Impressed with Monoprice

[zepman1]

I bought a new Bluray player and needed some new interconnects for it. After reading some of the recommendations here about the Monoprice cables, I decided to give them a try. In the past I have used Monster, Acoustic Research, Bluejeans and similar products. The price and selection on the Monoprice website was superb, so what the hell.

I ordered an HDMI-DVI cable to run the video to my TV which has DVI input but no HDMI, and two pairs of component video cables to use for analog audio 5.1. At monoprice the analog audio cables are RG-59 22AWG coax, and the component video are RG-6 18 AWG coax. Otherwise they are the same. I just prefer the RG-6 because of the thicker conductor and better shielding (typically). The RG-6 is stiffer and a little harder to work with, but that doesn't bother me.

I am really impressed with the build quality on these cables for the price paid. About $9 for the HDMI-DVI and $8 each for the component (about). They are all nice looking cables with solid end terminations. These are as nice or nicer than any Monster or AR product for a fraction of the price.

I can't comment yet on the performance as the Bluray is scheduled for delivery today. For my modest system, I would expect these to perform exceedingly well. I will try them and maybe swap the analog audio for Monster and see if I can hear a difference this weekend with some lossless audio... I don't have an HDMI-DVI cable to compare it with, but I could see how it does compared to my Monster component video cables (my tv is 720p, so I would expect no difference.)

[RoadRunner6]

Hey Zepman, thanks for your feedback.

I just placed an order for a new Emotiva amp and I'll need some RCA connectors. I also want to get some new RG6 F type cable leads for my two plasmas. I will get a new BD player next year and will need HDMI's.

I visited the Monoprice site last week and it look like their prices are right up my alley. Good to hear your positive impressions. Thanks

RR6

[zepman1]

I could not find an audible difference between the monoprice RCA's and some Monster RCA's I have. The component video cables that I am using are pretty stiff and hard to work with compared to the monsters. But for the price...

[GMichael]

Monoprice is d'm nice for the price. The quality of their cables are far above what I expect at their pricing.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I on the other hand had no success buying cables from Monoprice. The items I wanted were out of stock... for a loooong time.

Glad ya got what ya needed though Zepman1, RR6.

[RoadRunner6]

Ordered my cables from Monoprice Tuesday morning and they were here Thursday afternoon, LA area to Seattle, these guys are fast!!! USPS mail of course, always cheap and dependable.

The cables seem to be of very good quality although a little stiff. $2.97 for a 2 plug 6ft RCA cable with nice quality plugs that fit well. Only $5.94 for shipping. Can't beat that.

RR6

[natronforever]

Yeah, I've purchased several cables now from Monoprice - mostly RCA cables, but I did buy one of their optical cables, and it's great. I'll definitely buy more cables from them.

[atomicAdam]

I just got 6 new 3ft premium RCA cables from moonprice on friday.

So far I've been very happy. Cables are stiff and have had to pinch a few of the connectors down to get a tighter fit to the female end ( ) - but otherwise they are great.

So, did I hear a difference in my audio? I went from really cheap, thin, old, craptastic RCA cables to these, and I actually hear a difference.

The 1st CD I popped in my PS1 was Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. My mom and dad played that over and over again when I was a child and I've continued to listen to it to this day. It is one of those benchmark CD's for me. What I noticed was the sound appeared to have more space, be a little brighter, and just have a bit more life to it. The low base, mainly the kicks, sounded a tad smoother, but this could be because the PS1 has a nice low roll off.

One thing I was surprised to hear was the lack luster sound of a friends CD. The music is electronica produced on a computer using only software. I like it very much. But with these new cables I could hear so much of what was missing between his software based sounds and what was there on the Pink Floyd CD. I've never noticed that difference before. Sad to say, but I guess my friends CD is getting regulated to the car stereo.

At some point in the night I tossed on some Skinny Puppy's Last Rights which I'll have to listen to again sometime soon, cause after the 1st two songs I realized that it was 11pm and my upstairs neighbors were probably going to be pretty pissed. Which might explain why they've been a bit louder when walking around this weekend.

Anyways, I like the cables for sure, and will probably go a bling test on a friend to see if he/she can tell the difference.

-adam