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I recently bought longer cables for my sub. Previously I had some Monster interconnects going to it, just one with no splitter. I then purchased a longer 'sub' cable by Monster (yeah, I know, but I was in the mood to buy something to play with. . . ) and it came with the metal block type splitter, not a standard Y-adapter. Before installing the new cable, I looked over it pretty carefully and this is what I found:

1) The regular Monster interconnect (probably the mid-grade version) had very fine wire. I couldn't measure it, but it was more fine than most others I have seen. The sub cable, however, had more coarse wire.

2) The fittings were practically identical, one had the '12 turbine' and the other just 6 straight cuts, but the internal part of the fittings were the same. The 12 cut was easier to slide on, as the 6 cut was practically impossible.

3) I had a spare Y-adapter from Monster, as well as the block adapter that came with the sub cable. I looked over the Y-adapter and it too had fine wire. The block splitter is basically just a hunk of metal, so there is no wire to be concerned with. I used the block.

I installed the new cable, spent some time re-tuning the sub (so as to make it impossible to do an A/B test, I guess. Oops.) and started to play. The ONLY difference I can guarantee with the new arrangement is that my sub's (Velodyne) 'auto on' feature would cut the sub on at lower volumes. The Velodyne manual states this as well. As far as sound goes, since I modified the sub settings, it would be totally unfair to even try to say it was better or not. I can't honestly say that I perceive any real difference.

But, you get 6m and the adapter for $60 (I think), so I don't know why you wouldn't go with it, unless you have long enough interconnects laying around. There could be a better brand to try, but that's all that was available for me locally.

S.