good high end home theater cable, very open and natural sound

sound quality for music not up to par

for home theater, these are an excellent value. the best cables hands down for the money. not so good for music though. Slightly bloated upper bass/ lower midrange and highs a bit "scratchy". it''s not too noticeable in a home theater setup though. I give it a 5 for home theater, 2 for stereo

Similar Products Used:

cardas, monster cable

Better Bass, Midrange and Treble

None, if compared with what I was using before (Radio Shack 16 guage)

A friend told me to upgrade my speaker wire from the generic brand and go to Monster Cable and I would be suprised what it would do for the sound. I did not believe him, but I got some extra cash and invested in these cables from J & R Music World for $50. When I first tried them, I was very disappointed because I could not hear any tremendous difference. I kept them anyway, after three weeks or more I decided to switch back to my old generic brand, and was I shocked, the sound totally diminished, so I switched back to the Monsters' and it opened up again. I called my friend, told him about my discovery and he told me that everything in the audio world usually needs a "burn-in" time. How true this is, I do not know, but I have to say I will not be going back to the generic brand of speaker wire. I gave this Cable 4 Stars for value because I still think $50 bucks is a lot for a pair of 10' speaker cable, even though it came with banana plugs. Five stars for overall rating because of great sound.

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack Brand, Bose speaker wire.

Neat package; termination options

expensive

I have never been a great believer in expensive speaker cable. The components themselves plus speaker placement and room acoustical treatment are far more important. The mark-up on wire provides a store’s biggest profit margin thus generous sales incentives. There may be some difference in cables with one providing a different equalization effect vs. another due to different resistance, capacitance, and induction values but there might be better and cheaper ways to adjust for needed equalization. Better shielding against outside electrical radiation and interference is something that may make a difference with early stage (weak signal) interconnects. Certainly, study construction is a desirable feature but this can be found in low priced RS Gold, AR and Iced Purple cables. On the other hand bi-wiring seems to have some value. I like these cables because they sound better, but I think that’s because they replaced regular wire with bi-wire. Actually, the internal wire is of a smaller gauge then I had been using, hardly anywhere near the thick gauge that gave Monster its name and start. Yet it is adequate for the 15-foot run I’m using. Why I really love these cables is that they form neat looking package and have neat but expensive ($22.50 for 4) screw on terminations. Since my custom built ALK crossovers for my Klipschorns are bi-wirable but have small screw on barrier strips, loose strands can easily cause shorts. The braided flexible strip terminators offered are ideal for sliding under my crossovers small screws. And the Banana tips at the amp end make connection/ disconnection easy as do the fact that the bi-wires are joined internally in the cable harness. Work well for me.

HT-1 Klipsch Heritage System (music oriented)

Klipschorns w/ ALK crossover upgrades
4 Klipsch LaScalas (surround & rears)
Heresy components in custom cabinet /monitor stand (center)
Panasonic 32” Monitor W/ component video input
3 Sony CX400 CD changers
Sony CX-200 CD Changer
MSB Technology Digital Director w/ jitter reduction
Nirvis DXS digital controller (auto selection of whatever changer is playing)
Nirvis Slink-e computer interface
Nirvis jukebox software (downloads net cd info, album covers& lyrics- programs & controls changers – searchable for songs, artists, albums).
Nirvis CDJ (CD Jukebox Software)
Monster 5000 Power Center
Sony Viao Laptop Computer
Sony S530D DVD Player
Sony 798HF VCR
Sony XA1ES CD player
Sherwood HX-PRO dual cassette deck
Dynaco PAS4 stereo preamp W/ Tesla Tube upgrades (also outputs to HT2)
Technics SL3300 DD Turntable w/ Shure cartridges
Outlaw 1050 6.1 A/V Receiver (Dynaco inputs directly to amp section)
Perpetual Technologies P1A Digital Correction Engine (jitter reduction, 16 to 24 bit conversion, future speaker frequency correction, and room acoustic correction )
Perpetual Technologies P3A DAC ( plus 44.1k to 96k CD upsampling)
Klipsch KSW-15 sub (for DVD LFEs )
Klipsch LF-10 sub
Phillips Pronto TS2000 Programmable Remote
Scientific American Explorer 2000 Home Communications Terminal
X10 computerized lighting controls
Radio Shack Wireless Remote Control Extender
Cables: Onix , MSB, Monster, AR., Iced Purple, RS Gold
Monster Bi-wire speaker cables.(Khorns)

HT#2 Klipsch THX System (movie oriented)

4 Klipsch KT-LCR THX Speakers
4 Klipsch RS-3s (side & rear surround)
2 Klipsch KT-DS THX Surrounds
10 Linaem Tweeters
Outlaw 1050 6.1 A/V Receiver (Dynaco inputs directly to amp section)
Monster 3000 Power Center
Sony X111 ES CD Player
Sony 775HF VCR
Sony STR-G3 (supplemental amplification for extra speakers)
Toshiba 61” High Definition TV
Sony NS700 Progressive Scan DVD
Toshiba 4205 DVD/ CD Changer
Klipsch SW-12II Sub
Klipsch LF-10 sub
Sony AV2100 remote
Scientific American Explorer 2000 Home Communications Terminal
X10 Computerized Lighting
Vibrapods (vibration isolation)
RS Gold , Monster, Iced Purple, AR Cables

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack Gold

Resonable priced, great quality

Lone burnin time

I purchased this cable to go with my Infinity IL40 speaker just recently purchased as well. At first I heard no difference bettween the MCX 1s and the PL3's and if anything the cable sound worse to tight and flat in depth and sound feild. This was remidedy with 6 days 24/7 burnin time along with burnering in my new speakers. I left Santana
's spirital playing fir this time when I went on vacation to cuba. The setup was with a Pioneers VSXD-509S reciever running at -25DB for the entire time, Came back and it was still going amazing. What a sound difference this made.

Similar Products Used:

Monstor Cable Powerline 3

Well-made; better sound than zip chord.

Not good for high-current systems.

This cable is a decently made relatively inexpensive cable. I had purchased these to replace Monster XP, and they did make the sound noticably tighter and cleaner when installed. However, in my system I thought the sound was still a little flat. There just weren't the dynamics that the Dynaudios are capable of. In my system, once I replaced these with the Monster Z-2R, the difference was amazing. The MCX-1s may be a decent cable, but if you have low-impedance speakers and a high-current amp, I recommend getting a heavier-gauge cable like the Z-Series, or Kimber.

Similar Products Used:

Monster Z-2R

Well-made; better sound than zip chord.

Not good for high-current systems.

This cable is a decently made relatively inexpensive cable. I had purchased these to replace Monster XP, and they did make the sound noticably tighter and cleaner when installed. However, in my system I thought the sound was still a little flat. There just weren't the dynamics that the Dynaudios are capable of. In my system, once I replaced these with the Monster Z-2R, the difference was amazing. The MCX-1s may be a decent cable, but if you have low-impedance speakers and a high-current amp, I recommend getting a heavier-gauge cable like the Z-Series, or Kimber.

Similar Products Used:

Monster Z-2R

high quality connectors, fair-to-good mids and treble

muddy-sounding bass, only 16-gauge, cheap soldering, poor value when compared to Monster Z1

When the last component of my new mid-fi stereo arrived, I went to Tweeter and purchased this pair of 10-foot cables. After 200 hours of continuous play, I began to listen critically to the sound passing through these cables, and I was disappointed to say the least. After spending more than I can afford on a stereo, I expected my system to sing, but instead it screeched. Bass sounded especially muddy and unclear, and overall the sound was harsh and fatiguing, especially at high volumes. I thought the speaker wire was the culprit, as my other components are very highly rated mid-fi gear (Yamaha CDC-775 CD changer, H/K 3370 receiver, Boston Acoustics Lynnfield VR-20 speakers).

I made some tweaks regarding speaker placement and bass/treble settings and that helped considerably. Part of the problem was my ignorance as to how the components of my new system interacted with each other. Still, I was unsatisfied with the sound, and considered ordering a pair of Kimber Kable 4PRs online. The other cable I was interested in was the Monster Cable Z1s. When I saw them at Best Buy for $75 with banana plugs instead of the useless 'universal pins' (who constantly switches a pair of cables between multiple systems?), I purchased them, plugged them in, and auditioned them. Right out of the box, they sounded no worse than the MCX-1S cables. I let my system play and left. When I returned several hours later, they were already 'singing.' If you pay extra for banana plugs with the MCX-1S, the cost is the same. Even for $25 more, the Z1 cables are far superior and highly recommended. I am going to return the MCX-1S cables ASAP. They are not bad, but clearly outclassed by Monster's latest offering.

Similar Products Used:

Monster Cable Z1 affordable audiophile cable, Monster XP cable

Overemphasized highs, lose of midrange, non-controlled bass

This review is on the MCX-IS Biwire version of this product. Would not recommend this product if your system is bright. On my system the highs were to bright and overemphasized, midrange was lost and bass was improved but not controlled. Could not live with this product, returned to dealer.

Imaging not bad; midrange OK

Treble too bright, bass digital rather than warm

Gear:

NAD C521 CDP
NAD C350 Amp
Mission m74 Speakers
Interconnects made locally

I got myself some of this stuff and bi-wired the Missions. It sounded OK at first, everything clear and imaging good. But after a while I noticed that the treble was really getting on my nerves. It began to seriously encroach on my enjoyment of the music. Also, the sound itself I now realise, was very digital. I would only consider this cable if your system is already very warm and lush.

For half the price you can get some Kimber 4PR, which is just as good and without the treble grit; for the same price you can get some 4VS which is superior in every way,(possibly not so in terms of imaging, but I'd prefer this cable to the Monster any day of the week); but if you can afford it get some 4TC, that's the stuff.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber 4PR, 4VS, & 4TC

low bass, smooth highs

none

I was previosly using regular two core cable and was not satisfied witht he preformance so i decided to bi wire my b&w 601 s2's

Change was definitely noticeble and improvement was more than what i expected.

Similar Products Used:

Audioquest type 4