I'm usually not a fan of anything "Monster" (other than Monster energy drinks). Their cables are vastly overpriced for what you get and they are just able to charge the huge markup due to the name - which the major stores have bought into since the bigger the markup, the more profit for the stores.

However, after trying to thread some 12 AWG speaker wire into my new receiver, I ran into problems. It was just too thick. It could have been done, but just not easily. So I bought some banana clips from Monoprice.com. However, the clips haven't arrived yet (probably will today...I'm just impatient) and they are coupled together - which probably will work, but I didn't want to take the chance (or wait).

So I went to Fry's and checked what they had. They did have a set of four banana clips from another maker, and I did buy those since they were $13 instead of Monster's $20, but they only had one set. So for the front three speakers, I broke down and spent another $10 per speaker to get banana clips from Monster. So after I installed the "cheap" banana speakers for my surround units, I moved on to the new speaker wire (found some great wire in a Navajo color, so it blends with my baseboards - the front towers are not wired into the walls like the surrounds are). I stripped it down and then went about installing the Monster banana clips. And boy, these things are a pleasure to work with.

Whereas the "cheap" (they were of good quality, just a different type) banana clips had you threading the wire through the side and clamping it down, the Monster clips go on as an "end" of sorts so you have wire coming out of the back, rather than the side. You just thread the speaker wire through, fan it out at the end, screw on the connector, and they're ready. Plugging in all the banana clips into my receiver, the Monster clips were extremely easy to connect and you didn't have to worry about wires poking out the sides. So, while pricey, they are well worth every penny and for a 5.1 setup, the $50 you spend on the banana clips will save you hours of frustration when trying to work with the receiver in a tight spot. Plus, you can easily plug them in and unplug them, so if you ever need to move the receiver or speakers, it's very simple.

At first, I balked at the price when I checked BestBuy.com. But then since Fry's had them for the same price, I just bit the bullet and I'm glad I did. As for wires and cables though, Monoprice.com is still the best for high quality cables at a good price. Case in point: 6 foot HDMI cable at Monoprice: $17.93. Monster.com: $250.

URL: Monster Cable: QuickLock™ Gold Banana Connectors For Easy Self Crimping Terminations