Are Monster Cables required for DBS?

[scottchez]

I was at Best Buy today. They were saying have to have good quality cables with DBS or it will look fuzzy.

They were forcing the Monster Cable on everyone.

In fac the normal priced cables were hiddne on the back isle on the bottom shelf.

I know they make a lot of profit on these things.

My question is DOES IT HELP?

Will a good S-Video cable help or should I use the one that came with my 501?

Here is an other post from this forum burried in some weird named off topic area:
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I'm sure some of the more electronically inclined may be able to clarify some details for me, but...

What's makes Monster Cable so much better than the cables that I pick up from Radio Shack? I have an old article from Forbes that much of the markup is in profit margins.

And, what's the deal with the "gold-plated" plugs verses the tin-plating? They may be dissimilar materials, but we're talking about a connection with a large surface area, not a pin-point connection like a memory stick in a computer. Yet, if I want a 3 foot cable (for better organization), they are only available as gold-plated cables. The shortest non-gold-plated cable is 6 feet long.

And, what difference does the material in the cable make? Granted, copper has more resistance than say silver or gold, but again, for short cable runs, what does the difference make?

Finally, how come I can't find any hard data on differences between cable? I expect some measurements saying that "actual resistance was 6 ohms, compared with similar cables." But, what I see is more anecdotal evidence along the lines of "I switches from Brand X to the more expensive Brand Y, and man, it looked and sounded better." Quite frankly, I don't trust anyone's ears as a judgment of quality.

Sorry to vent like this, but Tony's post kinda pushed my pet peeve. I was at Fry's for a component video cable primarily so that the cable was color coded. I think the monster cable was $49-59 for a six foot length. Somewhat hidden (it took me five minutes of searching) got me a RCA component video cable for $12.95. Why color coded? So that I can plug and unplug the DVD player from the main TV.

[Hack]

LOL! THis is all subjective. I've bought from Radio Shack and their cables suck. These are the smooth "all round" cables and the wouldn't hold a secure connection so they were worthless.

"Will a good S-Video cable help or should I use the one that came with my 501?"

If you're happy with the one you got then I'd keep it. You probably got a decent S-Video cable with your 501 unless you're a fanantic. If you're not completely sastified with your current cable then I'd buy Monster with the condition that you can return it later if you're not satisfied then only your eyes can answer this question.

[dtcarson]

I think the general opinion is that Monster cables may be slightly better than a less-advertised brand, if at all.
Monster has to make up their advertising costs somewhere, and I think, like Bose, they have a 'name,' and a reputation that is not necessarily indicative of their quality. People think Oh, this costs twice as much, it must be twice as good, which is not necessarily the case.
You don't mention, other than the 501, what your hardware is; I've got a 501/508 and just a regular 27 inch tv. I'm running my 508 using the three color 'RCA' jacks that came with it through a switchbox, then into my vcr, then into my TV [my tv only has a coax input, and the only thing with coax output is my VCR, so everything has to go through my VCR till we get a new tv]. My picture is fine, in fact, when it was first hooked up, even with my jerry-rigged setup, I was impressed how much better than cable it looked. So I just used the ones that came with it, and I'm using a non-Monster TOSlink optical cable for my DVD player [cost 1/2 as much, sounds fine.] Obviously your own eyes and ears have to be the final deciding factor for you, but a lot of the Monster hype is simply that. There may be 'good' s-video cables, that may be better than the one that came with your 501, but as good/better than Monster, for a lot cheaper. I just can't make myself spend the 20-60 bucks they want for anything Monster; if I'm paying that much for a cable, it better snake itself through the wall and install itself, imho.

[Hack]

"Quite frankly, I don't trust anyone's ears as a judgment of quality."

LOL! :) Then why trust any of our eyes as a judgement of quality? :)
Like I said, buy it and see for yourself if you can return it. If not, then I'm sure you're happy the way you are.

[Hack]

BTW, As an Audiophile, different cables and speaker wire do sound differently from each other but it’s all subjective. The biggest difference IMO is your quality of electricity. Get a good AC conditioner which will give you clean electricity which may make the biggest difference than any cable could ever do. You know... junk in = junk out. A good AC conditioner is the first step to good quality IMO.

[Cyclone]

The cable that you use to get the signal from the satellite dish to your receiver should be a RG6 type of coax cable. The RG59 is thinner and not recommend (but still works just fine for many people).

Note: Electricity is unaware of the Monster brand of cables and behave normally with other quality cables.

[Ron Barry]

Since I set up my HT a about a year ago I went through this and read a lot of opinions on the matter. I came to the conclusion that I thought Monster was to pricey and from what people seem to feel they did not make a big difference. I was recommended a number of custom cables and then found that these were about the same price as the monsters.

I then went to and looked around and settled on AR Professional. They had different levels and after spending 5K on a GWII, I felt that I should get something good. Having said that, I did do some A/B test and I can't say I saw a big difference. This was with Component cables.

I then went and got an AC conditioner (Monster) and I will have to admit in my case this did make a big difference with my set up. I have not done an A/B and maybe it is a placebo effect but both mywife and I felt that it greatly improved the picture quality of our SD signal. I am glad I bought the conditional. Mine ran about $280.

So my take after this experience is go with good quality cables, but they do not have to be monster. I went with AR because they were more resonable priced and they had different quality of cables.

[Hack]

WeeJavaDude:

" then went and got an AC conditioner (Monster) and I will have to admit in my case this did make a big difference with my set up. I have not done an A/B and maybe it is a placebo effect but both mywife and I felt that it greatly improved the picture quality of our SD signal. I am glad I bought the conditional. Mine ran about $280."

It's not only the best upgrade that you can make but one of the cheapest as well. No amount of money spent on cables could match the difference that a $300 conditioner can do. A good conditioner will take away a lot of the "noise" that enters your system via your AC line. Let’s assume that your raw AC is like raw sewage (which it is) would you want that to enter your water faucet? Of course not so you don’t want the raw sewage going into your electronics as well. The AC out is sewage and the line conditioner is the sewage plant. The worst your sewage the better results you'll receive.

[Ron Barry]

Well I felt it was worth the money in my case. I guess if your AC was clean you would not see a big difference. It made SD borderline watchable on my Sony 60"

[scottchez]

Wow, I did not know the AC conditioner was that important.

They were pushing the Monetster $99 conditioners also.


You say they help with SD?


Would they help with DBS SD? Will it help with DBS HDTV also?

[mnassour]

I was at Best Buy today. They were saying have to have good quality cables with DBS or it will look fuzzy.



What a hoot :lol: !!!

One more Best Buy lie. All it does is make money for the store. Get decent cables for your system and be happy.

I've been in TV production since 1976 and let me assure you, there is not one INCH of "Monster Cable(r)" in any television production facility in the country. The same goes for other so-called "audiophile" cables.

The cable of choice for video....? Good ol' Belden 8281, available at your local electronics supply house.

[AppliedAggression]

I didn't read all the posts but I think it's pretty accurate to say that Monster cables are the best. Are they worth the money? No. Very far from the best bang for your buck, but they are the best you can get.

[Ron Barry]

Well I am not sure about the 99 conditionair. I can give you my model number tonight whan I get home. I can't remember it right now. As for do they really help, In my case they did. I did see a noticable improvement on the SD. I do however have a LCD GWII 60" TV so I am sure as everything your results my vary depending on the size of TV, type of TV and quiality of AC coming into the house.

That was my experience from my recent HT install.

[Mark Lamutt]

AppliedAggression, go back and read the posts in the thread. Monster cables are no better than any other, much cheaper cable. You pay the extra cost purely for the Monser hype.

[Frank Z]

The flow of electrons accross a conductor is neither enhanced or restricted based on the name stamped on the cable jacket. Gauge of wire, and proper shielding (as needed) is all that really matters. Your mileage may vary. ;)

[James_F]

AppliedAggression, go back and read the posts in the thread. Monster cables are no better than any other, much cheaper cable. You pay the extra cost purely for the Monser hype.
Very true Mark. Heck they even try and push them on people who buy a PS2 or XBox. Total waste of money.

[Richard King]

I've been in TV production since 1976 and let me assure you, there is not one INCH of "Monster Cable(r)" in any television production facility in the country. The same goes for other so-called "audiophile" cables.And I spent 18 years in the professional audio business and never specked any "audiophile" cables in the recording studios, corporate productions facilities, board rooms, portable rock n roll sound reinforcement systems, etc. that I worked on. Ditto for numerous of the studios that I have been in as a guest or visitor. Monster Cable is a waste.

[Steve Mehs]

When my mom got her RPTV the place where she got it from had a promotion, with every big screen purchase you get free 'top of the line' Monster Cables a value of $50. Fifty freaking dollars for a set of 10 foot long composite A/V cables! Quality was no better the cables from RadioShack at about a quarter of the price. I buy all my cables and wire and adaptors exclusively from RadioShack. Decent quality, decent price no marketing hype. When I bought my home theater system from Best Buy two years ago, the guy tried to sell me a 'special' subwoofer cable for only $60. I said no thanks, I'll pick up a '6 RCA from Radio Shack for seven bucks.

The only positive thing I will ever say about boutique cables is they have a wide variety of lengths, where RadioShack just has 3, 6, and 12 foot for most cables. But I try to get everything tight so most of my cables are 3 foot a 2 or 3 6 footers

LOL! THis is all subjective. I've bought from Radio Shack and their cables suck. These are the smooth "all round" cables and the wouldn't hold a secure connection so they were worthless.
What do you mean by hold a secure connection? Do you mean how tight the cable fits, if that’s it, The RS Gold Series are a lot tighter then the Monster I have laying around somewhere.

[gpflepsen]

If you need cables, go here:

http://www.cablewholesale.com/index.htm

They are not flash, but they work well.

[Mark Holtz]

Monster cable, IMHO, are overpriced. It just sucks that the shortlest length of cable is 3 feet long, is gold plated, and priced over $10. Can someone point me to the proper sources where I can build good quality SHORT cables with 90-debree connectors. It sucks having a rats nest behind my A/V gear.

[gpflepsen]

Mark, try http://www.partsexpress.com for building cables.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=21

[Randy_B]

I went with the AR cables as well. a whole lot less in price and they work great.

[Mark Holtz]

Coolness. There are 3' cables from Parts Express (http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&DID=7&CATID=16&ObjectGroup_ID=147) and Cable Wholesale (http://www.cablewholesale.com/catalog/audiovideocables.htm), and a lot cheaper than Radio Shack or Frys.

[Bill R]

The reason that many stores "push" monster cables is that the markup on them is MUCH higher than any other brand. Monster cables are good but their quality dosen't justify their high price.

[scottchez]

I put the AC Conditioner on last night. Thanks for the advices.

I noticed some improvement on the Poor quality channels like those Public interest free channels on Dish.

I bet the other channels were a little better, I just could not tell.

It may also depend on the time of day. My AC may get worse durring peak usage air conditioner time or something.

[dtcarson]

Power conditioner?
Please pardon my obtuseness, but why is this necessary? I guess I don't understand the technical aspects of 'dirty power,' or whatever. If my receiver/tv/whatever is getting enough electricity to run the thing, shouldn't that be enough? What exactly is 'dirty power,' and why is it like that? I don't think I've even noticed one of those conditioners in any store [granted, I usually go to Best Buy, not the smaller, more expensive, 'better' stores.]