I'm a big believer of cables...if the system calls for it. 5%-15% is not unreasonable in a high end system. My review of the Nordost Red Dawns is evidence of that.
I had been using generic interconnects in my solidly mid-fi home theater system. You know, the interconnects that came with your components. I decided it was time to upgrade, but I didn't want to spend alot of cash. I had heard good things about the Radio Shack interconnects. They claim to offer good sound and build quality at a budget price. So I went to my local store to check them out. They looked nice enough with their thick gold plated ends, so I purchased them to replace all the cables in my system. The total came to about $150. A pretty great price considering I got about a dozen interconnects. So I hooked them up to my system and fired it up. I noticed not difference in picture or audio quality. This was odd. There must be some difference. So I disconnected the Radio Shack interconnects. In the process, one of the gold plated ends came off. I looked at it, and it was simply crimped around the wire. Then I examined the internal portion of the interconnect. It was 70% core, 20% insulation, and 10% copper wire! There were about 20 strands total! So I cut open the generic wire to compare. There was a much smaller core, and thinner insulation, but the copper wire count was about the same!

So basically I got a better looking, less durable, interconnect for $11 for a 2 meter pair! This was a ripoff! Of course I wasn't expecting a major difference in build, sound, or picture quality, but at least a slight improvement for my modest investment was expected.

The next day all $150 worth went back. The clerk gained an attitude when he saw all the taped-up packages. The manager asked what was wrong, and I showed him the broken one and informed him that these were of poor quality, even for the budget price.

Radio Shack Gold interconnects are no bargain. Sure, they're cheaply price, but they are also cheaply made and sound cheap.

Later that day I went to one of my local hi-fi shops and bought a bunch of Monster Cable Standard interconnects for $10 for 2 m. They are made better, sound better (I did notice a slight improvement over the generic cables) and were cheaper! I suggest people look Monster Standard for the cheapest decent interconnect for a low-fi/mid-fi home theater setup.

Too bad Monster doesn't make the interconnects for Radio Shack like they do their speaker cable. Then they'd have two good things going for them.

Associated Components:

Mitsubishi 40" Diamond Line
Panasonic A-310 DVD player
Sony Hi-fi VCR
Harman/Kardon PA5800 amplifier
Yamaha 592 receiver (acting as a pre/pro)
Yamaha DDP-2 decoder
B&W DM302 speakers (front rear)
B&W CC3 center channel
Velodyne VA1012XII subwoofer
Monster Cable Opitical cable
Radio Shack Mega Cable Flatwire 14 ga.
Lovan Affiniti Racks and Stands

I have been using RS Gold Interconnects for Audio and Video for the last few months and these are my humble opinions.
For audio, I felt the RS Golds were a definite improvement over the OEM interconnects, though not nearly as good as some AudioQuest and Van den Hul I have in other parts of my systems. IMHO, the soundstaging and balance were simply not up to the same level as the bigger budget cables. Still, at the RS price, I thought they were a cost-effective replacement to the chintzy OEM wires. I'd give them 3 stars for performance and 4 stars for value. If you can spend more, I think RS Gold is still a good alternative for tape decks (the 4-connector ribbon is very handy for this application), vcr audio and maybe to replace the little jumpers btwn pre and amp on many receivers (shame that RS Gold doesn't come in anything shorter than 36in.).

For video, it was like getting a new TV! The color levels showed better saturation and the picture just seemed simply cleaner. Not having had any experience with big budget wire, I'd give RS Gold 4 stars for performance and 5 stars for value.

i had a hard time choosing between a brand name or radio shack. overall, it did not matter. i bought these babies, anyway. they do not disappoint. color saturation and detail seems fine. as far as sound, who really knows. i guess if joe kane educated me to the best of his abilities i might be a little more critical. however, i am a firm believer in line conditioners and any other signal enhancing tools. so, i have been satisfied. i know i saved plenty of money. this owner highly recommends these cables if you are not into buying a product (such as cables) because an advertisement claims they are (probably) better. in any case, open these cables up. trust me: they are built quite well.

great cable for the money. nicely built. very good sound and open soundstage.

radio shack label

Great cable for the money. I didn't get them fopr the on slae price. I paid 25 dollars a piece for them a few years ago. I don't believe in spending mase amount of money for cables, so these hit the mark for me.

Similar Products Used:

audio quest topaz

Good solid cables that do the job

ugly

Radio shack gold cables are the best cables for the money out there. I have used Monster and Tributaries and can tell no difference.If you want to spend a lot of money for the other high end cables, you would be better off spending it on speakers where it really makes a difference.

Shielded, cheap

no 1.5 foot length, connectors kind of flimsy

I bought one of these to connect my CD player to a sampler I just bought and was blown away [I was using cheapo stuff before] by how much cleaner they sounded. If you're like me and are using every jack on the back of your reciever, upgrading to really good cable would cost me an arm and a leg.

One other reason I noticed such a difference is that I live in a very EM-active area [major broadcast antenna .5 miles away, electric bus line outside window]. In an urban environment, any kind of shielded cable will improve things a lot.

a couple of other random notes:
-these things are thick. not having .5 meter length means lots of curled cable between your components.
-The connectors are a little flimsy feeling, but once they're on it doesn't really matter

In conclusion, I use these for all my analog connections in my system and am quite pleased. If you're buying $150/foot cable, these are not for you.

Price, Build Quality

These a good cables for the money. For most moderately priced systems these cables are more than adequate. I replace some Audioquest cabling with these with no noticable sound differences.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest Turquoise

OK if you have a Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's etc... CD player and reciever and some Bose speaker or a "rack system". Otherwise, buy some real cables, there are plenty out there less than $75-$100.

Cheap for what you get. Way better than that Stock Terrible cable that comes in the box with you gear

Yes, grips that ground like no tomorrow, but allot better and easier than those "Turbo" Connections that Monster loves to use.

First of all lets not carried away here. If you think this cable is a giant killer, keep looking and listening. Now for those great projects or systems that need some decent interconnects, these will do fine. Plus, you have a Radio Shack close to home,right?? There you go. I use my Gold Connects on all my Multimedia projects with no hassles, and the sound is still pretty darn respectable all told for the $$$. Even works fine as a Composite Video cable in a pinch, but I probably advise against long term for critical viewing. My project studio mixer has a long 20' plus cable going to my pre amp of my other main system, and no hum, or other unhappy artifacts rear thier ugly head. Just Sound, and nothing more. The Black rubber/PVC(??) sheath is plenty tough with the spring loaded ferrules to boot. Color coded rings make channel identification easier though not as clear as a "RED" and "WHITE" colored ferrule, but it looks so trick with the knurling on the barrels. I could tell my buddies that this cable is by someone else of a bigger name and he would buy that if he had not checked the cable up close. Sound?? Yeah it is not perfect, but what do want for $20.00 bucks. The midrange is congested, the highs actually not too bad, and Bass that is just a bit thin, but hey I could say the same for those cheapy Monsters and others out there too. So for the cheap seats price, the RS cables are just fine for the job. They never let me down, or damage my gear like the Monsters can with those Turbo connectors. So sound that is better than you have a right to ask, and decent build and the "almost" free price, and you have a great reliable buy. Just find you nearest Radio Shack, and you are set for those great projects including these cables. Enjoy. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Monster,Audioquest,Pro Co,Audio Technica,Tara Labs and of course Radio Shack cables of one variety or another including these.

Decent quality cable,I guess...Slightly different sound than Radio Shack standard interconnects?!

Possibly,a slightly "thin" sound,but airy.

I am not a cable-connoissuer,by any stretch of the imagination,but I can hear things-very strange,very phantasmagoric things,sometimes.But..,back to the subject of audio-interconnects!I have only ventured but cautiously into the jungle of wiredom,and,I do not think I ever will go on much of a safari.But I can say that while much of what Exotic wires seem to offer,based on my own hearsay-hunting,review-reading,etc..,has to do maybe less with actual "improvements" than with individual tastes.For instance,I prefer my Rockford-Fosgate-thick-blue-triple-shielded-interconnects to the Radio Shack Golds because the R.S.Golds,while "airy and clean" sounding,sound a little bit "tizzy" to me,"thinner",and not as "fat and rich" as the Rockford's,while giving less detail.Maybe the Rockford's are geared toward auto-sound,where all so many people care about is fat bass? All I know is,some may prefer one type of distortion,some will crave another type.All electronically reproduced sound is one flavor or another of distortion,so I know that $100 is the most that I will ever "distort" my wallet for a one meter pair of Interconnects,and I will ask to audition a given set or two before buying.Let the audio-dealer earn his keep,and beware of "snake-oil"..?

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack standards,Rockford-Fosgate triple shielded.