Customer Reviews

Xbox 100X Fiber Optic Cable

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Ok....I bought this cable and at first thought it was broken because of some of the reviews I have read here. Alas, I did more research and learned how to correctly hook it up and change my settings in the dashboard and on the dvd you are using. To transmit the signal to your receiver, read this site information ...This is very helpful during hookup. So I got Dolby D to work and was having trouble getting DTS to work. Then I read the review on here saying that DTS was not supported....totally untrue...just enable it in the dashboard. Then be sure to go to the dvd menu and click on LANGUAGES. Here you can select the audio...you want to select either DOlby d 5.1 or DTS 5.1 .....or whatever selection you are looking for. I hope this review saves people a lot of frusturation!

I bought this cable before reading all the reviews. Once I read them I became nervous that I was going to have many problems with it. What I found out when I got it is that most of the people who gave it bad reviews either didn't have an understanding of how it is supposed to be used, or didn't install it correctly. Maybe I'm wrong and there really was a bad batch of cables going around but here is some information that will help you avoid any problems with it.

*Take off the clear plastic caps on both ends (If you don't you won't be able to get 5.1 surround).
*Make sure everything is securly fastened.
*Turn Dolby Digital and DTS on in the audio options menu of the Xbox.
*When your Xbox is on with no game in it, it dosen't put out 5.1 even with the cable. So if you turn on your xbox once you've hooked the cable up and your reciver says its only going through 2 channels, don't panic, its supposed to do that.
*Most importantly many xbox games don't support dolby digital (5.1). Infact most don't, and it is impossible to get 5.1 surround out of a game that dosen't support it. So check the back of the game where its says the number of players and xbox live info. If a green box says "In Game Dolby Digital" you will get 5.1 surround with this cable. If not, you will only get 2 channels and a sub. So check the game first.
*May not be vital, but unplug your RCA audio from your tv or your reciver before you hook this up.

I hope this information helps. Don't let the few bad reviews scare you from buying this. If used correctly it will give you amazing sound. It is truly worth the money.

Ok, I read all the reviews here of this optical cable on amazon and how people could not get dolby digital 5.1 to work. So when I was purchasing this, I was all nervous about it not working. If you are in the same situation, don't worry. The cables work fine. My Sony reciever detects a 5.1 dobly digital signal coming in. Maybe there was a batch of bad cables but it seems to be ok for now. I have the XGL400 component hook ups BTW.

The monster cable LW100 fiber optic cable has to be used with the other monster cables because you need an adapter to hook up the fiber optic cable to the XGL200, 300 or 400.

The only alternatives to this that I see is an optical cable with a 3.5mm adapter, maybe that will be cheaper to buy. But getting a 10ft optical cable isn't cheap anyway.

Now the worth of Monster Cables is debatable. On one had the cables are nice but at the same time, making these cables in China with minimal labor don't justify the cost. ...

Were they worth it for me, yes, because I wanted the best. Is it worth it for you. You decide.

It was suggested that the Monster XBOX video cables would accept a 3.5mm optical plug; this would be a great workaround as adapters to TOSLINK are significantly less expensive. Alas, the proprietary connector on the Monster cables is too small for even a 3.5mm plug and this product is the only way to pair a Monster video connection upgrade with a digital audio connection.

janderg reviewed these cables and said that they only produce Dolby Stereo, not surround. Untrue. He also claimed that he called Microsoft and that they are having problems with these cables. Also untrue. I'm thinking that what janderg forgot to do was to go into the audio settings of the Xbox itself and enable Digital and DTS surround. I just got done watching Gladiator in it's full DTS glory on the Xbox and the audio was amazing, AND it was in full DTS Surround. I've also played several games of NFL Fever 2002 and it comes through in full 5.1 Dolby Digital. Expensive, but well worth it if you want Digital/DTS Surround.

(...)hook the MonsterGame Fiber Optic Audio Cable(Lightwave 100X) into the "digital audio adapter" and plug that into the mini RCA plug on the MonsterGame Component Video Cable(Gamelink400X) or "S"(Gamelink300X) or "AV"(Gamelink200X) and then turn ON the digital settings in the XBOX's "Dashboard" menu? Just hooking up the MonsterGame cables still gives you the standard surround sound. The MonsterGame Component cable should give you the best picture and the Fiber Optic Audio Cable the best sound because of the higher quality wires and sheilding. The little "boxes" on the Microsoft Advance AV packs lack sheilding. One other nice feature is the increased length(10ft)over the standard Microsoft cables.PS,they make a nice surge surpressor specifically for gaming consoles, that will protect your future XBOX ethernet/broadband connection "Powerstation600." (...)

Well, here's to the man in everyone of us. Never did I think I'd go bonkers over a set of cables. To set the record straight, these are one of the best optical cables around. No need to introduce this brand, for any true audiophiles, they all know and appreciate Monster Cable's legendary performance and reliability.

As far as some other reviews that claim it to be in-operative, because I like this product so much I feel obligated to set the records straight. There's no reason to mislead anyone and deprive a consumer from experiencing the best sound possible out of their Xbox.

Yes, as others have wrote, first you must change the setting in the "audio" from the xbox's dashboard. And it's as simple as plugging it into the connector that comes with the Lightwave into anyone of Monster Cable's Gamelink series' 200x, 300x, or 400x. Or simply get an Xbox's AV or High Def AV pack and plug it into the optical port on that peripheral.

But consider this. If you purchase the Xbox AV, or High Def AV pack, you will need to purchase seperate set of RCA, S-Video, or Component cables anyway. And it's not shielded from interferance. With the Gamelink products, you get a dedicated set of cables that directly connect, instead of going through a box then through another set of cables, which is a formula for loss of graphic or audio quality. So either you spend ($) for High Def AV pack + ($) for high quality optical and ($) for high quality component cable from Monster or any other good brand, all for ($). Or simply get both Lightwave and Gamelink x400, which is what I have, for ($), saves you ($), get higher quality picture and sound with shielding. And still be able to use optical cable for other components or even for DTS in PS2. It's your choice.

I had previously written a review of this product that basically trashed it. Well I've got to eat my crow now. On an urge I purchased another one in the hopes that I may have just gotten a bad cable previously. Well, I was surprised to find out that I had been setting the cable up improperly.

At this price I give the Monster cable 4 stars for value and performance. I've played movies and games and I've loved every minute of it. Not only do you hear your games in Dolby Digital or DTS but the clarity is such that you'll often hear things that you won't hear from standard analog audio.

My only complaint is that for those like myself who are not familier with fiber optic cables Monster does not inform you that when connecting it to your xbox or your receiver that you should take the clear plastic off of the ends of the cable before you attempt to hook them up otherwise the reciever will not recieve the digital signal. Also if your Receiver has multiple digital outlets you may have to manually direct your reciever to recognize the connection. I was so impressed that I went out and bought a set of cables for my PS2.

5.1 sounds the exact same on any fully functionaly Toslink cable. The hook here is that if you have monster component cables like I do, they force you to buy this obcenely long and over packaged cable.

A fully functional toslink is $7 on a bad day. $25+ for this "shielded" toslink is absurd. In fact longer optical cables are a bad thing and can cause problems. Its an absolute must buy if you bought the monster components like I did, there is no standard toslink out, you need the adapter, which is conveniently packaged w/ this cable. What a coincidence.

Sadly because Microsoft stopped manufacturing their HDTV AV pack, Monster is the only one I have found that supports 5.1 AND has no signal loss at 720. 98% of 3rd party component cables either lack 5.1 or have signal loss higher than 480p.

I'm running an Onkyo 777 receiver and the cable works great. My system recognized it right away with no problems, great cable, great quality!