Customer Reviews

Monster MC 1000HD-4M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (4 meters)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

It's an absolute piece of junk. The picture quality deteriorated after working for an year, contacted Monster customer support and they hung up on me without resending the replacement for the cable. I would never ever buy the Monster cables. $5.00 cheap cable works better than $100 Monster cable. Lessons learned.

I bought three 1000HD cables in various lengths and they are very well made, and work as advertised.

Much of the commentary on these reviews leaves out an important factor in the "digital is digital" critiques. The specifications for HDMI include many levels of bandwidth that are required for various digital formats. HDMI is unique in that if a given cable (or any component) cannot deliver the full bandwidth for a given format (i.e. there are too many errors received) it automatically steps down to the next lower standard, until it gets to one where it gets error-free data. As a result, some users observe that they get a picture with a cheap cable. Most HDMI cable is adequate for what Cable TV boxes and up-sampled DVD's output, so this expensive wire may not add any value there.

The claims Monster makes on their website for what bandwidth is needed each format, however, are all correct and true to the standards documentation. For HDMI 1.3a, for example, to get Dolby TrueHD uncompressed audio, DTS Master Audio, and deep color video at 1080p, you need substantially more bandwidth than for a cable box with only Dolby Digital and 1080i. If you purchased new equipment that offers these highest resolution formats, I believe the guarantee that this cable exceeds the specified requirements is worth paying more to have.

I did not rate the product a "5" because it is ridiculously stiff, however, something that could well be improved at this price.

Get a 6 foot Belkin at Walgreens for $19.99 and save your money!

The only thing to take into consideration as their are different version of HDMI cables. [...]

Completely Overpriced. There's no doubt these are good cables, but I recommend getting something like Phillips medium or high end (forget their low end). Radio Shack also sells medium end cables that are perfectly good (again forget about the low end) If you plenty of money to burn go ahead and get Monster. You will probably find the cheapest price for them on [...]. Don't waste your money in a fit of Monster Madness!

I understand all the opinions of the rocket scientists out there about 1's and 0's and everything. To a degree they are correct. Honestly though, if indeed this were that simple, then why would there be different HDMI cables offered from the same manufacturer? I suppose for the sucker like me! Sorry but no way! Let's start with this: the performance of the cable, materially perceptible performance anyway, will depend almost entirely on the equipment it is connected to. I'm sorry (again), but a cable is not going to make a bad DVD player (bad chipsets, interlacing capability etc.), or a cheap discount flat screen significantly better. The poor performance is inherent in the equipment itself. Also, you are highly unlikely to see any significant difference on a TV smaller than 50". I have a top end DVD player, Sony PS3 (for Blu-Ray), 2 Hi-Def cable/sat boxes with HDMI output (I can't control the quality level here) and the latest Pioneer Kuro 60" screen and let me tell you, the image is popping out of the screen with ever greater clarity and colors. Most importantly, I see less of the 'jittery' stuff (in layman's terms) than I did before, with already good equipment. So the point is, to take advantage of what 'faster' cables have to offer (which is one of the key things this cable offers with the way it is constructed), certain pre-conditions have to exist. Without these, many people probably are wasting their money...but it works for me!

This cable is a fine piece of manufacturing. I bought for my PS3 to connect to my Sony 32 inche Bravia. I want a high quality transport and Monster is one of the best. Most don't need this quality, but if you feel that you want the capability to expand as the state of the art changes, this cable will give it to you. The length give you mobility, without losing signal quality. The construction of the cable allows for signal expansion up to 1 Ghz in transfer rate. although a bit pricey it was worth it in my opinion.

Look, sure you can try to figure out which off brand cable equals this cable and saves you money but do you really have the time ( time is money )and can you be sure? This cable blew my inexpensive cable away and you are paying for future potential this cable is built to deliver. very important if you need to fish this inside walls such as above a fireplace.

A great cable, worth every penny in peace of mind and will kick your but with performance.

Bought this expensive cable for my new Samsung 46A750 LCD and had to put the cable into the wall. I didn't want to gamble on a cheaper name brand HDMI as it needed to be more than 6 feet long and I don't feel like breaking open a wall if it didn't perform. So far the picture quality is excellent.

I recently purchased a Monster ultra high speed 1000HD HDMI cable. I understand it is recommended to purchase special cables for 120hz hidef TVs. It works well although I did not do a test against a "standard" HDMI cable. I looked up my standard cable on the store's web site and it does not have the bandwidth of the Monster cable. It works well with the 52' Sony TV and the Blu-ray player.

It is really hard to evaluate cables. It's a hidden part with a hidden function. But, as an engineer, I trust what I read on the Monster.com site. It explained the reasons for higher band width for certain types of HDMI cables. But most useful for all of us is a table that explains when each cable type is needed. It talks about HD TV type (60Hz or 120Hz or how fast bytes are updated, TV size or how many bytes are updated, type of surround sound or how many channels are being updated, etc.). From that table you know which type of cable is needed for your system so you don't overspend on a cable you don't need or have a gauntlet constricting electron streams that unknowingly cuts the performance of your $1,000+ HD system. The web page showing the various HDMI cables follows for you to copy it into your browser. http://www.monstercable.com/home_av/hdmi.asp