_

Attention Monster Haters: The Giz HDMI Cable Battlemodo Has Begun

7:19AM June 8, 2007 | Seamus Byrne

HDMI_Cable.jpg
Some of you might recall my recent article about Monster Cable. If you read it through, you’d remember it as the piece that outlined Monster’s more credible scientific claims, culminating in my sober recommendation to buy a cheap HDMI cable first, then work your way up.Naturally I expected some ranting and raving—in fact, the original title for the piece was “The Truth About Monster Cable, Part I,” because I knew there would have to be a follow up. Well, you’ve more than demanded it, and in the interest of scientific discovery (not to mention demonstrating to some of you knuckleheads that we are not shills of the Monster corporation), we have expedited delivery of some cables from Monoprice and others, for a full-on technical showdown performed on our terms.

The GIZ Truth: We will not rest until we have judged the practical similarities and differences of $220 cable and $20 cable. This is not merely Monster vs. Monoprice, so much as it is high-priced cable vs. low-priced cable. Those brands will represent their pricing brackets, which I think most would agree is fair.

Let the Battlemodo begin! – Wilson Rothman

Comments

  • Richard

    June 9, 2007 at 4:23 PM

    Surely the answer here is obvious…

    1) Cheap and nasty cables are cheap and nasty.

    2) Moderately priced cables assembled from good quality components do make a difference (compared to cheap and nasty) and are worth spending some money on.

    3) Expensive cables make no discernible difference (compared to moderatly priced cables), are marketed using dubious pseudo-science and are really only for people who have too much money to spend.

    Buyers of the super-expensive cables would be better off investing in improved speakers (which have the single biggest influence over heard sound quality) or buying more CDs/DVDs so that they can actually enjoy listening to and watching the output of all the good gear.

  • trev

    June 10, 2007 at 1:25 AM

    again you will come back to the original problem, if you invest in better speakers you will be using the same crap cables to connect them thus not allowing these “better” speakers to sound their potential

  • Lakei

    November 28, 2007 at 3:08 PM

    Um, so which HDMI cable is the best, forget price for now, just simply which one is the best for the job being for 1.5 – 3 Metres? I’m so confused.

  • Jon

    October 3, 2008 at 1:21 PM

    For shorter cables you can probably get away with lower quality. In my case buying a 10m cable quality was needed to ensure sufficient signal at the other end of the cable.

    For the Aussie readers I can highly recommend the cables from http://www.ezyhd.com.au/ for a great quality for price.

    I’d previously bought a “Pro” grade cable from another online shop that didn’t work at full 1080p (they have agreed to refund me thankfully) for $170. I then found EZYHD mentioned on a forum and the 10m cable I got from there for $94 worked first go and was a visibly higher quality cable!

  • Rob Jones

    July 31, 2009 at 12:54 AM

    I’ve bought cables from http://www.customht.com.au and found them to be great quality and price is also very good.. Cables were also sent out same arvo I ordered them which I thought was great..

  • Elishia

    April 19, 2011 at 12:52 AM

    i got some cables from http://www.myhdmi.com.au – the price was good, and the quality is fantastic. customer service was amazing, i recommend them.

  • Francois

    July 20, 2011 at 2:17 AM

    Don’t know why people pay these ridiculous prices – I got a couple of cables from http://www.myht.com.au and they were cheap but great quality. arrived the next day, i’m still happy with them.

  • Lee

    September 16, 2011 at 9:01 PM

    Interesting read here. I think most people are becoming aware of this rip off tactic being employed by many retailers.

    However, I also found that not all online stores offer what they claim. I purchased a “Premium” 20m HDMI Cable that stated it was 24AWG but I got white dots and blanking. I spoke to a friend who installs high end AV equipment and is a technology junkie. He measured the thickness with digital calipers. It was 8.5mm. He said that 24AWG is impossible at this thickness and it is more than likely 26AWG.

    Anyway, purchased one from http://www.spacehifi.com.au/ (because of the easy return policy) and it works perfectly. This one measured just over 10mm in thickness and my friend confirmed that this HDMI Cable is a true 24AWG.

    For longer runs, don’t cheap out on a low quality cable but don’t get ripped of by silly retail prices either.

Post Your Comments