Stephen Fleschler

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $25.00 from ebay and Buy.com

Summary:
On the following site is a full review of this hated and loved cable.
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/400e.html
Exerpted: The 400 mkII has a very good tonal balance, with no evident emphasis of a particular frequency range.

The quality of the bass range shines though, since it is very powerful, extended and punchy. With respect to the bass performance the 400 mkII can easily be compared with cables that cost twice its price. No doubt about this: if you feel your interconnects are a little bit on the light side, hook up a pair of 400 mkII's and the bass range will resurrect!

The high range is on the smooth side and thanks to the neutral mid range this cable can be defined as slightly warm which is a plus when used into those budget systems it is intended for. It has a kind of velvet touch that makes bearable even an overbright system.

Dynamics
The velvet touch remains evident even in the dynamic behaviour of this cable: while the bass range is very lively and punchy the mid/high range is much more relaxed and easy. So don't expect thrilling and faster-than-light drums solos, for example, as the 400 mkII prefers to play this instrument with lots of punch in the bass and smoothness in the highs. Sometimes, when coupled with edgy components the upper midrange of the 400 can become a little bit harsh.
It is not a very fast cable, as said before, but attacks and decays are still pretty natural.

3D imaging
Because of its performance in the mid/high range the soundstage created by the 400 is wide but a bit out of focus, as you were listening far away from the players. You know that the closer you sit to the instruments the better they appear to your ears. With the 400 it seems you are listening to the players in the back seats of the concert hall, just to give you an idea.

So height, width and depth are good and the players into this soundstage are just smoothly defined, all with a sense of blurred contours that is not negative at all. It is a way to reproduce the soundstage that many audiophiles prefer.

Conclusions
If you're in the market for a budget interconnect the Monster Interlink 400 mk II is something that you should try before buying. It is one of the cables with the best performance/price ratio I've ever listened to and, if you're using the cheaper 100 and 200, believe me, the 400 mkII is a giant step forward.

I've used them on E.A.R. equipment (864 pre-amp, 324 phono, 890 amp, E.A.R. CD player and with a VPI TNT/SME IV/Benz Ruby, Focus Speakers. This is a mid-high end system.

The cables are full bodied as the review states, slightly veiling, slightly less focused, slightly dulled in the highs but the overall balance and effect is highly musical. I am an archival transfer engineer for a symphony and local choirs, have transferred int'l archive recordings (universities too) and sing in a choir. With a larger collection of LPs, CDs, 78s, etc. then can be sanely heard more than three times in a year (continuously played) , I know what I like in sound as due my audio engineer friends. These are OKAY cables with very acceptable sound characteristics. I'm running 1 and 2 meter lengths after a 72 hour burn-in for secondary and tertiary systems as well. I lilke them.

Strengths:
Musical, all around pleasant and disarming cable with a positive sound signature for most equipment.

Weaknesses:
Slightly bloated at the deep bass, rolled off upper highs, slightly less detail, slightly less depth...

Similar Products Used:
Many

bcastine

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $40.00

Summary:
I have tried to justify using these cables in my sytem. They look nice, well made with a durable finish but quite frankly sound like a#$. Used to connect my adcom gtp-500II to my 2 adcom 545II amps the soundstage just plain disappears when compared to a set of radio shack golds. Highs become very congested, cymbals turn to a plain hiss and vocals are very grainy. Bass is acceptable and on par with the RS golds, maybe I will try the monsters on the woofer channels but every time I try them I soon end up yanking them out. I've never been overly impressed with the cheaper monster interlinks but never as disappointed as I was with the 400's.

Strengths:
fit and finsish, durability

Weaknesses:
overpriced for what you get sound horrible

Similar Products Used:
Radio shack golds, interlink 100's,200's kimber pbj

Price Paid:  $40.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This particular interconnect blows major goats and I am NOT a Monster Cable basher.I own a pair of 80$ Monster Z1 speaker cables and they sound great on my B&W dm602s and Pioneer Elite components.This interconnect is worse than the lower priced mkII300 interconnect and at the time I actually prefered the sound of my optical cable over it. People, do yourself a favor and leave your local strip-mall Circuit City or Good Guys and venture off to the nearest Hi-Fi shop. Any sub100$ Straightwire or Audioquest interconnect sounds galaxies better. Kills the imaging, muddles the bass, adds grain to the highs, only slightly better dynamic performance than an OTB cable........Brought to you by the proponents for Audioquest Cables INC

Strengths:
Looks like it could sound good

Weaknesses:
Doesn't sound unlike it doesn't look.

Similar Products Used:
Audioquest Sidewinder

Price Paid:  $90.00 from Magma, Paris

Summary:
Sorry, but I don't understand why people unlike this cable, perhaps because it is an honnest one. It makes its job and it makes it well. This cable is honnest, it plays your system like it is, it doen't make up the sound. The voices compartment is espacially good.

Strengths:
voices, good med, well balanced, harmonious.

Weaknesses:
Suits better to well-balanced and dynamic systems.

Similar Products Used:
Ixos Gamma Studio oelhbach cables

Price Paid:  $2500.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
I bought these to replace all the crappy come-with-your-component interconnects, which any one in their right mind would do because of the oxidation factor. These are well made and have sturdy jackets that hold up to wear. This is the only interconnect you will ever need...anything better, i.e. more expensive, is a plain waste of money folks. The same people knocking these are mostly the same people that go out and spend $2,000.00 on speaker cables & interconnects and spend 5-grand on a power cable...Yikes!...talk about a waste of money. There are as many articles written about the nill-effect from these enourmously overpriced cables as their are about their "sonic" benefit. Don't blame them though...I guess when you get duped into spending that much for cables you gotta let off a little steam somewhere.

Strengths:
Cost, build quality, lifetime guarantee, PRACTACALITY

Weaknesses:
None except that your audiophile nerd friends might not let you in their "Nerds only" club.