monster cables worth it??

[jmorris]

So I go to Guitar Center to get some more cables and the guy says"why you buying this junk"? Meaning Hosa cables. I say well, Monster is so expensive. Is it really worth it???? Has anyone ever done an A/B comparison?I just sent 2 TAB/Telefunken V72a mic preamps to Vintage King to be racked and when they come back I dont want to be disapointed. Stupid to go cheap on cables with a very expensive preamp I know ...like..whats the point! I'd like to know before splurging!!

 

[Sennheiser]

Don't skimp on your signal chain. You only buy the best processors, recording gear, mics, and mixdown stuff that you can afford, right?

Don't skimp on the lifeline of getting that signal routed to where it's supposed to go.

There really is a difference. I don't agree that a one meter pair of RCA cables should cost $100 bucks. That's insane. But high quality cables are not cheap to buy off the shelf. Someone has to pay for that labor.

You'd do better buying the separate high quality components and building your own cables. You invest the time in your recordings dont'cha? You should invest some time in building your own cables. You can buy the same high-dollar cable and the same high-dollar connectors and build cables for 25% to 40% of what they charge for ready-made stuff. You could save a ton of money. No shit.

 

[wes480]

i am really liking my Blue Kiwi. Sounds better than the Monster 500 stuff I have...and I am told better (and cheaper) than Monster 1000.

 

[wes480]

btw - monster in general is overpriced and not that great.

that's kind of their forte...pretty packaging...so-so product. but Hosa will Hose-you

 

[subtractor]

I probably spent $1000 on hosa before I figured it out.

Don't ever buy hosa.

 

[regebro]

My question to the sales guy would in that case be "Why are you selling this junk? If it sucks, return it and stop selling, it, stupid!"

I have no experience with Hosa cables, but for short cable lengths and any kind of reasonable quality, there will be no measurable difference. Hence, monster is overrated.

By cables that will stand up for years of use in your studio. Nothing is more annoying than when a cable starts making noises of it's own. :/

 

[Light]

Monster cable is over rated and over priced. If you want the best, stick with Mogamicable with Neutrik conectors. Mogami cable is beter than anything out there, and though it is expensive, it is worth what you pay. There is a good reason why all the best studios in the world use Mogami. Neutrik makes the best quality conectors you can find.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[kartikbala]

monstercable is really overpriced i also find that the connectors break easily.

i suggest go for custom made cable like mogami/canare, with neutrik connectors. they'll last for years. even cheaper wld be to make your own! that's actually pretty simple.

kb

 

[tubedude]

Mogami with gold connectors, $28 at Full compass... not expensive at all..
Canare cables from markertek, $25, not expensive at all...
I have em both, both excellent. See my thread in the mic section about cables...

 

[detuned6]

hosa sucks-really bad

its like the next step up from radio crap. Ive been "investing" in the monster cable, when i have the cake. They are not super duty, but- you can cut'um in half and bring them back and exchange them for new ones. Thats what sold me, thet are actually gaurented for life. The series i buy comes out to $5 a ft. Thats expensive (for me) for all the money ive spent on monster i could of had a decent pre insted.

 

[tubedude]

Pretty sure that both the Canare and Mogami have the same warranty, I know one of them does cause I was reading it the other day on the packaging. Think its the Mogami I was reading on. And, the Mogami is 1/5 the price or monster cable, and probably better.

 

[jmorris]

regebro,My thoughts excactly as to why the hell do you guys sell this crap if that is what it indeed is. I always wondered if they just want to sell the more expensive items to boost there commision. I fully understand the point of better cables,I just wanted to get everyones thought. I'm going to buy some mongami cable and make my own. Thats what the big boys seem to use according to web sites of famous studios I ve visited.Thanks for the input all,Jim

 

[knightfly]

The answer to all the perplexed ones - most retailers would rather make ANY sale than NO sale at all. There are always people who either don't know or don't care about the finer points of any subject, who want CHEAP and see no reason to back down. Guitar Center, being a nationwide chain, tends to cater to the masses rather than lose sales. I had one salesman explain to me that GC's policy is to constantly check the sales "flow", and then send salesmen home if the "numbers" aren't good enough to warrant paying everybody. This policy indicates to me that they would sell you dogshit if you wanted to pay for it.

The other problem with that type of store is sales person knowledge (oxymoron here) - When you have the K-Mart of audio, don't expect the guy you're talking to to have the expertise of a Fletcher or MixerMan, etc - I've been in GC many times trying just to get someone to show me a particular piece of gear, only to spend up to several HOURS giving one of their guys a ProAudio 101 lesson. (Last job was at McDonalds in one case, no shit)

Sooo, just remember that when you're shopping PRICE instead of EXPERTISE, you have to bring your own knowledge and not be swayed by what a guy who started two days ago has been told to sell you... Steve

 

[sjoko2]

If you wish to save some money just make the cables yourself and buy the components from http://www.gepco.com

Monster cables are assembled somewhere in Asia. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I have very often found them very poorly soldered.

If you want to buy the best cables (period, without equal) http://www.zaolla.com Please note that buying somethin like a zaolla microphone cable is a bit futile if you then patch the cable in a 'normal' quality snake. In a direct connection however its an amazing difference in sound quality

 

[Son of Mixerman]

but I have very often found them very poorly soldered.

Yup...Ive re-soldered all but one of my Monster cables. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I can't count the number of cables I've made in the last 15 years, but its a skill worth having. Im dreading rewiring my studio next year, I plan on custom matching my cables on length then resistance. Ive been lazy the last 6 months and ive got a rats nest....Doh!


SoMm

 

[sjoko2]

Cables are without question (in my opinion) one of THE most important items of recording gear, and often the least regarded.

Its also humerous to me when, in the past, people have laughed at me for using only a certain kind of solder for my cables. Fact - it makes a difference.

I remember when I was making the looms for the studio here, and I had to go to LA to run a session in a well known large studio for a couple of weeks. I had worked there before, and I knew their wiring was over 12 years old. So, I loaded one snake / bay / D12 assembly into the car, with some of my new quad mic cables etc. Ran it from the tracking room through the double doors (rubber seals!), the hall and into the control room.
Patching from the studio's set to my set revealed a VERY big difference in sound quality. Needless to say they quickly rewired the place. (should mention.. cable technology has improved a lot over the last 6 years).

A company like Gepco manufactures a lot of cable for other (well known) brands. They sell direct from the factory and really do make some of the best cable available, be it quad, normal mic, digital. You can save yourself a small fortune if you do it yourself. If you cannot do it yourself, find someone local who can solder for you and pay them - still cheaper.

All the other makes - yes the cable mogami etc make is good. the manufacturing quality - no. Therefore I do not think its worth it, my own cables will outlast any manufactured product. Every joint is soldered carefully, every solder point covered with color coded heatshrink. They never break.

However, it should also say that for 'special' cable - especially AES, SPDIF, instrument direct in, microphone direct in, I do use Zaolla cables with pure silver cores. Very expensive, and completely worth it for the difference they make, especially the digital cable. This difference is not subtle. If I, for instance, swap the AES cable running to the D/A in the monitor path for a Zaolla, anyone, trained ears or not, can hear the difference.
The same goes for a keyboard / direct / DAW combo.

For health reasons I should point out that I have nothing to do with Gepco, but I am a Zaolla endorsee.

 

[Son of Mixerman]

... but I am a Zaolla endorsee.

Do you get discounted or free cables for struggling wannabe's? <wink><wink>


SoMm

 

[sjoko2]

I wish ----- I could do with another bunch (what about a silver core 48 ch snake! )

 

[knightfly]

"what about a silver core 48 ch snake! " -

No prob, just sell your Lear jet and you got a down payment... :=)

Seriously, I agree that cables and acoustics are 'way under-rated on most people's list of must-haves - I think part of the problem is that both are sort of ethereal things that cost a lot of time and money to implement and can't be tried out in the store, (at least, not in their entirety) so people tend to put them on the back burner til they somehow get a wakeup call. Then, it's "How did I ever do without?"

Just my $.02... Steve

 

[sjoko2]

you're right Steve. The amazing thing is how many high end studios there are with outdated, out-of-phase, faulty wiring systems and cables.
and for all the 'homies', cheap cable and patchcords like hosa just don't cut it, they result in severe signal degradation.