Savvy Consumerist reader know that you don’t need to shell out big bucks for the monstrously expensive HDMI cables some blue-shirted guy is pushing on you in order to get a good hi-def video signal. In fact, as long as you need less than 50 ft, cheap cables you can get at places like Monoprice, Newegg, PCH Cables, or Blue Jeans Cable will do the job just great. But for those friends and loved ones who don’t quite get it, you might want to show this them clip done in cheezy instructional video style to help drive the message home. [More]
monster cables
Never Pay More Than $10 For HDMI Cables
By 3.31.10
You already know that coat hangers sound just as good as those pricey Monster cables, but this infographic really lays out the full argument on why you should never pay more than $10 for HDMI cables. Whether it’s gold-plated connectors, EM RF interefence shileding, or “gas injected” cables, it’s all the same thing: goldbricking. There’s no reason to drop $250 on a four-foot cable. [More]
Remember: You Don't Need To Buy Expensive Cables For That New TV
By 12.26.08
Adam writes in with a reminder for those of you who got a new TV, Blu-Ray player, or video game system this holiday season: you don’t need to spend a fortune on fancy HDMI cables.
By 3.13.08
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CBC Marketplace compared Monster cables with a midrange and a $12 HDMI cable. Both to the naked eye and to a computerized hardware test all the cable performed flawlessly. The only difference was the price. [CBC Marketplace]
CNET Says Cheap HDMI Cables Just As Good As Pricey Ones
By 3.12.08
CNET has weighed in and agrees with what we’ve been telling you: cheap HDMI cables are just as good as pricey ones.
Do you really need to spend that much money on a single HDMI cable? Absolutely not–those cables are a rip-off. You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there’s no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable…The editors at CNET are so confident that cheap HDMI cables offer identical performance, we’ve been using inexpensive Monoprice HDMI cables in the CNET Home Theater Lab for more than a year with no issues.
They recommend buying from Monoprice.
How To Design A Monster Vs Coat Hanger Experiment?
By 3.6.08
One of our readers is an enterprising psych major and he would really like to recreate the Monster Cable vs Coat Hanger test with laboratory-grade methodology, controls, and statistical measures. However, Adam needs your help. What is the minimum equipment he should buy, both audio equipment and coat-hanger-wise?
Do Coat Hangers Sound As Good Monster Cables?
By 3.3.08 — Updated: 3.4.13
Can you tell the difference between music that passed through a pricey Monster stereo Cable, and a coat hanger? A reader forwarded us a post from the Audioholics Home Theater Forum and its author says no. He says his brother ran an experiment on him and four other audio aficionados listening to a new CD from a new group blindfolded. Seven different songs were played, each time heard with the speaker hooked up to Monster Cables, and the other time, hooked up to coat hanger wire. Nobody could determine which was the Monster Cable and which was the coat hanger. The kicker? None of the subjects even knew that coat hangers were going to be used. This is, of course, “nothing new,” a Google of “monster cables vs coat hangers” shows that some users have been saying this for a while. Still, this is an experiment begging to be recreated under controlled conditions (say, for instance, a double-blind test). Science fair project! Read how it went down, inside…
Monster Responds To "Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff"
By 2.19.08
The Monster Cables Public Relations department sent in a two-page response to our post, “Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is one issue that they are definitely taking seriously. Read their official company rebuttal statement, inside…
Monster Cables, Monster Ripoff: 80% Markups
By 2.8.08
Ever wonder why gadget store employees push Monster cables like they’re crack? Bitchin’ markups, just like you suspected (or knew) all along. That’s what we found when a Radio Shack employee sent us his store’s entire inventory list, which included the wholesale and retail price of every item in stock.
