Opinons on Monster Interlink 400 (1 Viewer)

[Rob Cunningham]

I did a search on the old threads for the Monster Cable Interlink 400 cable, didn't find much.

I don't understand why it is so heavily bashed on audioreview.com. I own one and have had it hooked up between my Onkyo receiver and Onkyo DVD player with no problems to speak of, but all these negative reviews of the cable have made me wonder if I'm robbing myself of some sound quality/clarity that I might get with another cable.

Can anyone out there really testify to the quality (or lack their of) of the Monster Interlink 400 coax cable?

Thanks

Rob

 

[KeithH]

Rob, I haven't done extensive testing of cables in my systems by any means, but I use a lot of Monster Interlink 400mkII cables. For the price, I think it is a solid cable. However, I recently replaced a few pairs of Interlink 400mkII cables with Audioquest Diamondbacks and am very happy with the switch. Now, the Diamondbacks are considerably more expensive. While a 1-meter pair of Interlink 400mkII cables will run you about $40, a 1-meter pair of Diamondbacks goes for around $75-90, depending on the dealer. In any event, the Diamondbacks give a better soundstage and overall smoother sound with CDs and SACDs on my Sony SCD-777ES.
This is probably not a fair comparison since the Diamondbacks are more expensive. I considered buying a few pairs of Audioquest Copperheads, which are comparably priced to the Interlink 400mkII cables, but I figured I would probably have to spend more money to get a decidedly better cable. Still, I would find it interesting to compare the Copperheads to the Interlink 400mkII cables.
In any event, if you looking for some cables to compare to your Monster cables, take a look at the Audioquest line. Www.audioadvisor.com has good information on their cables, but www.amusicdirect.com has better prices if you call them. The amusicdirect.com web site is under construction, so they don't have product information available. They also don't sell Audioquest cables online, but they are legitimate. Both dealers are very good.
Other brands of cables that I hear good things about and that offer reasonably priced cables, and there are many, are Kimber Kable, Tara Labs, CATCables (Link Removed), Homegrown Audio (www.homegrownaudio.com), and BetterCables (www.bettercables.com). This is by no means a comprehensive list. Note that www.audioadvisor.com sells Kimber Kable products. I gave the web sites for CATCables, Homegrown Audio, and BetterCables because they sell direct online. For what it's worth, I have a pair of BetterCables Premium speaker cables, and they are very good. Finally, note that Monster makes better cables than the Interlink 400mkII. Check out the M Series.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Rob: I usually find that its not the quality of Monster cable, but their marketing and salesman-incentive programs/high-pressure that upset most people.

If you already have one, stick with it. It's decent quality.

But if you had a "high-demand" system, I might recommend going to one of the custom web sites where they will give you the same/better stuff than the production studios use for a better price than Monster.

By "high-demand" I mean:

- Projection display bigger than 50"

- Cable Run > than 10 feet

- Running Progressive or HD signals

Only with one or more of these would you be able to perceive any difference and therefor justify the expense of a new cable.

Hope this helps.