Monster Cable PowerCenter HTS 2000 MKII Reviews

• A silver bullet for interference issues?

  
  By A1WQ8EDY36FG9C on 2004-12-23
  My short review...
  
  I'll start by saying I am NOT a Monster Cable fan. I think for the most part they sell overpriced cables and interconnects to unsuspecting consumers and laugh all the way to the bank.
  
  However, in this case, I had just bought a new HD TV, and found that I could now see substantial interference on analog cable channels, as well as minor interference from any input.
  
  After consulting several experts, I was told that I could have 1 of 3 things going on, and most likely a combination of at least 2 of them... 1.) Cable line ground-loop interference 2.) Power line ground-loop interference 3.) General RF interference.
  
  Looking around at different power conditioners and cable-line isolators brought my to this Monster Cable product. I purchased it keeping in mind Amazon's excellent customer service on returns.
  
  I was more than ready to be skeptical.
  
  I hooked everything up, ran the cable line through it, and powered on. The difference in the video interference problem was pretty profound. I'd say there was a 95% improvement, and I can only see the interference now if I'm looking for it.
  
  Supposedly this product was really designed to help my audio system (and the video cleaning was an addition), but I have not had time to give my setup an in-depth listen since installing the PowerCenter. To be fair, I've never had a complaint about my audio, as "crackles" and interferences occur very, very rarely.
  
  But at least on the video end, this produce works as claimed, and has definitely improved the picture on my big-screen HD TV.
  
  

• HTS 2000 MKII Power Center

  
  By A2M6HSNSJT14B7 on 2005-10-01
  Update on 2-9-2008 - The switch has broken so now only the unswitched outlets work. I no longer recommend this unit.
  
  This item is larger and heavier than I expected. It appears to be very well made, however the first one I received started making very loud buzzing noises with occasionally clicking after the first day. The replacement has not had those problems.
  
  I have not seen a noticeable difference in how my home theater system works before and after switching to this surge protector. The benefits seen so far are:
  
  (a) it does look nice (and as expensive as it actually is),
  
  (b) it makes me feel that my equipment is protected (even though I cannot prove it),
  
  (c) the labelled sockets makes it easy to identify which plug I want to pull, and
  
  (d) its display of current being drawn is useful (e.g. it helped me discover that one piece of gear was wrongly on an unswitched outlet).
  
  One thing to be wary of is Monster support. I sent an email to them when I encountered the problems with the first unit and have never received anything from them (other than their automatic confirmation of a support request).
  
  

• Great for the price

  
  By A3POEUNICUXLGY on 2005-12-14
  I had been looking for a surge protector/power line conditioner for some time. After upgrading some components, I suffered from some mid-frequency hum in the speakers that I know was related to my cable tv coax and many ac plugs into two weak powerstrips. Well, I can tell you that this item solved my problems. No hum, and the filters I really think make a difference in audio performance. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd buy a high-end power conditioner, but for less than $200, this can't be beat. If you have a decent stereo and/or home theater, you need to get one of these.
  
  

• Solid product but no spectacular improvement

  
  By A3CRU8WBLN47EM on 2006-01-30
  The Monster Cable HTS 200 MKII is a very soild and well built surge protector. From the heavy industrial look of the product to the feel of the switches and plugs, everything is 1st class quality.
  I am using mine with a Sharp 32" LCD TV and a Comcast HD cable box with AudioQuest AV cables. I route the TV signals through the unit and experienced no lost of channels as another reviewer had with the HTS 1000.
  I especially like the LED voltage and ampage readouts feature. When I turned on the vacuum cleaner in the same room, I can see the voltage drop from 123 to 118 instantly and yet there is no degradation to the picture quality at all.
  With all this said, I must honestly confess there is no big noticeable differences in term of picture quality with or without the unit. The grainy look of non-digital channels still give the same grainy look and the digital and HD channels remain the same level of good quality. I think the buyers of this unit or any other high end AV surge protectors should not have false expectation of dramatic viewing improvement but rather think of it as a good solid protection for your AV equipments.
  Another reason to consider buying HTS 2000 through Amazon is the price. It is cheaper than what they charge for HTS 1000 at CircuitCity or BestBuy.
  
  

• How is it possible that it works this well?!

  
  By A291XTI6NO7DEG on 2006-07-13
  I can't get over it: my surround sound system sounds AMAZING! I had trouble getting the voices to come through and most of the highs were muffled (even after fooling around with the settings)... then I got the HTS 2000 MKII and I now have sounds coming out of the speakers that I never thought possible!! The sub no longer thumps, instead it creates the deep, rich bass without that annoying overdrive noise. The center channel came back from the dead and was so loud I had to actually turn it down! The rear channels are actually there now, and they too had to be turned down! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING SOUND!!
  
  The video improved, but I have always had good, clear picture, so it wasn't nearly as noticable as the audio clean up I experienced.
  
  I got lucky and ended up placing this unit right where the cable and phone line comes into my house. I have the TV cable going directly into the PowerCenter and then it gets split off throughout the house. I was having daily problems with my cable internet modem before, but I have just noiticed that since I have run the cable through the PowerCenter I no longer find my modem recycling / resetting. Hmmm, wonder if this did the trick... Anyway, I didn't want anything going into my new HDTV that wasn't filtered first.
  
  We get pretty bad thunderstorms in the Midwest, so I'll be running the phone line through it next, giving me total protection for my cable and phone lines.
  
  The unit is made as though they expect us to run over it with a car. And the plug wire is as thick as my pinky finger! It's huge and will last you the lifetime of your system.
  
  I HIGHLY recommend this unit to everyone that has a home theater. Even if you are just running a surround sound system and a regular TV, it's worth the money to hear your system perform as it was meant to.
  
  
• Great Product
  By AOYNHGSZ5R0R4 on 2006-07-13
  I purchased this product for my new plasma and I'm very happy with it. First off this thing is big, when I opened the box I looked at it and wondered what did I just buy, this thing is not called "PowerCenter" for nothing. It's well built and it'll definitely last longer then any TV you'll own. After the initial shock of the size of the unit. I opened it up and plugged my TV, STB, HTIB, VCR, and all play DVD player in. It has many sockets for additional products and the sockets are nicely labeled too. Before I got the unit I did experience interference on a lot of my TV channels but when I routed it through the unit and it cleaned that all up. I'm very happy with the unit, I was going to return it because of the size but since the HTS1000 doesn't support HDTV I'm keeping it. If you want a well built, solid unit that protects your equipment for up to $250K and provides a better TV feed, then I recommend this product.
  
  
• Not petite
  By AZRD8DASO6E84 on 2008-01-02
  This was too big to hide behind furniture in our living room, and although its colors are beautiful, they did not match our decorum. But Amazon is great - took it back and gave a prompt refund. Love 'em.
  
  
• This thing is HUGE
  By A14K68HYCFCTRJ on 2008-03-08
  Be sure to check the dimensions of this item before you purchase. Make sure you have enough room for it.
  
  
  
• Actually fixed my sound problems!
  By A329DVU2UTW3BU on 2007-03-26
  Like other reviewers here, I also normally hate Monster. I've gotten into shouting arguments with stupid employees at electronics stores about why you don't need a gold-plated HDMI cable for your HDTV (if you don't need a gold-plated $100 computer monitor cable why do you need a gold-plated $100 HDMI cable?). However, this product actually worked wonderfully for me.
  
  I had been having tremendous problems with my surround system. Sound would flicker, especially when I used it through my cable box. After installing this Monster power system, all problems have gone away. Additionally, I've replaced a spaghetti pile of 3 surge protectors with this single unit, so the underneath of my entertainment system looks a lot nicer too.
  
  I have not yet hooked up my cable through this as it seems to be working fine already. On a related note the "free $27 value!" included cables are so short as to be nearly useless, so don't plan on using them for much (unless your power unit is under 1 ft from your system).
  
  All in all, this probably could be half as expensive as it is, but it works extremely well (and I would have ended up spending $70 on new optical cables to try to fix this problem anyway), so I'm happy with it.
  
  
• Well blow me down, the darn thing works
  By A20MFSA8R1XQ8U on 2007-11-21
  To say I was skeptical would be an understatement, but I was having such bad video interference, I had to try something. I live in a large condominium building and was getting all sorts of lines and hits on my 42 inch plasma, especially at times when others in the building would typically be using their own home entertainment systems (weekday evenings, for example). It got so bad a certain times, that the hits would actually cause the screen to go momentarily black--it was like watching the news in strobe. I knew the interference was from elsewhere in the building because it wasn't nearly as bad at times when building usage was low (say, a weekday afternoon or a sunny Saturday). After installing the PowerCenter and testing the screen display for about a week (to see it at different times), I have to say that I am completely bowled over. The display has never looked so good and it is completely devoid of interference. Great, great product and worth every penny.
  
  
• A RIDICULOUS MONSTROSITY!
  By AMPSU4YEO7L5G on 2008-02-15
  There is no need for this thing to be so huge!! The technology exists for it to be the size of a regular surge protector, but monster decided to make it obnoxiously massive, roughly the size of a volkswagen. It probably doesn't do anything special, and it is overpriced, made-in-china garbage. The pic. doesn't do its obesity justice. I don't know where the he11 I'm going to put this thing, I might need a garage for it.
  
  
• Good electronics protection
  By A2M79TJR3X5YO6 on 2007-01-09
  This Monster Cable powercenter is heavy and very well made. It's been in use here for about a month. We've had power outages, storms and this product has provided protection for our TV and sound system. It did what it was supposed to do. If you have one of the new plasma or LCD wide screen TV's with surround it only makes sense to protect your investment with a high end surge protector and 'white noise' filter. I recommend this product.
  
  
• Works like a champ
  By A2HE32W68JJIIL on 2007-01-12
  Sony KDS-60A2000 SXRD HDTV
  Onkyo HTS-790 HRIB
  Samsung DVD-HD960 Up-Converting DVD Player
  Motorola 3416 I HD DVR with Comcast HDMI to the Sony
  
  I have only used this for an hour and I have noticed the following already:
  
  I replaced a standard surge protector with the Monster and connected the coaxial cable from a wall outlet through the power center and then to my cable box. I originally had the cables connected to a power amplifier because the signal was fairly weak and the HD channels would tile without it or not even come in at all. Right away, I noticed that my picture was better. Not that there was a big improvement but I could tell from switching through the HD channels that there was ample signal and I didn't experience any video loss. I wasn't expecting this product to amplify the signal. Maybe it does or maybe it just "cleans" the signal. Just knowing that I get HD channels and digital music channels without problems is worth it in my opinion.
  
  As far as the sound quality, it sounds about the same or a little better. My subwoofer sounds a lot better and produces real thumping vs. a sort of fake bass sound that kind of rumbled before. This power center gives me comfort that everything is protected now.
  
  Does anyone knows where I am supposed to plug in my powered subwoofer? Right now, I have it in the amp outlet on the center but I really don't know where to plug it in as I didn't see any instructions for that. Please leave a comment if you know the answer. Thanks.
  
  I purchased this through Amazon via insideoutdepot for $135. They were prompt in shipping and emailed me every step of the way through delivery. Interesting enough, I noticed that they are now selling the power center for over $200.
  
  There are more than enough outlets available than I need but it's nice to know that I have extra's for future add-ons.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• does make a difference
  By A1ZDONI6CTTQ0D on 2007-01-22
  I bought the MONSTER CABLE POWERCENTER 2000 for half the store price online,so if it did not help the loss would not be as large.WELL IT WORKS ,IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. MY OLD TV LOOKS AND SOUNDS BETTER. CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT IT DOES FOR THE NEW 1080P FLATSCEEN. its worth the money
  
  
• Monster Cable Power Center HTS 2000 MKII
  By AVS9HYKP43IYL on 2007-03-26
  This is a very good power bar/surge protector. It has room for most of your home theater needs and also checks the ground circuit for proper hook up. This eliminated the little white noise spots from the picture that I had with the antenna going to the plasma tv. Was cheaper here than two models down at local stores.
  
  
• Appears to work fine.
  By A2135BNAAUHWZ9 on 2007-06-10
  I'd love to say great things about this product, but due to no lightning strikes on my home or frequent brownouts/blackouts it's kinda hard to tell how its working. I am using this strip to power a 1080p 42" LCD TV, XBOX360 w/ HDDVD player, Cable Modem, and router. The picture on my TV is very clean and I see no interference. The only thing is, I am seeing the same results with my 720p 32" LCD TV with a high-end surge protector I purchased from Wal-Mart that's not made my Monster. The difference in price: $100. I can say Monster does use a different kind of surge protection that, in theory, would be alot more beneficial for my devices. And it has an audible warning when the surge protection is no longer good, which most protectors do not have. It also prevents power from moving through the device when the surge protection is worn out, which almost all other surge protectors do not have. I would definitely get another to protect my investment just on its specifications, alone.
  
  
• It works
  By A2MP2CP1LNRU2C on 2007-08-05
  I recently bought this and it arrived very quickly (2 days). I was surprised since I used the free ground shipping. I hooked it up and it did not amazingly improve my picture (Comcast Digital) but DID improve my audio. I'm used to watching my DVD's with my receiver set to -10db (loud enough to annoy the neighbors). After I hooked up this unit I can't turn it up over -15db. The bad news is after a day or 2, the outlet designated TV/Monitor died. Every other outlet works fine. I contacted Amazon and was impressed on how quick and easy it was to return and get a replacement. I'm hoping it was just a bad unit because I really liked what this unit did for my audio. I'll update once I receive the replacement.
  
  
  
• Good but
  By A20XC0E1H423GL on 2007-01-03
  I like it, but i later bought a UPS for the battery back up feature for a 42 in plasma i purchased. The UPS was in fact cheaper and provided the needed number of outlets. I still use the HTS on a 50 DLP for my bedroom.
  
  
• Excellent!!
  By A2X6TV4NCZN9R0 on 2007-01-11
  This PowerCenter is great. It shows me the amps I'm drawing and has many outlets. Would recommend to anyone.
  
  
• Great Product, eliminated the humming
  By A144Z8FCZR0P29 on 2007-01-11
  Great Product, eliminated the humming at low volume in my surround system. However, due to the large size of the unit and the angle of the plug outlets, I cracked one of the plugs when I pushed the entertainment center back to the wall. It still works like new. Over all I would still buy it again. I was able to buy this HTS 2000 MKII from amazon for less than the HTS 1000 from Nebraska Furniture Mart, which was the cheapest place in town.
  
  
• Not sure about Monster
  By A9RVMNULTTF34 on 2007-01-17
  This is another product I was talked in to purchase. Bad design, too bulky and difficult to situate. I'm not sure how much better this surge works than others that cost 1/3 of it's price.
  
  Research more about what you need before buying the Monster products.
  
  
• Nice Clean BIG power for your HDTV
  By A1IERNQCNXLP4P on 2007-02-22
  The HTS 200 is larger than you'd ever expect a "power strip surge suppressor" to be. But it seems to work fine. It works well with cable TV and allows good HDTV signals to pass through it. It has a neat little digital Current meter that will come in handy for storm power outage operations. I can use it to measure initial startup loads and continuous loads for different devices and decide on what my generator can handle.
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• Perfect for a Home Entertainment System
  By A2M2BRTFY1ZOAZ on 2007-10-16
  Despite its expensive cost, this bad boy does the job.
  
  PLENTY of sockets for you plug all your peripherals.
  
  The Voltmeter and Ammeter on this little tool is very useful for those of you who care about how much power you are consuming.
  
  I would recommend this to anyone who wants to protect their expensive electronic equipment. This does in fact clean up the AC power signal and will protect against every day surges.
  
  It can even clean up the signal from your network and coaxial cables. Although this is standard in most power surge protectors.
  
  This thing has 6 coaxial in/ouputs for 3 sets of coaxial protection.
  
  I've filled up every socket so far and no problems. The plug is the kind that flushes against the wall at an angle so it doesn't in the way of furniture. Very nice design. Power cord is plenty long enough to place it out of sight.
  
  Although expensive, if you got the money, just buy this piece of equipment. It has yet to let me down.
  
  
• Monster Surge Protector A+
  By A2JNP8UUFHSHML on 2007-10-21
  I love this surge protector because it has 12 outlets as well as a
  lcd which tells you what the power coming into the protector is. I have 8,000 worth of electronics plugged so I enjoy the feeling of added protection. My ONLY complaint is reading the warranty it would appear that Monster can probably find a way not to honor the $250,000 protection guarantee.
  
  
• Seems OK
  By A1IRCM9BVKMLQI on 2007-10-28
  Except for being very large I have no problems with it. I use it to power A Toshiba 73" tv, xbox, dvd, etc. I assume it's doing it's job and protecting my equipment. No problems. By the way getting it on Amazon saved alot of money over the prices charged at Circuit City.
  
  
• Lots of room, entertaining displays!
  By A187LCLRCBSOIS on 2007-10-28
  This is a really nice product. Seems to be very well built and it's a Monster product so it's what I would expect. I don't know if it improved my picture quality, but I feel a lot better having my plasma screen protected by it. I also like the fact that it passes all frequencies through the coax connections. With my previous product, I had to bypass the coax portion of it because it filtered out some of the channels.
  
  The voltage and amperage displays are amusing. I'm not convinced of their accuracy. If you're really concerned about either of those, get dedicated measurement equipment, but hey, they're fun to watch if you're bored.
  
  All in all, a good item. A bit on the pricey side - I wouldn't buy one to protect a 13" black and white TV, but if you've got a huge plasma screen with a nice sound system attached, it's a wise investment.
  
  
  
• Excellent Power Strip on Steroids
  By ASC41ECE7SQ5F on 2007-12-24
  Had a few power outages and so far no damage to my devices. Comes with phone line and coax video cable.
  
  Great labeling as I have hooked this up to LCD TV, AV Receiver, HD DVD Player, Blu Ray Player, Wireless router, 5 Disc Changer, Cable Box, Nintendo Wii.
  
  Great spacing for all sorts of bulky plugs.
  
  Excellent digital meter will let you know how much current and voltage you are using.
  
  
• It's all in the price!
  By A17JBHM1REKCG9 on 2007-12-30
  Can't, I say CAN'T beat the price compared to the stores around here. So far does all it says it would do. Let you know more after the next thunder and lightning storm. Monster does clean up the signal some. Any little bit helps. Went high end on my purchase but thought it was well worth the investment.
  
  
• Do you need it all
  By AG0ZWTL8FN2W on 2008-01-23
  Great surge suppressor, but with high definition, and older 55 ohm cables, I lost some sound connecting the cable throught the suppressor and then to the cable box. If you don't have digital cable to your cable box using the cable part of the unit might cause packets to delay causing words to be lost(as happened with me). If you are digital all the way from the pole then by all means this is a great product. If not s smaller one without the cable supression might be the way to go
  
  
• grateful to have
  By A38MAW6DK9BA9F on 2008-04-09
  have a lot of electronic components and used a lot of extension cords for all. Now all electronics are plugged into one device and also has space for bigger plugs.
  
  

• Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Monster Music High Definition Surround Sound CD SUPERDISC)
• David Benoit, 40th Year Anniversary Charlie Brown Christmas (Monster Music High Definition Surround Sound CD SUPERDISC)
• Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company (Monster Music High Definition Surround Sound CD SUPERDISC)
• 3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $201-$500 - Repair
• Tripp Lite ISOBAR6DBS Isobar Ultra Surge Protector/Suppressor w/ Coax/RJ11 6 outlets 6ft Cord 2850 Joules

• Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (2 meters)
• Cables To Go - 40315 - 2M (6.5ft) Velocity HDMI Digital Video Cable (Blue)
• Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote
• HDMI Cable 2M (6 Feet)
• Monster Cable HDMI 400 Cable (2 Meters)