Audioquest v. Monprice Comparison

[Dmantis10]

@killdozzer is cool but he has yet to adapt the wisdom found in this sage piece of dialogue.

Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be," — she always called me Elwood — "In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.

From the award winning movie, Harvey

LOL it sounds to me like he purchased some really high end cables only to find out they didn't make any sense. Now he's pissed at the world of wire and needs to attack anyone who tries out cables and learn for themselves most of this crap is bullshit. He's delivery seems angry,I just don't see the point. People are going to do what they want to do with or without his approval.
I'm fine talking about cables, I've been down that road. I don't have time for name calling especially if people have no real experience of their own. Even if they did I still don't have any time for it.
I love this hobby and can hold a conversation with anyone about it. Wire gets people all juiced up on both sides. Doesn't mean they don't make good quality cables. I much prefer to go buy a nicer amp or new speakers. I find much better results in purchasing equipment if one is looking for better performance.
I think for some reason he thinks I'm promoting high end cables.

 

[eljr]

Which I have found to be very true. I don't mind buying audioquest cables because they do build quality stuff. I have had no issues over the years I have been using them and I can't say that about hardly any other brands except Cardos and Kimber Kable which also make great quality cables. Those are the only 3 top cable companies I will use anymore in my system. But I will not buy their top end cables as I have found no benefits in my systems over the years climbing those ladders of quality.

FYI
I use a lot of Audioquest, one had a bad termination (after a year of daily use) .
Monoprice I have tried, never again.
blue jeans cable I can recommend.

 

[eljr]

LOL it sounds to me like he purchased some really high end cables only to find out they didn't make any sense. Now he's pissed at the world of wire and needs to attack anyone who tries out cables and learn for themselves most of this crap is bullshit. He's delivery seems angry,I just don't see the point. People are going to do what they want to do with or without his approval.
I'm fine talking about cables, I've been down that road. I don't have time for name calling especially if people have no real experience of their own. Even if they did I still don't have any time for it.
I love this hobby and can hold a conversation with anyone about it. Wire gets people all juiced up on both sides. Doesn't mean they don't make good quality cables. I much prefer to go buy a nicer amp or new speakers. I find much better results in purchasing equipment if one is looking for better performance.
I think for some reason he thinks I'm promoting high end cables.

I see you get it.
It's not enough that one agrees with the sonic neutrality of cables but they must also become an advocate for austere cheap looking cables.

Why they do this is easy to explain but when I do, they erupt. LOL

It's funny, none of this pettiness goes on at high end audio boards. They agree or disagree and move along.

 

[eljr]

I started in the 60s.

Your first 45?

Mine was Ramblin' Rose when it topped the charts.

 

[Mikado463]

LOL it sounds to me like he purchased some really high end cables only to find out they didn't make any sense. Now he's pissed at the world of wire and needs to attack anyone who tries out cables and learn for themselves most of this crap is bullshit. He's delivery seems angry,I just don't see the point. People are going to do what they want to do with or without his approval.
I'm fine talking about cables, I've been down that road. I don't have time for name calling especially if people have no real experience of their own. Even if they did I still don't have any time for it.
I love this hobby and can hold a conversation with anyone about it. Wire gets people all juiced up on both sides. Doesn't mean they don't make good quality cables. I much prefer to go buy a nicer amp or new speakers. I find much better results in purchasing equipment if one is looking for better performance.
I think for some reason he thinks I'm promoting high end cables.

agreed ..........

 

[Mikado463]

It's funny, none of this pettiness goes on at high end audio boards. They agree or disagree and move along.

yes and no, you must remember though that the majority of them are 'stroking' each others precious egos ......

 

[Mikado463]

Your first 45?

that I actually bought with my own money ...... 'Sheila' by Tommy Roe

 

[Dmantis10]

FYI
I use a lot of Audioquest, one had a bad termination (after a year of daily use) .
Monoprice I have tried, never again.
blue jeans cable I can recommend.

I have used just about everything under the sun. I also build cables as I have been a Audio Video Installer for over 20 years and for the last 5 years I have been a Audio Video service tech. I see what goes on with cables and poor terminations and so many brands of wire that work and don't work. I like audioquest because I don't experience failure with their cables and they don't cause issues with their HDMI cables with IR emitters. I know most people in here probably don't even know what an IR emitter is unless they have a Universal remote that is RF , IP or RS232 control able.
Money has nothing to do with what cables I purchase. If super high end cables made a difference like many of these companies claim they do I would be all in. I'm all for making your system the best it can be and not having weak links. I come from the Auto world as I use to be a Nissan and GM Technician. I 'm heavily into 1/4 mile performance and cars in general. Upgrading parts to make your ride better faster lighter etc is in my nature. This is another reason why I wanted to explore the madness off high end audio cables. If there was chance that buying these so called high performance cables made a difference as advertised why not right? But I learned that once you achieved the goal , there is nothing you can do to make it any better.

learning the requirements of each cable you need in your system is what people should learn. Not following the advertisements of the cable companies. You can go down an endless rabbit hole and find out that 99% of what they say is pure bullshit.
I first started learning about bullshit in cables when the huge Optical vs Coax debate started many many years ago. being in the business I have access to a wide array of cables so I can play with them myself and not just read what others have learned. I got to do it myself and I can tell you from my experience that Coax is not a better way to send digital signal despite all the claims of jitter from Optical cables. Proplery built Optical cables IMO work every bit as good as the best terminated best to spec built coax cable I have ever tested. Again I don't give a crap about price, that is for the person spending their money to decide what makes sense. My wallet is different then other peoples and so forth and so on. I'm not gonna tell anyone what they should buy. Speakers amps etc included. I will share my experience and you do with it what you want.

 

[eljr]

yes and no, you must remember though that the majority of them are 'stroking' each others precious egos ......

No more so than here. I find, generally, more secure folks on the high end sites, less needy of forum validation.

 

[eljr]

that I actually bought with my own money ...... 'Sheila' by Tommy Roe

Ramblin' Rose was given to me with a little record player on my 8th birthday.

 

[eljr]

learning the requirements of each cable you need in your system is what people should learn.

QFT

 

[Mikado463]

No more so than here. I find, generally, more secure folks on the high end sites, less needy of forum validation.

understood and while there may be a greater degree 'civility' on those forum(s) we both know, there is , IMO a greater feeling of 'show & tell' (my ego comment). I especially love some of the ridiculous power cord discussions, most of which are backed up with little or no science behind them

 

[eljr]

understood and while there may be a greater degree 'civility' on those forum(s) we both know, there is , IMO a greater feeling of 'show & tell' (my ego comment). I especially love some of the ridiculous power cord discussions, most of which are backed up with little or no science behind them

Agree, the cable discussions are right out of Stereophile. But when I disagree, no problem.

We do disagree on the level of show and tell. I find it very human to get a new toy and run to your peers and tell. Here or there.

Nice to disagree and not have a confrontation.

much respect

 

[Irvrobinson]

blue jeans cable I can recommend.

Me too, but BJC isn't cheap by any means, regardless of what the name implies. On the other hand, I think they're worth every penny. Awesome termination quality, highly professional web site and staff, great customer service, and top of the line name-brand cable stock. I've had few friends express some surprise at BJC prices, expecting Monoprice prices, but every one figured out the hard way that just because you can go very cheap doesn't mean you should go cheap. (Tools are like this too, especially torque wrenches.)

 

[Mikado463]

Me too, but BJC isn't cheap by any means, regardless of what the name implies.

cheap may be the wrong word, inexpensive IMO describes them to a tee

On the other hand, I think they're worth every penny.

translation ...... they're a bargain !

 

[eljr]

Me too, but BJC isn't cheap by any means, regardless of what the name implies. On the other hand, I think they're worth every penny. Awesome termination quality, highly professional web site and staff, great customer service, and top of the line name-brand cable stock. I've had few friends express some surprise at BJC prices, expecting Monoprice prices, but every one figured out the hard way that just because you can go very cheap doesn't mean you should go cheap. (Tools are like this too, especially torque wrenches.)

They were a bit more expensive than low end Audioquest when I shopped the two brands last. Surprised me but like you, I have been happy with them.

 

[Verdinut]

Me too, but BJC isn't cheap by any means, regardless of what the name implies. On the other hand, I think they're worth every penny. Awesome termination quality, highly professional web site and staff, great customer service, and top of the line name-brand cable stock. I've had few friends express some surprise at BJC prices, expecting Monoprice prices, but every one figured out the hard way that just because you can go very cheap doesn't mean you should go cheap. (Tools are like this too, especially torque wrenches.)

Another firm which custom makes good cables but at at a cheaper price than BJC is Redco Audio based in Stratford, Conn. They carry cable brands such as Belden, Canare, Mogami and others, and they have a choice of various brands of connectors as well:

https://www.redco.com/Custom-Cable.html

I have ordered from them and have been very satisfied with the quality of their work and their service.

 

[Montucky]

The biggest issue I had when outfitting my entire system in Mono price cables HDMI was the interference I got with my control system ( Universal Remote at that time). My IR emitters would light up and my remote system would not work. I discovered the Mono price HDMI cables leaking interference into my IR emitter cables. I moved the IR emitter cables away from the HDMI cables and the issue would go away.

Huh. I've worked with hundreds of systems, and I don't think I've EVER encountered that problem before. I have seen plenty of faulty URC components before, but the problems were never linked to faulty HDMI cables. The voltage that goes through either of those cables (hdmi or IR) is so low that it's HIGHLY unlikely they were "leaking interference," unless you were doing something seriously wrong. Heck, you could theoretically have a coiled up AC cable (probably not ideal) and it STILL shouldn't have any practical effect on your gear. If you were having IR issues, perhaps you were seeing the problem come and go as you were moving the cables. Loose termination? Maybe when you replaced the HDMI cable, you happened to secure your IR plugs better? I dunno. Either way, I would place a healthy bet on the fact that HDMI "leaking" was not your issue. Lol. But hey, as long as you're happy with your overpriced cables then that's all that matters I suppose.

 

[killdozzer]

Why am I stupid? because I wanted to learn about all this crazy crap? People who are into cables swear how good they are. I wanted to know myself if it was true or not.

You misunderstood. I didn't say you're stupid. That was in italic.

 

[Dmantis10]

You misunderstood. I didn't say you're stupid. That was in italic.

Cool man.