Audio-Cable Reviews

This is a standard a.v. selector, made by monster cable. Monster cable does make some of the best cables around, they are all I use for my audio, even though they are a lil pricey. But monster means quality. But.... Its just not worth the price tag on this thing! For top of the line quality nothing beats this, but if you can afford this then you can afford a t.v. with 4 s video inputs such as the top of the line sony wega, so why not spend your money on that? Its good quality, but I think I'll spend my money for the $50 rca one, or even find another one for less, but if you got money to burn on a selector, go ahead, but the money can buy alot better things.

As a conventional S-video/composite video and analog audio switcher, the Entech Director AV4.1 may be a bit over-priced.

However, this is a high quality stuff with very wide bandwidth. Just how wide is it? Both composite video and analog audio signal path can switch HD component video with very minimal degradation (confirmed by Monster's engineer). Yup, this thing can double as a HD component video switcher (just plug in your Y, Pr, Br into composite video and analog audio pair).

As an automatic component video switcher, I think it is an attractive buy.

This is the best S-video switcher out there with the least degradation, period. What they didn't tell you is that it can also be used as a coaxial digital audio switcher (by using the video composite outputs & inputs), as well as a component video switcher (as suggested by the other reviewer) as long as you use high quality component video cables. In short, this unit is upgradable and for some TV which has only one S-Video input like mine, this is a must equipment.

I currently own a pair of Monster Z series speaker cable ... They are ok but definitely NOT worth that money... My mistake is your gain!!!!

Monster has earned the respect of installers like myself around the world. Believe me, I have asked hundreds of them which cables to use for High End Audio in Home Theatre applications and 90% recommend "Monster". If you take your time and "FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES TO SETTING UP YOUR SYSTEM" you will notice a difference. The trained eyes and ears are looking(at projection system or TV)and listening(to the Speakers) for DISTORTION or INTERFERRENCE, BUZZES or HUMMS, ROLLS or WAVES that cause signal loss. Monsters "Niche" is in the TWISTS & STRANDS, and jackets!! The more twists and strands - the less interference. Monster twists 75% more times than any other MFG on average. OK-----The CORRECT way to set up your system is to follow the MFG's "Initial Setup" instructions! I cannot stress this enough. I read the entire manual.It's not that long(15 minutes). It will save you days of headaches & complaints about it not sounding "just right"... I highly recommend "ALL" cables to be Monster and home runs(Separate Runs to Each Speaker)& minimalize unnecessary cable rolled up behind speaker or receiver. This causes "Signal Loss!!" AND "Use the MFG's provided Tech Support Line for all Installtion questions. I have been doing this for almost 15 years and I might call a MFG 2-3 times during an installation.]
It's free, they designed the system, they know more about it that anyone else - Why Not??? Last, but not least words of wisdom, do not run your speaker cables along side or under/over an "AC" line...That is Power... Power lines or extension cords should be ran separate from all other cables!! If you can't avoid it, cross them over at a 90 Degree Angle... This minimizes inteferrence. So far as the reviewers remark about Market Hype. To each his/her own. I might have a Porsche and you a Chevrolet, or vice versa. THE COST EFFECTIVE WAY TO PURCHASE MONSTER CABLE is to go online and buy in bulk spooled quantity(100,200,500ft). Draw and Measure your installation paths of all cable runs and add 50-100 extra feet for Mis-Calculations or mess ups, and go to Radioshack and get the appropriate end connectors for speakers and Receivers at both ends and you will SAVE A TON OF MONEY!!!
Jonathan Winter
AV + PLUS
Atlanta, Georgia

I've been listening to these cables for just 1wk, but really I only needed 1 day on my Martin Logan Aerius's to know it was well worth the money. Excellent highs, and tight base. Easily painted to match your decor.

Much to my shock, this pricey splitter delivered a worse signal than the one supplied by my cable company. The technician showed me why: right on the front of this splitter is printed the loss outputs for each connection (-7.4dB and -9.6dB). These losses are much higher than the splitter supplied by Adelphia (-3.5dB and -7dB). If you had good luck with this splitter, you may have a better signal coming into your house than I do. For those of us with cable signals that leave something to be desired, I don't think this splitter delivers.

This is a great splitter and provided my system with a much better picture than the one's Adelphia provides. I own a very sensative 51" Sony HDTV so I need the best signal I can get after my split. This splitter provided that for me. The previous review is wrong & I'm not sure where those numbers came from but the front of my splitter 2Ghz Monster Splitter says low-loss from 5mhz-1Ghz = -3.5dB and from 1Ghz-2Ghz -4.9dB. What this means is that it's the same low-loss as the Adelphia splitters considering the Adelphia splitter only goes up to 1Ghz. Along with the extra bandwidth, the overall build of the connections are better as well. If you have an HDTV or mid-range to high-end Direct View, this is the splitter to get. For those splitting their Internet cable line to watch TV in your PC room, again, this is the one to get.

2 words, YOU BET!!!
I was having a problem with my newly installed cable TV.
I had light and dark horizontal bands that would come and go, mostly come.
I had read that the splitters cable companies use are cheap and unsatisfactory.
I decided to spend a few extra dollars and go for the Monster 2 Gig 4 way splitter.
I installed the splitter and VIOLA! no more bands, perfect picture!
I also use Monster Video 2 coxial cable for the connection from the wall to the splitter and from the splitter to my DVD recorder.
If your picture quality is lacking and you're on the fence not wanting to fork out a few extra bucks, believe me it is definitely worth it.

This device is not worth the $30+ since the amplifier function is so hit and miss. With my car stereo & iPod mini the signal produced from the "amped" line-out on the charger is about 1/50th of the volume produced just by hooking the tape adapter into the normal audio-out on the iPod. I didn't even think the charger's line out was working at first until I cranked the stereo all the way up with the "amped" line out volume on max. Basically, I paid an extra $10 for a non-feature. In hindsight I should have ordered the DLO charger only for $20 from somewhere else because all I have is a charger.

I think that the folks that gave this product low ratings have electrical systems in their vehicles that are not compatible or are hooking it up wrong (somehow?). This charger should not have any effect on the hissing sound through a cassette adapter. There are many ways to use the line output with this product: If you have an aftermarket cd player that has a line input on the front of the head unit, you can use a 3$ mini stero jack cable and hook it up that way (from the ipod headphones or the Charger). Better yet, in my case my cd player has RCA line inputs on the back, so I just bought a Mini Stero Jack that splits to two RCA's and plugged them in...AWESOME SOUND!! I recommend the charger, and for me it works great!!

From my Car Stereo Head Unit, I bought a 15 dollar rca adapter to convert the CD changer port to a standard RCA Input. Go out and buy a 5 dollar RCA to Mini cable and connect that from the RCA adapter to the Auto Kit. Connect your IPOD to the Auto Kit, and away you go. The best sound you can get from your IPOD. No static Cassette, no low sound FM transmitter. Just straight RCA input into your Car Stereo.<br /> Total cost approx. 55 dollars to get the best out of your ipod while charging. After buying two cables and the Auto Kit. 1.5 years and still going...<br /> Worth the buy.

o.k let's face it. these cables are about one step up from the free ones that come in the box. i recommend these to someone with a weak, starter system. basically, they'll do the job until you can spring for more sophisticated cables , i highly recommend audioquest by the way. the key to a good sounding system is to keep it simple, meaning the less components you have hooked up to your amp or receiver, the less distortion will be made. i have two jbl 10's, a harman kardon stereo receiver, and a sony mega changer cd player. cablewise, i have a paire of audioquest coral analog connectors, and audioquest midnight speaker cable, a ten foot pair, the shorter the better when it comes to speaker cable, also, less expensive. i consider my home system low end and a starter system at best. while i have sunk about 2300 dollars into it, and to most people, non audiophiles, that is a lot ogf money, it really isn't when you look at all your options out there. one could easily spend 25, 30 grand building a system piece by piece, of course, using middle to high end equipment, not the junk that they want to sell you in best buy or circuit city. remember, when buying expensive audio equipment, especially online, make sure you are buying new, factory sealed product with manufacturer warranty. you'll see some insanely low prices out there on decent items, and chances are that they have been used, demoed, or factory refurbished at some point. all in all, these cables got me through about 6 months of listening and they sounded well enough, until i could afford better ones.

I am one of the great audiophiles of the world. I have spent over $7.5 million in the past 5 years on super-duper high-end equipment by high-end manufacturers that are so elite that you can't find a single reference to them anywhere on the internet, that's how high-end they are, let me tell you. And I have purchased many gold and platinum tipped cables, 10 foot cables which cost up to $120,000 each, searching for that magic cable that will take me to that next level of audio perfection. And I must say that these little $15.00 cables match the performance of any of the high-end thousand dollar cables I have used before.

For the perfect demo, there's a little 12 second, high-pitched, hyperactive yet quiet acoustic guitar solo on John McLaughlin's Shakti album, track 2, about 30 seconds into the track. And with these cables, that little solo is opaquified and, if your sitting in the sweet spot, you will see that the chrome tips brighten and transperify the treble to a such point of perfection, it is like seeing God. Of course, I have to add that I am using these cables with super-duper high end audio equipment valued at nearly $68 million. I admit that I enjoy listening to my system more than I like listening to music. I am constantly just sampling 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there on a Sade album, or on a Paco De Lucia album, just to demonstrate the high-endedness of my system. I have never listened to more than 15 seconds of a song on any of the hundreds of Super-Duper Audio Format CDs that I own. That's just me.

Anyway, I still recommend that you spend $100,000 on your primary cables, but these little $15.00 cables are something to try out, just for giggles.

Since the reviews for these products are all tied together, I'll lump all four of them together in one review.

Several recent additions and upgrades to two home theater systems necessitated several new audio and video cables. For overall quality and pricing, I found the following cables by Acoustic Research to be perfect for each particular connection that they are intended for:

Acoustic Research AP031 6-Foot Stereo Analog Interconnect - These are your standard red/white audio cables that are integral to connections such as receiver to tape player, receiver to CD player, receiver to television, receiver to DVD player and receiver to VCR. In each case, I found the quality to be perfect in these connections with Audio Research's AP031. They're so high in noise reduction that if there are any extraneous noises, I'm certainly not hearing it.

Acoustic Research AP064 A/V RCA Audio w/S-Video - These are the perfect cables for your standard receiver to VHS player with S-Video capability. With these particular cables I'm receiving the highest quality picture and audio one can expect from a VCR.

Acoustic Research AP071 6 foot Coaxial Digital Audio Cable - This particular cable is outstanding in the capacity of receiver to DVD player in covering both digital audio and digital video signals!

Acoustic Research AP091 3 Piece, 6 foot Red/Blue/Green Component Video Cables - I'm using this particular cable in the capacity of receiver to television set and simply put, one would be hard pressed to receive higher signal quality, color saturation, black level, picture detail, all leading to a sharper, clearer picture!

Overall, I highly recommend these and any other cables from Audio Research as I've found, with few exceptions, that one would be hard pressed to find better cables in the same price range! You don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money on a name when you can spend far less and receive the same quality such as that delivered by Acoustic Research's products. {ssintrepid}

o.k let's face it. these cables are about one step up from the free ones that come in the box. i recommend these to someone with a weak, starter system. basically, they'll do the job until you can spring for more sophisticated cables , i highly recommend audioquest by the way. the key to a good sounding system is to keep it simple, meaning the less components you have hooked up to your amp or receiver, the less distortion will be made. i have two jbl 10's, a harman kardon stereo receiver, and a sony mega changer cd player. cablewise, i have a paire of audioquest coral analog connectors, and audioquest midnight speaker cable, a ten foot pair, the shorter the better when it comes to speaker cable, also, less expensive. i consider my home system low end and a starter system at best. while i have sunk about 2300 dollars into it, and to most people, non audiophiles, that is a lot ogf money, it really isn't when you look at all your options out there. one could easily spend 25, 30 grand building a system piece by piece, of course, using middle to high end equipment, not the junk that they want to sell you in best buy or circuit city. remember, when buying expensive audio equipment, especially online, make sure you are buying new, factory sealed product with manufacturer warranty. you'll see some insanely low prices out there on decent items, and chances are that they have been used, demoed, or factory refurbished at some point. all in all, these cables got me through about 6 months of listening and they sounded well enough, until i could afford better ones.

I am one of the great audiophiles of the world. I have spent over $7.5 million in the past 5 years on super-duper high-end equipment by high-end manufacturers that are so elite that you can't find a single reference to them anywhere on the internet, that's how high-end they are, let me tell you. And I have purchased many gold and platinum tipped cables, 10 foot cables which cost up to $120,000 each, searching for that magic cable that will take me to that next level of audio perfection. And I must say that these little $15.00 cables match the performance of any of the high-end thousand dollar cables I have used before.

For the perfect demo, there's a little 12 second, high-pitched, hyperactive yet quiet acoustic guitar solo on John McLaughlin's Shakti album, track 2, about 30 seconds into the track. And with these cables, that little solo is opaquified and, if your sitting in the sweet spot, you will see that the chrome tips brighten and transperify the treble to a such point of perfection, it is like seeing God. Of course, I have to add that I am using these cables with super-duper high end audio equipment valued at nearly $68 million. I admit that I enjoy listening to my system more than I like listening to music. I am constantly just sampling 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there on a Sade album, or on a Paco De Lucia album, just to demonstrate the high-endedness of my system. I have never listened to more than 15 seconds of a song on any of the hundreds of Super-Duper Audio Format CDs that I own. That's just me.

Anyway, I still recommend that you spend $100,000 on your primary cables, but these little $15.00 cables are something to try out, just for giggles.

Since the reviews for these products are all tied together, I'll lump all four of them together in one review.

Several recent additions and upgrades to two home theater systems necessitated several new audio and video cables. For overall quality and pricing, I found the following cables by Acoustic Research to be perfect for each particular connection that they are intended for:

Acoustic Research AP031 6-Foot Stereo Analog Interconnect - These are your standard red/white audio cables that are integral to connections such as receiver to tape player, receiver to CD player, receiver to television, receiver to DVD player and receiver to VCR. In each case, I found the quality to be perfect in these connections with Audio Research's AP031. They're so high in noise reduction that if there are any extraneous noises, I'm certainly not hearing it.

Acoustic Research AP064 A/V RCA Audio w/S-Video - These are the perfect cables for your standard receiver to VHS player with S-Video capability. With these particular cables I'm receiving the highest quality picture and audio one can expect from a VCR.

Acoustic Research AP071 6 foot Coaxial Digital Audio Cable - This particular cable is outstanding in the capacity of receiver to DVD player in covering both digital audio and digital video signals!

Acoustic Research AP091 3 Piece, 6 foot Red/Blue/Green Component Video Cables - I'm using this particular cable in the capacity of receiver to television set and simply put, one would be hard pressed to receive higher signal quality, color saturation, black level, picture detail, all leading to a sharper, clearer picture!

Overall, I highly recommend these and any other cables from Audio Research as I've found, with few exceptions, that one would be hard pressed to find better cables in the same price range! You don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money on a name when you can spend far less and receive the same quality such as that delivered by Acoustic Research's products. {ssintrepid}

o.k let's face it. these cables are about one step up from the free ones that come in the box. i recommend these to someone with a weak, starter system. basically, they'll do the job until you can spring for more sophisticated cables , i highly recommend audioquest by the way. the key to a good sounding system is to keep it simple, meaning the less components you have hooked up to your amp or receiver, the less distortion will be made. i have two jbl 10's, a harman kardon stereo receiver, and a sony mega changer cd player. cablewise, i have a paire of audioquest coral analog connectors, and audioquest midnight speaker cable, a ten foot pair, the shorter the better when it comes to speaker cable, also, less expensive. i consider my home system low end and a starter system at best. while i have sunk about 2300 dollars into it, and to most people, non audiophiles, that is a lot ogf money, it really isn't when you look at all your options out there. one could easily spend 25, 30 grand building a system piece by piece, of course, using middle to high end equipment, not the junk that they want to sell you in best buy or circuit city. remember, when buying expensive audio equipment, especially online, make sure you are buying new, factory sealed product with manufacturer warranty. you'll see some insanely low prices out there on decent items, and chances are that they have been used, demoed, or factory refurbished at some point. all in all, these cables got me through about 6 months of listening and they sounded well enough, until i could afford better ones.

I am one of the great audiophiles of the world. I have spent over $7.5 million in the past 5 years on super-duper high-end equipment by high-end manufacturers that are so elite that you can't find a single reference to them anywhere on the internet, that's how high-end they are, let me tell you. And I have purchased many gold and platinum tipped cables, 10 foot cables which cost up to $120,000 each, searching for that magic cable that will take me to that next level of audio perfection. And I must say that these little $15.00 cables match the performance of any of the high-end thousand dollar cables I have used before.

For the perfect demo, there's a little 12 second, high-pitched, hyperactive yet quiet acoustic guitar solo on John McLaughlin's Shakti album, track 2, about 30 seconds into the track. And with these cables, that little solo is opaquified and, if your sitting in the sweet spot, you will see that the chrome tips brighten and transperify the treble to a such point of perfection, it is like seeing God. Of course, I have to add that I am using these cables with super-duper high end audio equipment valued at nearly $68 million. I admit that I enjoy listening to my system more than I like listening to music. I am constantly just sampling 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there on a Sade album, or on a Paco De Lucia album, just to demonstrate the high-endedness of my system. I have never listened to more than 15 seconds of a song on any of the hundreds of Super-Duper Audio Format CDs that I own. That's just me.

Anyway, I still recommend that you spend $100,000 on your primary cables, but these little $15.00 cables are something to try out, just for giggles.

Since the reviews for these products are all tied together, I'll lump all four of them together in one review.

Several recent additions and upgrades to two home theater systems necessitated several new audio and video cables. For overall quality and pricing, I found the following cables by Acoustic Research to be perfect for each particular connection that they are intended for:

Acoustic Research AP031 6-Foot Stereo Analog Interconnect - These are your standard red/white audio cables that are integral to connections such as receiver to tape player, receiver to CD player, receiver to television, receiver to DVD player and receiver to VCR. In each case, I found the quality to be perfect in these connections with Audio Research's AP031. They're so high in noise reduction that if there are any extraneous noises, I'm certainly not hearing it.

Acoustic Research AP064 A/V RCA Audio w/S-Video - These are the perfect cables for your standard receiver to VHS player with S-Video capability. With these particular cables I'm receiving the highest quality picture and audio one can expect from a VCR.

Acoustic Research AP071 6 foot Coaxial Digital Audio Cable - This particular cable is outstanding in the capacity of receiver to DVD player in covering both digital audio and digital video signals!

Acoustic Research AP091 3 Piece, 6 foot Red/Blue/Green Component Video Cables - I'm using this particular cable in the capacity of receiver to television set and simply put, one would be hard pressed to receive higher signal quality, color saturation, black level, picture detail, all leading to a sharper, clearer picture!

Overall, I highly recommend these and any other cables from Audio Research as I've found, with few exceptions, that one would be hard pressed to find better cables in the same price range! You don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money on a name when you can spend far less and receive the same quality such as that delivered by Acoustic Research's products. {ssintrepid}

o.k let's face it. these cables are about one step up from the free ones that come in the box. i recommend these to someone with a weak, starter system. basically, they'll do the job until you can spring for more sophisticated cables , i highly recommend audioquest by the way. the key to a good sounding system is to keep it simple, meaning the less components you have hooked up to your amp or receiver, the less distortion will be made. i have two jbl 10's, a harman kardon stereo receiver, and a sony mega changer cd player. cablewise, i have a paire of audioquest coral analog connectors, and audioquest midnight speaker cable, a ten foot pair, the shorter the better when it comes to speaker cable, also, less expensive. i consider my home system low end and a starter system at best. while i have sunk about 2300 dollars into it, and to most people, non audiophiles, that is a lot ogf money, it really isn't when you look at all your options out there. one could easily spend 25, 30 grand building a system piece by piece, of course, using middle to high end equipment, not the junk that they want to sell you in best buy or circuit city. remember, when buying expensive audio equipment, especially online, make sure you are buying new, factory sealed product with manufacturer warranty. you'll see some insanely low prices out there on decent items, and chances are that they have been used, demoed, or factory refurbished at some point. all in all, these cables got me through about 6 months of listening and they sounded well enough, until i could afford better ones.

I am one of the great audiophiles of the world. I have spent over $7.5 million in the past 5 years on super-duper high-end equipment by high-end manufacturers that are so elite that you can't find a single reference to them anywhere on the internet, that's how high-end they are, let me tell you. And I have purchased many gold and platinum tipped cables, 10 foot cables which cost up to $120,000 each, searching for that magic cable that will take me to that next level of audio perfection. And I must say that these little $15.00 cables match the performance of any of the high-end thousand dollar cables I have used before.

For the perfect demo, there's a little 12 second, high-pitched, hyperactive yet quiet acoustic guitar solo on John McLaughlin's Shakti album, track 2, about 30 seconds into the track. And with these cables, that little solo is opaquified and, if your sitting in the sweet spot, you will see that the chrome tips brighten and transperify the treble to a such point of perfection, it is like seeing God. Of course, I have to add that I am using these cables with super-duper high end audio equipment valued at nearly $68 million. I admit that I enjoy listening to my system more than I like listening to music. I am constantly just sampling 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there on a Sade album, or on a Paco De Lucia album, just to demonstrate the high-endedness of my system. I have never listened to more than 15 seconds of a song on any of the hundreds of Super-Duper Audio Format CDs that I own. That's just me.

Anyway, I still recommend that you spend $100,000 on your primary cables, but these little $15.00 cables are something to try out, just for giggles.

Since the reviews for these products are all tied together, I'll lump all four of them together in one review.

Several recent additions and upgrades to two home theater systems necessitated several new audio and video cables. For overall quality and pricing, I found the following cables by Acoustic Research to be perfect for each particular connection that they are intended for:

Acoustic Research AP031 6-Foot Stereo Analog Interconnect - These are your standard red/white audio cables that are integral to connections such as receiver to tape player, receiver to CD player, receiver to television, receiver to DVD player and receiver to VCR. In each case, I found the quality to be perfect in these connections with Audio Research's AP031. They're so high in noise reduction that if there are any extraneous noises, I'm certainly not hearing it.

Acoustic Research AP064 A/V RCA Audio w/S-Video - These are the perfect cables for your standard receiver to VHS player with S-Video capability. With these particular cables I'm receiving the highest quality picture and audio one can expect from a VCR.

Acoustic Research AP071 6 foot Coaxial Digital Audio Cable - This particular cable is outstanding in the capacity of receiver to DVD player in covering both digital audio and digital video signals!

Acoustic Research AP091 3 Piece, 6 foot Red/Blue/Green Component Video Cables - I'm using this particular cable in the capacity of receiver to television set and simply put, one would be hard pressed to receive higher signal quality, color saturation, black level, picture detail, all leading to a sharper, clearer picture!

Overall, I highly recommend these and any other cables from Audio Research as I've found, with few exceptions, that one would be hard pressed to find better cables in the same price range! You don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money on a name when you can spend far less and receive the same quality such as that delivered by Acoustic Research's products. {ssintrepid}

o.k let's face it. these cables are about one step up from the free ones that come in the box. i recommend these to someone with a weak, starter system. basically, they'll do the job until you can spring for more sophisticated cables , i highly recommend audioquest by the way. the key to a good sounding system is to keep it simple, meaning the less components you have hooked up to your amp or receiver, the less distortion will be made. i have two jbl 10's, a harman kardon stereo receiver, and a sony mega changer cd player. cablewise, i have a paire of audioquest coral analog connectors, and audioquest midnight speaker cable, a ten foot pair, the shorter the better when it comes to speaker cable, also, less expensive. i consider my home system low end and a starter system at best. while i have sunk about 2300 dollars into it, and to most people, non audiophiles, that is a lot ogf money, it really isn't when you look at all your options out there. one could easily spend 25, 30 grand building a system piece by piece, of course, using middle to high end equipment, not the junk that they want to sell you in best buy or circuit city. remember, when buying expensive audio equipment, especially online, make sure you are buying new, factory sealed product with manufacturer warranty. you'll see some insanely low prices out there on decent items, and chances are that they have been used, demoed, or factory refurbished at some point. all in all, these cables got me through about 6 months of listening and they sounded well enough, until i could afford better ones.

I am one of the great audiophiles of the world. I have spent over $7.5 million in the past 5 years on super-duper high-end equipment by high-end manufacturers that are so elite that you can't find a single reference to them anywhere on the internet, that's how high-end they are, let me tell you. And I have purchased many gold and platinum tipped cables, 10 foot cables which cost up to $120,000 each, searching for that magic cable that will take me to that next level of audio perfection. And I must say that these little $15.00 cables match the performance of any of the high-end thousand dollar cables I have used before.

For the perfect demo, there's a little 12 second, high-pitched, hyperactive yet quiet acoustic guitar solo on John McLaughlin's Shakti album, track 2, about 30 seconds into the track. And with these cables, that little solo is opaquified and, if your sitting in the sweet spot, you will see that the chrome tips brighten and transperify the treble to a such point of perfection, it is like seeing God. Of course, I have to add that I am using these cables with super-duper high end audio equipment valued at nearly $68 million. I admit that I enjoy listening to my system more than I like listening to music. I am constantly just sampling 10 seconds here and 15 seconds there on a Sade album, or on a Paco De Lucia album, just to demonstrate the high-endedness of my system. I have never listened to more than 15 seconds of a song on any of the hundreds of Super-Duper Audio Format CDs that I own. That's just me.

Anyway, I still recommend that you spend $100,000 on your primary cables, but these little $15.00 cables are something to try out, just for giggles.

Since the reviews for these products are all tied together, I'll lump all four of them together in one review.

Several recent additions and upgrades to two home theater systems necessitated several new audio and video cables. For overall quality and pricing, I found the following cables by Acoustic Research to be perfect for each particular connection that they are intended for:

Acoustic Research AP031 6-Foot Stereo Analog Interconnect - These are your standard red/white audio cables that are integral to connections such as receiver to tape player, receiver to CD player, receiver to television, receiver to DVD player and receiver to VCR. In each case, I found the quality to be perfect in these connections with Audio Research's AP031. They're so high in noise reduction that if there are any extraneous noises, I'm certainly not hearing it.

Acoustic Research AP064 A/V RCA Audio w/S-Video - These are the perfect cables for your standard receiver to VHS player with S-Video capability. With these particular cables I'm receiving the highest quality picture and audio one can expect from a VCR.

Acoustic Research AP071 6 foot Coaxial Digital Audio Cable - This particular cable is outstanding in the capacity of receiver to DVD player in covering both digital audio and digital video signals!

Acoustic Research AP091 3 Piece, 6 foot Red/Blue/Green Component Video Cables - I'm using this particular cable in the capacity of receiver to television set and simply put, one would be hard pressed to receive higher signal quality, color saturation, black level, picture detail, all leading to a sharper, clearer picture!

Overall, I highly recommend these and any other cables from Audio Research as I've found, with few exceptions, that one would be hard pressed to find better cables in the same price range! You don't necessarily have to spend a ton of money on a name when you can spend far less and receive the same quality such as that delivered by Acoustic Research's products. {ssintrepid}

I've had a few days of listening time with this "great" new speaker wire installed and I must say I am thoroughly disappointed. Between my wife and I playing several different DVD's and CD's we have not been able to hear any differences. This is in comparison to the 16 gauge bulk cable I've had installed for the year I have had my surround sound system...

Yes, it's way too expensive. This variation is in MC's 'budget' level, and it's still $.65/ft! That's outrageous, compared to what you can get by going to a wire & cable wholesaler and buying a couple of hundred feet.

Will you be able to tell the difference between this and any other cable? Chances are 'no'. Much more goes in to the quality of your sound system than cabling. Often (and rightfully so), cable is identified as a real 'weak link' in system performance. However, even excellent cable will not improve performance with otherwise second-rate components. Invest in high-quality cable interconnects between devices, good speakers and a good receiver before focusing on speaker cable.

Is the price of Monster Cable worth the performance gain? Maybe. The real question is, is there actually a performance gain over other cable? In actual fact, Monster Cable provides sizeable endurance gains over other cable where performance is matched (usually these are just instrument readings anyway, whose tolerances are much tighter than the difference between a $200 amp and a $2000 amp, for instance). MC manufactures all its cable by individually jacketing all wire, then injecting inert gasses into the jackets to push (and ostensibly, keep) oxygen away from the copper. They do this to stem the tide of oxydation along the cable run, which can drastically decrease performance over thet course of several years.

So with that in mind, you should ask yourself how many times (all other things being equal) in your lifetime you would like to replace your speaker cable. Multiply that times the cost of your preferred cable and then compare; MC is more likely to provide a cost benefit in these terms.

That said, I would never spring for MC in a professional setting. With the cost of wiring a professional facility far outstripping a high-quality home theater (or the like) because of the number and variety of cable runs required, I'd always prefer the size, variety and cost of Belden or Mogami. Things change quickly in the pro setting, and installed cable runs may or may not be used for their intended purposes (or even their intended owners) years from now. Often it's cheaper to re-wire a facility than to repurpose existing cabling. With home theater, changes are typically far less destructive and facilities are likely to exist and be used for many years.

Another thing I'd never do is spring for even more expensive (!) Monster Cable lines. At that level, you're paying much more money for instrument readings than what your ears think. Many of these products have very good instrument readings, and are engineered with meaningful, heartfelt considerations, and they still sound the same to the ears. Justify MC by saying "I don't want my cable to rust" instead of marketing-speak like "I can really hear the tight, deep bass!"

Somebody at Best Buy will try to guilt-trip you into buying MC. This is understandable; MC is usually the only choice in top-quality cable at retailers, and the built-in outrageous price makes a good bottom-line crutch for Best Buy and Monster. Still, if BB is your only local option, you might as well invest in MC, since you won't be able to quickly replace something from a remote wholesaler. And if you already have Monster Cable installed, stick with it; you don't want your left front and right surround speakers going south three years before the rest of them, for example.

All things considered, you should consider MC only if you want to build-in several more years of top-notch performance into your system before oxydation pulls it down, not if you're looking to improve performance in any way. Your money is best spent elsewhere first. Weigh factors like how long you'll keep the installation in place against the price benefits of cheaper, more professional cable like Belden. You should consider MC if you're not installing an entire system at once, since it will be easy to add a few runs of the same type and spec of MC with a trip to Best Buy. Just don't do it for "tight, deep bass"; you'll only be disappointed.

Probably doesn't deserve four full stars, but this category's rating could use an improvement.

this wire is cheaper on amazon then i've ever seen even at best buy. the wire is nearly invisible and a offers great sound at a great price.. BUY IT ITS AWESOME WIRE