Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable? - Gizmodo Comments

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

lizardw — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:24:36 EDT

old post but definitely generic cables for me. My HDMI cables aren't name brand but they're very high in quality. Please do your self a favor and don't buy cables at ridiculous prices. Even wal-mart's prices on cables are way to high.

lizardw

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

mixamillion — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:06:56 EDT

You can't hook up your new tv without purchasing these cables, so that's how they get you...if you can't wait. Only the suckers buy the high end cables. I go to meritlinedotcom for all my cabling needs; inexpensive not cheap.

mixamillion

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

iTheophilus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:20:55 EDT

Here's the thing. Our friend Henriette, who knows nothing about cables, wanted to buy a cable to connect her iPod to her stereo. The guy in the shop told her it was pointless buying a cable for anything less than $200 (we're in Norway). Given the degradation of the signal, I was a little surprised. She was so put off that she didn't buy a cable at all, believing that anything cheaper would sound like shit.

I bought an iPod cable from a man who makes them for Bang and Olufsen. It cost me $20.

iTheophilus

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

f0rge — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:33:50 EDT

i use gerenric for digital and "high end" for any analog connection. that being said i stay away from monster (well except for that one set i got for free).

f0rge

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

nephroth — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:35:51 EDT

I think the complaint about Monster cable isn't the price alone, but a combination of their ubiquity (how they've all but replaced all other options at stores like Best Buy), their price (which is way too much) and I know that I, for one, find the high-pressure sales push to be just a little offensive.

Personally, I make most of my own cables, it is cheaper, and I don't have to worry about having excess lengths of cable lying around. Granted, that's not really feasible with HDMI (at least not yet) but the vast majority of cables can be made easily and at a fraction of the in-store cost.

nephroth

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ColdAsIce — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:33:44 EDT

@russellbeermann: Or they do have high end equipment, that they purchased with hard earned money, but are not stupid people. Don't compare cheap crappy cables to rated cables! A rated cable will do EXACTLY the same as a Monster cable that is for the same use (hdmi ratings, etc). They say so them selves, and only say that theirs are more "Future Proof". If you really want to waste your money, go nuts.

ColdAsIce

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Sockatume — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:29:11 EDT

(That said, I really should replace the speaker cables on my surround system. I'm using wires which would be better described as an radio antennas.)

Sockatume

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Sockatume — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:27:31 EDT

Cheap. Frees up more cash for the important things. I don't even bother seeking out metal plating on my analogue connections, because:

1) I don't have gold plated recepticles on my devices, defeating the purpose of the gold plating on the cables
2) I'm not using my electronics in any situation where they would corrode badly
3) Most of the cheap cables come with it anyway

Of course on digital connections the point is completely moot. Which is the whole point of having a digital connection. It's an either-or business. You're dropping packets or you're not, by virtue of physics and engineering. Quality concerns go out the window so long as it carries the bits. So I use a laughably cheap bit of optical cable, an old phono lead for coax, and I'll be hooking up the cheapest DVI-HDMI cable I can find.

Sockatume

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

OneObuyan — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:39:19 EDT

However, as far as cables are concerned Silver out does Gold, and costs less, check these out:
[www.nordost.com]
[www.graniteaudio.com]
[www.silversonic.com]
and for the do it ur selves:
[www.homegrownaudio.com]
trust me they're affordable, but only if you care enough. :P

OneObuyan

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

OneObuyan — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:35:48 EDT

How is a $150 cable expensive? You want expensive, then let's talk expensive, Pear Cables are creating a buzz all over now a days, and for $4000/3.0m for Interconnects you final total number will be far more then mentioned.

OneObuyan

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

tellahoohooo — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:25:18 EDT

[www.crazyondigital.com] found them on e-bay, but the cables are pretty cheap

tellahoohooo

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Worf — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:16:04 EDT

I have a ton of monster cables. And a ton of generics.

And the monster cables, well, I paid something around $10 for a 10' optical cable. Can't get much cheaper retail, and online the shipping eats up the savings.

The only real cable that was "overpaid" would be some audio research component cables (6' - $75) a number of years ago. But the rest of the cables, Monster or otherwise, cheap.

Heck, I bought a "video kit" from Monster (S-Video and optical, just needed the optical) for around $10, too. Real Monster.

Shop at the discount/surplus/closeout places.

Worf

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

FrankenPC — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:56:51 EDT

One of those thick expensive cables cracked my Samsung HDMI port. F*** that! I'm sticking with the flexible cheapo cables.

FrankenPC

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

capitalass — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:30:14 EDT

@Asvetic: Now those are parties I want to go to...

capitalass

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

maven2k — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:28:48 EDT

I have both kinds of cables. Most of the higher end cables I own either came with the device or I got a screaming deal on them. I got some really good generic cables on ebay and they work just fine.

maven2k

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

cygnusx8 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:20:29 EDT

Why is everyone so hung up on Monster cable? They are not the top cable company out there. Sure they're more expensive than cable on Moniprice but they charge a few hundred dollars while there are companies out there charging thousands. Take a look at Clearaudio, Transparent, Kimber kable, Shunyata Research and countless others. Monster is not the worst offender by far. They're not even considered a high end cable. Even their top of the line stuff is barely considered mid-fi. I'm not saying they don't overcharge but I feel like there's a witch hunt on Monster cables.

cygnusx8

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ripfire — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:52:14 EDT

I use the ones that come with the device I get.

ripfire

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

dhaberer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:39:11 EDT

thanks ronnsprocket for that site. I've always bought the most affordable cables i could find, but have never seen those types of prices. I can't tell any different between a $2 cable and a $200 cable. Monster took lessons from de beers on how to price gauge.

dhaberer

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

MINI Driver — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:33:26 EDT

@skurtis.1:

I'll 2nd Neutrik connectors - best in the business in many cases

MINI Driver

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

MINI Driver — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:32:24 EDT

I buy high quality connectors, high grade cable, and then silver solder my own interconnects for maximum bang for the buck.

MINI Driver

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

frigg — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:26:40 EDT

When it's just for TV-ish stuff, I don't really care. But when it comes to making my musics, I prefer better constructed cables. However, I avoid the overpriced snake oil foisted on consumers like the plague, and spend my moneys on the more pro-oriented brands that actually deliver the goods at a justifiable price. Brands like Mogami and Canare, that sort of thing.

frigg

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

matsayz — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:17:57 EDT

@bigwhitebear18: www.eforcity.com w00t! they're great! they ship super quick for standard ship rates and even their rush shipping is cheap

matsayz

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

skurtis.1 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:52:58 EDT

I make my own audio interconnect cables, and yes you can hear a difference. The most expensive part of the cable is the pro-quality Neutrik connectors, which puts their total cost at roughly $24 a pair. I use plenum rated speaker cable, large gauge. The subtleties of speaker cable are less apparent unless the cable has a high capacitance. For video I use pro-quality cable mainly because it has better shielding than and is cheaper than the expensive snake oil they sell at Best Buy. For the life of me I can't tell the difference between between video cable unless the picture is noisy (hence the shielding) or if it has a bad connection. Plus I wear glasses, so the image is only as good as the cleanliness of my lenses.

skurtis.1

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

shalegac — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:31:20 EDT

@ronnsprocket: 100% agree. Will not buy cables anywhere else!

shalegac

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

TheCyberBob — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:08:18 EDT

I got to my corner "Quikee Mart" or The Source to get cables. As long as they have gold ends on em I'm happy.

TheCyberBob

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Nathan Drake — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:58:27 EDT

I bought a standard Sony HDMI cable with my PS3. Would that be a generic cable or a high end cable?

Nathan Drake

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

jrbd90 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:58:10 EDT

bluejeanscable.com

better than monoprice for little more.

jrbd90

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Wilson Rotman — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:48:38 EDT

@Dexter_Backlash: thank you for you hinesty - you snake oil peddler you.

well done.

"Please can we have 10 more of your dollars - because you are as thick as pig sh&t?"

Wilson Rotman

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Dexter_Backlash — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:42:58 EDT

I've used to work in a computer shop. Most people simply prefer expensive cables because they 'believe' they are better. I always offered my customers the choice between two or three cables. Exactly the same cables, but one was twice as expensively priced and had another color. I rarely sold the cheapest one, unless it was black, and in their eyes looked cooler. Therafter I switched the pricetags.

We only had one brand for every type of cable. No one ever noticed.

Dexter_Backlash

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Gonzie — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 06:16:28 EDT

@lafond66: perhaps you should try swapping them around just for kicks and to see if he notices his expensive cable is missing

Gonzie

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Egeste — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:11:27 EDT

Those high-end brands (as we've seen recently in [gizmodo.com]) can be a total ripoff, but even in the case of the over-glorified Monster Cables the only time it's really going to make a shits worth of difference to the end user if they are plugging in a television 1 mile away or they're transferring data in a studio environment and need less lossy data transfer mediums. Even then it's a "moot point" as you'd be transferring digital-digital anyway.

I see 220 of you today who are really just wasting money.

Egeste

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

gmjhowe — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:01:59 EDT

ebay FTW

gmjhowe

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

krom — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:49:03 EDT

for analog:
QED, Van den Hul, Xindak (yes, chinese), Nordost, etc.

for digital:
QED, Oehlbach, Monster, etc.

cause they just look way nicer the bloody monoprice cables. and anyway, when buying a LCD TV for 5k, what do i care if the cable costs me another 10$ or another 200$. Same when you have an expensive stereo. i saw setups here in singapore which are around 100k. so why shouldn't the cable cost 3500$ for 2x 2.5 m stereo sound?

krom

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

WolfDV — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:44:54 EDT

Monoprice!!!!

WolfDV

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

TuxRug — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:30:49 EDT

I just buy whatever is available. Sometimes Belkin, sometimes RCA, sometimes get-5-USB2.0-cables-for-$1 brands. Basically whatever I can get to by the time I really need it. Rarely do I pay more than $3 for any cable. The only cable I have that cost me $20 is a proprietary (and now outdated) video cable for my old iPod.

TuxRug

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

grok666 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:25:02 EDT

Love all the HDMI fans!... Component is rated for 1080P and are just fine for HDTV.

I do tech support for a cable company, and virtually NEVER get calls for component cable connections, but talk to HDMI users all day long. Doesn't hurt that they usually go for much less than HDMI too!

grok666

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

josejuan05 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:51:34 EDT

I use cheap (sometimes patched together) cables for everything. Especially digital. Digital Cliff Effect, baby! As long as it gets through, it all gets through.

josejuan05

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Jerm-Sorensen — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:49:05 EDT

I pay $28-$35 for a Monster HDMI cable, so I use them. I know its more than your typical HDMI but at least I'm not paying $79-$99 for it, if I had to pay that, I would definitely use generic cables.

Jerm-Sorensen

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

redkamel — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:45:18 EDT

I use pear cables cause they are best cables in the whole world.

redkamel

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

bigwhitebear18 — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:19:29 EDT

I get the $2 Hdmi cables from eforcity and love them. also managed to find a cheap digital out audio wire that actually stays connected.
I'm currently looking for a 25ft ethernet cord for my ps3 and better speaker wire then the original boxed stuff. I'm gonna check monoprice, had never heard of them b4, but i prefer my known vendors.

bigwhitebear18

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

D.LYTE — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:59:48 EDT

cheap cables for digital. low gauge lamp cord or zip cord or electrical cord or speaker wire or whatever you want to call it. i prefer to make my own cables, if possible. no way i'm paying any kind of price for monster cables. and i'm pushing 350W/channel into some high-falutin' kick ass loudspeakers.

D.LYTE

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

forcetrainer — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:52:18 EDT

I'm a cheapskate with cables. I'm sure someone out there would tell the difference, but I know I can't. It looks good enough for me.

I'm so damn cheap for a while I was cutting my own Cat5. A big spool and a bunch of ends floating around the desk, heh.

forcetrainer

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

gtada — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:39:20 EDT

From my experience there is a cutoff point of diminishing returns. I never go with bargain basement cables because they're often (not always) of inferior quality. But, there is that point where anything more is just a waste of your money. Cheap but high quality is always best for me.

gtada

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

TVGenius — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:22:11 EDT

My HT is wired with 50' spools of 99-cent store speaker wire, and my PS3 is hooked up with the optical cable I got on clearance at Wally World and a HDMI cable I got at BigLots for $6. Doesn't sit completely firmly on the TV end, but a 150lb HD Trinitron doesn't get moved often.

TVGenius

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

norfizzle — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:53:44 EDT

I use some cheap HDMI cable that you guys had on here a month or two ago. HDMI makes a huge difference in HDTV watching versus normal coaxial.. That said, these cheapo cables have been a little spastic, but not enough to pay up for something more expensive.

norfizzle

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

spaceman37 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:49:09 EDT

I shall repeat like others.. Monoprice, although recently I have had a problem with the fittings on component cables not being as tight as I'd like.

spaceman37

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

here.is.alex — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:38:47 EDT

@ronnsprocket: try [www.dealextreme.com], they've got all that for even cheaper--and shipping's free (it just takes about half a month to get there, but there's always the EMS upgrade option).

here.is.alex

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

RockLobsterNet — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:30:33 EDT

For digital, cheap stuff...as long as you can tell a high voltage from a low voltage you're fine. For analog cables, all high quality. For analog audio, it's all Monster StudioLink or Mogami.

RockLobsterNet

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Topcat — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:29:06 EDT

The most criminal aspect of Monster Cables' business is that they obscure the heirarchy of HDMI completely: you won't find it explicitly on their box that a cable is Category 2 HDMI 1.3. The result is that you can spend $150 on a $10 length of cable that isn't even future-proof. Totally scheisty.

Topcat

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

up2l8 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:28:48 EDT

I wired my house with speaker wire that was $50/500ft or some crazy cheapness. I used 4 spools.

The other day going through my box of "misc" cables I found 1/2 a spool of monster 12 gauge speaker wire (oxygen free I'm sure).

I'm sure there was some point to that anecdote but I kinda forgot what it was.

up2l8

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

athingunique — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:18:13 EDT

@Asvetic: Coat hangers, or paperclip chains, maybe?
Cracked my up, thanks for that!

athingunique

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

trailingedge — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:17:04 EDT

I use to care about cables back in the late 80's, not I don't care as much these days. In fact, i recently recycled those old Monster audio cable to hook up the component video and audio using the one's included. Since the tv is shielded already, everything looks and sounds great.

trailingedge

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

TinyLightning — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:12:47 EDT

A cable is just a cable. Same materials, different packaging. I've been a long time audiophile and technophile and honestly, that extra $250 doesn't justify itself unless you're Steve Jobs.

TinyLightning

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

DeLarge — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:07:00 EDT

Gizmodo must have serious issues. This topic is around every two weeks.

Anyway.

Cable is not just wire wrapped in plastic.

If you use the simpilstic "the cheaper just works fine", would you accept your enterprise network to be built with the cheapest CAT 5 chinese cable, just because is the cheaper you found?

Hey!, a cable is just a cable!!!, or isn't?

DeLarge

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

jupiterfish — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:03:40 EDT

i have both, i purchased some nice used cables for my speakers because of the banana connectors on the ends, and have some $100 type hdmi cords on my 50" tv, due to it being in the wall, so i do buy expensive cables but not because i think they sound or look better, its based more on usage and if they will be exposed.

wife factor

jupiterfish

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

fuzzycuffs — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:02:38 EDT

Generic.

monoprice.com FTW!

(except for that creepy baby that has been on the front page for years)

fuzzycuffs

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

KenjiFinster — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:59:06 EDT

For analog cables I get RCA (Their component and A/V Stereo are dirt cheap here, around $6 for 10ft). Optical, Monster (Also cheap, around $20. Only got 2: for the stereo and the AirPort Express). And HDMI, XtremeMac (Got one for my AppleTV for $40. Been working better than the Monster my brother has)

And for speaker wires... Just use a 100ft roll of Monster THX. Got it in a fire sale for 30 bucks.

(Note: I like the idea of Monoprice, but it isn't convenient for me, since I'm not in the US right now).

KenjiFinster

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ThePeacemaker02 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:56:03 EDT

5 bucks for my 6 ft HDMI at monoprice. You would be stupid to get it anywhere else.

ThePeacemaker02

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

jackfrost132 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:52:23 EDT

I'm gonna say what alot of people have been saying, monoprice, if it doesn't come with the electronic I purchase I go monoprice, or make my own depending on if I have/can get the materials easily, also I try to avoid HDMI where I can, I've had compatibility issues with HDCP in the past am generally not a fan of hardwired DRM.

jackfrost132

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ThatsMrOffDutyNinja — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:49:53 EDT

@ronnsprocket: Monoprice.com. If you aren't it; You should be. Truer words were never typed in a post my friend.

ThatsMrOffDutyNinja

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

zer0zen — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:43:05 EDT

@zer0zen:
Buy inexpensive cables with quality, not cheap cables that break.

I just realized I'm implying Monster cables break which isn't the case. Rather, the ultra cheap cables out there may be of questionable quality so:

Buy inexpensive cables with quality, not expensive cables of the same quality or cheap cables that break.

I think I got it that time. XD

zer0zen

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

baronv — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:37:10 EDT

I feel like a dunce when I got our HD cable box and spent $35 for a GE HDMI cable at the store since I couldn't find anything cheaper and wanted it the same day.

I saw previously that Big Lots! had GE brand HDMI cables for like $5 a few months back but was out of stock. This weekend, stopped by Big Lots and saw two GE HDMI cables for $5-6 bucks. Bought one for future use anyways.

baronv

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

seanmac — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:31:23 EDT

Yeah, but if the expensive cable makes you think it looks/sounds better, then it's doing its job.

seanmac

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Gofastmazda — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:29:28 EDT

@phpkerouac: Thank you for this post...how many times are we going to have 'monster cable makes money! ackkkkk!'?

All accessories have mad, mad, mad markups. Why is MC the focus of so much anger? Where's the 'do you buy extended warranties?' type post? I don't understand the continued fascination with a company that recognized a need and is now the best at marketing their product.

No, I'm not a MC rep, I don't sell them and I don't use them, I just don't get all the hate directed at one company for being successful.

Gofastmazda

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

gamecrazychris — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:21:41 EDT

After hearing that Monster cables sound the same as coat hangers and that $300 cables were made with $15 worth of components, I'll be sticking with my generic cables until they actually prove worth the crazy price.

gamecrazychris

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

zer0zen — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:21:05 EDT

@Mandatory_Field:
@thechansen: If you get data transmission errors, the results will be a picture that occasionally or regularly gets pixelated blocks and at an extreme the picture will freeze entirely for a moment before the stream can be properly displayed again. Equivalent problems will happen with your sound. With that in mind, you may see these problems on occasion if, for example, you have digital cable and the transmission itself has errors.

I was looking for an inexpensive HDMI cable at big box retailer Best Buy late last year and was accosted by a Blue Shirt who insisted that the color and sound are better with the $130 Monster cable he was directing me toward compared with the "cheap" $60 cable I was inspecting. By his logic, a digital photo you copy onto a pricey name brand flash drive will look better than a less expensive drive...

Annoyed, I promptly hoofed it to Fry's and picked out a nice HDMI cable for under $20 (and recently picked up 10' cables for under $6). Not a monoprice deal, I know, but good enough for me.

Those inexpensive cables are working great, no signal dropouts or other oddities.

And a quick word for the audio and videophiles out there, I've worked in broadcast TV, film, and high-end post houses for sound and I will tell you, the pros are not buying Monster cable.

Buy inexpensive cables with quality, not cheap cables that break.

/rant

zer0zen

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

92BuickLeSabre — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:17:51 EDT

I like my cables like I like my fruit: An Anjou Pear

92BuickLeSabre

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

MantisDragon — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:15:44 EDT

Since I no longer own a stereo I don't really worry about audio. Most of the time my gaming equipment is hooked up to a standard def TV by the composite cables that they came with and that works fine for me and my everyday gaming.

When I moved back in with the 'rents a little more than a year ago I was able to use their HDTV. So, I bought the Nintendo brand component cables for the Wii (at the time the only ones that worked with the system as no generics were out). I think the most expensive cable I have is the Microsoft branded HDMI cable for the 360. But it came with my 360 Elite which was purchased for its 120gig storage unit (and because it was black and stood out at lan parties against all the white 360s my friends own) not the HDMI cable. I don't really have a use for it since the 360 came with component cables and they work just fine.

MantisDragon

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Kingteddybear — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:09:48 EDT

Mid-priced for analog. Cheap for digital.

Kingteddybear

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

electrikecho — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:57:17 EDT

@Mandatory_Field: No that's right. Same thing with CDs, DVDs, satellite... everything. With digital signals, redundancy is required as interference can change that 0 to a 1 or perhaps cause it to skip altogether, the difference being that even if some of that redundancy is required, the end-user doesn't notice any of a difference whereas an analog signal you see or hear the interference.

I just use whatever is cheap and works. If it's cheap and doesn't work, then I go for the next cheap thing. I am not going to drop $100 for a three-foot HDMI cable. My $12 one works just fine, and I'm sure I could have gotten it for less if I looked harder.

electrikecho

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

zjgz — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:56:49 EDT

Heh, expensive has 69 votes

zjgz

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

LastAndLeast — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:56:44 EDT

The guy at radio shack once tried to tell me that I should be worried about electrical interference in my optical cables...

LastAndLeast

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

glaeven — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:56:08 EDT

funny story, remember that dealzmodo with those $2 HDMI cables...

glaeven

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

krugorg — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:53:09 EDT

I use high quality, but inexpensive, cables from vendors like Bluejeanscable. They carry Belden and other brands of cable that measures well and then terminate with good quality connectors. This is a bit higher price than the generic stuff, but I feel it is worth the extra cost. Also, I like to use Volex 17604 power cords on all of my gear. They are under $10, but completely better quality than the cords included with electronics.

krugorg

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Galley — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:48:48 EDT

@thechansen:

I picked up the XtremeMac HDMI cable for my Apple TV as well. My other one is a Philips I picked up for $18 on eBay a couple of years ago.

Galley

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

thechansen — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:42:57 EDT

my parents have top of the line Monster HDMI cables. When I bought my Apple TV, I got the XtremeMac HDMI. To compare the two I figured an Xbox 360 with Gears of War would be best because comcast hd is kinda shit to begin with. I noticed zero difference between the over priced cable and my $20 cable. I would have stole the monsters if I did.

thechansen

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Mandatory_Field — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:38:41 EDT

In terms of digital cable, there IS a difference, in that crappy cables (notice I didn't say "cheap, I said "crappy" -- big difference) will cause higher error rates, and exercise error correction more. When the error rate is sufficiently high, you will notice degraded video or audio. Digital doesn't _quite_ mean "it works or it doesn't", but close. Not so? Somebody back me up here....

Mandatory_Field

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

diabolusunknown — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:37:29 EDT

I stopped paying a little more for the name brand stuff when i saw Optical Cable with "Gold Plated Connections".

Now i just look around at sketchy stores that tend to sell $150 Monster Cables for 20 bucks or less which are no doubt models that were replaced with new versions that have more gold.

diabolusunknown

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

11hawkinst — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:47 EDT

@phpkerouac:
sweet names.

I use the hdmi cable that I ordered with my DVD player for $10 (special DVD+HDMI combo on Amazon) and it works fine. But if I got monstor cables for free, you won't see me complaining.

11hawkinst

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

strider_mt2k — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:08 EDT

Monoprice

strider_mt2k

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

aR-Tard — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:29:30 EDT

@ronnsprocket: I was just thinking of saying that. Thank you for exposing the truth :)

aR-Tard

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

phpkerouac — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:29:19 EDT

please stop posting cable comparisons, surveys, and expose's (ex-poh-zay - i can't find the accent mark and dont feel like looking up the ascii code for it).

if there is such a market for these cable stories - gawker should start a new page for them:

cablodo.com?
coppertaku.com?
decabler.com?
HDMIWag.com?
dviist.com?
fleshmonster(cable).com

phpkerouac

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

russellbeermann — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:28:48 EDT

Most people that use cheap cables can't notice the difference between those and the expensive cables because they are trying them on their cheap-ass Vizios at home. Once you get an Elite or something decent, then you will see that higher-end cables will make a difference.

russellbeermann

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

UltimateIdiot — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:15:11 EDT

i use a cheap generic hdmi cable and it works perfectly, very good quality video

UltimateIdiot

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

bdubs1975 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:14:55 EDT

monoprice for me, too. I still have some analog monster cables before i learned about monoprice.

bdubs1975

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Wildarms7000 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:13:29 EDT

If transferring 1s and 0s means no signal loss what so ever, than why do USB cables have trouble transferring 480MBps over a certain amount in length? Espesically when HDMI cables have to transfer data of up to 12Gbps, I think the quality of the cable can matter. So yes, I believe that if I took one of those monster speed rated 1000 cables and put them up against a mono price, both at 4M, with 12 Bits of color, 1080p, 24p or 120hz source, The monster would win, hands down. I can already tell the difference from the cables going from Circuit City off brand and an Monster HDMI 500, but people are blind and think they are being ripped off, think of it this way, if you had a company that sold water, and you got it for 3 cents a gallon, wouldn't you want to sell it for $1.29 just like everyone else?

If the market is there, the price will be there, but there is a quality to the cables.

Wildarms7000

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

awperk — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:10:12 EDT

monoprice FTW!

awperk

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Flugenhiber — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:01:12 EDT

I use monster cables when I get them for free, same with regular cables..... If I don't get them for free, I make them myself :)

Flugenhiber

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Wess — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:57:37 EDT

Do Coat Hangers Count as Generic or "High End" Cable Brands?

Wess

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Polybius — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:53:56 EDT

I only started using Monster cables cause I get them at cost + 6% :)

Polybius

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Red3y3Ninja — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:53:28 EDT

@Lizard_King: Lamp cord...nice...

I bought "monster" branded lamp cord 16ga/50 ft for $10...that's guilty pleasure either way you cut it...

Red3y3Ninja

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Lizard_King — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:48:06 EDT

Oh yeah...and for speaker cable I use 12ga lamp cord.

Lizard_King

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Lizard_King — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:47:01 EDT

I've had problems with monoprice cabling, so I tend to stay away. I had a 3 foot HDMI cable that would not stay into a vertical connector in my TV because it was so loose (hot glue time!) and some issues with ghosting on long DVI and VGA cables. I currently have the HDMI cable that came with my friend's Xbox 360 connecting my HD-DVD, nothing else I have (currently) is HDMI.

For Component cables, I am rather lucky, as I used to do side work for an electrician I knew who constantly got wiring requests, So I have the full Canare toolset and make Beldin/Canare (like Blue Jeans cable) cabling for all component/digital coaxial audio/subwoofer/analog audio. It costs about $3 per RCA connector, less than $1 a foot for cable for broadcast quality.

I don't spend any real money on cables, but shielding and connector quality makes a difference. I hear the lack of a hum in my sub, and I'm happy. Don't kid yourself by thinking that the cheapest is always as good as a higher priced cable.

Lizard_King

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Asvetic — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:44:15 EDT

I love that guy that goes to all the parties and checks the host's cables. He then spends the rest of the evening telling everyone how inferior those cables are and that he has these designer cables from Europe that you can feel the energy as it passes through them.

I then tell him those are coat hangers and you shouldn't touch them when they're plugged in.

Asvetic

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

Dillenger69 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:43:02 EDT

For digital signals I use cheap but well shielded.
For analog I just make sure there's enough conductor and that there's plenty of shielding.

I've noticed a difference a few times.
Running audio to speakers using cheap, super thin, unshielded speaker wire. You get background hum from equipment and wires in the walls.
Running cheap ethernet cable resuts in connection loss the faster you get (10/100/1000).
Trying to use an external USB-2 hard drive with a cable only rated for USB-1. I kept getting read and write errors until I switched to a generic cable that was rated for USB-2.

I suppose even my good cable isn't monster brand cable. it really is good cable though. I'm only guilty of buying monster brand back in my early days when it was either that or the cheap stuff they sold at Radio Shack. Even then I refused to buy the expensive stuff and only sprang for the bottom end.

Dillenger69

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

mcowan3 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:39:33 EDT

Sorry Paid not payed (you'd think I could spell)

mcowan3

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

mcowan3 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:38:26 EDT

When we got a new dvd player or tv or something we needed an HDMI cable and my wife, not knowing about monoprice, went to BB and payed $90 for a 6 foot cable. I felt like an idiot for not mentioning it, but when she told me she had bought a cable I asked from where and then cringed when I asked how much. I nearly shat. I paid less than that for a 50 foot rated HDMI cable, INCLUDING overnight shipping. Needless to say it was never released from its blastproof shell and was returned. I ordered the cable and had it shipped for less than $14.00. End of story. Needless to say I refuse to pay top dollar for anything when I can get the same quality (for my non-Spielberg eyes) for so much less. I have never needed nor will I ever need a cable Stat. I can always wait a couple of days.

mcowan3

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ronnsprocket — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:35:59 EDT

fuck, aren't using* it

ronnsprocket

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

ronnsprocket — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:35:42 EDT

monoprice.com

if you aren't it, you should be.

last purchase from there.

2 x 3ft optical audio - $2/ea
2 x 6ft hdmi - $5/ea
1 x dvi-hdmi - $3/ea
2 x 16" sata - $2/ea

spent 23 bucks or so with shipping.

add that shit up at best buy.

ronnsprocket

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

lafond66 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:30:57 EDT

My dad handled the setup of the main TV. He has a crazy expensive HDMI cable for the HDTV cable tuner, but I connected my Xbox via a cheap(in quality not in money) Dynex(best buy's crap brand) HDMI cable and it still looks perfect. If I bought the cables, I'd buy cheapest possible, cause it's just 1's and 0's

lafond66

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

zer0zen — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:29:45 EDT

EGAD! As of the time of this post, 3.6% of you are the ones keeping Monster in business.

I need to sell premium, "high end" ball point pens....

zer0zen

Question of the Day: Do You Use Expensive Cable or Generic Cable?

cupofjoe — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:28:58 EDT

I don't see a point with why the expensive cables are so damn expensive. I used to work at an Office Depot where we sold USB "gold" cables for 35 bucks for 6ft. - and we purchased it - as I saw in the system - for 4.99. The price gauging is ridiculous and needs to stop. I just hope more people out there realize there are places you can go for wholesale pricing, and it'll work just as good as the expensive stuff.

There is no point for gauging the price so, so much.

cupofjoe