Re: The Refugee Audiophile thread #1

**Iago** Sun Aug 08, 2010 12:22 pm

I have over $11,000 worth of Vandersteen speakers hooked up with $280 worth of Blue Jeans cables (including the extra wires for bi-wiring) and I am perfectly happy with their performance. All of Blue Jeans cables offer an excellent price-to-performance ratio. Plus, Monster has threatened to sue them, so I like giving them my money instead of to Noel.

**mrblur** Sun Aug 08, 2010 1:54 pm

sue them, because of the information they are putting out?

**Iago** Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:46 am

Sued them over a bogus patent claim:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/monster-sues-blue-jeans-cable

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/blue-jeans-strikes-back

Here is Blue Jeans detailed description of what happened:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/blue-jeans-followup

And, for balance, Noel Lee's response:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/press-releases/monster-cable-responds-a-message-from-noel-lee

And, to counter that, the story about Monster's lawsuit toward a mini-golf company:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/monster-cable-mini-golf

. . . And Blue Jeans response to that -- they donated 10% of their profits for a period to the mini golf company's defense:

http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/blue-jeans

And how about Monster suing a baby clothing company?

http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/monster-cable

**Seamaster** Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:54 am

The company is living up to their name. Noel must be proud.

I've been perfectly happy with my Blue Jeans cables, and their Series 1 HDMI cable is quite hefty. It would be nice if they used gold-plated connectors on all their cables (I like the look!), but you can't win them all.

**mrblur** Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:12 am

I've read somewhere (usually means I made it up) with gold connections you get a distortion or interference when moved or slightly moved.

/sigh

**Iago** Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:00 am

That would be new to me. Most of the arguments against gold plating boil down to there being no measurable or audible improvment.

The Monster baby-clothing suit was one that I had missed. I did notice when I was searching for links that the page on Blue Jeans own website related to the lawsuit seems to be gone -- are they letting bygones be bygones?

**Seamaster** Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:17 am

To be fair, Blue Jeans does gold-plate the connecting side of the connectors (i.e., the inside portion on RCA-type connectors and the outside portion on cables like an HDMI cable). The idea is that gold is an excellent conductor; however, Iago is correct -- there are no measurable improvements when using gold-plated connectors. Still, I like shiny things and the Blue Jeans cables aren't obviously gold plated. Plus, a gold connector matches the gold RCA jacks on my components.

**Iago** Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:58 pm

The one valid argument for gold-plated connectors is that they are less vulnerable to corrosion, and the connection between the cable and the component is the one place susceptible to corrosion. On the other hand, if you have cables plugged into equipment where the connection has corroded, you may want to either replace the component that you must have purchased in 1973, or else fix the leak in your ceiling.

**Seamaster** Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:33 pm

Iago wrote:The one valid argument for gold-plated connectors is that they are less vulnerable to corrosion, and the connection between the cable and the component is the one place susceptible to corrosion. On the other hand, if you have cables plugged into equipment where the connection has corroded, you may want to either replace the component that you must have purchased in 1973, or else fix the leak in your ceiling.

Possibly both.

**Iago** Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:39 pm

I watched Kick-Ass on Blu last night. The movie was disappointing enough to make the disc not worth reviewing. The best way that I could describe it was that the movie was like a comedian with bad timing -- everything was just subtly off. The jokes and situations should have been funny, but they were not. It also had no energy -- a bad thing for a movie based on a comic book!

**Seamaster** Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:45 pm

Can't say the trailer even moved me to give the movie a try.

I was similarly disappointed with The Hangover. I had read several reviews claiming that it was quite funny and had heard the same from a few people. Needless to say, it really wasn't.

**Iago** Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:57 pm

I was thinking about that recently when I had a conversation with my sister-in-law in which she was talking about a romantic comedy and she said that I would probably not like it because it was not "your kind of movie." She keeps saying that kind of thing despite the fact that she knows that I am an ardent movie buff and I have explained to her that I love ALL genres. It is not that I do not like romantic comedies; it is that I like good romantic comedies -- and they do not make good ones any more. That got me thinking. I certainly enjoy comedies in general, but I have seen very, very few mainstream comedies in the past decade. (For instance, I have never seen a Judd Apatow movie.) A lot of the crop from the last few years have gotten decent reviews, but they just do not interest me. I will stick to "classic" comedies and independent comedies.

The same is true for horror movies. I love horror movies, but I have seen only a handful of the plethora of horror movies that have been released in the last decade. The Descent, Dawn of the Dead, [REC] and The Devil's Rejects are among the few that I have seen and the even fewer that I have liked. (O.K., two more: Triangle and House of the Devil.)

So it is no more fair to say that I do not like "chick flicks" because I am tired of the dreck that is out there right now than it is to say that I do not like comedies or horror movies because I see so few (and like even less) of the current pack of crap that is out there.

**Seamaster** Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:52 am

The more I've gotten into movies, the more I've found this to be true: I have grown to enjoy and admire independent films. As a general rule, I find that Indy stuff is not hampered by big-studio influence.

I'm like you. I'm not put off by any one genre, but I am put off by bad movies. Using romantic comedies as an example, there are good movies out there. I quite enjoyed Four Weddings and a Funeral, even though it dragged toward the end.

Of the block busters, if you have not seen Shutter Island, you might want to give it a try. It is a tad cliched, but is still a good yarn overall, with clever storytelling. And the transfer to Blu-ray is brilliant, with crisp visuals and a capable soundtrack.

**Iago** Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:13 pm

Four Weddings and a Funeral was entertaining. But even that film is already over fifteen years old!

I wanted to catch Shutter in the theatres, but could not make it. I will give the Blu a shot.

**Seamaster** Tue Aug 10, 2010 3:11 pm

Definitely give the Blu-ray a shot. It is light on extras, but the movie is worth it.

**Iago** Tue Aug 10, 2010 7:50 pm

I cannot remember; did you see Inception yet?

Speaking of independent films, I have been trying to get to see Winter's Bone but not making it. It has been getting fantastic reviews, and a friend who I trust just gave it his highest recommendation.

**mrblur** Wed Aug 11, 2010 11:41 am

click here for blu-ray review

**Seamaster** Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:27 pm

It's interesting reading reviews like that. They touch on none of the stuff that actually matters to me, namely, how does upscaled DVD look and how does the audio sound?

Iago: I still have to pick up Inception.

**Iago** Wed Aug 11, 2010 5:19 pm

Reviews on sites like Gizmodo are more like reviews in Consumer Reports in that their primary focus seems to be on features rather than performance. Which is fine, if that is what you are looking for.

**Seamaster** Thu Aug 12, 2010 9:12 am

So what's the story on MGM? I heard from a friend yesterday that they had filed for bankruptcy protection, but I can't find any news releases to confirm. Just how screwed are Bond and the Hobbit?

**Iago** Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:07 am

For now, very. MGM is still on the block with nothing more than rumours at this this point. Spyglass Entertainment is supposedly making a deal to run the company after some restructuring, but time will tell.

**Seamaster** Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:53 pm

I really wanted the rest of my Bond collection on Blu. I already gifted my DVD sets, so I am without many of the films.

**Iago** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:16 am

Oh, I sold all of my DVDs to help finance the Blu-Ray purchases. I do not exactly regret doing it, but I am equally frustrated by the lack of progress.

**Seamaster** Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:22 am

We are victims of bondage while we wait this thing out.

**Iago** Fri Aug 13, 2010 1:17 pm

I am still worried that the delay will cost the participation of Daniel Craig. Despite my reservations about Quantum of Solace, I am still very happy with the direction that the rebooted series has taken. A new actor would invariably result in yet another shift of direction, and while it could certainly be for the better, that seems unlikely. I really want to see how Craig allows the character to develop as he becomes more traditionally "Bond-like."

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