Price Paid:  $88.00

Summary:
I can't believe this speaker wire has gotten such bad reviews? Notice I said wire because comparing bulk speaker wire to custom made cables is crazy. First off if I spent $100 or more for couple of 10' cables they sure better sound better than some wire I can pick up for $.50 a foot. I have used this wire in long runs and find it holds the quality of the sound better than 16 or 18 gauge wire. My system is not an exspensive one using an Onkyo 8211 reciever and 4 Wharfedale 7.2 bookshelf speakers. I find an improvement in sound quality using the monster over some cheaper wire. I just don't have the money for the good stuff in the lenghts I need so will keep using this what I consider to be above average wire. I give it two 4 ratings because it gets the job done and hey you get what you pay for.

Strengths:
noticable improvement over some cheaper wire. price if you shop around.

Weaknesses:
not the best, price if you don't shop around, won't compete with the high quality cables(and shouldn't even try).

Similar Products Used:
most 18 16 14 12 gauge speaker wire.
Radio Shack, Acoustic Research, other cheaper stuff.

Price Paid:  $17.00 from The Wiz

Summary:
Bought these as an "emergency" while I was moving in with my bride-to-be and the heavy stuff was in storage. The sound is closed-in, confused, vague bass and fuzzy treble, poor focus, etc., cetc. Gee, sounds just like lamp cord. I took it to an engineer's electronics shop and he took it part and checked it out. The reason this stuff sounds like 16-gauge lamp cord is because it *IS* 16-guage lamp cord with a heavy plastic wrapper. Fortunatel;y, I was able to re-install my much pricier Monster M1 speaker lines before I went insane. Actually, just before retrieving the M1's, I hooked up plain old Radio Shack 18-guage solid-core hookup wire (about 50 cents a yard). Hmm. The guys at Stereophile were right -- that Radio Shack wire was dirt cheap but acutally sounded pretty good (not great, but decent focus, good sonic balance, nice soundstage). Stay away from Monster's basic product lines in every category -- it's just worth it.

Strengths:
Slightly better than no cable at all, but not by much.

Weaknesses:
Too long to list here.

Similar Products Used:
Radio Shack 18-guage solid-core hookup wire (much better).
Monster original M1 Time/Phase cable. Still hard to beat, but probably no longer made.

Summary:
I used this Monster speaker wire for several years thinking I was getting the best from my system. A few months ago, I came across some Audioquest type 4 and hooked it up. I was very surprised, and thought the speaker fairy had come and replaced my speakers. Since then, I have upgraded all my cables to Kimber and Audioquest. If you have a decent system and are using cheap Monster cable, you are screwing yourself. Spend a few bucks a foot and get some better cable. I was as skeptical as anyone could be, but IT DOES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE!!!

Strengths:
cheap

Weaknesses:
cheap

Similar Products Used:
lamp cord from Wal-mart is very similar

Price Paid:  $30.00 from Roger Sound (Out of business)

Summary:
This cable is a upgrade from walmart bulk speaker wires. You can here the difference. The over all audio signal does not sound clear. The higher string voices sound "thin", like you block the holes on the violins. The bass sounds muddy. This one is at least not for classical music. However, for rock and roll and theater, some people may like the characters. At least the bass punch sounds stronger than many fine wires like Audioquest's $100 wires.
I still want to give it to my friend as a good gift, because I am sure it sounds better than his out of box speaker wires. My friend doesn't listen to music a lot and therefore would not realize how "clean" is important. However he will sure tell the difference between this one and the bulk one and appreciate the sound at now. I would not recommend buying this product. However, I do not agree that this one only deserves a single star either. It does sound "Better" than thin bulk speaker wire in any sense. However, there are many better cables out there. In this sense, it is an over appraised product by monster itself. If it is not for this reason, I would have giving it a four star rating.

Strengths:
Stronger signal production. Strong bass.

Weaknesses:
Muddy sounds. Thin like highs.

Similar Products Used:
Audioquest slate like cable (10 years ago model, much thinner than the slate)

Summary:
i love these cables...listening to music is an absolute joy with these cable...when i'm pumping metallica, everything from the bass to the vocals sound excellent.

Strengths:
clear highs...excellent soundstage

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
cheap cables