cheap
works OK for normal people

not hi-fi
bad focus
bad dynamics (music doesn't sound live)

This is a very cheap platic feeling optic cable. Soundwise, it is inferior to my SPDIF coaxial cable. If you are serious about music, don't waste your time. Sure, it does work and differences for normal people using normal audio systems or even high-end home theaters is meaningles. But if you are going hi-fi, you will sense the focus a lot blurred compared to SPDIF. I mean, I was listening Shirley Horn's Yesterday with my mom (60 years old) and I sais 'See if something happens' and she nailed it 'Her voice is more diffuse'. I wasn't expecting that from her, but there you go.

Customer Service

-

Similar Products Used:

a good SPDIF cable

none

cheap hyped up product

Absolute Garbage. Radioshacks' new line of Fusion cables has an optical cable for the same price and it totally destroys this cable in sound quality. Don't believe me pick one up and compare, you will throw this waste of money right in the trash. I hooked up the RS and could not believe my ears, I was going to buy a new preamp....I will keep the Parasound.

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack Fusion

Digital Fiber-optic Cool Color

None

Although the price was relatively the same I bought this cable over Digital Coax as I was told Fiber-optic would not pick up interference like Digital Coax may. The Monster Lightspeed100 connects my JVC XVFA95 Progessive scan DVD player to my Pioneer VSXD810S A/V rcvr. The opinion that weighed heaviest in my decision to buy this cable is the fact that fiber-optics is used in Medical surgery to Billion dollar tele-communication co's (ATT/Sprint). That in mind, I thought Lightspeed100 Fiber-optic would be a good choice in my HT system. It is Digital and I firmly believe the sound is crisp and clear as well as detailed. I really haven't noticed the subtle differences (if any) between Acoustic Research, Monster RCA cables and the Monster Lightspeed but was resolve in setting up my system w/ high quality, up-to-date Monster products and gave the Lightspeed100 the benefit of any doubt. I am anal about sound from my HT system and obsess about ANYTHING that I believe performs less than perfect but so far I cannot complain about the performance and am happy w/ the Lightspeed100 cable. AS far as price goes, experience tells me you get what you pay for...$40 isn't bad for piece of mind in knowing I bought the best piece for my system.

Similar Products Used:

A/R RCA, Monster RCA

Almost as good as the ten-dollar cables that come with your components, but not quite.

Not quite as good as the 10-dollar cables that came with my components.

I read all of the reviews here, found several raves (and a few zingers), and said what the heck, try them at $40. When I see rave reviews for the current crop of Monster products, I keep asking myself WHAT are these people hearing (I get no answer, of course). I hooked this Tos between a Denon DCD-1650AR and a well-burned-in MSB Link DAC III. Adcom GTP-400 preamp and Adcom GFP-565 preamps, Dyanco A410 amp, AR-ES1 table, vintage Monster Reference A and M1000 (original) interconnects, Grado SR-225 and SR-60 phones, B&W A302 satellites, PSB SubZero subwoofer, Monster PowerLine2 cables, Kimber Illumini DV-75 coax digital between CD and DAC. The Monster Tos was used in place of the DV-75. Imagine a nice, bright, detailed oil painting of a park scene with many people, trees, flowers, etc. The painting is behind plate glass. First, cover the glass with an even coating of Vaseline; make it nice and fuzzy-hazy. Next, dim all the lights in the room. Then take a rubber eraser and start erasing the edges of the objects in the painting (you are allowed to completely erase any number of smaller objects that you wish). Then spray the whole thing with a dull glaze to mute the colors. That's what this cable "sounds" like after 240 hours of burn-in (or 10 days of use, 24/7). I removed the cable, replaced the DV-75, and threw the Monster away. No reason why a $6000 stereo should sound as if cost $199.95.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber Illuminations DV-75 Digital Coax BetterCables Digital coax

Seems well built

Doesn't sound any better than anything else, including cheaper products.

Used this cable between my Pioneer DVD player and my Denon A/V Receiver. No need to go into a big discertation on the type of equipment I use. And there is no need to spend alot of words on the merits (or otherwise) of this product.

Plain and simple, I could not hear any difference between this and the $19.00 optical RCA cables I had been using. There is nothing wrong with the Monster product, but there is also nothing spectacular about it.

I have invested heavily in cables in the rest of my system and heard and seen the difference.

But, at least for a digital connection, the sound difference was undetectable. The build quality appears good and, on that basis, the price seems fair and relatively a good value compared to other cable products.

Similar Products Used:

RCA optical link, cheaper Monster cable

Digital Audio!

Reputation (People have already formed an opinion before tring them, be it good or bad)

Here is a quick A /B Comparison

Preface:
I got a Sony TA-E9000ES 3 months ago from the Sony store in Woodbury NY. At the time I got a 1.5M Sony Toslink Cable, $25, to connect my Sony CDP-C79ES 5 Disk Changer to the preamp and do that digital thing. Three days ago I went back to the Sony store and got a DVP-S360 DVD Player but I decided I wanted to try the monster interlink as my system is mostly Monster. System is base line monster, 100 and 200 series, OMC speaker, CD audio. I do better that entry level Monster but do not get into "high end Monster". Hooked the DVD up using the Monster lightspeed 100 2M, hooked the CD using Sony.

The test:
Grabbed two of the same CD. (Do to having same taste in music as my Wife and her and my collection overlap from our single days)

Put the disk in on pause on both machines and hit play at the same time.

Sat back with the remote for the 9000 and hit DVD, CD, DVD, CD ......

Results:
The results that I heard was that the monster was marginally better. Images were slightly better, Trumpets had better razz to them, base was a hair tighter, but not by much.

The results were so close that, that became the end of my test, no cable swaps, no multitude of CD's to listen to, to finish the A/B.

I will not be running out to get a replacement Monster for the Sony Optic, not worth a $40 tweak.

I would recommend the extra money if you are buying a new optic cable. This also has to due with the lifetime Warranty it is worth the extra $15 over the Sony base optic cable.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Toslink

It works

Poor termination design

I got the Kimber OPT1 for the same price on sale at audioadvisor.com

It has a simple molded termination rather than the flimsy plastic sleeve on the Monster ends, that look like they are supposed to do something other than slide around.

Only missing in the Kimber is the name Lightspeed. Nice name for a mediocre optical cable.

Similar Products Used:

Kimber OPT1

construction

any good tos will do

was using an AR 15.00 cable--since i have monster cable thruout my system i bought this cable on ebay new 1m for 24.00 with shipping--no diff over the AR in a-b lol we talking bits and bytes here--NOT analog--i did hear diff in monster on my cd when analog and on my speakers--but none on the tos over the AR--if anyone here hears a diff then they are blessed lolollo and in the wrong business what ever it is

Similar Products Used:

ar 15.00 cable

I purchased two of these to work with my DVD player and DSS. It comes in 3 foot and 6 foot lengths. I purchased the 6 foot so that I can more easily slide my components in and out without pulling wires out.
As far as I can tell these things work perfectly. The sound from my components is flawless. There are a couple of things I don't like. They don't snap into place securely. It's very easy for these to come loose when I pull out a component. I think this is an overall problem with TOS-link and not with these cables in particular. The other thing I don't like is the price. Everyone sells these for $44.99 and it's the only brand carried by most retailers. I assume it's the MSRP and no one discounts the price. 5 stars for sound quality, 3 stars for price.

http://www.thevideodoctor.com has the 1m for $27 and the 2m for $32. Everyone else seems to be selling at the standard $40 and $50.