monster cable power center...for plasmas

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I'm really happy

by NM_Bill Feb 13, 2006 5:18AM PST

with my Monster Reference PowerCenter HTS 3500 MKII with Clean Power Stage 3 filtering from Digitally Unique (list $400) for 168 + shp - $50 factory rebate through 2/28.
I used my old but supposedly good surge at first, called the cable company to check on the less than stellar picture. He quickly bypassed the surge to show me the crap induced by surges not specifically labled as made for A/V.
Go that route and never look back. No surge was better than cheap surge. Monsters' real, huge capacitors actually do filter typical current crud out. The video difference is way above the threshold of being apparent. Audio improvement is more subtle, but real.

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THIS IS GONNA SOUND DUMB BUT...

by dealy13 Feb 20, 2006 11:26PM PST

I have a monster power surge the 2600 model ($250). When they deliverd my new plasma the guys from the store set everything up...the only used the outlet on the surge protector and didn't run any of the cables through it...does this seem right?

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Panamax, hands down!

by mak99 Feb 13, 2006 8:19AM PST

Panamax makes better products than Monster, hands down IMHO. Just pick up two units and feel how light the Monster unit is. Panamax also backs their equipment with a much better warranty - $5,000,000 lifetime for your connected equipment. Not that there's a system out there that's worth that much (yikes!), but nice to have that kind of warranty if you need it!

I have two Panamax M5300s, one for my 2-channel system, the other for my home theatre. They definitely clean up the power as I noticed a slightly quieter background and lower noise floor. They have also protected my expensive gear on at least two occasions that I know of (brownouts during storms).

If you're gonna invest a few thousand (or more) in your AV system, protect it with something! And if you buy online, make sure it's from a Panamax-authorized dealer - otherwise, no warranty...

- mak 99
(satisfied Panamax customer)

Good luck!

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(NT) (NT) Waste of good money!!!

by Riverledge Feb 13, 2006 8:24AM PST

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^ why a waste?

by mak99 Feb 13, 2006 8:49AM PST

you should explain why, at least! Is it not worth protecting your equipment, esp. if you live in storm-prone areas?

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You Missed The Point

by RoadRunner6 Feb 13, 2006 10:00AM PST

It is not that we don't need surge protectors, it is for me at least (one who lives in a very high wind prone area and have power outs a number of times a year including some lightning) a matter of not lining the pockets of the dealers for expensive ''line conditioners.'' I only believe in conditioners for my hair.

Yeah, we know, if you are going to spend $5,000 on equipment shouldn't you spend several hundred dollars at least to protect your investment from the ravages of nature.....and several hundreds more to clean up that midrange with the new Sound Fantstic XL Ultra copper and lithium free speaker wire.....and $750-$1000 more for the Tribulations Golden Hawk Titanium/Barium coated quaddruple bi-max shielded video cables.....and $250/meter more for the Golden Ear Triple Undulated PXL-37pi Holistic audio cable.....and on and on. Now you know how I saved up enough money to buy that second home theater system for my bedroom.

I have done the side by side comparisons with all the expensive extras and found out it is mostly a waste of money.....oh yeah, now come back and say that if I can't hear or see the difference then.....OK to be somewhat serious there are some isolated situations where there might be reasons for extra shielding and cables with extra sturdy connectors and houses with old wiring, etc. but not everyone who buys a system needs all these overpriced extras, but every single one of us gets the heavy sales pitch. Save the money and put it where it counts, in the components and especially the display and speakers.

I have had surge protectors for years and only one model have I paid over $50 for. I buy my speakers wire at HD or online at huge discounts. My cables are pretty inexpensive. My friend who was in the high-end audio business for over 25 years (he once sold two JBL Paragons in one day) says my system sounds great for the price I paid and we have both read Stereophile and Absolute Sound for years, mainly for entertainment. he used to sell the extras but admits it is mostly baloney.

I have spent extra money where it realy counts like tweaking out the bass standing wave frequency response peaks and dips with a Radio Shack dB meter, test CD and 8 bands of equalization from a 31 band ART 351 graphic EQ (don't laugh, SVS Subs used the same very effective piece of equipment)in the 25-125Hz range. I have a response at my main listening area of 30-200Hz +/- 1.5dB and only down 3dB at 27Hz, not bad for an 8'' powered sub and some satellite sized speakers. Plus my video and sound are generally very fine. I have spent hours listening to Maggies and Quads and know what superb audio sounds like. I can't afford to go there but I kave pretty nice sound and video for the money I have spent in large because I put it where it counts the most.

For those that can afford it Panamax is very fine quality gear, but in my opinion only an extremely slight improvement in audio or video if any. For those on a tight budget save your money and spend it wisely.

Sorry, I'm rambling on here. Ah, but I feel better now, very therapeutic. Thanks for listening.

RR6

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RR6 ,Thanks for saying this!!

by jcrobso Feb 21, 2006 12:33AM PST

You saved me a lot of typing!!!!
"31 band ART 351 graphic EQ" That's a realy good EQ!!!

What I recomend for DLP, LCD and LCoS RP HDTVs is good battery backup,$80~100. If you loose power when you set is on the resudal heat in the lamp can melt it and then you have spend $250~350 for a new one.
The UPS will provide power so you can turn the TV off and the lamp fan will run on UPS to cool the lamp. John

P.S. you forgot about the Super De Pooper $2500 power cord.

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Thanks John

by RoadRunner6 Feb 21, 2006 9:50AM PST

I just put a post in response to a thread about battery back-up by JohnHunter44. I mentioned just below your post about the Tripp-Lite units I bought at Costco. Check it out.

I had great low frequency response in my old place (really lucky) but got those dreaded peaks and dips in my new condo. I argued with many on another forum who sang the praises of the Behringer BFD (Bass Feedback Destroyer) digital parametric equalizer. I'm not a computer expert and thought it might be too confusing for me and not necessary. My eventual comments about using a 31 band graphic EQ brought lots of scorn down on me by all the xxxxfreaks there.

After some searches (mostly very expensive equalizers)I got interested in these 1/3 octave 31 band single channel EQ's There are lots of different brands and they all are in the $100-$150 range discounted. My only real concern was with the noise level. I was not sure if they were OK for home audio use and well as pro band uses.

Then I lucked out and found that SVS Subwoofers actually sold the ART 351 (that was about 3 years ago) for exactly the same purpose. It works great. I drop the 20Hz slider way down and then adjusted the sliders in the 25Hz-125Hz range (about 8 sliders if I remember correctly). I used my old Stereophile CD frequency response CD and a Radio Shack dB meter with adjustment correction figures I got online and presto! I smoothed out several peaks and dips in the 6-8dB range and ended up with a very smooth 27Hz-200Hz response. One of the best $100's I ever spent. This was on my Energy ES-8 Sub which is already a very impressive sub for the money. The ART 351 has filters, bypass, 6/12dB switch and I put it in between the sub output on my receiver and the sub. The ART of course has in and out jacks. Slicker than snot (can we say snot on this forum?).

My son who is a drummer was very impressed with this equalized sub and the tight accurate response. Sounds great on accoustic jazz! An 8" sub that is flat down to below 30Hz is amazing!

Oh yeah, the super power cords. Did you see the current thread on this, I had some fun there?

RR6(Chuck)

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(NT) (NT)

by Riverledge Feb 15, 2006 2:44PM PST

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C/ NET NOT FUNCTIONING ON MY COMPUTER

by Riverledge Feb 15, 2006 2:49PM PST

TONIGHT, 15/02/06. SORRY.

river.

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Up to you, really, but here's my opinion...

by HighdefHoney Feb 13, 2006 11:23AM PST

This question comes up a lot on here...Do you really need a Monster 350 power center at about $400 a pop? Probably not, but if you're looking to protect your equipment, I've done the tests, and Monster definitely is one of the best that I've found. Even an entry level conditioner will clean up the grain in your plasma. Whether or not you move up to a higher price just depends if you want extra features like dual audio filter (cleaner sound), or MOVs (Breakers that melt when the eighth surge hits). The nice thing about Monster is that it can actually take 8 surges in a row, three big ones and five smaller, before it blows.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Belkin. Although Belkin is rated with higher joule-capacity, it didn't hold up to the testing we did on it. The bar, when overloaded, merely shut down, and allowed the surges we fed it to just keep on passing through. To the equipment. Monster held up to vigorous testing without a hitch, and on the 1000 series and higher, cleaned up the video more noticeably than the belkin. I'll admit that Monster is very overpriced. See if you can contact the local rep directly. We did that, and he allowed us a 25% discount. The reps seem to be the only ones allowed to discount it.

Anyway, point is, consider it. I paid 3000 for my plasma. There is no way in hell I'm hooking up a $50 Walmart bar to my baby. By the tests I've seen and done, that's like pumping diesel into your Porsche.

-Honey

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I am very happy too!

by BruthamanQ Feb 24, 2006 10:26AM PST

I purchased the HTS 3500mkII from Buy.com for $159.99 and received a $50.00 rebate from Monster Cable. I then had a friend purchase another one for me so that I could get the second $50.00 rebate in his name. This may seem excessive, but total investment to this point was only $218.00. And if every last piece of equipment is not "Monster" protected, the connected equipment warranty is void. I am using one for my home entertainment center and to the other I will connect all of my computer equipment. The surge protection was only a secondary concern of mine, but it's nice that it's there, should anything happen.

My primary reason for doing this was that I had some sort of ground loop fault going on between my PC(Presario) and my receiver(AVR 240, Harman). Shortly after soundcard(X-Fi, Creative) install, I started up a music playlist. When the music finished playing, I noticed a vibration in the walls and thought my home's A/C had kicked on. Then I realized the drivers in my sub and floor standers(all speakers JBL) were radiating significantly, despite the receiver not being fed a signal.

There was a great deal of low frequency noise being fed into the receiver through the soundcard. Not the soundcard's fault. Primarily an artifact of the grounding issue and much electrical noise created by all the components in the PC.

When the first power center arrived, I tore down the entertainment center and connected everything through it. A huge improvement. The vibration in the walls was gone, the low frequency noise was no longer audible and the drivers were radiating so slightly as to be perceptible only by touch. I don't know whether the second power center will improve the issue any further, but I have already ordered a separate isolation transformer (Pureformer, JK Audio) from Markertek.com for $55.00+ship. Total investment $278.00. I agree that in most cases, this type of equipment is probably over and above what is need it terms of price, performance and features. In fact, previous to connecting the PC to the receiver, I had no such noise issues and the sound was fantastic. However, for my current applications, these items were exactly what I needed.

Personally, I don't watch much TV and my music is very important to me. So I don't think of it as excessive when considering some reviewers here are paying $3000.00-$4000.00+ for their televisions alone.

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