When Monster stopped declaring their actual wire gauges in their cables, I vowed to never buy another Monster cable again. I got some great 25 foot (22 AWG gauge!) HDMI cables from monoprice.com at less than the cost of a 3 foot Monster cable. I'm running it in-wall across a room, never had a data error. For speaker cable I get generic oxygen free copper in known gauges, the monster speaker cable is way less than 18 gauge as they put a lot of clear insulation over to make it look heavier.
People who buy these cables are goofy, you can get great cables at much lower cost. If these people seen all the wiring that led up to their power outlets they would realize that a shiny gold cable for the last 3 feet is putting perfume on a pig. Good cables are a good idea, but you can get very good cable at very good prices without the brand and hype.