Monster Cable 2.2 Speaker Cables Reviews

Price Paid:  $595.00 from Harvey's Electronics

Summary:
People who are interested in upgrading their cables and really want a top notch product must demo this cable. Compared to the other manufacturer's this is a bargin. the clarity of the tight bass and the impact of the midrange is truely amazzzing. Plus, it has the monster interchangeable connections that allow you to install bannana plugs or spades. It's roughly 3/4 of an inch thick and as stated before it is well crafted. 25ft run.
Krell HTS
Krell FPB 200
Krell 250/3
Toshiba dvd 9200
Arcam fmj23
Magnum Dyn tuner
transparent/straigthwire balanced interconnects

Strengths:
Build Qulity, ability to reproduce music!

Weaknesses:
None in terms of performance. As with all good cables, price is certainly ans issue.

Similar Products Used:
Mit, AQ, Nordost

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Tweeter

Summary:

Dear

Reader


The Stereo Exchange and other High-End Stores cannot be wrong. The M2.2s by Monster could be the best speaker cables under $800 per pair. This is a fine sounding product, and an excellent value. Below are my findings.

Top. Open and smooth. Rating B+

Mid. Natural. Rating B+

Low. Big and tight. Rating A

Tone. On the yin side. Rating A

Sound Stage. Rating A

The more upgades I perform, the better this product sounds. Listed below is my current setup.

Classe CDP .3 (Mk2)
Monster Cable M1000i (XLR)
Classe CAP 151
Monster Cable M2.2s
Vienna Mozarts

I just upgraded from M1000i RCA's to XLR's, and the difference was not a small one. The Monster Cable M2.2s offering is the foundation, and it allows me to keep pushing the envelope.

My rating is based on speaker cables under $600 for a 10' pair. For those of you that own bi-wire speakers, the M2.4s offering from Monster may be a safe bet. In a nutshell, the Monster Cable M2.2s great product at a decent price.

Strengths:
Bass, midrange, and top-end.

Weaknesses:
Look's like gray garden hose in my living room.

Similar Products Used:
Audio Quest, and Kimber Cable

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Tweeter

Summary:

Dear

Reader


This cable is truly a Monster. It's big and very difficult to work with, but provides the owner with a sweet and natural offering. The bass and the midrange are world class, but the top is a little rolled off.

Below is a list of products used with the Monster M2.2s.

Yamaha CDR-S1000
Monster Cable M 1000i
Tandberg TT 3011A
Monster Cable M 950i
Classe CAP 151
Sonus Faber Concertino
Target 24"
Monster Cable SW 400
Velodyne CT 100

The Monster Cable 2.2s enables the listener to hear music, and not Hi-Fi. While the Monster Cable 1.4 and Kimber Cable 8TC (Biwire) cables offer a good value, they are not high-end products. The 2.2s soundstage is wide and deep. Try Monk "At the IT Club", and Bill Evans "Waltz for Debbie" with the 2.2s, and these 20-bits recording will come to life. This cable is not perfect because it does not extend into the ultra-sonics like the big Kimbers.

If you want great bass, smooth midrange, and a very wide/deep soundstage, the 2.2s might just fit the bill. At $500, they are a true bargin. My 2001 purchase is built quite well, and has experienced no quality problems.

Strengths:
Bass and Midrange.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
8TC Biwire, MIT MH 650

Price Paid:  $15.00 from Best buy

Summary:
If you're gonna invest in a good stereo, might as well go all the way and get you some moster cable. For a small price, you can hear the full potential of what you have.

Strengths:
Good stuff, really lets you hear more bass.

Weaknesses:
none

Summary:
If you talk to people in the technical side of the audio industry and ask them about the role of speaker cables, most will tell you that every cable, to varying degrees, will pass distortion through the wire. It is this distortion that influences the quality of the signal and its ability to create depth, soundstage and musical reproduction in the loudspeakers. Less distortion through the cables means better sound. Makes sense.

If you talk to loudspeaker manufacturers, their concern seems to be that cables must have the signal transfer capability to allow the amp to fully drive the loudspeakers at every frequency range and not limit the speakers ability to perform as designed. I would assume that there is also a power issue here as well.

Then, of course, there are the cable manufacturers. Some will have you believe that their product will actually compensate for component performance. All of their sales brochures claim that their products are superior to their competitors.

We all know the dramatic difference between the standard issue stuff and the leap to a good cable, but is the difference as dramatic when you leap from $500 for a
3m pair to $3,000 for a 3m pair?

Well, with all of this editorial philosophy in mind, I bought the Monster Cable M2.2's. The flexibility of the various interchangeable termination options is an advantage and I like the fact that they're heavy and solid.

I get deep, clear bass from the subwoofer, beautiful midrange and exceptional high frequency reproduction from the mains. The soundstage is wide and deep with well placed vocals and instruments. It's my audio perception that the M2.2's do the job quite well of delivering the signal from the amp to the speakers without limiting the sound quality.

I am really very pleased with them, and actually a bit surprised that I would get such superior performance from a $500 set of cables, given all the hype that the industry gives to the value of $100 per foot for "exotic" products.