Electronic stores and quality cables. [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Thomsoad
10-03-2004, 01:04 AM
I went to a few stores today just to do some "window shopping" when I remembered a debate about quality vs run of the mill 12 gauge cable. So I decided to see for myself what wires the companys used, to see what they thought of the premium cables that they were selling. Just to put it out there I went to the following stores
1) Circuit City
2) Best Buy
3) Ultimate Electronics

I dont think Ultimate Electronics is out on the east coast yet so just to fill you in, they sell the higher end models as compared to CC and BB. So while they are a notch above, I will not go so far as to say they sell nothing but the best.

Anyway, what I saw was all 3 stores were running nothing but basic cables. Now I could be wrong about this, but if I was running a company that had a purpose of selling speakers, I would put the best wires into them if I thought they would make a difference.

At the very least, I figure I could clear out some inventory on the slower selling models by hooking them up to the Monster Cables and putting the better selling models on standard 12 or 14 gauge and "coax" the customer into believing that the slower selling model was the better product and to buy that one.

The fact that NONE of these companies were using the $100+ cables makes me believe that there is NO difference. By all means, next time you are in a store, take a look at what kind of wiring they are hooking THIER speakers to. If the major companies dont do it, then what signal is that to us?

eisforelectronic
10-03-2004, 02:57 AM
For any sizable store, wiring can be quite a large expense. Typically they will have a third party company contracted to do the wiring on any semi-permanent display areas. Brands like Monster are reserved for selling as the individual stores need to write off any cables the use for display purposes. No store could stay in business using and constantly replacing Monster wiring on their display systems. You put anything but basic looking wire on any sizable sales floor and I guarantee you it'll start walking off on it's own.