Monster Cable Speaker Wire???

I have the yamaha YHT-450 HTIB. Not the most expensive nor is it thx certified, but still a very good system for the money. I had limited means at the time of purchase. Although it sounds great in my medium sized living room, it just seems to lack a little bit. Would monster cable speaker wire really make a difference being used with the banana plugs. Everything on their despriptions sounds great, but do they really so that much better. Just to be a little more specific with my situation... I priced out the cables and banana plugs I would need for my system and it came to $120. I only spent $500. on my system, but another reciever or more powerful speakers are just not an option right now. I could afford the wires. is it worth it? anybody notice the huge difference monster cable boast about? any help would be appreciated.

IMHO, Monster cables are overpriced and overhyped. For a moderately-priced system like yours, I don't think Monster cables are gonna make much difference to the sound.

But Monsters are still better than the stuff he's going to get in the box.

This has long been a bone of contention in audiophile circles; namely, do high-priced interconnect cables and speaker wire make a difference in sound or video? So-called "experts" vary in their opinions. I'm not an expert, but I've heard differences in some cases and none whatever in others. Monster Cable is certainly NOT considered the "best" in audiophile circles, but since it's the most widely distributed and biggest-selling of the breed, it gets the most notice. (And, to be fair, it will not degrade your sound or video.) There are some brands of audiophile interconnects that sell for thousands of dollars, and there is more than brand of speaker wire you can buy for $50-$100 a foot!

My recommendation has always been to try the stuff out. If you know anybody who has such a cable, ask to borrow it and try it in your system. Ask a store if they'll let you try a cable and bring in back if you hear or see no difference.

John

Keep in mind also, that the larger the wire, the more metal is involved per foot, which makes it more succeptible (or receptive) to picking up outside (and unwanted) signals and electrical interferance. This is where the more expensive "shielded" cables come into play, and are worth their cost. Unless you're a celebrity and have money to burn, I don't know that the $50 - $100 per foot cable would be particularly helpful to anyone but celebrities.



- Josh

What Hock says is true about speaker wire. The thicker the better, and most big hardware stores carry good, cheap, heavy-duty stuff (6-gauge or 8-gauge is ideal, even though it looks ugly lying around your listening room; the stuff can look like garden hose). For component interconnects, it's different, though.

John

I think you could do as well with 10/12 gauge wires that you can purchase from Home Depot or Lowe's for much cheaper.

thanks for your opinions. definately some good advice John. I'm gonna try it out just to see for myself. Everyone tells me I have a very picky ear so maybe it will make a difference for me. I'll let yall know how it turns out!

I don't think one should worry about outside electrical interference with heavier-gauge speaker wire. Otherwise, Monster Cable, which started out making only speaker wire, not interconnect cables, would have been out of business twenty years ago. The signal from the amplifier/receiver to the speakers is strong enough not to be affected. You simply need the heaviest-gauge, insulted wire possible.

On the other hand, the signal between components (between your CD or DVD player and your amp/receiver, for instance) is quite weak by comparison, and that signal needs a shielded coaxial cable. Whether the more expensive component interconnects are worth the money is open to debate. At the hi-fi magazine I write for, some reviewers swear by certain cables, while others claim they make no difference whatsoever.

One thing is sure: Oxidation can be a problem with any inter-connectivity. Merely cleaning the ends of your cables and wire regularly (the RCA plugs and speaker connections) can often improve your sound. Indeed, it's asserted by non-believers in expensive interconnects that when people do hear a difference hooking up new cables, they are really only hearing the difference in a cleaner plug. Who knows.

John

Good question John. But I think it all makes a difference. Not too long ago my system was a big disapointment. Then I recut and re-wired my entire system taking better care of my installment. results were a noticeable improvement. i got more power and sound out of all speakers. but still wasn't quite what I was after. Thus I started this thread. Considering my "moderately priced sysem" with bookshelf speakers I didn't want to spend too much money on it. so before going to the hardware store I checked online again and found fry's dyer electronics advertising monster thx cert 16 gauge wire 100ft for 30 bucks. ok cheap enough. so i bought it last night. before changing out the wire I sampled several different movies and several different scenes. I tested them at a volume of -13db which is loud enough for a test run on my system. I don't think that is an accurate reading. anywayz, I could have turned it up a little bit more and still had comfort but I didn't.

Now the monsters. results? Too much power for me! I could not comfortably turn it up past -15db during action scenes. Not only that, I noticed a considerable difference in the dynamic range of my speakers. Much more bass coming from them and much cleaner too. The dialouge was crisp and clear even during action sequences. The higher frequencies. Couldn't hear a difference but I can definately say they didn't suffer one bit. Still very effective when they need to be.

So, was it the monster cable? was it thicker wire? I don't know. But I for one certainly don't care about brand names. I didn't choose monster for their label. I chose them cause it sounded like a lot of engineering went in to their products. Everything they boasted about was exactly what I was looking for even with my limited means. I also called the manufacturer on this problem and his advice was don't waste money on wires. Get a better receiver. Others have said get better speakers. I'm glad I didn't take their advice cause even so it seems to me that you will never get what you pay for until you hook it up right. 300 bucks for a reciever vs. 30 bucks in wire for my happiness? I'm glad I atleast tried the latter 1st. Maybe someday i'll try the home depot wire 10-12 gauge just to see. But for now, I'm gonna enjoy it like it is.:D