" that subject to get the details about it but to stop the hum in the active subs of my surround system, i had to drop the earths (disconnect) on both subs to stop the hum. this usually occurs when you have a lot of gear like i do that have an earth pin. as to the cost of all leads.....be prepared to pay a reasonable amount but don't get conned into spending hundreds of dollars if you don't have to. take a friend who is in the know when you go to buy. i run my DVD audio into my surround amp using the fibre optic input. oh for the days when everything is standardised and all inputs are digital. goodbye to about 90% of input worries. hope i helped, Andy :) :) :)

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

I would be highly skeptical of buying a name brand USB cable. I'd have to say you are paying for a fancy looking cable - not better performance.

As for other cabling like SPDIF or Toslink (optical), or just plain speaker cable noise elimination is necessary but you still don't need to spend a fortune/buy fancy cables. Above all, name brand cabling does not make it do the job better - it just makes sure the job gets done.

Want better printing - buy a better printer. Want better sound - buy better speakers... you get the idea.

FYI though I do use high end cables for my home theatre because I have noticed the difference thanks to the noise elimination (my cables run past a solahart, two phone lines and a tv antenna - plenty of interference there, and that's before counting other home appliances).

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

Now if BOSE made cables that would be a difrent thing

re: Should I get Monster Cables?

The sound quality is pone thing, but why would a printer benefir?

(Yes, I'd be checking the printer problem as a separate issue. -Paul Zucker)