Customer Reviews

Monster MC 1000HD-25 Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (25 feet)

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

 

 

It's a sturdy cable but not worth the money. You can get the same quality for 95% less.

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.

If you need an HDMI cable over 10ft long, do yourself a favor and get a Monster. Everyone knows Monster makes the best cables, that is why they can charge 5 times the price of most other cables. I can't say they make a difference over short distances (they may), but any kind of cable like this 25 footer is WAY better than the other brands. I guess because of the build construction, it loses less signal over distances. This thing works great and give a noticably crisper and smoother (during action scenes) than the off-brand I used to have. That cable's head snapped off because it got torqued slightly in the back of my TV but with this Monster cable, that is virtually impossible to do. The ends are thick and well built I don't see them snapping.

PROS: Great signal, sturdy construction, thicker/stiffer cable makes it easier to run through walls

CONS: Price, although $249 for this 25ft 1000series HDMI cable is cheap compared to Fry's ($399+tax) and others

Note: the 1000 series is near the top-end of Monster's lineup. You may not need this high a level and could get by (and save a ton of $$) by getting the 700 series.

Both C-net and consumer reports .org have independently verified that there is no visible difference between the "spiffed up" cables, from monster, and the regular one's, from any other brand. A computer may be able to detect a difference but, the last time I checked my computer does not watch TV.

We hired a company to install our TV on the wall and they wanted us to buy a cable from them. We researched Amazon and found the same exact cable 1/2 price.

This ia a very nice cable. Quality is excellent and picture quality is the same.