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Don’t get robbed when buying HDMI cables

April 24th, 2007 by Mike in Audio/Video Gadgets

Monster HDMI Cable
Ever walked into a Best Buy looking for an HDMI cable? I guarantee you were shocked when you saw they were at least $60 each. The most expensive one probably went for $120. You don’t have to, and shouldn’t, pay that much for an HDMI (or any type of cable really) cable, especially when there’s no real difference between those hyped up Monster cables and your generic black one. I’ll give you that the Monster ones look cooler though, but you’re not actually looking at the cable, are you?

For cheap yet high quality cables, I recommend MonoPrice. They’re highly rated throughout the tech community and have unbeatable prices. Personally, I haven’t used them yet, but will be soon as I’ll need some new Toslink cables soon. Anyway, I’ll just do some comparisons:

Monster 8′ HDMI is $150, while MonoPrice sells a 10′ HDMI cable for $7.10. On the site, they have hundreds of different cables, adapters, and pretty much anything else you could possibly need for your computer, speakers, TVs, and any other electronic device.

One more, just for fun:

Monster has a “cheap” 6′ component cable for $40, while MonoPrice has it for $18. That’s not as much savings as the HDMI cable, but it’s a lot cheaper.

And while Monster and all those other fancy cable makers will try to make their HDMI cables seem better, they’re really not. HDMI is a digital signal, and it either works or it doesn’t. And when you’re dealing with analog signals, the average bear doesn’t need those expensive Monster cables, just get some from MonoPrice or even the cheaper ones at BestBuy. Acoustic Research has fairly cheap cables in retail stores, including Best Buy.

Please, don’t spend more than you need to on cables!

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7 Comments on “Don’t get robbed when buying HDMI cables”

Shawn Says:

April 24th, 2007 at 6:38 pm

Even better… 6 footer for on 3 dollars.

http://www.gadgetgrid.com/2007/03/30/salegrid-6-foot-gold-plated-hdmi-cable-for-only-390/

Brett Says:

April 24th, 2007 at 8:27 pm

Mono Price is great. Firefold is another that regularly pushes cable deals.
Sometimes ejectit.com
midnightbox.com sometimes
thingafling.com sometimes
I’ve bought “mystery” box of cables from a couple of these which have had
several brand name (maybe not monster but good name) - like 20 for $20 had 2 or 3 hdmi cables, 2 or 3 composite video, etc. (most are 6 to 8 ft; 25 ft ethernet)
I’ve also bought firewire and sata cables for a couple dollars.

maybe dealsquared.com
maybe lunarloot.com
maybe strongidea.com

all can be found on dodtracker.com and zerodaydeals.com

Xavier Says:

April 24th, 2007 at 10:24 pm

I agree, retailers probably do this because when you’re making a big purchase like a $2000 TV, $60 for a cable seems insignificant. A rip off all the same. Same goes when you’re buying a new notebook and the clerk tries to sell you software, accessories and printers.

Ted Kinesary Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 12:32 am

Mike -

How can you recommend Monoprice cables when you “haven’t used them yet”? Just on the word of others?

I gotta tell you — i see alot of posts out there for Monoprice, and I’ve contacted a few posters who have later come back and said the cables failed or fell apart not long after.

Are you a blogger for Mono?

Rob Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 6:38 am

There are many other places to get cables - the jist of the article is dead on though, Monster cables are a huge marked up waste of money. The only way any cable can fail is by the ends falling off or a contact coming unsoldered. I’ve never seen that happen except to cable monkeys who keep plugging/unplugging their cables.

Latest Gadget Gallery » Coolest Gadgets Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 1:08 pm

[...] Don’t get robbed when buying HDMI cables [...]

Marc Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 2:18 pm

Just to redress the balance a bit - the various monster cables I’ve seen/used have all been pretty decent. That’s not to say that there’s not some (lots of?) mark-up for brand and packaging but you do get a consistent quality and you won’t be left with something poor. Quality of materials and construction does make a difference, especially when you’re playing at the mid/high end of the market.

You need to visit audiophile land though to find truly silly cable prices. Take a look at this link for a heart attack (but bear in mind that the sort of systems that use these cables typically cost about as much as a mid range car so it’s all proportional!)

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