Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This cable has replaced the interlink reference A's in my system. Like the reference A, This cable can be sumed up as consistent. I would grade the sonic performance as just to the warm side of neutral. The low end is fabulous. The mids open and spacial. The highs are true but some times I feel they lack life and can sound sterile depending on the type of music or recording I am listening to. Over all I find this cable very easy to listen to and live with. If you are an audiophile, don't let the name turn you away, it was more than worth every penny I paid. I purchased my cables at usedcables.com and they are the older models that have the locking RCA jacks and the jacket is light grey. As they were used they did not require a burn in so if new, I can not comment on time it takes. I am using a Parasound pre amp with tributary (silver) power cord, Parasound amp with Raymond power cord (copper), Sony 9100ES SACD player with the same power cord as pre amp, monster 7000 power center, Opus 2 speakers with Zu IBIS jumpers and Raymond big donger bi-wired cables w/WBT bananas. Power is run from breaker box w/10 AWG wire woven to a dedicated PS audio outlet.

mszargar

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $60.00 from ebay

Summary:
I am using a harman/kardon HD970 with a Marantz budget amp and I was suffering from too much detailed and brass highs, and a lack of detail in lows (and to make the things worth I have library-sized KEFs). It is a generally accepted fact that budget amps are not that good at bass side, and you should know that the mentioned harman/kardon cd player is way out of its class in generating high-range details and in sound stage. I really needed something that can rebalance my system. I heard the advice of a friend and bought a pair of these on ebay at a bargain price (actually 2nd hand and already burned, but in excellent shape).
As you can imagine, this was exactly what I needed, and I am totally satisfied with their performance. This is an excellent choice for connecting cd-players to receiver, but it should be too warm for tuners, turntables and cassette decks and other analog devices.

Strengths:
Warm and tight bass. Smooth mid-range. Controled highs.

Weaknesses:
Very tight turbines. You may break the connectors if you try to pull them out!

RobertI

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $35.00 from ebay

Summary:
I honestly have mixed reviews about these cables. I use them for my Comcast Digital cable TV interconnect going to an Onkyo 777 receiver. The first time I connected them I noticed a definite increase in bass and possible loss in mid/high detail but its just cable TV after all. I switched back between a set of M850i’s and I don’t know which one I like better. I don’t nitpick every little nuance like some audiophiles I know. I go on my ears. With a strong audio source (good TV channel) the sound is very nice. I have not done any testing with cleaner audio sources like a CD. In my opinion, these cables will not make a poor audio source sound better…only worse.

Buy with the knowledge you may not like the sound. Just because it is nearly Monster’s highest priced analogue interconnect does not mean it is ‘best.’ There is no ‘best;’ only what you like.

Strengths:
Good quality and strong signal.

Weaknesses:
Pricey. Maybe a little too much bass and possible loss of high end detail but depends on audio source.

Similar Products Used:
Ultralink and other Monster M series interconnects.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Harvey's NYC

Summary:
The M1000i was purchased, based on comments at this site, to replace a 12-year-old pair of Monster Reference A's, the predecessor to the original M1000 (I still have one pair of the original M1000). I recently hooked a Kimber Illuminations DV-75 digital cable to my new DAC. The Dv-75 works beautifully, but it does have a slightly elevated high end that sits just below the border of being shrill. Because my original M1000's were good at reducing effects like this, I hooked up a pair of new M1000i's. They've burned-in for 2 months now, curbing most the grunge and grain when they were first heard. As others have noted, they're rather on the warm side - not too bad, because if you're going to err it's best to do so in that direction, where the ear is more forgiving. The overall sound from this cable is softened, however, to the point of obscuring detail, especially from the upper midrange on up. Side-to-side and back-to-front spatials are pretty good, with decent focus, but grouped images and instruments tend to merge into a hazy mush where individual components are impossible to spot. Due to increased bass and recessed highs, the overall effect is somewhat cavernous and muffled -That is, the cable does some warm and cozy things, but the sum total renders the output as tonally incorrect. Elevated midbass and recessed highs make guitars, pianos, and accordians sound out of tune; a trombone or french horn sounds disconcertingly tuba-like. The tubby base and vanishing details get more irritating the longer you listen. Despite all the heavy bass, it really doesn't go that low. What's there is ill-defined. Orchestral crescendos are so softened and hazy that a good blast from a piece like 'Star Wars' produces not an galvanizing rush of trumpets, drums, and strings, but simply an onslaught of confused, fuzzy mush. SOme users commented about grain in the high end; the grain is actually in the upper midrange, as a c-note from any vocal piece will quickly testify. Sadly, at one point I replaced the M1000i with the ten-dollar plastic wonders that shipped with my CD player. There was immediate improvement in chromatic balance and detail. Later, I patched in my original circa-1990 M1000 pair: behold, all was beautifully restored! Alas, that older pair has its home between my Adcom preamp and Dynaco amp. Don't waste your $$ on this product.

Strengths:
Like many current Monster products, this one excels as brilliantly-packaged industrial waste.

Weaknesses:
Poor tonal balance, loose and tubby low end with no "real" extension, mushy highs, upper midrange crust.

Similar Products Used:
Vintage Monster M1000 and Reference-A. OEM-supplied junk cable.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Tat Chuan Audio

Summary:
Agreed with Henrik Gabriel from Hamburg see his review for M1500i. This cable is excellent, let them burn-in and you will amaze with their capabality. For my system they sound great in every aspect, mine is M1000i balance cable. Happy listening adios....... ;) My combination equipment :- 1) Ownself made power distributor terminated with AFA(Hera) cable 2) Audioquest AC15 powercord to Rotel 991AE cd player 3) Audioquest AC12 powercord to Classe cap-151 integrated amp 4) Totem Acoustic Arro speaker 5) Speaker cable StraightWire Rhapsody, and each 0.5 metre lenght StraightWire Maestro as jumper cable connect biwire 6) And at last is the marvellous M1000i balance interconnect, thanks to Monster Cable for their great job....

Strengths:
Everything sound good that comes out from audio cd unless poor recording

Weaknesses:
None so far.....

Similar Products Used:
StraightWire Maestro interconnect