Nice bass

weak vocals

Yes it does give good bass that the factory wire just cant produce. However, the factory wires had better vocals and high's. But the high's on the factory crap just didnt sound that good for me to keep them in. The sound from the monsters IS better overall. I just wish they would produce better high's. And yes there really is a diffrence b/w factory and aftermarket cable!!! Plug in the aftermarket cable into the right channel, and the factory crap into the left channel and listen to something. Switch the balance b/w left and right and you will hear the difference...a buddy of mine told me about that.

Similar Products Used:

el cheapo OEM crap

Build quality, punch in the bass

Somewhat muddy overall, especially on female voices, but a forward sound

Perhaps my mistake was going to the mass merchants. Or perhaps I bought before doing my homework. But these cables, while certainly a step up from the more pedestrian products sold (or given away) are not in the same league as the Nordost Solar Wind.

I must confess to being a skeptic on cable "sound." This was my first foray into 'audiophile' cable (I had never spent more than $14.99 for an audio cable) and was very surprised (pleasantly) when I first hooked up this cable between my cd player and receiver. Frankly, I was blown away by the presence and dynamics my system was suddenly capable of. Also, my speakers seemed to find bass that had heretofore been missing. But as my listening continued, I was less than satisfied. Something was bothersome, and I could not put my finger on it. As I contemplated how to improve my system (the only logical improvement seemed to be expensive separates which I cannot afford right now), I started to do the research that I should have done before buying the Monster product.

I am sure there are many superior cable manufacturers out there. But in all my reading, I kept coming back to Nordost as a real value/performance leader. All the reports were sterling, from this country and the UK. So I gave them a try.

The difference was remarkable compared to the Monsters. Everything was suddenly balanced. While there was probably a little less bass than the Monsters, what was there was clear, distinct, and VERY punchy, if it was recorded that way. You see, the Monsters made almost all CDs sound punchy. In fact, the bass seemed somehow disconnected from the rest of the music; sort of standing out in front of the speaker and calling attention to itself. Remember, I said the Monster cable had really brought out the bass. It just wasn't realistic.

Then there are the voices. I listen to a lot of female vocal, from opera to pop and jazz. In each case, the voices had far more texture and detail on the Nordosts. And they are properly balanced versus the rest of the music. The Monsters seemed to lose the voices in the crowd.

Imaging? Once again, the Nordosts win hands down. Suddenly, I had the sound stage I had hoped for (but had alluded me)when I first purchcased my Martin Logan SL3s. With the Nordosts, everything was in the right physical as well as musical place. Where the sound had been coming from the front of the speakers with the Monsters, the sound now was difficult to source. Don't get me wrong, the soundstage was rock solid and deep. It just wasn't coming from the front of the speakers, but from the front of my room. It was as if the speakers had disappeared and all I was left with was the musicians and their music. Ahhhhh!!!

This whole experiment in cables has been very gratifying. I had purchased my Martin Logan SL3s about 4-5 months ago and, while pleased, I was not thrilled. I kept futzing with the placement (after all, many reviews say they are difficult to place). The addition of the better cables has fully satisfied me with my investment in the speakers. Maybe the issue with M-Ls is not the placement, but the associated equipment(including the cables). I still want to upgrade electronics and my cd player, but I am satsified until more money finds it's way into my bank account. The cables are the best return on investment I have ever made in audio equipment.

Take the time to find a dealer who has the Nordosts. They are also available on line. If you cannot find anyone who sells the Nords, then consider the Monsters Ref 2s.

PS: They cost the same. That really makes the Nordosts a bargain.

Equipment used:

Denon 2700 receiver
Martin Logan SL3 (plus other junk for the surrounds)
Denon 360 cd player
Monster cable speaker wire (that is going too!!!!)

Similar Products Used:

Monster M Series, Nordost Solar Wind Interconnect, Monster 400 mkII

Too many

In continuation from my last review I went out to the Goodguys and bought another pair. Why, well I bought them at first because I was curious why they were so expensive, and because I was thinking about upgrading my cables from my VCR. I didn't hook it up on my VCR because I only had a pair, I hooked it up on my dvd in my main (mix) out to my Marantz dvd left and right audio. I was amazed at the clarity and seemed that everything just opened up. I immediately wanted to replace the cables from my VCR, which were standard monster cables and went to the Goodguys again to buy another pair. Now there connected to my Mitsubishi VCR. I popped in Mortal Combat.

Good clarity,deep bass,definition,shhhhhhhh just about everything!

Little bright

I replaced some other monster interconnectors I bought for $30 two years ago. My God, when I connected these cables to my dvd and marantz SR-8000 receiver it literally blew me away. For a few days I thought my new speakers (infinity overtures 2) kinda sucked a little because they sounded muddy, until I hooked up these babies! I really recommend these to all audiophiles and all wanna be audiophiles. Bye

Good RCA with turbine connectors

None

THe cable size is relatively big and promising, even before I tried to plug them into the system. It did make a difference in focal quality, clear highs, and deep bass. I am interested to buy this cable because I tried the sound in one of the cd store which has a damn good cheap system such as marantz CD, dynaudio contour, and antique audio lab amp and pre amp. Overall, this cable is good for its price.

Similar Products Used:

Pure Note, Kimber Cable, Tara labs

I've recently picked up a pair of Monster Reference 2 Interconnects (there "best"). I was really quite amazed at how beautiful the music sounded...and God, did it sail! Highs just flew without limit. A little bright, but very smooth at it. Plenty of air and imagining. A little light on bass though.
Now encouraged to persue interconnects/cables further, I just picked up a pair of Audiotruth Opals, the lowest price model in their upper "Truth" lineup. Perhaps they need more breaking in, even though used (I understand a broken in cable tends to revert back to out of the box characteristics after a couple weeks of non use), but I already feel I have a sense of the sonic character of the Opals, and so far, the Monster Cable undeniably blows it away. The Opals sounded quicker, slightly sharper delivery of high frequencies, stronger bass, but overall sound much duller. The imagining between the speakers just fell out of the center. Highs did not sail. The sound came off as analytical, mechanical, metallic, and dry; where as the R2s were juicier, lusher, more liquid, like real music should. I'll give the Opals more of a chance to break in, but so far, on my particular system, I have to say I'm very disappoited, particularly considering the reputation each company has. The Opals make my system sound like the NHT 2.5i's I returned due to the mechanical, non musical sound they turned out for me.

System (moderate...could be somewhat to blame, but...it sounds damn good with the R2's:
Denon AVR 2400 75wpc
Denon DCM 460 CD Changer
B&W 602 Speakers
Kimber Brown/Black speaker cable, configured for bi-wiring.

One of the reviewers says he believes a cable can make or break a system. This is absolutely true, especially after you have assembled a good system.

Ok, the Reference 2 might not be a great cable, but I think it's a very trusty cable.

After playing around with tons of other cables, I found cables and hardware are inter-dependent on each other to produce good sound. Some cables produce good highs on one system might roll off the highs on another system.

But the Reference 2 sounds the same on every system I've used it on. And the best part about this cable is that it always produces an excellent sense of pace and rhythm. Most cables need to be perfectly matched with other cables and equipment to produce this.

That being said, I have more expensive cables, but I always use this as my "reference" cable.

$90 is dirt cheap for the 8 years of enjoyment.

good build nice ends

I did not have any

I was shopping at the usedcables.com store when I cam across this for sale. I had just gotten a new cd player (sony xa-30es) and decieded to get it cheap. It replaced a set of accoustic reserch pro's that had to be at least 6 years old. I swear buy them for my cd players interconn's. Seeing as they were used and already broken in I was very enthusiastic to try them. They are used in conjuction w/a parasound dac/preamp. This cable worked very well for my set up. The intref2 had a much more open feeling over the old cable. I poped in pink floyd meddle and took it for a test spin. The guitar was more prononced. I then tried patricia barbers night club. It was as if she was playing for me and me alone. The pianno sounded so different. I must again go on record as saying that just because I had a good experience you will too. Because of the intristic differences between cables and components you must try them out after break in. Get loaners. Any quality high end shop will loan out for test drives. I have personnaly had great success w/usedcables.com. They also have a recomendation section. Although I have not used it.(It is my opinoin that) If you are using a sony es xa3,5,7,20,30 modle cd player, this will likey fit your tastes. I do not know how they fair on the new 222,333,555,777 sacd players.

good luck.

Similar Products Used:

400mk II, IXOS, accoustic reserch, m-series

decent imaging

rolled off highs, colors sound, not transparent

I bought these cables a number of months ago to use with my Sony CDP-CA80ES cd player as an upgrade. They made little difference between the lower monster cable with that player.

I recently got an Ah! Njoe Tjobe 4000 CD player (reviewed here on Audioreview) as an upgrade from the Sony. There was a huge difference in sound quality. I could not believe it was coming from my system... but I still wanted more.

I have always believed that Monster made decent cable, but not the best. This turned out to be true. I got a set of Audioquest Viper cables, and wow. I compared the sound on the headphone jack of my preamp to the jack on the player and they were really close.

When this test was done with the Monster cables, I noticed a few bad things. The highs were rolled off slightly. There was a distinct muddy sound - they color the audio in the midrange. Some vocals sounded much fuller than they should have, almost to the point of being a bit boomy. Bass was always good and never an issue.

If you consider yourself and audiophile and strive for the absolute best and transparent sound, these cables are not for you - there are much better ones out there. If you have the usual combinations of japaneese consumer grade equipment, these cables may sound better for you than "courtesy cables" included with most equipment. There is still better cable out there for the same dollar.

Equipment tested with:

CD: Sony CDP-CA80ES, Ah! Tjobe 4000
Amp1: Yamaha RXV-995
Amp2: B&K Reference 30, B&K Reference 7250, AQ Viper IC
Speakers: Paradigm Reference Sudio/100 v2, Magnepan MMG

Similar Products Used:

tributaries sca100, audioquest viper

good soundstage, perfect clarity....

none

I use these for my interconnects on all of my audio equipment. Great depth and soundstage, not to bright, highs are crisp and clear.........

Similar Products Used:

apature