Advice for Best Audio Cables

[zachlegomaniac]

Hello Everyone,

I've been using Radio Shack's basic mini to mini (3.5mm or 1/8") to connect my Bose speaker or car input to my iMac and iPhone for audio playback. The problem is that after six months or so the cable starts to drop a channel and/or put out a crackling noise.

Does anyone know of a good pro audio mini to mini (both male) cable of higher quality? Are the Monster cables, etc. on the Apple website worth the 20 or 25$, or is there another place to get quality cables online for a better price?

Thank you for your help.

Zach

 

[Capt Crunch]

Every single cable you ever buy should be bought from monoprice.com They are high quality and usually the cheapest option around. Really, buying cables is one of those things where getting a good deal doesn't reduce the quality an appreciable amount.

The only time you should ever buy a monster cable is if you don't have a toilet nearby to flush your money down.

 

[Dan--]

Monoprice is excellent.

Also, Blue Jeans Cable is reportedly excellent as well. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/

 

[fpnc]

I agree, buy from Monoprice. However, just be aware that the "premium" audio cables from Monoprice are HUGE (sold as "Premium 22AWG" cables). What I mean is that the connector strain relief, insulation and wires are probably three times the diameter that you will find from other sources. I don't know if this will mean that they will last longer and take more "abuse" but they are large enough that you may find them somewhat unwieldy or impractical. Thus, you may want to choose their regular cables (which also cost somewhat less, even though the premium cables are still cheap in comparison to most other stores).

 

[zachlegomaniac]

Wow. Thank you so much for referring me to monoprice. I don't even really treat the radio shack cables poorly (relatively low wear and tear), but they always end up in the trash much sooner than I feel they should.

The Monster Cables, on the other hand, are 8x more expensive. I wouldn't mind buying them if they were going to last for a long, long time, but it seems like I'll get a similar result for a much better price at monoprice (based on everyone's feedback).

Thanks again!

 

[DustinT]

Every single cable you ever buy should be bought from monoprice.com They are high quality and usually the cheapest option around. Really, buying cables is one of those things where getting a good deal doesn't reduce the quality an appreciable amount.

The only time you should ever buy a monster cable is if you don't have a toilet nearby to flush your money down.

Agreed. For the price of a Monster Cable you can probably buy half a dozen cables from Monoprice. Just toss them if\when they fail.

 

[mchalebk]

The single most important thing is to NOT buy Monster cables. They are way overpriced and the biggest waste of money imaginable.

Monoprice is an excellent source for good quality affordable cables.

 

[Dan--]

One last thing to keep in mind if you DO decide to get Monster Cables, is that they won't really be at their best unless you have your equipment properly powered through a Wattgate 381 Audio Grade socket.

Please see the reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Wattgate-Audi...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

[Username02]

one last thing to keep in mind if you do decide to get monster cables, is that they won't really be at their best unless you have your equipment properly powered through a wattgate 381 audio grade socket.

Please see the reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/wattgate-audi...dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=utf8&showviewpoints=1

qft!