^so, i demoed monster cables vs. acoustic research on a 42" plasma hdtv in 1080i mode at the Sonystyle store (sorry, didn't get a chance to see it in 1080p). it was the exact same tv.

sabi sa akin ng salesman..."if you see a difference, go ahead and pay the extra money for the monsters....otherwise, let me wrap up these AR cables and you can pay at the front register "

i didn't see a difference, so now i am happily using acoustic research cabling for a 42" plasma hdtv with a 5.1 dolby setup, hdtv box, dvd and xbox 360 in one room, a 50" plasma hdtv with dvd and hdtv in the family room, and 32" lcd tv in another room. i saved at least $400 from not using monster cables, and i am still very happy with my setups. that $400 helped buy my xbox 360