Customer Reviews

Monster Home Theatre Reference HTS 2600 MKII PowerCenter with Clean Power Stage 2 v.2.1 10

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am surprised when people say that they have noticed significant improvement in picture quality and sound with this. My home Audio Video setup includes a $4000 audiophile grade stereo system and a $2500 42 inch sony LCD projection TV. With all that money and low distortion equipment you can detect the smallest of the change quite easily. I am so sensitive to sound quality that twice my speakers were replaced due to sound distortion that I noticed (distortion that the dealer failed to notice but the manufacturer did). I am a music guy, clean music is what I care about. Believe me HTS - whatever, does not lead to a significant sound improvement. On the other hand it might bring your amp juice down. You know you have to crank up the volume knob a little more than what you would do without it. I played different CDs with and without the so called clean power and I could not observe any significant change. Your experience may differ from mine. My audio components come from NAD who are known for their excellent noise free transformers in their amps players, tuner etc.

Coming to video the HDTV snowflakes are still visible. Specially in the scenes of running water. From my experience all I can tell you is, the flakes are dependent on the transmission quality. In channels like INHD, CINIMAX, HBO you wouldn't get any flakes in the picture while channels like thirteen HD are full of it (specially scenes with running water). So did the clean power make any difference ? Yes it did, given you don't change any color settings of your TV the "clean power" would dull the extra bright bleeding colors..Colors intensity looks more natural..Hey but that's some thing you can do with your color settings right !....
So why monster clean power-----answer is surge protection. That's all. Home insurance doesn't offer surge protection monster does. Not only that. Good music / TV systems are brought with a lot of passion. I have spent close to 6 months deciding my stereo system...another 2 months perfecting it. It would be sad if I loose it to a surge and that's the reason why I chose to keep this HTS what-ever clean power. :o)....and hey don't fall for the gimmick they show you on the monster cable website...My whole system sits next to an Air conditioner....In fact theoretically speaking my entire system shares the same power line as my air conditioner does....I did not notice any change even close to what monster cable guys claim :o) .... Your money your choice ....!

The 2600 MKII is an excellent surge protector and power cleaner. As far as whether you will see or hear a difference in your audio/video (A/V) signals, it depends on your home electrical source, age and quality of your home wiring and appliances, and the area you live in.

I'm lucky enough to live in a newer house. My electrical is up to code and not overdrawn. I have 200amp service (everyone should have it!) to make sure I have plenty of reserve power at hand when multiple appliances are on at the same time. A/V appliances in older homes with original wiring may be more susceptable to electro-magnetic interference (EMI).

You may notice when a high-current appliance, like a microwave or dryer runs, you get A/V interference. That is exactly what the HTS 2600 is designed to cure. Those who say it's only a surge-protector probably don't live in an older home where EMI is more common. It's not going to significantly improve A/V quality for those who don't have an EMI issue.

What it will do well for those who don't have EMI, is provide excellent surge-protection and piece of mind for your hard-earned money. In my case, although I have no EMI issues, I live in a remote, mountainous area, where electrical surges, blackouts and brownouts are common in winter. For these reasons I choose the Monster HTS 2600. It provides all the protection I need. And it neatly sorts all your A/V AC wiring.

The HTS 2600 is more than adequate for most users. For those with more than one amplifier or many A/V components, a more-capable power center may be required. Here's what I have hooked up to mine:

63" plasma tv
AV receiver
DVD player
VCR
DVR
Playstation 3
Remote control charging dock
RF transmitter
Entertainment Ctr. lighting

It uses a household standard 15amp three-prong plug, but you may consider installing a dedicated 20amp outlet for all your home theatre needs.

I bought this as extra protection for my Samsung 56 inch DLP and audio system. Compared to using a normal surge protector, the Monster HTS 2600 indeed provided a clearer picture, cleaning up the snow and artifacts. I haven't really tested out the audio yet. It's good for peace of mind, as I want to protect my expensive investment.

Excellent product and the audio quality improved so much. Even my wife can tell the difference. Only problem I had is my speakers are powered and there is not enough hi-current plugs to fix my two speakers and the receiver. I strongly recommend this product.

I've had my HTS 2600 for close to 3 years. Got mine off eBay (gritted my teeth during that transaction but lucked out and got a factory sealed unit in brand new condition). I paid $125 shipped. Yeah, that's a steal.

I can't say whether or not my video / audio is any clearer with or without this unit in-line. Why? Because I'd NEVER power my equipment without this (or an equivalent product).

Powered :
Onkyo TX-SR600 (still working, but about to replace with the 706)
HTPC with 250w PS (about to replace with total new build)
Playstation 3
Wii
Cable Box (HD) - unsure of specs on power consumption
67" Samsung LED DLP (150w)
**formerly powered my 42" Plasma (3 years old) - that thing sucks power like mad
Polk Audio Sub (came in the 6880 kit)
2 - mini-pot light cans using 40w (13w actual) 6500k CFL bulbs (TV back-lighting)

I used to use UPS (varied brands, APC, Belkin, etc). I worried about the damage a power interruption can have on electronics. Truth is, my Home Theater system pulls so much power, I'd have to spend $1000 on a large enough UPS to handle my needs.

I felt like the Monster Power PowerCenter was a good replacement. While it doesn't keep my stuff powered up during a surge, it cleans up the juice my stuff consumes.

Look at it like... do you drink filtered water or water from a well? Running your goods without a device (like this one) is like sticking a big straw down into the ground, all the way to the aquifer and quenching that thirst.

My homes (I move around nomadic-ly) are usually 20-30 years old and the wiring always has me guessing whether it's up to par for my stuff. Even in new homes (I work in the building industry), I've found home wiring techniques that I found to be 'anti-code' and most homes aren't wired for 'quality', they are wired as cheaply as local building codes require. This unit gives me comfort that my gear will be fed clean power when it needs it. Should a lightning bolt hit the transformer in my yard, I know this unit will protect my gear just fine.

I gave it 4 stars for these reasons:
1. It's been in service for 3 years and worked flawlessly
2. It's quite durable and excellent build quality, the girth of the power cord you plug into the wall is impressive
3. I love how it designates the circuitry for Video, Audio, Digital devices. Helps me when I go to plug in an item that isn't listed on the color-coded back panel

I took off a star because I cannot rate this one 5 stars when I have yet to try another brand or either lower/higher cost. I've seen some Belkin models on Newegg and Sam's Club that I've considered for other rooms.

Would I pay the current price of over $200 for it? No, not when there are other well-known names (i.e. Belkin) that I've used (other products)and trust. I'd try a lower priced brand like Belkin before I'd drop $200+ on this unit. But, I got mine for $100 less than the current selling price. When I bought mine, it was $350 at Best Buy, so I dove on it at $125.

This is a nice conditioner. The back of the unit has labeled plugs as most Monster products do. It included a decal sheet to label the component cords for identification. However it did not include rack ears, as the manual indicated. All in all, a good buy.

The HTS 2600 MKII is a good product for the price($184 @ Amazon). I am not convinced that the "filtering" of clean current is that important in an area that has a modern power grid. However, the two major advantages that make it worth while are: (1) Provides excellent power surge protection for my $6K HTS investment; (2) Provides plenty of power outlets, coaxial cable outlets to organize the spiderweb of cables for HDTV, X-Box, DVD, VCR, AV Reciever, Sat/DVR with room to spare. Original HTS was DOA, but didn't realize it within 30-days since I was awaiting for other components. Amazon still exchanged it .. Thanks a million!

I bought this surge protector to protect my Samsung 58 inch plasma and all the components I have with it. When i purchased the Samsung 58 the guy at circuit city told me that with a 1080p monitor of that size I would need something like the Monster 2600 to regulate the power and keep the image clean. In my opinion he was full of it. I used an old surge protector for about a week until the 2600 arrived from Amazon. I saw no difference in the pic quality what-so-ever. All I could figure is that maybe if your house is 50 years old and subject to alot of power surges it will regulate power and image quality like he suggested. But with all the codes and regulations on any home built in the past 30 years this seems like a big scam. In March I bought a Monster 950 for my Hitachi 55' in my basement. I paid about $159 for it from a local best buy. What I've come to realize is that the brick and mortar stores make a killing on the cables and surge protectors. I'm a little wiser now and was able to pay a few dollars more to amazon for the 2600 to protect my new plasma.
The 2600 looks great, is a more than adequate surge protector, and it is a huge step up from the 950 I paid too much for from the brick and mortar store. Just don't expect it to improve the image quality of your tv.

I've always thought Monster products were snake oil, now I'm sure.

I'd been reading about the value of isolating the incoming power for digital and analog components in high end audio. With around $6K in my audio system, I thought this would be a relatively cheap experiment - and at the very least good surge protection.

Wrong.

First, I could see/hear no difference with everything plugged into it. Nothing. Even the faint 60Hz hum one of my subwoofer amps produces was still there. So much for conditioning power...

More important: the first (and only) time I powered it up remotely from my preamp (using the correct trigger ports) my power amp's right channel fried. That amp has always been remotely powered up through the preamp trigger before without any problems.

I don't know how good this thing is at stopping surges, but it's awesome at creating them. Maybe my amp picked that one time to be defective, but I don't think so. And it had to be replaced (not just a fuse).

Here's a positive note: This thing has a nice case, looks really impressive in the rack...even with nothing plugged into it.

I did not know which unit to buy for my Home Theatre, so I thought what the hell, I'll buy all of them, try them and see which ones works the best. Not being surprised with the results, I saw NO significant change in sound or picture on the 2600, 3600, or the 5100. But, I still kept the 2600 as it did look nice on my rack and it does protect from surges on your coax lines as well as your AC outlets. If you want a really good surge protector, then this is what to get, but don't expect any changes in your sound or picture.