Setting up my "Home Theater"...who has the best cables?

Question

Is Monster truly the best...or becasue they have a bigger advertising budget?

I guess I should give more details....I bought a 42 inch HD TV LCD about 4 weeks agao. Just now I am ready to "play" and set everything up. My receiver (Yamaha RXV 795) is about 10 years old....so no HDMI. My DVD Toshiba, about 7 years old, again, no HDMI.....so I'm trying to figure out the best way to go and what cables I will need. I know from the cable box to the TV, I go HDMI.....from there, I'm not sure on how to tie everything in??? Help? So if I'm buying cables, that is wher I'm lost in the mix.....I'm now finding out that Monster is overpriced....but they have a great reputation. What about websites to get those cables at a cheaper price? I'm listening and willing to take it all in.
Thanks

Thanks to all for helping me solve this dilemma. However, I'm somewhat confused on the connections....do I first run from the cable box to the tv, and then to the reciver....or do I go from the cable box to the receiver, and then to the TV. Or somehow do both? Also, inregards to digital audio....I'm assuming that optical is better than coaxial??? Just checking. Thanks.

Answer 1

Monster makes a great product and I use them a lot. But don't fool yourself.

10% of your original system cost should be devoted to cables, any more and you get diminishing returns. Make sure to know what to look for and get with a qualified tech or experienced associate. (Hard to find one at Best Buy or Circuit City) The right person will show you what to look for. You should audition cables, most stores have a 30 day return policy, plenty of time for cables to "break" in. Never audition cables right after hook up wait after a few hours of use.

But if you use my 10% rule it is hard to go wrong.

Answer 2

Wow, what a Monster bash! I design custom home theaters and I have dealt with many different cable brands. There is a difference between the freebie cables and the higher end models. The better quality cables use superior alloys and their build quality is unmatched by the cheapies. All cables will affect the signal going through them, but some less than others. The goal of high end cable manufacturers is to build the most transparent cables. I will bet that most of the people stating that there is no difference have never heard an A/B comparison on a Mark Levinson system with Wilson Audio Speakers. I try to "balance out" systems and choose the appropriate cable for the equipment. For example, I won't put a $1000 pair of audio cables on an audio/video receiver. I will put them on a set of $5000 separates. You need to match the cables to your system. Saying that all cables are the same is like saying that all tires are the same. A KIA may not go any faster or turn any tighter on a set of Pirellis than it will on a set of Uniroyals. If you compare the Pirellis to the Uniroyals on a Ferrari, then you will notice that they do hold the road better in tight turns and don't blow out at 170mph plus. They are both made of "rubber," but completely different in build quality and composition.
Monster pioneered the way for high end cables, but I wouldn't say that they are the best. They have gone very commercial and I have noticed that the build quality is not the same as it used to be. I currently use Audio Quest cables, and have been very happy with the results. The bass has tightened up and subtle details that weren't there before have emerged. I listen to Lyle Lovett's "Joshua, Judges, Ruth Album" and I can hear the sound of his lips comming apart before he starts to sing. You can also hear the foot pedals on the piano. I didn't hear that before with my previous cables. Not without turning the volume up to an uncomfortable level.
High end cables are't for every system, but if you have the right equipment, you WILL hear the difference.

Not to beat a dead horse, but check out this site and click on "cable theory" for an engineer's perspective: http://www.audioquest.com/

I might not have exactly answered your question, but I am tired of people saying that all cables are the same. : )

Answer 3

For the BEST PRICE ...search the WEB!!! Amazon has "SOME" decent prices on Monsters Cables, from time 2 time !!! PAYING MORE....doesn't MEAN u GET MORE!!!

I've been buying Cables for MORE then 25 years and have $1000's in Monsters Cables !!! There a ton of CABLES that are just as GOOD or BETTER ....... for much LESS!!!

JUST LOOK for a THICK , Solid MADE Cable!!! I got ....
a $7.00 HDMI from "supermediastore" (on Amazon) that WORKED as GOOD as $85.00 Monster HDMI , I got at the same time , off of AMAZON!

NONE of my FRIENDS..... could see the "DIFFERENCE" when , I switched these CABLES on my HD DVD Player, AFTER 6-8 Movies & 2weeks, I RETURNED the $85.oo MONSTER ( which, RETAILED for 150.oo)!!!

That was about 4-5 monthes ago & I'm STILL Very HAPPY with the $7.00 HDMI cable & NOW, have 2 of them !!!

Answer 4

I recommend them for speaker wire, but not for the optical or HDMI cables.

The thing is, if your receiver is 3 feet away from the TV and source, your not going to experience that much in terms of loss. Now if we were sending this signal over 50 feet, I'd recommend better than standard twisted pair wiring. Cat5, Cat6 or optical fiber is definitely the way to go there.

In other words, it depends on your setup. Speaker wire, again, I only recommend Monster just from experience. There might be a brand out there that actually matches it but I have not found it (at least, as cheap as Monster Cable)(thats right, there are more expensive cables. Norghung cabling starts at a $1000 a foot).

Tell us more about your home theater setup. Is this a projection setup? What sources are you using, whats the room like, how many speakers and what receiver and TV.

Edit:
Ah. Thanks for adding details. One, scrap your 7 year old DVD player. Standard Definition DVDs suck on high def screens. They really do. Get an upconvert DVD player, you can find those for $70. As for cabling, since it seems you are more or less doing a "normal" setup (not a 70 foot run from a player to a projector, in example), I'd say you do not need Monster Cable. Actually, if you were doing a 70 foot run I'd recommend against Monster Cable anyway.

Go to dvigear.com and buy their normal HDMI cables: the cheaper ones (I think they are the red jacketed ones). In your case, a cable is a cable, any performance benefit you'd see from more expensive ones would be minimal. Rather than buy an $80 cable and an $80 Upconvert DVD player, you'd get a better result from a $30 cable and a $120 player.

My recommendations for a player would be a Philips that you can pick up at any BestBuy (again, its about $70). Its the latest one from Philips, comes in black, and has an USB port on the front to hook in Ipods, Ipod Video, Digital Cameras/recorders or anything else with a USB link. That way you can run those devices on your TV as well.

Now it seems one of every ten of those units or so are defective from the factory: don't worry about it, it seemingly is just an error in every tenth unit due to manufacturers system error. If you get a bad one, return it for a new one. That new one should be rock solid (unless you somehow make a 1 out of 100 shot of getting two bad ones in a row).

Also, it might be time to start thinking about replacing that ten year old Yamaha: so long as it has fiber optic and/or digital coaxial ports on it, it should be ok. But 10 years ago it was the land of stereo systems that could sorta kinda hook up multiple speakers, or it needed 5.1 channel analog surround sound hookups.

I'd recommend a Harmon Kardon AVR-147 if you have to replace the Yamaha, just so you can get HDMI. The Benefit of HDMI is that it carries both video AND audio, in the highest possible quality. So if you hook your DVD player and cable into the surround sound receiver via HDMI, and then use the receivers HDMI output to your TV, and you are done. All your audio and video is hooked up. Then all you would need to do is hook up your speaker wire.

If you are willing to spend some money on a good Surround Sound Receiver though, Yamaha has a unit called the RX-V661. The Harmon Kardon unit I recommended does a select few things better, but overrall the Yamaha will be easier to use and provide a generally better Surround Sound Experience. Also, it has a nifty piece of tech called the Yamaha Parametric Acoustic Optimizer: its a little microphone that hooks into your receiver, then it adjusts your speakers db ratings, bass, pitch, and presets your system for optimal audio nirvana. An experienced Home Theater professional can probably do it better: but then again, Magnolia Home Theater Installers (excuse me, Geek Squad Installers) don't come cheap: a home theater optimization can run $200.

One benefit of that (a professional installation) though is that they hook up everything for you: they wont run speaker wire through the wall but they will hook up and setup everything else. You could try and use Circuit City's "Firedog" installation, but Firedog was created in response to BestBuy's Geek Squad Installers (which is the Magnolia Home Theater Company under a different name, and Magnolia had been doing Home Theater installations since the 80s before Best Buy bought them).

Good luck, add me as a contact, and if you have any trouble feel free to let me know.

Answer 5

Hi.NOBODY MAKES THE ''BEST CABLES." Some cables are BETTER THAN OTHERSThe best cable is NO CABLE.The ideal cable does not change the signal travelling through it in ANY WAY.No cable can improve the sound -quality of a system,they only make it worse in varying degrees.When we are dealing with INTERCONNECT cables there are a few things to consider.If the capacitance is too high the treble will substantially roll off.There are sonic differences between stranded cable,litz/hyperlitz cable and solid-core cable. And also there is the Coductor-material argument (silver vs copper vs plated copper vs exotic conductors) We need to determine the complex impedance of the cable,read all the capacitance's resistance's and inductance's in the cable. Are you still with me !The cable capacitance is crucial for interconnects.A capacitance as low as possible is desirable.

These are the main things to know about speaker cable.
Thicker wire carries electronic signals better than thinner wire because thicker wire provides less resistance to electric current.When too much resistance occurs,the speaker produces a quiter sound than it should..For most home theater purposes ,16 gauge speaker cable is suitable for keeping resistance to a minimum.Try to keep the speaker wire as short as possible because long speaker cable may reduce sound quality because electrical resistance increases with the length of the cable.Use quality connectors on both ends of the wire.Do not use the bare wire as a connector because it will oxidize over time.

EDIT...Here is a diagram showing how all the equipment is wired to-gether

http://www.hometheaternetwork.com/


EDIT 2...Michael , as you can see from my answer cables do influence the final sound you hear from your speakers.Every piece of equipment degrades the signal sent to it from the Source including the cables where the most noise,distortion ,and signal loss occurs.Unfortunately it is typically the weakest link in most systems.It is an area where a little more money goes a long way.When you see and hear the difference proper cables can make,you will be amazed!

Answer 6

Monster does have a big advertising budget; I would have to say that... although that is not a fact any means. They are pricey; however, I have seen reviews that the less expensive ones are as good as Monster. Today (Sep 21, 2007), there is a sale on midnightbox.com for a Monster Cable Home Theater in a Box speaker connection kit for $12.95 + $5 shipping.

Answer 7

Hello. Monster sucks! - ( Ha-ha just kidding ). Noel Lee has an expesive lifestyle. Anyway, I have Monster speaker wire (Z2 Reference). I bought them because they were pretty. Most of us here do not own fancy $5000 receivers and amps. If I owned a Classe amp setup, I would be able to afford some $500-1000 Nordost interconnects. Then again, if I owned a Ferrari or Lambo, I would'nt shop for tires at Walmart for it. Most of us here have average setups- and average setups sound just fine with "average" wire and interconnects. I have spent more money on speaker wire and interconnects than my entire systems worth. I too fell into the trap that if I spent $300 on a set of RCA cables my system was going to sound "more detailed" and I would hear "every subtle nuance" and all that high end installer fancy talk. There is even a company out there that sells stones you place on all your electronics because the claim is that your electronics generate so much EMI ( electro-magnetic interference ) that your gear does'nt play to it's full potential. By putting one of these "stones" ( at $300 apiece ) on each of your components, you'll " open up" your sounstage so it's "more airy". Ooooookay!! Point is, if you can afford a Rolls, you aren't going to drive a Chevy. If you drive a Chevy ( most of us ) you going to watch how much money you put into it and hopefully won't be suckered into something you simply stick on your windshield and watch your horsepower skyrocket ( hypothetical ) !! Good luck my friend.

Answer 8

Monster Cables are too expensive. Any heavy gauge cable can perform as good as Monster. Can you really tell the difference when you use the same a/v feeds to your TV-no. HDMI outperforms Component noticeably-but no one can tell cable difference when using the same input type.

Answer 9

We have used monster cables , but you can use nice regualr ones and they work just as good. The prices for monstor are kinda ridiculous!!

Answer 10

I get all of my cables on www.monoprice.com. They have a good quality cable at a nice price.