Customer Reviews

Monster HDMI-400 400 Series HDTV HDMI Cable (2 meters)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I have been an audio / electronics enthusiast for over 50 years now (am giving away my age I guess) and I have tried or owned a number of different expensive brands including Monster. These "designer brand cables" (I call them) are the biggest ripoff in electronics. I do not doubt that some of them may sometimes have more durable connectors or sometimes stronger construction. I remember seeing speaker cables selling for $20,000.00 for a 12 foot pair made out of silver or some cables in the multithousands that looked like they could power a city. Just ask yourself when you test by listening or looking can you hear or see an immediate difference for the price or is it all "the emperor's new clothes". I think that if you hookup a $12.00 cable and a $100.00+ cable and you have to switch back and forth in order to try to see or hear a difference that should end the search because for that difference in money there should be no if's. ands, or buts. BTW I have never seen or heard a difference in these comparisons unless one of the cables was defective. I used to go to the Audio shows starting in the 50's and met the legends of audio, like David Hafler, Ed Villchur, and Saul Marantz, I cannot help but reflect on what they would think about all this marketing baloney these cable companies put out. I am certain they would be amused and shocked and finally outraged. In those days,it seems to me, there was a greater value on honesty, ethics, and integrity. High priced designer brand cables are pushed in all the audio stores by and large because of the enormous profits there is in this business of cables and quite often because of incentives given to the salesmen and retailers to promote them by the manufacturer. There has, to my knowledege, NEVER been a valid scientific study that confirms anything these designer cable manufacturers claim. Many of these manufacturers say that known science or scientific testing doesn't matter for reasons they make up because they wont admit that truth to tell only their outrageous overcharging and profits matter.

I suggest you let your ears and eyes be the judge, don't fall for the marketing hype. Don't allow yourself to be fooled by "the emperors new clothes".

What do they say about fools and money?

HDMI uses TMDS which is a digital transmission system with built-in error correction. TMDS has been designed to work over cheap cabling and a $10 HDMI cable will meet the specification. If you spend 9 times more on this cable than another one then you have just wasted $80. That's all there is to it.

You don't need expensive shielding or gold plated connectors for a cable. The picture or the sound are not richer or more vibrant with a $90 cable over a $10. In fact the signal is identical. Let me repeat - HDMI (& DVI-D) devices talk digitally with error correction. This cable and ones like it are for suckers only.

A $10 cable does the same thing. Do not believe the hype. Monster is overpriced and people are starting to realize it. Its digital, 1s and 0s. Either it reads it or it doesnt.

Let me start off by saying that like most guys I'm an A/V junkie. Over last five years I've probably purchased over $1000 in Monster Cable© products. Recently, I picked up a HD cable box from my cable provider. I was so excited to hook-up my new HD-cable box to my high def plasma that went to the closest retailer, Radioshack©. Now I normally don't shop at Radioshack because the products they sell are of such low quality, but since I was just going to pick up a non-Radioshack product I figured it didn't matter.

So I walk into Radioshack looking to buy the Monster Cable HDMI 400 High Resolution A/V Cable but, of course Radioshack didn't have any in stock. While looking around the store for a possible substitute I came across a $12.99 Radioshack HDMI-HDMI cable. I examined the package carefully looking for some type of official `HDMI(tm)" seal without any luck but, I figured for $12.99 if it doesn't work I only lost a few bucks (besides I could always return it). Suffice it to say the cable works great and I'm enjoying High def television at a fraction of the cost. Now results may vary, so I'm not suggesting that your results will be exactly the same but, I think you should at least try a cheaper cable first and if it doesn't work you can always return it and get a Monster Cable(tm).

One thing to note is that an HDMI signal is all digital so as long as the cable functions I don't think there will be any difference in picture quality. That being said I wouldn't recommend buying low quality cables for analog sources

You don't have to spend a fortune on expensive cables when you are dealing with digital signals. Keep in mind that all digital interfaces have error correction built into them. Did you know the internal components of consumer electronics are connected with tin and nickel? There's no gold inside! So there's no need for oxygen-free, gold tipped, multi sheilded, super mega supreme cables. If you don't believe me, buy this cable and a no-name cheapie. Compare them for yourself -- you will see no difference.

With analog signals, a good quality cable may make a difference (although the difference is usually only visible on an oscilloscope).

Expensive cables for a digital signal are the worst sort of scam, and people who spend extra money for them are ignorant of the technology. For analog signals, cable-quality can vary your reception-quality (though not as much as people think). But digital signals transmit data in "1s" and "0s." The "1s" and "0s" either get through, or they don't. If they do get through, you have a picture (or sound). If they don't get through, you DO NOT. With digital (unlike analog), you never have to WONDER whether you could, maybe, if only you'd spent a little bit more money, be getting a better result. If you see a picture, you know the "1s" and "0s" got through. If you see NO PICTURE, then your connection is loose, or your dog chewed through the line, or you have a bad cable. There is no in-between. The beauty of HDMI, the beauty if digital, is that you no longer have to wonder. How long will companies like Monster be able to keep this secret :)

Like most have pointed out, it's a digital signal and there's no need for all the gas-injected, gold plated, shielded stuff monster cables hype. For analog signals this stuff absolutely makes a difference because analog cables are highly affected by outside EM interference.

Some people have pointed out that monster cables are more durable. So yes, if you plan on swinging around on your cables it might matter. If, like most people, you plug the stuff in behind your equipment then leave it be for months and months, don't waste your money.

So you are at your favorite brick and mortar store, possibly a little nervous as you venture into the bewildering world of HDTV and drown in a sea of acronyms. You just paid thousands of dollars for the latest HDTV. The salesman asks you if you have the right cables to hook everything up and you aren't sure. He grabs a $100 Monster HDMI cable off the rack and... Stop right there!

Monster cables are the biggest ripoffs in the home entertainment industry.
Especially their HDMI cables. HDMI is a digital signal. You either have it or you don't. A cheap $15 generic cable will work just as well. Don't be pressured into buying Monster branded anything! They prey on your ignorance to inflate their profit margins. Don't fall for it!

It's not just my opinion. Type this into Google:
Monster HDMI cables ripoff

Let me break it down for you and make it simple. HDMI is a signal that's been built so well that it has little to no issues with signal quality. The only instance where that MAY become an issue is with the length of the cable, but in terms of wiring a convention centre. For this reason HDMI is just as good over ten dollar cables as it is over hundred dollar cables, when used in your home.

The bottom Line with HDMI is as long as the signal gets to its destination, it WILL ALWAYS be the same no matter what carries it there.

Simple HDMI works or it doesn't, 100% or zero, very black and white functionality.

What matters is using the cable with the highest capability your gear will support (HDMI, DVI, component), and using a decent quality shielded cable. But don't waste your money on "features" that won't affect the performance of the cable.