Monster Power Centers (1 Viewer)

[RalphR]

Anyone here know if the Monster Power Centers, like the 5100, 5000, 3600, 3500 etc., make a major improvement to your home theater system? They say that they make the picture quality better as well as make the audio much more clear and are better than surge protectors. Does anyone have one of these units here and can they tell me if it's worth adding to my system? Thanks!
I'm looking at the 5100.

 

[Chu Gai]

I personally don't own one. Email correspondence I had with Monster some time back, in an attempt to get some quantification of their claims came back without any satisfactory answers. I myself am not aware of any tests that were performed that instrumentally substantiated an improved picture. You'll find the usual reviews on the web most of which will tend to say something relatively positive but that's typically based upon someone doing a subjective assessment. The utility of these devices may lie in other areas such as the convenience of equipment consolidation and some surge protection. There've been some recent threads in the tweaks area about Monster that have indicated some displeasure with malfunctioning units. If that is a concern to you, Panamax may be worthy of consideration.
Out of curiousity, is there something you presently find lacking in your existing setup or has your local utility indicated large amounts of garbage in your AC?

 

[Bill Kane]

Monster and Panamax both have redesigned 2002 model units. So far, it's been the Monster HTS2500 that's produced failure reports.
To judge the features of these two lines, and there are plenty, see Link Removed
Ralph, I see that you are not a Newbie, but may I recommend a read in the forum's Home Theater Primer in Basics on buying Surge Protectors and Line Conditioners HERE
Starting with an inexpensive surge suppressor

 

[RalphR]

Hi Chu and Bill........thanks for responding! I've been seeing a lot of info at high end a/v stores about the Monster line conditioners (I think Monster is pushing the marketing hard for these units) and I do now have an older HTS1000 and wondered if the upgrade to a newer HTS5100 would be worth it. I have also upgraded my system so I want to make sure my investment is protected.
In response to Chu, I live in an area that's really prone to power outages and I wanted to be safer with my gear. I figure if there is a plus side to buying this unit beyond the surge protection it could be worth it. I just can't imagine if my system was fried by lightning!
Thanks for the link, Bill. I've been doing a lot of reading on the net about these units and for the most part it's been positive. I wanted to get some info from fellow HT fanatics on their experiences with the line conditioners. I read some of the other posts here and they weren't too good on the HTS2500.
Thanks again for your comments!

 

[JohnThompson]

Have you looked into the HTS2000? I think it outperforms the 2500 and 3500, and it is much cheaper. It is a power strip, so it doesn't look impressive, but I think you will be pleasantly suprised. It really cleaned up the my audio, and made a DRAMATIC improvement on my video performance.

 

[Randy Noel]

I recently bought AR's surge protector (I forget which model- I think I paid around $80.00) They offer a lifetime equipment guarantee, and seemed to compare favorably with the Monster units on display at the same store. Anyone have any experience with the AR units?

 

[Bill Kane]

Randy,

Your AR surge protector is just fine. AR brand generally is an economy-priced level compared to Monster.

In regard to John's post on Monster HTS2000, I'm glad he is pleased with it and wont dispute his experience. But I am moved to say that surge protectors at this level are not made to make dramatic IMPROVEMENTS in AV signals. They all carry AC line noise filters to clean up electromagetic interference (EMI) and RF noise.

The most dramatic improvements I got for video came when I switched to all S-Video connections and a S-VHS VCR as my cableTV television tuner.

Beyond midlevel or strip surge protectors, one then goes to "balanced power" and voltage stabilizer/regulator units in the $600 to $1,200 range.

 

[Doug_NHT]

I own the HTS5100. I wanted at least 10 outlets, surge protection, and I also wanted to monitor the Voltage and current draw. I cannot say if it "improved" upon anything as I still need to upgrade my tv but my sound seemed cleaner/more detailed but I bet that has more to do with the spikes/cones that I installed on my speakers. It looks good as well. I really wanted the AVS2000 but it weighs too much for my glass shelves dammit.

 

[David Judah]

But I am moved to say that surge protectors at this level are not made to make dramatic IMPROVEMENTS in AV signals

That has been my experience, as well. They do an admirable job of surge protection and noise filtering in their respective price ranges, however.

DJ

 

[Eujin]

Check out www.brickwall.com. They make surge protectors too, but unlike Monster, their site is chock-full of technical info about surge protection. The major thing about them is that they do not use Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs)--this may be important depending on what kind of equipment you have (I have a CD player that is sensitive to MOVs and has to be plugged directly into the wall). Their stuff wasn't designed for line conditioning, but it appears that it's an unintended side benefit to the surge protection.

 

[Bill Kane]

These threads have a way of escalating the discussion to higher-end units, but we can't have everything at once, can we? We started out responding to the poster's queries about higher-end Monster units.

Now, there's not much doubt the Brickwall is one of the top "brickwall' surge protectors without MOVs. I like 'em.

The problem is people look for a one-size-fits-all piece of gear, but each of our needs and protection levels vary -- how much gear to plug in; hi-current amps; geographic location prone to storms and electrical surges; number of CATV and satellite coax runs; desire for remote or delayed turn-on and other features.

In a perfect cost-is-no-object scenario, I personally wud get a Panamax Max 5XXX series power center and plug this into a Brickwall PW2RAUD ($199 w/two hi-current outlets) using the other outlet for my 1800VA power amplifier.

For me, at this stage, I can't justify this expense. But yes, it wud be nice,

bill