Quality of Voom supplied component video cables?

[bnl107]

I'm using the component video cables originally supplied with my Voom system. I'm thinking of buying Monster Cables to replace them. Has anyone done this? If so, is there enough of an improvement in picture quality to justify the $75-$100 cable upgrade? Anyone have any other cable brands to recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[barth2k]

some think it makes a difference. many think it's for suckers who think "I paid $5000 for the TV; why go cheap for the cables?". Personally, I think it's an emperor's new clothes thing.

 

[Pete In Plano]

I have tested Monster cables for audio and can not tell a difference, other that the inflated price. Now, a real cheap cable will degredate the signal, but a good quality off the shelf cable should be fine. And the Monster speaker cables I had, the connectors fell off, so the looseness of the connector on them definitely would mess with the signal.

 

[Ron61250]

I can not see one bit of difference btwn. the supplied cables and cables much more expensive.Myself, I would save the money. Ron

 

[andrzej]

It really depends on the quality and sensitivity of other components in your HT setup. For my 27" CRT I use cheapo component cables and for my plasma I use Silver Serpent. Why? Because I couldn't tell the difference in PQ between the cables when connected to my 27" CRT but I did see a difference on my plasma. Same goes for ambient lighting, power conditioning etc. You can read hot discussions about these subjects on AVSForum.

 

[SpringsGuy]

I definetely noticed enough of a difference on my 57" Hitachi HDTV. I bought a $100 set of monster component cables and a week later i bought a $100 DVI-D cable.. And of course i have voom's cheap component cables.. I gave them all a try, and with voom's component cables the picture on HD channels weren't very crisp or clear kinda a dull picture.. With the DVI-D cable it also did not look as good as i thought it would. The picture seemed faded and when i changed channels i received alot of snow on the picture. I loved the monster component cables, the picture is spectacular very bright and detailed. I am hooked big time watching anything that is being piped threw in HD.. VOOM YOU ROCK...

 

[KeithQ]

Yes, there is a difference, but it costs...

Having spent a year and a half selling Monster cables (along with HDTVs, home theater, etc.) I can testify to some of the differences. Not everyone can tell that much of a difference just like not everyone can tell the differences between wines. Sometimes it is just a matter of taste.

If you have that opportunity to visit a high end electronics store, they should be able to demonstrate cable differences, especiallly between composite, s-video, component and DVI. That should be obvvious to most. Differences between variants of Monster component cables however is a bit harder to see and some TVs may or may not even show the differences.

I know you can make a cheap DVD player and TV look marginally better with expensive cables and you can make a really expensive TV look like crap with the cables they give away in the box. I've done it before for customer demos.

The comment about spending $5000 on a TV (so why not spend more on cables) is pretty close to the mark. I would not try to sell a set of $200 Monster Z cables to a guy with a $49 DVD player and an RCA 27" television. However, they person who just bought a Mits Diamond or a $6000+ plasma would definitely benefit from a better cable.

Look at it this way, if we are only talking about component cables (not DVI vs component), the more shielding you have, the less signal loss you have and the more of the 'picture' that appears. If you could use a 3 foot cable running it where no other electronics or power supplies/cables were near it, no problem. Most of us can't do that however.

If you are looking at Monster, I went with their THX cables for my video and Z cables for front L/R and Center speakers. On speaker cables, it makes a huge difference in sound. In video, it does make a difference, but a lot depends on what source you are displaying, what equipment is between source and TV (are you A/V switching via a receiver and if so, does that receiver have decent video processing), etc.

Again, if you go to a higher end store, try the cables out compared to what comes "in the box". If it doesn't improve, take them back. Or get them off eBay and take your chances.

Good luck.

 

[squicken]

I read this in every conversation about cables: Unless it's a long cable run, cheap DVI cables are fine.