Customer Reviews

Monster HTS 5100 10-Outlet Power Center with Stage 4 Clean Power

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased two of the Monster HTS 5100's for a fairly significant rack of equipment. I had used this product on a previous installation a few years ago and thought they would work well in the current rack. I received the items as per Amazon's shipping estimate. That's the end of the good stuff. When I opened the boxes, there we no rack ears included. This is contrary to any distributor advertising for this item not to mention page 18 of the included Monster manual which states

"Rack Mounting Your PowerCenter

This Monster PowerCenter includes two "rack ears" mounting plates for installation into a standard size equipment rack".

So I contacted Monster and sure enough, they no longer include the ears. So after pleading my case, the first peron I talked to said they would be able to send me my "courtesy" rack ears but needed proof of purchase first. I immediately emailed copies of receipt. Two days later-nothing. Emailed again. Received a response "I have received your receipt. I will have to locate your courtesy rack ears. Once available, I will notify you when they have shipped (via USPS)."
When I asked about faster shipping - as in - FedEx, at my expense, this person replied "no we aren't set up to do that".
OK. A week goes by - nothing. Back on the phone to Monster. Talk to person two about this issue and get results. As in arrived the next day by ------FedEx!
OK. So back to install. Plug in the first unit ----DOA! Ugh! So back to Amazon. Yup return it for credit. OK but how about shipping charges? Just pay them and we'll give you an Amazon credit. OK not perfect but workable. Another week later the replacement unit shows up. Plug it in and it works.
Now, I have two of these units plugged into two circuits off the same panel. The voltage read out on the front is always different by up to two to three volts. So I don't think that I would rely on these readouts for anything. The amperage draw readout does increase as load increases....
So, would I buy these units again? Unlikely.
Monster HTS 5100 10-Outlet Power Center with Stage 4 Clean Power

First, let me state, I did not BUY this, it was GIVEN to me along with a TV monitor and some satellite uplink gear, so the person who owned it before me may have had a more pressing need. All of my TV gear is backed up behind a 3KW APC UPS with an external 48VDC battery array.

Having said that, the 5100 does do some nice things. OUTLETS. Lots of them. Error lights for over/under voltage. Current display in big LED digits. I do like the unit having used it for a while now, but I do not turn off my TV, so I forgoe most of the features.

I do like the ampmeter that tells you how much currrent you are presently pulling. Regretably they do not have a wattmeter as well. Families with children might like to have a dollar meter as a feature too.

All in all it is very well built and yes, I did take it apart before using it. Is it worth the ~400 price tag? I don't think so personally - but to some people who have invested thousands into their home theater, it's cheap and a good tool. If you have a TV/DVD/Satellite setup it's certainly not the centerpiece of your system.

Would I *BUY* it? No. Do I like it? Yes. Perhaps if I move it into my home theater room I might like it more then. For now, it's a power strip on steroids with a few handy features ironically used for my computer equipment more than the A/V gear.

I hope that helps. One last comment - every outlet is noise protected and isolated from the others, which in an analog world is an important feature. In today's digital reception, it is not a real useful tool.

I was awoken at 3AM by my powered speakers being turned off and on every 30 secs with an abrupt bang. My receiver and components were going crazy turning on and off. I could hear the Monster switching inside of it. The only way to control this was turning off the monster power. Pretty expensive component for just regulating power surges. Now it's done. Replaced with an APC AV H15 power conditioner and everything works fine again. 12 inputs as well!

Seriously shouldn't the Monster work longer then your other components that have working parts?

Do not buy unless you plan on replacing it in a few short years.

I knew the household power flucuates but not to extend that I have seen since purchasing HTS 5100 MKII. The picture quality has greatly improved on all TVs connected. The picture is so good I'm holding on my current TV instead of buying a new flatscreen. From the audio standpoint, there are no pops or hiss no matter what the volume. Between songs you are wondering did the system turnoff because its so quiet. I high recommend this unit. Amazon also provide the best price on this item.

I bought this product less than 2 years ago, and suddenly stopped working. I have tried to ask Monster what to do with it, and after 4 e-mails, and leaving 3 voice mails, no one has yet to call me, or answered my e-mails. It is very disappointing to see this type of customer service from a company that is based in USA, and in every type of media they introduce themselves as having very high quality products, therefore the high prices(When I bought this product 2 years ago, the market price was over 500 dollars). I am a huge supporter of USA companies, but when they treat you like this, it is hard for anyone to stay loyal.

Dr. Robert Shah
Dallas, Texas

The Hts 5100 does exactly what its supposed to. Clean power to all my electronics. and monitors my voltage to ht. It powers a Mitsubishi 73 inch TV, onkyo amp connected to all klipsch speakers, PS, Xbox, computer, UPS, BD player, and hard drive. This thing has no problems. no humming from speakers or unit itself, clear picture. good looks. It does throw off a tad heat though not noticeable from more than a couple inches away but warm on surface.

The unit works well, but came without rack ears, even though the owners manual says it has them. I shipped the first unit back and the second one showed up without rack ears as well. I needed to get it into operation so I kept it anyway, but I would prefer to be able to rack mount the thing.

I worked for 4 different national electronics retailers, and I can honestly say that Monster cables are overpriced. 90% overpriced. Every year, they (monster) would have a contest where we could get all the Monster Products we could buy at 90% off, if we sold X amount of product. At 90% off, Monster still made money.

The Monster displays at stores are "calibrated" by Monster sales reps... NOT store employees. Anyone going to "calibrate" the powercenter at home? No. So why can't the stores display it right out of the box? Because then Monster loses it's "magic".

I got this powercenter for $75 because of said contest... and it's no better than a belkin that sells for $30 (retail price).Interesting side note, run the monster thru the Belkin, the voltage is stable... run the belkin thru the Monster, the voltage fluxes like crazy.

Moral of the story... Buy belkin

I bought this one just because my TV cable have a ground loop. After I got it, I connected the TV cable outlet to the Monster, and from the Monster Output to the TV, but it didn't work at all. the noise is still there! I don't recomment this item to someone to spend over $300.OO just to get the the power surge. There are couple grands under $200.00. Don't pay more just for the Grand Name!!!!

Purchased the Monster Power HTS5100 MKII on 12/28/2011 because of the discount from their normal price. The quality and performance of the unit reflects the price I paid, which was $235.94 (with free shipping). Compared to the price of a high end surge protection power strip, this price appears to be very reasonable. The pro's are you get 10 separate outlets set up with different filters depending on if the device is audio, video, digital, etc. (actually I do not see or hear any difference in video or audio when using the HSS5100). The other plus is you can see what the actual voltage into the HTS5100 is along with the current draw from all devices plugged into it. The main plus (and minus) of the unit is the delayed switching ON of outlets (option of 6 seconds or 20 seconds delay ON) to allow certain power amps plugged into the unit to turn on before others. Problem is the delay is only on power ON and not on power OFF. The switched outlets have on occasion switched off by themselves and then switched back on again. This has happened about 6 times over the three months that I have owned the unit. The appearance of the unit is fair to good, reflects the price. Also, the unit comes with a warranty and states it also covers equipment plugged into it that was damaged due to a problem with the HTS5100. All-in-all the HTS5100 provides more options then a surge protection power strip at a reasonable price for the additional features provided.