Customer Reviews

Monster MC 1000HD-1M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (1 meter)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I told you not to send anything by the US Postal system unless you wanted to lose it, and look at what happened.
That's right...USPS lost it.
Then you had to replace it at your expense for shipping and handling by UPS.
All for what? To save a buck?
Stupid mistake.

As for the HDMI cables from Monster....This product is like most other Monster products in that it is GROSSLY overpriced.
The quality is no better than cables costing a fraction of what Monster charges.
I have conducted several blind tests with friends and family members, and the results were no better than random guesses at what cables were hooked up. (About 50/50)
Most said they could not see or hear any difference between the cheap cables and the overpriced Monster brand.
I was taken in by the slick advertising, and technical graphics at first, but simple comparison tests soon changed my mind.
Monster does a hell of a job, marketing its product, that, I have to hand to them, but beyond that I'm not impressed.
Bottom line here is this; they make you think that if you paid an enormous amount for their product, then it must somehow be a lot better.
They feed off your ego, and your wallet, to convince you that you got the best.
Don't be fooled anymore.

HDMI is a digital transfer there is no middle ground. So either you get the signal or you don't. A high priced cable will NOT give you a better picture then any other cable. If you get a bad signal then it might just be you got a defective cable. So it is up to you do you pay $99 for a hdmi cable or do you pay $2 for the same cable. Worst case scenario the $2 cable is defective and you either return it or buy a new one.

Im really mad I spend atlot of money in this dam thing and great for the time it worked, glad it didnt burn my house down! The thing shorted out the other day bc it got so hot the end of it melted!!! I contacted monster and nothing YET!!!

Helllo MON$TERCABLE,
I have an ebay HDMI cable, MON$TERCABLE" your challenge is to show me the $80.00+ immediate difference I would gain by buying this "Mon$ter" cable over what I "ACTUALLY" receive from a Blu-ray to a Sony TV. I wager MON$TERCABLE does not acknowledge this wager though.

I purchased this cable, as well as the 25M version to help solve sparklies on my HDTV. While there has been improvement in the video quality, I still have sparklies, and am disappointed in the quality of this product.

Bought this item on sale (half price, new open-box) with great anticipation and enthusiasm. Used to connect a Denon Blu-Ray player to a Samsung LCD HDTV at 1080p. Played just fine at first watching a DVD movie, but suddenly started to "pop" and "flicker" noisily during playback. Tried reconnecting, reversing, "rebooting", everything. TV would say "no signal" intermittantly during playback after more pops and flickers, or even when DVD paused or stopped. Clearly was not getting the HDMI signals from the (brand new) Player to the (brand new) monitor. Connections seemed loose at the TV and the Player - pulled out too easily: apparently undersized or worn out. Suspect it was previously used or abused, returned in original packaging, and then re-sold to me. Shame.

Ended up purchasing a next-step-up (top of the line) Monster cable (gold M1000 HDMI) ... much tighter, firmer fit, robust. Problems solved immediately. Returning this one for refund.

Lesson learned - do not buy used "like new" or "open box" Monster Cables, regardless of assumed quality, or be prepared for disappointment. They are still expensive, but worthless if someone already "tested" it and ruined it and then returned it. Even a Monster cable can have or develop defects, or be damaged with abuse. Regardless of what happened to it, the sample I purchased as "like new" and tried to use was NOT up to Monster expectations and price, and performed extremely poorly - had me thinking something was wrong with the $3000 TV and/or $1500 Blu Ray. Well nigh caused a panic.

This 1000HD monster is great, it works as it is supposed to do the job for the amount of dollars spent, but to do it again, I would definitely not buy monster. They are overpriced. There are other brandnames that have same quality as monster but at a little fraction of monster price! So shop around before spending.

I bought this product in April of 2008; I bought 2 wires. In early January of 2009, less than a year, 1 of the wires gave out, it no longer worked. Why?! Luckily I had an extra seemingly lower quality HDMI cable hangin around and of course it worked, but it worked just as well as this cable. It just goes to show you that more money, seemingly higher quality cables like this aren't what they appear to be. The quality of this wire gave out too soon, I guess its because I watch so much t.v.? But that shouldn't be the case.

I wonder what the product warranty is like on these wires, maybe I can get a new one? I sure hope so for there sake because I won't be recommending Monster Cables what so ever!

Background:

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is the best audio / video (a/v) digital interface ever made. It achieves superb a/v performance at a reasonable cost compared with other digital cables such as Toslink (Toshiba Link) & S/PDIF (Sony / Philips Digital InterFace). The HDMI standard / version is also improving with time & this digital interface is here to stay for a very long time to come.

I'm tired of reading about 1's & 0's digital theory that's been beaten to death by consumers & critics alike. There are many things that may be theoretically correct but practically it proves out to be otherwise. In my experience, the quality of materials used / implemented does have an impact on performance with all digital cables & components. It comes down to one's budget, expectations & understanding of electronics.

Over the years, I have tried / used many branded & non-branded HDMI cables. The following are a few branded HDMI cables that I currently use in my a/v system:

1) Monster MC 1000HD, priced @ USD59/2m Monster MC 1000HD-2M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (2 meters),
2) Pangea Audio HD-24PC, priced @ USD70/2m Pangea Audio HD-24PC HDMI Cable 4% Silver Plated (2 Meter),
3) AudioQuest X Cable, priced @ USD30/6.5ft AudioQuest HDMI X cable - HDMI plugs 2m (6.56') braided cable &
4) Mediabridge Ultra Series, priced @ USD10/6ft Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel [Latest HDMI Version Available] - (6 Feet).

I've used the above V1.4 HDMI cables, of different lengths, with LaCie LaCinema Media Player, Pioneer DVD Player, Oppo Bluray Player, HD Cable Box along with a 17in Dell LCD TV, 32in Panasonic LCD TV, 42in Panasonic Plasma & a 50in Panasonic Plasma TV.

Performance & rating:

Here's my take on the HDMI cables listed above:

1) Pangea Audio HD-24PC priced @ USD70/2m:

Rating: 5 Stars.

The good: Build quality is second to none. The cable will surely outlive the components it's being used with. Impeccable black level performance & I'm truly floored using this HDMI on a 50in Panasonic Plasma TV. It truly stands out with it's price to performance ratio. It's a real bargain because of the good discount & free shipping in Amazon.

The not so good: Thick & a lil' stiff just like their power cables, so not very ideal for flush wall mounted displays. Needs ample space behind the TV for cable management.

2) AudioQuest X Cable priced @ USD30/6.5ft:

Rating: 5 Stars.

The good: Very good build quality. A lil' thinner & so easier to handle than the Pangea Audio HDMI. Great performance for large screen displays. Just a tad less impressive with black level performance than the Pangea Audio HDMI. It's a very good purchase especially at the heavily discounted price & free shipping in Amazon. It w'd be hard to find a HDMI cable at this price that can beat the X Cable for build quality & performance.

The not so good: Nothing at all. Really, it's that impressive for the current listed price.

3) Mediabridge Ultra Series priced @ USD10/6ft:

Rating: 4 Stars.

The good: For the price, one of the best budget HDMIs out there. Very good for small screen displays & surely an upgrade to really cheap freebies that we get with most Bluray players, DVD players, Cable box etc.

The not so good: Cheap build quality when compared to the other HDMI cables that I have. Not recommended with displays larger than 40in as picture quality is a tad less crisp when compared to the other HDMI cables that I have in my system.

4) Monster MC 1000HD, priced @ USD59/2m:

Rating: 3 Stars.

The good: Good build quality, better than the Mediabridge HDMI but falls short in aesthetics & build quality when compared with Pangea Audio & AudioQuest HDMI. Performance is just as good as the AudioQuest HDMI cable.

The not so good: At half the cost the AudioQuest HDMI, with the heavy discount & better build quality, is a better buy / bargain. It's time for Monster to offer better discount on all their cables.

Conclusion:

For display screen sizes below 40in, sources less than 1080p & cable lengths below 2m, a $10/m HDMI is just as good / effective as a $100/m & above HDMI cable. If U are unhappy with a $10/m HDMI only then sh'd U try something a lil' more expensive than that.

For display screen sizes above 40in, the more robustly made Pangea & AudioQuest HDMI cables did make a difference in my system. The blacks were a lil' more well defined. The overall picture quality was a tad smoother, deeper & clearer.

There are some brands of HDMI that are priced @ $100/m & above. At that level, one gets to buy exotic HDMI jewelry. It surely will have great build, finish, EMI / RFI shielding etc but it does not necessarily improve performance under the above conditions of screen size, source strength & cable length. It's surely not for everyone.

The savings made on a `value for money' HDMI cable can be used to buy something else in the a/v system that can actually make a visible & audible difference, such as power cords, power conditioners, interconnects etc, just to name a few components that truly matter to me.

In my experience, Silver is surely the best conductor for a/v, closely followed by Copper. I also prefer to use solid core cables over stranded cables & Silver plating over Gold plating wherever circumstance & budget permit. Gold & Platinum plating is used only because they are noble metals & do not easily corrode (oxidize) like Copper & Silver. Brass is cheap & is 360 percent less conductive than Copper. I'm surprised to see Gold plated Brass connectors still being used in most pro a/v systems & cables including HDMI. I'm sure the use of Brass is the most effective way to keep cable costs low.

The Pangea Audio HDMI uses the best materials amongst all the HDMIs I've used & listed above. It uses 24 AWG (American Wire Gauge) Silver plated solid Copper conductors. Unfortunately, it's terminated with Gold plated Brass connectors. I'm yet to get hold of a HDMI that meets all my expectations & yet be priced sensibly. In a/v U get what U pay for, even then, there is a level after which U reach a point of diminishing returns. That's were good homework / research really helps. Knowing were to draw that line is the key point in this hobby.

If the HDMI requirement is for a screen size above 40in, the source is full HD (1080p) & the cable length requirement is above 2m, then I'd recommend that one tries both - the cheap Mediabridge HDMI & a better grade HDMI from Pangea or Audioquest. Amazon has a very good return policy, so one c'd return the less impressive cable within 30 days of purchase. What more can one ask for?

Just my $0.02.

Brgds.

This cable is just as good as many sub-$10 options. There is no reason to pay this much for any cable EVER.