Hosa vs. Monster

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aaron Cheney
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Aaron Cheney

Aaron Cheney

Favorite Chord: C 6/9
I recently purchased enough Monster cables to completely replace all the Hosas in my rig. It cost me a ton. The cables are obviously better quality, but out of curiosity I A/B'ed them to see if it made any difference in sound.
I set up a mic and panned it dead center, then sent the left channel to my sound card via Hosa and right side via Monster, thus each channel was exactly identical in every way but the cable it went through. The signal back to my monitors was all via Monster cables.
I could hear absolutely no difference. I listened for at least an hour to various sound sources and vocals, and both channels sounded identical to me. I really wanted to hear a difference, and I almost talked myself into hearing a slightly more brittle high end via the Hosas in a few spots, but I think it was just wishful thinking.
I'm ready to return them and spend the money on something that will more noticably improve my recordings. (At this point you may say that if I can't notice the difference, then I probably should buy some better gear first, so it's even possible for me to hear the difference. I've thought of that too. I have a Mackie mixer and Yamaha MS5 monitors, and an Event Darla soundcard, none of which are the best money can buy, but not the worst either. I feel that at this level I should be able to hear the difference if it exists!) They are undoubtedly well-constructed, but if they make no difference in sound, why spend the $? Lifetime warranty? Bah! If they break in 15 years, not only will the receipt will be long gone, but Guitar Center, if not Monster itself, may also be long gone. To me, "lifetime warranty" means nothing.
Am I missing something?

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
You never said what kind of mic you used, and whether or not you used a preamp.

Anyway, there is a big difference once you start adding things in your chain and even more so when you add more tracks to the song.

All of a sudden, that miniscule and unnoticeable difference becomes a HUGE difference.

Want proof?.... Okay

Go here... http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/248/the_mac_brothers.html

Listen to the songs Angel Child and Doin' Nothin".
Those songs were recorded using Monster cables.

Then, check out any other song on our page.
Those were recorded using Hosa cables.

The same mics were used to record all of the songs.

Now can you hear a difference?
 
I used an AKG C3000B and Mackie pre-amps. I have spent the extra money on better cables in the past for my guitars, not for sound quality so much as things like handling noise and durability. However neither of those are really an issue for recording, since I'm not walking across a stage while carrying my mixer, and the cables only get plugged in once and then sit in one place for years.
I'll check out your songs, though I will trust my critical listening test in a controlled setting before someone else's "anecdotal" evidence. :)
I see your point as far as the cumulative effect, and I can see where this could be critical as far as noise. I must admit I never listened to see if one cable was louder than another with no signal passing through it. I'll go back to my tests and listen to the "negative spaces" and see what I hear. (Or is that taste what I smell?)
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Cool songs Buck. There is certainly a difference in terms of clarity and air between the songs you mentioned. Compelling, but not quite the same as an A/B test, since there are so many variables from one recording to another (i.e. mic position, room, processing, etc.) It sounds as if Monster has won you over based on your experience.
Perhaps I'll keep them at least long enough to do a full recording and see if the cumalative results do the same for me. (Yikes! I only have 28 days left to decide!)
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
I don't know. The connecting surfaces are all gold plated, and they cost me 20 bucks each for 6 foot cords, if that tells you anything. I'll try and remember to check when I get home.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Soundlike the Performer 100 series, or whatever it is. In that case, you will notice little to no difference between it and most other "budget" cable. Sorry if you were under the impression that their 100 series stuff would be some kind of significant improvement. Really, it just cost more and offers nothing more than the Monster name, and possibly more reliability.

Step up to the StudioLink 500 and the StudioPro 1000 and you will hear a very big difference. Even the StudioPro 500 is pretty good sounding cable, but for that kind of money, the Mogami Quad is a better bet (a bit cheaper, but sounds about the same....).

Just for a measure of cost differences. A 10' SL 500 balanced cable with TRS ends cost about $60. A 20' SP1000 balanced cable with XLR is about $160. Consider yourself lucky you are not paying that kind of price! :) But, in the studio I work at, we considered those kind of prices to be fair for the drastic sound improvement that cable makes.

Ed
 
I have heard a difference in different cables even on one track.

Hey buck62, I can see how doin nothin would remain on the top 40. I am just surprised I never caught it in the mixing clinic. I think thats the best mix I have heard from you.

As usual , the guitar just has a pleasing tone. The bass is where I want it. The kick is fantastic. Its just an all around wonderful mix that you can take anywhere .

I hope that thats not the rode ntk on vocals. It the only thing I dont like in the mix.If its the rode, then I have to rethink . I was almost decided on buying one. IT has way to much high end and the low end seems to be unnatached or not present.

I hope I am wrong. I have not listened to any pro mp3s today, so Ill go listen to matchbox twenty and creed and see if my ears are just extra sensitive to the high frqs right now.
 
hi buck62,

As I thought, my ears are extra sensitive to the highs right now. The low end of the vocal sounds fine. Compared to the pro mp3s, doin nothin has a little more high end.

What mic was used to record angel child. I prefer the tone you got on that one. Angel child is another very big mix. very cool song too.

peace.
 
Well Sonusman, I checked and they are StudioLink 500's. Perhaps I need to use them for a while and complete a recording or two before I decide. I'm getting that feeling you get when you're on a road trip and everyone sees the moose on the side of the road but you...

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
What's the next weakest link in your chain? If you're sending crap a gold pipe, it's still crap!
 
"If you're sending crap a gold pipe, it's still crap!"

I think you meant through a gold pipe, and I agree. Here's the gear I used for my tests again: AKG C3000B, Mackie pre's, Event Darla, Yamaha MSP5 monitors. Is this gear enough to hear a difference? I have to think I would hear something!
If I'm theoreticaly able to hear the difference in Buck's mp3's, I should hear the difference in my tests, shouldn't I?
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
Thanx Aaron and CJ for the compliments! :)

Okay, CJ, since you asked.....

The vocal on Doin' Nothin' is Teddie, singing into an SM-57.
We recorded all the music here in Chicago, then sent it to Teddie (one version with vocals, and one without) on CD, so he could do the vocals for the song.
He sent us his vocal track back to us on CD, and we loaded it into my Akai DPS16 and mixed it down.
This was several months before we actually met Teddie in person... he lives in Virginia.

The vocals on Angel Child (that's me ;)) were done with an AKG C3000 through a MindPrint Envoice. The acoustic guitar was also recorded with the C3000 on both songs.
I really appreciate that you liked the songs so much.
It makes all the hard work worth it when somebody gives you a nice "atta-boy!" like that.

Thanx, bro... :)
Buck
 
Even if you don't hear shit between the two, the Monster (even the 100) is a better constructed cable that will take some use and still perform. Yes you can go cheaper than this if you stick with good cable/ends and do it yourself.
 
WHEW

buck62
now I can wipe the sweat off my forehead. I am so glad that the vocal was not the rode ntk. Now I can stick it back on top of my shortlist.
say, do you have any vocal samples of the ntk?

peace
 
I'll try to get one up in the next day or two.

I gaurantee... you won't be disappointed! :)
 
If you can't hear the difference in sound between Hosa and monster, it's most likely because there is no difference. To hear a difference in the frequency response on short cable stretches you will have to have huge differnces in inductance or capacitance, and there simply isn't any such big impendances in any modern cable.

Now, if you were talking about cables maybe 100-200 meters long, then thats a completely different story. And if you wire up a pro studio with fixed cabling, you can get rather long cable stretches. But for a home studio which normally doesn't use a cable longer than 3 meters, it's basically a non-issue. And amplifier cable is also another issue, since the current is much larger.

The issue when you buy cables today is one of price versus durability, really.

And now I will get flamed from people who has various religious views on this subject, but I don't care: I'm an atheist.
 
Aaron Cheney said:
"If you're sending crap a gold pipe, it's still crap!"

I think you meant through a gold pipe,
Click to expand...

Just seeing if you guys are paying attention!
 
Given well constructed cables and connectors (and I have some Hosas that don't fit in that category), I'd bet that cleaning all connections once in a while with de-oxit, has more real effect on sound quality.
There's just so much pseudo sience driving this subject and the high-end cable market.

Consider this; Replace the good quality patch cords in any one chanel of analog audio with the best, most expensive ones you can find. That audio is still passing through equal and in some cases, more, lengths of circuit traces, components and fine gauge wire--and if all the other things are done right, in either case it comes out right.

I know this has been beat to death many times, but I suspect that or preconceptions and beliefs are a much greater variable than cable effects.
Here's hopping we put our hard earned mony where it does the most good. :)
Good luck, and happy hunting!
 
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