# The Heartbreak of Monster Cable



## louisp (Apr 4, 2011)

The time has come for a decades long Monster products owner and defender to escape from the Monster cult. 

For brevtiviy I will skip to 2011 to the current day. Late in 2011 one Monster M1000HD Ultimate High Speed w/Ethernet $150 cable suddendly stopped working, period. Fearing the worst I returned all three under their lifetime warranty and received the latest version replacements 

In 2012 HTS 3600 MKII Power Center suddendly died on a clear blue sunny day. Of course this 3600 was out of warranty. This deceased unit was a warranty replacement for my second 3500 that was a warranty replacement for my first defective HTS 3500. When I learned the current replacement for the current 3600 was the 5100 priced at $699 (about $300 more than the 3600) I moved on to a Paramax Power Center.

NOTE: At the same time I followed suggestions and purchased three Monoprice Premium HDMI's to give them a try.

Back to the present time. While trouble shooting a totally unrelated isuue my professional musician son noticed one of the Monster M1000's terminal case had ruptured exposing the bare wiring. I guess you could say this is the straw that finally broke the camel's back. Later this morning I shall call Monster supervisor and bore them with my entire history with Monster products. I have no idea what outcome to expect. 

One thing I do know is that my Monoprice test cable has proven to be flawless in construction and operation.

:hissyfit:


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

> One thing I do know is that my Monoprice test cable has proven to be flawless in construction and operation.



And a whole lot cheaper. Monoprice cables are highly recommended on this forum.
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## ozar (Feb 12, 2012)

I bought "monster" on my very first home theater system and ended up paying plenty due to that choice, but it has never happened again. Once "monoprice" became known to me, all of my cables, wiring, and many other accessories have come from there.


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## ISLAND1000 (May 2, 2007)

louisp said:


> The time has come for a decades long Monster products owner and defender to escape from the Monster cult.
> 
> For brevtiviy I will skip to 2011 to the current day. Late in 2011 one Monster M1000HD Ultimate High Speed w/Ethernet $150 cable suddendly stopped working, period. Fearing the worst I returned all three under their lifetime warranty and received the latest version replacements
> 
> ...


Thanks louisp. It takes a BIG man to admit they've been duped. Your story should save many DIYers time, money, and heartache.


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## louisp (Apr 4, 2011)

Thank you. 

I hope this true story does help others. As we get started with the AV hobby we get star struck or to put it this way we believe higher price equates to better quality and performance. You may have noticed I did not mention the impact exerted upon the customer by the sales representative. Many sales reps are only interested in their commission yet every now and then a salesman advises their customers as they themselves wish to be advised. This "honesty" on part of the sales person is further hampered by their employers. With all this said, a good rule for AV shoppers is to be an educated AV shopper. That is why forums such as in the Home Theater is such a valuable resource.


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## ISLAND1000 (May 2, 2007)

You're right about this site being a valuable resource. It's also been a site that promotes personal growth and even sometimes makes dreams come true. It's also been a source of marital problems . . . . . LOL.
Even though the main subject is Home Theater, members here are comfortable enough to share personal triumphs and sadness.
Most of the time we're cool, calm, and collected, we leave hostility at the entrance. The moderators are human, logical, and knowledgeable. What more can you ask.


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

The old addage "you get what you pay for" has its exceptions, and your case is probably a good example. I think that saying still holds true for mid-priced components (really, really cheap ones _are_ for the most part worthless) but it becomes harder to justify this rule at the top end. I, too, subscribe to the Monoprice school of thought.


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## J&D (Apr 11, 2008)

To the OP I am very sorry to hear that you have had issues as you described. I have not used Monster cables myself (been using Monoprice for quite some time) but have a power conditioner and an amplifier in my HT rack. They have been chugging along for a bit over five years now. I received a ton of grief on another AV forum when I initially purchased the amp. Most stated that it wouldn't make it two years. 

Please report back with the response you get.


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Interesting....I just called Monster to replace one of my HDMI cables today. Not because it failed but because I need to upgrade it too a 480 HZ refresh rate HDMI Ethernet type. Am wondering how the RMA process will go? It has the Cable for Life Warranty. As I will be needing some other high end HDMI cables I will check out Monoprice....Once again thanks for all the great info on this site.


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## Speed3driver (Jun 14, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your luck. I bought a Monster Power conditioner off of ebay about a year ago, HTS 2600MKii, Worked perfectly for about 3 months then all the red lights went out and the switched outlets no longer work, so only half of the outlets work..great product. I still am using one of their HDMI cables that I paid $150 for on clearanc when circuit city was going out of buisness, but thats all I have. Completely converted to monoprice a few years back. Actually just got a delivery from them yesterday for a new 35' subwoofer cable for my rear sub Monster is overpriced, overhyped product. No better, no worse than anything out there, I have had monoprice hdmi cables malfunction on me as well. Everything eventually needs replacing...now how much does it cost to replace all the little things that add up quickly, that is the question???


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