Are Monster's worth it

[charles.monteiro]

I purchased today 2 15 ft balanced cables to connect my mixer to my power amp. I recently reconfigured my home studio

Anyhow, I thought let's get some Monsters but when I compared the prices to something like Hosa I found a diff of approx. $30.00 per cable and that's apparently with the Monster's at a sale price.

I just needed the cables in order to hear the keyboardist so I opted for the Hosa cables.


However, I have been meaning to get high quality patch cables to connect whatever gear goes into my firewire sound card and therefore the question is , will the Monster's really make so much of a difference?

BTW, all of my gear except for the VG-99 is right on my rack, so these cables will not be running all over the place possibly picking up hum.

What do you all think? Are there any other high quality options besides the Monster's ?

tia

[sebas777]

Having some lower-end Monsters (got it from a friend), I must say I don't like their sound that much. But they are not too bad either - they are ok.

I've heard tests in some Mastering Audio book+CD convincingly demonstrating superiority of the higher end Monsters. But they are a bit pricey...

On the other hand, for my mic I've bought a Starquad cable and fell in love with its sound.

I think the best way to go is to check what the people you admire work with, and then buy the same brand of cables they use (even if it's a cheaper one) to put the same color on your sound.

[charles.monteiro]

Originally Posted by sebas777

Having some lower ended Monsters (got it from a friend), I must say I don't like their sound that much. But they are not too bad either - they are ok.

I've heard tests in some Mastering Audio book+CD convincingly demonstrating superiority of the higher end Monsters. But they are a bit pricey...

On the other hand, for my mic I've bought a Starquad cable and fell in love with its sound.

I think the best way to go is to check what the people you admire work with, and then buy the same brand of cables they use (even if it's a cheaper one) to put the same color on your sound.

unfortunately, I don't work with anybody i.e. except a composition collaborator, no engineers, so I have nothing to go on

however, I guess , I just discovered another brand that may be a potential contender to Monster

[bullshark]

FWIW, I use Canare cables. Not because they have a "sound", but because they have good and fexible shielding, insulating material is just the right thickness while behing very sturdy AND stay flexible even in cold situation. Quality control is also excellent, you can be sure to get the same exact spec from batch to batch.

I couple them to Neutrik connector, again not because of their "sound" but because the are well made, again reliable QC, the strain relief is very well thought out (a thing of beauty, the best system I've seen) and they're easy to solder into.

I keep a roll of GS6 and Star Quad on tap, along with some Neutrik NC3F, NC3M, NP2, NP3 and NYS series, so I can cover anything that comes my way, cable wise, at a moment notice.

Oh, I also wouldn't buy overpriced cables coming with marketing bollock going against the basic laws of physics and for which spec aren't published. What needs looked at in cables is flexibility, sturdyness, proper shielding and the proper gauge for the lenght you are running.

[mahasandi]

do monsters sound better?


NO.


get canare or mogami bulk a radio shack solder gun some solder

a few neutrik connectors of your need and call it a day

you'll have many fantastic cables at the price of one good cable.

by fantastic I mean good rfi rejection and they won't mess with

your sound with any degradation or loss.

Which is all a sane person would ask of a cable.

[Kihoalu]

Actually,

If you believe that you can live forever if you sit under a pyramid, that crystals contain tremendous psychic power, and that the earth is flat, then Monster products will almost certainly sound better to you!

Otherwise.... NOT.

Monster is a Marketing company, and absolutely NOT a technology company.

[jdier]

Originally Posted by mahasandi

do monsters sound better?


NO.

+1

But boy, they sure have great marketing and packaging