zingo
04-16-2008, 01:15 PM
I recently purchased a HDMI cable and Digital Optical cable from monoprice.com. Both the the cables purchased were of the "premium" type.
The Digital Optical cable (or Toslink) came in 3' length with metal connectors and a net jacket (think Techflex) for $5.55. The cable is as flexible as I expected for a optical cable. Upon testing it out, not only did it perform very well for both music and HT, but I found no performance difference between it and anything purchased in a large electronics store. The IC may not have a bit of warmness that some people say comes from using a Digital Coax, but it transfered the signal perfectly from component to component with out altering the sound. IMO, that's what ICs should do and that's good enough for me.
http://images.monoprice.com/productmediumimages/27631.jpg
The HDMI cable came in a 6' length with gold plated connectors and a net jacket for $12.52. It is a 1.3a Cat. 2, and CL2 rated in case you want to run it through walls. The wires are 24AWG, and the cable is well shielded, so it is not the most flexible, but stays were you put it so I don't have any complaints. The video performance with my Blu-Ray player is amazing and leaves me wanting nothing. The audio performance is also very good, but I didn't listen to critically as I couldn't take my eyes off the TV. :p As you can see with both these cables, the price is unrivaled, but so is the performance compared to ANY product offered in a electronics store. Monoprice products get two thumbs up IMO.
http://images.monoprice.com/productmediumimages/36611.jpg
The Digital Optical cable (or Toslink) came in 3' length with metal connectors and a net jacket (think Techflex) for $5.55. The cable is as flexible as I expected for a optical cable. Upon testing it out, not only did it perform very well for both music and HT, but I found no performance difference between it and anything purchased in a large electronics store. The IC may not have a bit of warmness that some people say comes from using a Digital Coax, but it transfered the signal perfectly from component to component with out altering the sound. IMO, that's what ICs should do and that's good enough for me.
http://images.monoprice.com/productmediumimages/27631.jpg
The HDMI cable came in a 6' length with gold plated connectors and a net jacket for $12.52. It is a 1.3a Cat. 2, and CL2 rated in case you want to run it through walls. The wires are 24AWG, and the cable is well shielded, so it is not the most flexible, but stays were you put it so I don't have any complaints. The video performance with my Blu-Ray player is amazing and leaves me wanting nothing. The audio performance is also very good, but I didn't listen to critically as I couldn't take my eyes off the TV. :p As you can see with both these cables, the price is unrivaled, but so is the performance compared to ANY product offered in a electronics store. Monoprice products get two thumbs up IMO.
http://images.monoprice.com/productmediumimages/36611.jpg