Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This cable is very well made, and quite good looking -- a standout in both these regards at this price range. It is fat, yet fairly flexible. I used a 2M length from my Preamp to my Amp and a 1M length from my SACD player to my Preamp. Soundwise, the M850 isn''t as good as it looks. The bass is big, but not as punchy as I''d like -- it seems to emphasize the really low bass at the expense of sume speed and punch. The lower mids seem quite full, the upper mids just slightly thin. Male vocals sound a bit throaty, and female vocals with higher voices sound a bit withdrawn. The treble is very very smooth, but lacks a little sparkle and "air." I seem to hear everything, but the sound just isn''t as open as on the replacement cable I A/B''d with, the WireWorld Equinox III+. On the good side, these cables run right by my Monster HTS2000 and various other cords and cables without picking up any extraneous hum or noise. They have a very "warm" signature, while I would describe the WireWorlds as having a "smooth" signature. With my Dynaudios, I like the smooth sound -- the M850s just sound a little dull. For people with cheaper speakers with metal domes (i.e. the B&W 600 crowd and similar) this would likely be a nice cable.

Strengths:
Well-made, well-shielded, good looking. Excellent if you want a warmer sounding cable.

Weaknesses:
Too warm for my particular system.

Similar Products Used:
WireWorld Equinox III, other Monsters, etc.

Summary:
This review is only based on a comparison between Monster Cables in the M series. I believe that the M850 is simply the best value in the Monster M series. The high end is smoother than the M550 which is itself a good performer. And the M850 is not as "warm" as the M950 which tends to emphasize the harmonics within the midrange, in my opinion. And I feel the M850 also has a "forgiving" nature with regard to the variations in recording quality being equally adept with movies or music.

Yes, there are better cables by other manufacturers but not at this price point.

Strengths:
Tonal Balance, Sound Stage, Dynamics

Weaknesses:
Clarity could be better

Similar Products Used:
MIT, Tributaries, XLO, AQ

Price Paid:  $123.00 from BESTBUY

Summary:
I really liked this i was really gratfuyll i spent this money on this cable it did me very good the quality on this cablewas great and worth it thanks to monster cables that my sound quality is great and worth listening to.

Strengths:
This was a very strong high tech cable it was my favorite of all

Weaknesses:
Relly had No weaknesses

Similar Products Used:
I used the monster cable mit 456 that was very similiar

Price Paid:  $80.00 from Cambridge Sound Works

Summary:
Excellent performance for its price range. Bigger sound stage, more bass, more treble and yet very clean on the top. Best thing about this is the mid. Voice and string intruments come alive. More precise imaging. The overall impression is the music become much more pleasing and musical, and it seems someone might have turned up the volume (this is the effect of stronger signal and less noise which consumes energy even though you may not consciously hear it).

In general, if it is truly a better product, it should improve most, if not all, of the above mentioned aspects. Otherwise, you are seeing (or hearing) different coloring effect (for example, brighter but less bass) instead of true improvements. Don't pay more for that.

I might return the M850 and keep the Z200i, which simply does everything better than the M850, but for almost twice as much (bucks, of course). If you ask me, pick the best you can afford.

My system:
Denon DVM-1800 (5-disk DVD)
Denon CDM-350 (5-disk CD)
Denon DRA-435 (Integrated Receiver)
Denon DRW-650 (Double Casette Deck)
Polk Audio RTA-11TL (One of the older ones when Polks still makes excellent speakers, frequency response 27Hz-26KHz)
Monster Z200i and M850i (Interconnects)
Monster Z1 (Speaker Cables)

Does cable matter? Definitely, assuming you get a decent system (and that doesn't have to be super high end). Cables not only filter and color the sound, they also generate noise. The noise comes from two primary sources, electromagnetic interference and audio signal reflection within the cable. Most people can't appreciate why cables matter because it's seemingly a rather simple device. What can it do? And How can it cost that much? But this simply device has to accomplish the goals of least filtering, least coloring, rejecting electromagnetic interference as well as minimizing reflection noise etc. That is why it's not easy to make excellent cables. A good cable involves far more than just a piece of wire made of excellent material.

I might get the Monster Z2 Reference speaker cables too.

Strengths:
Good all around performance

Weaknesses:
Not as good as the more expensive products :)

Similar Products Used:
Monster Z200i, RS Gold

Price Paid:  $146.00

Summary:
after 10 years with the same high end interconnects, i decided to try the monster cable 850i for both the cd-preamp,preamp-amp.WOW...this wasnt what i was expecting at all. the mids were now very blouted,the highs very uncomfortable to listen to. i used these for a week trying to get them to burn in but i had no luck,so i returned them.im not saying that they are not a good cable;i didnt want to wait hoping that they might sound better(couldnt see it happening).you have to be very careful when inserting and removing those "turbine connectors" because you can pull the rca jacks right out of your equipment...i almost did.

Strengths:
turbine connectors

Weaknesses:
turbine connectors