I was reading todays update on Something Awful about how Monster cables are a big scam. Funny update, but is it true? I have seen these cables before and the pricing does seem to be outrageous. $60 for a three foot long RCA cable strikes me as silly. So, are the sables worth it, or is it all just electronic snake-oil?
Yes, they are just a big scam.
Definitely a big scam.
Mostly snake oil. Yes, they are a better than, say, a $5 cable cause they have better insulation and noise reduction, but not that much better. It’s crazy when I was shopping for DVD players, and the player was $50, but the cables (componant video and digital audio) would total over $150! Fuck that!
I bought a cheap set on ebay for less than $10. I don’tk now how good they work, though, cause I still have no DVD player. 
Huge scam. Monster scam. You can get the same thing for a fraction of the price if you don’t go name brand. And you still won’t be able to tell the difference between that and some good, heavy-duty lamp cord.
…for speaker cables. 14 or 16 gauge lamp (zip) cord is just fine.
For signal cables, Walmart got some decent ones made by Philips for a lot less than Monster.
They are not bad quality, but yeah - waaaay overpriced.
It pisses me off when I walk into a retailer, and the only thing they carry is Monster because “they are the best.”
Try bettercables.com (still expensive, but quality) or buy your basic set at Radioshack if you are budget sensitive (don’t spring for the Gold Series, which are just as expensive as Monster).
Unless you have truly high-end equipment, you won’t notice the difference. Even then, your best investement would be in a power regulator that fed clean power to your system.
Radio Shack ‘gold’ interconnects are all you need. For speaker wire, Home Depot has 14 and 12 ga wire that is all you’ll ever need, and it’s something like .25/ft. 14ga is fine for runs under 25 feet. Over that, if I had a high power system I’d go for 12 ga.
Fancy interconnects are the biggest rip-offs in the audio industry, and one of the few cases of an entire industry built up on snake oil and lies. Like Homeopathic medicine. And Monster cables aren’t even the expensive ones. I’ve seen five foot speaker cables for $500. The manufacturers make all sorts of ridiculous claims about directionality, being frozen in liquid nitrogen to ‘align the molecules’, etc. Blah blah.
Some audiophiles are just nuts. They get so caught up in the quest for perfect sound that they fall prey to every sucker scheme around. I’ve seen $2500 power cords for stereo gear. Such people think nothing of spending $5,000 for a phono cartridge, or $2000 for special ‘shock absorbers’ to put their amps on so the vibrations from the speakers don’t cause the filaments in their $20,000 tube amps to jiggle.
None of this stuff works worth a damn. The companies that sell it won’t publish hard specifications or a scientific basis for their claims. They use unfalsifiable language like, “Use of our special unobtanium power cords will result in a more open, airy sound, with a more well-defined soundstage”. Since there are no instruments that can measure ‘airiness’, this is a safe claim. They also do sneaky things like claim that their products require a ‘break-in period’, so that you don’t get them home, swap them out, hear no difference, and send them back. Instead, you are encouraged to use them for days or weeks, during which time the power of suggestion will make you think your system is getting better, and during which you’ll forget what it used to sound like.
Everyone above is a damn stinking liar!
Monster cables are the best thing out there if you’re looking for that open, brassy sound that a lof of the older set are in to. If you want something a bit more masculine and profundicant, your best bet is to use monster cables in concert with Metaphile Industries “Power Line Filter Mark 4.” In our tests, it’s been shown to reduce subparticle radiated spectral flux on power lines by a factor of 7, which reduces replaces the brassy hues in your system with a much more sinnyrial sound that many people find profoundly powerful. Usually they retail for over $783, but I’ll sell direct to you for only $275. If I went any lower, I’d loose money–the magnet wire we use was manufactured in pre-war Belgium by the residents of a home for unwed mothers. It’s the purest and most cromulent wire out there, but it ain’t cheap!
You’re working out of a white van, aren’t you?
I am amazed that people fall for the monster cable scam, but I applaud Monster Cable. I mean, come on, can you imagine the markup they have on their cables? It may cost them $1.00 to make something that sells for $40.00! Marketing genius.
What is clean power and how will it affect my listening experience?
So there is an upside to high scale hearing loss!
Monster cables are great cables,. if you can pick them up for under 10 bucks a pop.
I’ve do love to hear salesmen try to pitch them to me though.
It’s the little things in life ya-know. 
Actually, if you are going for any distance, you will definitely want twisted pair wire, because of the better noise rejection. The cheapest way to do this is to buy two separate colors of THHN from Home Depot or an electrical supply house and twist them using an electric drill. You could also check out a manufacturer like Belden. They make a stranded twisted pair cable for about $.10 a foot. 5000UE is the 12 awg, IIRC. All you have to do is add the connectors, probably from Neutrik or Switchcraft, and you’re good to go. For interconnects, check out the Belden 9451. Shielded twisted pair.
Andrew
IOW, try this snake oil, not that snake oil.
…and who wouldn’t want to be more sinnyrial and cromulent?
Penny Arcade, the webcomic, has a hilarious strip on Monster Cables… I’ll see if I can dig it up later…
Yes, exactly!
“But, our signal!”