Hdmi cable (cheap)

[dholmes]

I noticed a lot of us me included have Monoprice hdmi cable & was thinking that we spend thousands on are equipment & only spend 7.00 on a hdmi cable.You know when you buy a car you dont put 5.00 tires on it,I guess I think theres a cost mismatch.Why spend all this money & then buy cheap hdmi cable?? I know there is a mark-up on everything but I was thinking about replacing hdmi cable to something that cost more,am I suffering from too much $$$ & not enough brains?? thanks

[Kex]

... am I suffering from too much $$$ & not enough brains?? thanks
Maybe, maybe not, but you have discovered the same truth that the Monster Cable marketing team came up with :p.

[Face]

IMO, you don't need to spend much to get your hands on a decent digital cable. I use monoprice for all my HDMI cables also.

[ViperZ]

I use Monoprice HDMI cables and 4-port Monoprice HDMI switch - work like a charm (Harmony controls the switch too).
Can't really compare cables to tires... :cool:

[zingo]

I have a "Premium" Monoprice HDMI and two of their "Premium" Toslink cables and all three work great. I think I spent $20 on all three and feel the sound and video quality is as good as anything I've tried in the past. Plus, I don't know if the "Premium" lines adds to the VQ or SQ, but they are a big improvement on the fit and finish for just another 10% or so. (And remember, that's 10% on a $3 Toslink cable... :D)

[dholmes]

Thanks,it just seems like we should spend more on them since everything else is cost a lot.The tires is when I was young & they where recaps!!

[John K.]

DH, when audio technology is the topic, there's no need to bring up cars or other irrelevant analogies. There's no such thing in reality as a suitable ratio between what we spend on various audio items; if it does the job then the lower the price, the better, of course. This particularly applies to wires where there's no correlation between price and the capacity to fulfill its function. I long ago came to the realization that "You get what you pay for" is simply a slogan relied on by sellers of high-priced goods or services who don't have an objective way to justify themselves.

In my case, I recall that when I commented here last year about the $4.50 cable from MonoPrice that I'd gotten for my new $1100 sub, there was amused astonishment in some of our members which in turn left me a bit amused.

[daboyz]

I'm amused that your amused at their amusement..............:D

[wutadumsn23]

I have always wondered the same thing and so I tested this exact theory. I bought an HDMI cable for my Sony t.v. when I first got it at Best Buy, and though the salesman had no luck talking me into the $150 Monster Cable, I did however buy the BB equivalent (Rocketfish) for about $75 for a 6ft cable and am very pleased with it. Later I upgraded to an HDDVR from Comcast and was S.O.L when the repairman asked my for my other HDMI cable that I had forgotten to purchase so I wouldn't have to switch back and forth from my PS3 to my DVR. He said he may have one in his tuck he could give me, much to my amazement he did indeed give me a free HDMI cable and it literally is a black wire with two male HDMI plugs on it. I thought I would suffer greatly from this obvious imposter of a cable, but I tested them both and IMO there is no difference between the Rocketfish cable and the $2.00 cable the Comcast guy gave me. Now with V 1.3a and V1.3b there may be a difference, but I don't know for sure.

[ben62670]

I have always wondered the same thing and so I tested this exact theory. I bought an HDMI cable for my Sony t.v. when I first got it at Best Buy, and though the salesman had no luck talking me into the $150 Monster Cable, I did however buy the BB equivalent (Rocketfish) for about $75 for a 6ft cable and am very pleased with it. Later I upgraded to an HDDVR from Comcast and was S.O.L when the repairman asked my for my other HDMI cable that I had forgotten to purchase so I wouldn't have to switch back and forth from my PS3 to my DVR. He said he may have one in his tuck he could give me, much to my amazement he did indeed give me a free HDMI cable and it literally is a black wire with two male HDMI plugs on it. I thought I would suffer greatly from this obvious imposter of a cable, but I tested them both and IMO there is no difference between the Rocketfish cable and the $2.00 cable the Comcast guy gave me. Now with V 1.3a and V1.3b there may be a difference, but I don't know for sure.


It is a digital cable, and depending on your other equipment, and length of run you don't have to spend a lot on an HDMI cable. The more you upgrade the more better cables become apparent. Now analog video(component), and analog audio is where you'll see the most improvement with cables.
Ben