amperidian

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $20.00 from ebay

Summary:
I see many people here either trash or glorify Monster products. I'm somewhat inbetween owning a number of their products, with but a very few impressing me. This interconnect does a decent job on low-end equipment, say like from TV to receiver, or from DVD player to TV if that's what you use. But don't use it in a high fidelity sytem. I mean "what are you thinking?", spending all this money on high fidelity equipment in the mid to high end audio and then scampering a couple of dollars on interconnects and expecting your system to turn into a Phoenix bird? No way ... use some common sense. For this price, I think this cable offers decent returns. It absolutely trashed the prism 2200 interconnects from Tara Labs that cost more (now that's a bad product indeed ... boomy bass, muddy midrange, probably best used to connect speaker phones - that's how they sound). For the advocates of Audioquest, I own a few of those as well (Corals, King Cobras, I've auditioned the Jaguars, I also own the VDM-5 silver coax and their NRG-2/3/5 powercords) and I have to say that comparing this Monster cable to the Corals from Audioquest revealed slightly less dynamic range, the highs diminished a little, less resolution, but who cares ... it's just TV signal anyway. Why would I use this cable on my $1000 CD player beats me. There I use Monster's Sigma Retro Gold interconnects which may easily be described as Monster's best and probably ONLY audiophile-grade component (along with the speaker cable in the series). Now that's an excellent interconnect but it doesn't come cheap. But then again, I don't connect my TV through it. Get the idea? Anyway's see if you can audition one before you buy it on impulse. That way you'll see if it fits your system. My rating: Value: 4 (great deal for $20) Overall: 4 (very good product in this price range)

Strengths:
not a bad cable for $20, definite improvement over the freebies that come with most equipment.

Weaknesses:
I've never had the chance to compare it against the StraightWire cables in its class, however compared to the Audioquest Corals which cost about 3 times more, this cable performed well enough for the money, it was not exceptionally fast nor revealing, but it had enough detail for me via TV and was not as bright as the Corals which I found pleasing.

Similar Products Used:
many many cables from Tara Labs/Audioquest/Acoustic Zen/Acoustic Research/Monster/Transparent/Nordost. Of these I have to say that Acoustic Research and Tara Labs should only be sold on Mars ... maybe they sound better in those atmospheric conditions.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Not a bad cable at a sensible price. Highs, like cymbals, had a little more "shimmer" than in-the-box stuff. Also a little warmer through the mids and slightly fuller sounding over all, but perhaps a little less articulate and fast in the bass than the in-the-box stuff. Nothing special in terms of imaging or resolution of very fine detail. Very well shielded, and decent overall construction. I also own the mkI version of these cable (purchased nearly ten years ago!). The new version's "turbine" conductor is much better designed to provide a firm grip without grabbing the jack. However, I slightly prefer the mkI version's sound -- its a little more coherent and natural sounding to me. The soldering on the mkI version is also much cleaner. For my serious listening (i.e., connecting my CD player to pre-amp, and pre to power amp) I use WireWorld Equinox III+. Its no match; the WireWorld trounces the Monster 300. However, you can buy five (!) pairs of 1 meter length Monster 300 (and still have change left over) for the price of one 1 meter length of the Equinox III+. For my system, the difference was worth it. For playing CDs on a DVD player through an AV receiver hooked up to a sub-sat system? Maybe not.

Strengths:
Nice-looking; pretty good sound at a sensible price; good shielding.

Weaknesses:
Lacks some coherence in bass; resolution of very fine detail slightly lacking.

Similar Products Used:
Monster M850, Monster ILCD, WireWorld Oasis III+, Wireworld Equinox III+, some of Audioquest's older line (non-snake names)

Price Paid:  $29.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I was looking to get a great analog connection to an HK 8380 CD player. These cables did the trick. I was not getting the sound I was looking for from the original cables that came with the CD player. The highs are much more accurate and the bass a lot smoother. I recommend a picking up a good sub cable as well. The Monster sub cable made the biggest improvement in the sound of the sub. It was hard to belive I had not done this a year ago.

Strengths:
Durability, Increased Soundstage, Clearity

Weaknesses:
Price

Similar Products Used:
OEM interconnects

Price Paid:  $25.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
After using RS Gold for a year. I let myself get talked into buying these cables with nice packaging and impressive feature diagrams. What a mistake. Listening to 2 Mahler symphonies (2nd and 6th) my system lost soundstage and clarity. The brass blare, and the bass and tympany thunder and everything else is veiled behind the bass and the treble. I can't hear half of the instruments I used to hear using the RS Gold which cost half the price. My two bits: don't spend more than $12 on interconects. Too much hype and the stuff that they do to justify the hype is actually counterproductive. It hurts the sound rather than help it.

Strengths:
Pretty looks

Weaknesses:
No midrange, overemphasis of bass and treble.

Similar Products Used:
Radio Shack Gold

Price Paid:  $30.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
Since I had been using Radio Shack gold cables for years, I wanted to try something new. My system would be considered mid-fi (Denon AVR w/HK external amp) so I didn't want to spend alot of money. I have found the Monster Interlink 300 cables to be more transparent than the RS cables, with more musical detail and tighter bass. Some may say that all cables sound the same, I do not believe this to be true. Like I said, I have been using RS cables for many years, and know what they sound like in my system. The Monster cable made quite a dramatic change. The RS cables gave the music a warmer sound, and although they are a good value, they hide some of the detail. The RS cables could possibly be used to tame a bright sounding system, but the Denon/HK combo I am using does not benefit from such a cable.

Don't ask me what characteristics of a cable make it sound bright, warm, tranparent, etc. All I know now is that cables do make a difference. For those who say there is no scientific evidence to back this up, let them think what they want. I will trust my ears. At $29.95 for a 1 meter pair, the Monster Interlink 300 is a good value. I don't think I would invest in their higher priced cables.

Strengths:
solid construction, transparent sound, worth the price

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Radio Shack gold series