So, no Monster's markup isn't worth it because for close to 100% of all people, the cheaper Monoprice cable works just as well and comes in a plastic bag instead of those stupid plastic clamshells.

Circuit City sales guy to me: "You are spending a thousands of dollars on a HDTV. If you want good picture quality, you've got to spend on getting good HDMI cables. It is all about investment."

So, Monster's response is "well, everybody's doing it!"

It's never an impressive answer.

@Canadian Impostor:
I'll pay extra to avoid the clamshells!!!
Plastic bags FTW

@tobedetermined: Appropriate reply: "I understand you to be saying a lot of words."

OMG those cables are packed really well...they must be great....haha. I still can't fathom spending $100 on 3 or 6 ft cable.

For analog transmissions, better cables does equate to better sound iff - Every single point in the chain is of equal or better quality including speakers, amplifiers and most importantly the room itself.
In the end perception of quality is a personal choice.

As far as digital, it either makes it from one point to the other intact or it doesn't. If it doesn't, get a better cable.

Monster started it's business in the analog world and back then I do believe they offered a product that offered something more important than quality, they provided engineered consistency.

For the most part, and for over 95% of people, Monster Cables are worthless and over priced. I have seen those Bestbuy idiots that try and sell you the "best" cable, and you don't need it. If you run through walls like said, or long distanced ok, but other than that no. Just paying for a name.

Double the cost is nothing. I'm amazed that people are surprised over such markups. The company I work for sell leather wallets, womans handbags and things of that nature. The markup on those items START at ~250% for retailers.

Well I don't think it is worth it for HDMI since it is all digital 1's and 0's but I would spend the money on audio cables for sure!@tobedetermined:

So in other words, buy all your cables from monoprice and stop funding Monster's litigation and CES parties.

So when was it that Snake Oil ceased to be?
Monster Cables was able to help people believe for many years now that by paying more they actually GOT more. Why wouldn't commissioned salespeople assist?
Thank you Pears for getting too greedy and too outlandish too fast in your claims about audio/video cables! You have also shone a WTF! light back onto Monster.
Well done.

i personally dont get the big fuss over diamonds. when it comes down to it its just a shiny rock with little purpose

To the Monster guys:

Don't come back shouting at us consumers... again. Your irritation should be placed firmly at your resellers feet.

Making your own cables is the way to go. That way, you know exactly what kind of quality you're getting.

This whole digital thing is a fad and will blow over in a couple more months...at least that's what I continue to tell myself, since the wife won't let me buy a digital TV - much less an HDTV.

If the Commercial Broadcasting Industry doesn't use Monster cables, then why are they claimed to be the best of all cables, and thus how is the ridiculous price justified?

@Geisrud: I feel your pain.

The amount of markup is irrelevant...they should charge as much as they could. Why shouldn't a maker charge a 1000% markup if the market will pay it?

Of course, technical claims should be challenged if they sound bogus!

However, the marketplace will decide if they are willing to pay the mark up. Some may be willing to pay more just because the cables are "so pretty" :-)

I used to be a rep of Monster Professional Audio cables (guitars, keyboards, power, etc.) Most Higher end monster cable will make a difference in tone, because of shielding and connections and design, etc. It's all very involved. The difference is marginal to the common ear. The more you pay the more it makes the difference. I use some monster cable for my guitar equipment and I don't for other situations, because the difference is either not worth the price or it's not desired. One thing to remember about Monster is their no fault warranty. I could buy their cable and cut it half at the register and the retailer is suppose to replace it on the spot.

I've seen the garage at Monster...about 30 cars you'll only ever see at car shows or TV. Some even with custom designed interiors just for the audio.

Monster is not worth it for HDMI. HDMI cables are certified. There is no signal advantage to getting a Monster HDMI cable over another another identically certified and cheaper cable.

As to analog shielding, speaker cables are not shielded, so that argument does not apply in that case.

Monster makes high quality cables, but Monster knows that their cables are only subjectively better if you think they are better, and thus Monster does not, and refuses to, do any double blind testing of any of their analog cables. Sure, they can point to tests that show detectable electrical differences from Monster cables and others, but the tests are so sensitive they can show differences between batches of the exact same cables--differences that make no audible difference to listeners of any system, no matter how high end.

I think I paid 9.96$ shipped for (2) 3' HDMI cables, in little plastic bags from eforcity

Work & look just fine to me

hey, it's a market economy. That monster is still alive and driving Lambo's means some people are buying their cables. There are people buying a Rolls Royce while a Prius gets them as adequately from A to B. Of course, the Rolls is (or was) mostly handmade and has wood and leather all over, but that doesn't make it any faster, and it's guzzling a lot more petrol to boot. Still people buying it. Give those guys a break, as long as there is somebody believing the mark up is worth it, so be it. Evolution works in strange ways and mostly unnervingly slowly.

I wouldn't connect my 62 r1 strat to my 65 twin reverb with any fucking cable that comes outta "monoprice" (comes outta ANYWHERE in a plastic bag, for that matter). Sorry.

Well, the Monster reply to the charge of inflated prices was correct in one thing. The profit margin on these cables is not as absurd as you might think. The term markup is somewhat loaded and leads you to believe they are artificially inflating the prices. The profit margins they claim on these cables are consistent with retailing in general. I've seen similar statistics across a number of retail industries. There is nothing absurd about these profit margins. The real question here is this: Are the cables themselves worth the price? My guess is that they aren't. In my experience, you tend to get what you pay for, but as the price increases, you get less incremental for your extra dollar.

But calling the 40-50% profit margin a ripoff is not exactly fair. If that is the case, every time you buy something, you are getting ripped off.

Y RAINYDAYINTERNS AT 03:38 PM
The amount of markup is irrelevant...they should charge as much as they could. Why shouldn't a maker charge a 1000% markup if the market will pay it?

And why shouldn't consumers complain and demand as little mark up as possible? Your comment is irrelevant to a forum that is for consumers rather than corporate salesmen, accountants and CEO's.

@pevans34: precisely. And people shelling out the money for it get what they deserve.

Well, the Monster reply to the charge of inflated prices was correct in one thing. The profit margin on these cables is not as absurd as you might think.

Perhaps, but I'll bet Monster is fudging on the "wholesale price." Different companies receive different pricing depending on volume and chances are that Monster dug up the highest wholesale price it could find to use as an example.

BY IZIM1 AT 03:41 PM
I wouldn't connect my 62 r1 strat to my 65 twin reverb with any fucking cable that comes outta "monoprice" (comes outta ANYWHERE in a plastic bag, for that matter). Sorry.

Must be nice having all of your cables delivered by armed couriers from Pear.

I use Monster instrument cables and think that they are definitely worth the extra few bones. Not only from a quality standpoint, but also the lifetime warranty makes it so you only buy one... forever. As fellow musicians know, cables get cut, fried, dropped, stepped on, and just about every other thing that you're NOT supposed to do to high quality cables. If your cables damaged, bring it back for a new one, no questions asked.

Now if we could just get them to cover getting too drunk at gigs and leaving cables at the venue, we'd be all set.

As a broadcaster and someone with a video engineering background, I can tell you that the
only thing you get with monster cables is a monster price. They are nothing but marketing. Monster cables do nothing more than cables a 1/4 the price. Sorry!

@SKEPTIC

Consumers vote with their money...complaint that the product doesn't work, don't complaint because people are willing to pay for a product. That's just silly.

ALL and i repeat all cables are like this.
I used to work for a music equipment retailer and thats where i learned all about the cable scam.

Music gear (keyboards / guitars etc) all need cabling and i can tell you that the longest normal run cables cost no more than $10-$15 usually. You will see them for up to $60-$70 and they will offer you a "discount" when you are getting your cables with gear ( dropping the price to about 50% of whats tagged on the cables usually), which means that normally they are still making a very healthy profit of cable sales.

Gear sales only provide a small percentage to the stores.. the cables are their bread and butter.

There is no way - period - to justify selling a 2 meter HDMI cable for ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY DOLLARS!!!

It may only be a "44% profit margin" from a wholesale to retail (HA! ONLY 44%!!), but the manufacturing to wholesale has got to be close to 200%.

Anyone for a false advertising class action? These people are robbing ignorant consumers blind.

for those prices you might as well buy a series of small,lcd tv's connected end to end to transfer your signal.

I used to work in the retail electronics industry and the 100% markup was standard. We sold Monster, Straightwire and Nordost. Monster was very inferior. That being said, I couldn't justify paying the high costs of Nordost either.

The mark-up percentage isn't the problem. The problem is the stores are no longer stocking lower priced cables, so consumers are being forced to buy these very expensive cables if they want to use their new equipment immediately.

BY RAINYDAYINTERNS AT 03:51 PM
@SKEPTIC
Consumers vote with their money...complaint that the product doesn't work, don't complaint because people are willing to pay for a product. That's just silly

That's the line used by ripoff artist apologist: "As long as the consumer doesn't know they've been ripped off it doesn't matter."

F' that!

People are often willing to pay a high price for a product because they have been falsely convinced of the superiority of a product. Your line of thinking is the "just bend over" for companies and their claims line of thinking. That may work out great if you are a salesman *cough*cough* but not for consumers who get no real added value for their money.

POLLOCKROC makes a rational, and very specific and limited argument for Monster based on their warranty, which, if true, would be a reasonable factor to consider for road cables but not for cables in general. For the rest of us, Monster are over hyped cables that for standard short run lengths will make no difference over regular high quality cables. Of course, RAINYDAYINTERNS, is welcome to bend over and take it, but the rest of us can call bunk on that kind of capitulation.

is a HDMI cable a status symbol - as jewelery, clothing or a car is?

yea their reply is crap, when I was working at best buy the mark up on the high end cables was so much more than the regular, it made more sense and saved money for employees to purchase them.

STOP THE MADNESS

I don't know about the HDMI cables, but being a gigging musician, I've always bought Monster's audio cables for the sheer fact that they have a lifetime warranty. If I'm out at a show in LA, NYC, or the middle of Nebraska, all I have to do is find the nearest music shop and they'll swap out my broken Monster cable for a new one, no questions asked. This is especially true of Guitar Center.

For me, that makes it a great deal, hands down.

I've used Monster cables for a long time in my music gear, and I have to say, if my mic cable is a Monster, I'm safe. Absolutely worth the extra money.

The real question: how durable and reliable do the cables that sit, unmoving, unbending behind your TV need to be? Sorry, Monster, but regular cables work just fine back there.

@yogibimbi:
That is a terrible example.

A Rolls Royce is objectively better in some ways than a Prius. More interior room, smoother ride, better materials, less road noise (though maybe more engine noise), style which many like better, and (most importantly) the peasants aren't driving it. All of these are factors which are noticeable to the end user.

Monster Cables do not perform any better in any significant way in the vast majority of cases. Even cheap cables have gold plated connectors these days, so corrosion resistance (which matters in some environments) isn't even a big factor anymore. And even in terms of appearance, cables are usually hidden behind the equipment they're connecting, so what does it matter? And considering their ubiquity, and the difficulty of getting any non-premium cables in brick-and-mortar stores these days, I don't think they can claim exclusivity.

Also it isn't market forces that allow Monster Cable to exist. It's manipulation of information going to customers.

If Monster Cable's customers knew shit about shit, Monster Cable wouldn't have any retail cables over 30 or 40 bucks. Monster deliberately misleads customers in order to distinguish their product from the functionally identical equivalents. They're trying to make themselves immune to the market. Others may have followed them into the "premium" cable price range, but they don't have any interest in competing on price, either.

The retailers are all perfectly happy to play along, because it's better to sell one 100 dollar cable to one sucker than 20 10 dollar cables to people who know there is no difference. It's like 4 dollar bottles of soda at the airport, particularly now that everyone (except Walmart...AFAIK, they of all people are the only good guys left in this fight) is playing this game.

Thus people falling for it hurt everyone who doesn't fall for it.

And what is your point bleating about the market, anyway? You think there's something wrong with us trying to fight back against the "premium" cable industries lies? That there's something wrong with trying to take away the non-market advantage Monster Cable has built for itself?

Is this some "virtue of wealth" thing?

@pevans34: I can't tell if you're being facetious or not, but I completely agree with you on that topic. Diamonds really are just really hard rocks.

"Oh but, look! Someone else marks something else up at some other amount at retail!"
Yes. Things get marked up at retail. It's how stores make money. We get it.

You do it too much.

Ever hear of the phrase, "It's a matter of scale."?

Many times, in "jewelery, clothing, and furniture, the markup is even greater."

So cables are fashion now?