Works as advertised at relative low price compares to others. The 75 ohm cable filter also break the common ground loop problem that happens many cable TV.

The manual is a Xerox copy with incomplete information. The current amp rating is printed on the top cover of the device but not in the manual. If you rack mount the device or stack it any where but top, you can not check the current rating on each section easily. There is no explanation how the “stage three” filter is better than the “stage two” filter used in the HTS2500. My guess, is there is none except form them to charge more.

I wasn’t a real believer on line conditioner. I had expected modern audio equipment companies should have a decent power supply design that filters the AC. The reason I got the HTS3500 is because I got tired (or lazy) to manually turn on and off the Parasound 1206A amp. I want to be able to do it with the remote control of the Sony 50ES, which I am using as pre/pro. IN addition, the Parasound is very sensitive (a poor design in my view, the Sony does not have this problem) to ground loop hum by the cable TV. I had figured, instead of paying $200 or a remote switch plus another $100 (outrages price, it is not that difficult to made) for a ground loop breaker, $320 (20% discount) is worth a try. I basically got the filters (it is three sections so it must have at least three filters in it) plus the surge protection for free. While I can get the HTS2500 for the same functions, the 20% discount made it a smaller delta to get the HTS3500.

Well, the ground loop breaker works. So is the remote power switch. But to my great surprise is how much the sound it improves. The noise base and distortions are lowered. As result, the sound stage, image and dynamics all improved greatly. The improvements not only so great but more importantly, was unexpected. As I had mentioned before, I had expected stuff like the Parasound should have a good power line filter built-in as part of the power supply design. The HTS 3500 not only proved me wrong but also shows how poorly some of the audio equipment like the Parasound 1206A was designed. I can understand why Sony may not want to add $20 (or less) parts to a $600 receiver, there is no excuse for Parasound not to put one in for an amp that sells more than $1,500.

If your audio equipment does not have built-in line filter (if the Parasound is any indication, other manufacturers probably cut corners too) , you really need to get one. If you don’t need remote control, the HTS2000 probably will do the job. If you need the remote power on/off, HTS 2500 will probably if you don’t need that voltmeter. The HTS 3500 supposedly has a different filter design, but I can not anything that either in the manual or on their web or ads to say exactly what the differences are. Anyway, highly recommended.

This is a very good line conditioner. It greatly improved my cable reception. As far as audio improvements, I am not sure, haven't listened intently enough as of yet. With the push of a button, my system powers up, nice. I wish it had a rocker switch, and not just buttons. If you can get a decent price on it, I highly recommend it. I was considering the Panamax 1500, but I am happy with my decision

Similar Products Used:

Monster HT700

Reasonable priced. Great performance. Decent overall design.

Fitlers are not shielded and all on single PCB. See summary below.

This is a follow on report.

The unit continues to perform but since I have some free time at year-end, I opened it up and take a look inside...

Most of the parts are on a large PCB. It contains the filters, relays and most of the control circuits.

The surge protection is done by MOV on another small PCB. This is good. In case of a real power surge, this board may get burned but not the main board.

The RF connector isolators are mount on the back panel with metal shields. This is also good. Short signal path and apart from the power stuffs cuts interference down.

There are four filters on the main board, two bigger ones and two smaller ones. The filters are ordinarily coil and caps type. Looks like each filter has one coil and three caps (may be that is what they meant stage 3?). The main board IMHO is the weakest part of the design.

First, the filters should not be on the same PCB as the control logic. Second, each filter should be on its own PCB and finally, the filters should be shielded.

As I had mentioned before on my original post, if you only want to have power filter and surge protection, you can buy good power filters and put into a box yourself to get the same performance (or better) at less cost. But if you are not DIY type and you need that remote power on/off plus the RF isolator (because some thing likes the Parasound has poor ground loop rejection) like me, the 3500 is a good buy compares to others outrages priced stuff. If you can live without the voltmeter and three filters, the 2500 is even cheaper. Any way still highly recommended for what it can do and what others costs.

very good grounding capabitility. looks, and feel.

price

The 3500 is a very nice piece of equipment. It definetly completed my home theater. it is very hi-class looking and I believe I recieve better sound. When I say "better" I mean wider sound stage, tad more precise of an image. It is worth the $400 they are asking but it still is rich for my blood on a "surge protector." I spent about $5,000 on my home theater, so $400 for absolute piece of mind is not a large decision for me. Again this will complete any home stereo or theater, my recommendation is dispersed generously to all interested

Similar Products Used:

panamax something or another

Clean sound

I wanted to write in to say that I had an HTS3000 which failed after two years. I e-mailed Monster's customer support and within six days (Jul 12, 2001) had recieved a new HTS3500 as a replacement. They even shipped me the 3500 before receiving the 3000 as an RMA! To me, that is GREAT customer support.

I wanted to address three main points in this review based on using both the 3000 and the 3500.

1. The 3500 I have received is slightly crisper sounding than the 3000. This may change following any break-in period?

2. The power meter has a brightness adjustment and the light has a blue tint. The display isn't nearly as bright as my 3000's was.

3. The product manual is a thick glossy pamphlet, not Xeroxed (my 3000's manual was Xeroxed).

I am quite happy with the product and feel the excellent "no questions asked" replacement I got from Monster is the icing on the cake. Count me as very satisfied w/the HTS3500 and Monster.

My system:

Sunfire Theater Grand
Sunfire Cinema Grand
MartinLogan SL-3 (Mains)
MartinLogan Cinema (Center)
MartinLogan Scenarios (Rear)
Velodyne HGS-10 (Sub)
Sony DVP-7700 (DVD Player)
Nordost Solar Wind (wires)
Monster Reference Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

HTS3000

Great audio improvement

Back wall with the tight autlets should be more strong, not such flexible when you connect the units

When I connected all my audio units to HTS3500 I was pleasantly surprised at how much the stereo saund is improved!!! And this is after using HTS2000 which also gave me a good improvement. I thought the top model THS5000 will give me even more, but....{read my summury in THS review}.

Similar Products Used:

HTS2000, HTS5000

Ease of set-up Cost Improvement on Audio and Video

None

I can`t say that I bought this product because I had a problem with my audio or video equiptment. But I wanted to take full advantage of what I had!It`s like gas in your car,the better it is the better your car will run! As far as the improvements to the audio I can hear more tightness in the bass. The high frequency`s are more open and airy. Where I noticed the biggest improvement was in my cable. When I was hooking everything up and plugged in the TV the picture got brighter and clearer immediately I mean right now!!! When I weigh cost versus improvement It`s almost a no brainer!

Similar Products Used:

None

Myriad AC filtered plugs, remote turn on, and timed turn on.

Need 1 more "analog" plug, 1 less "digital" plug. Status LEDs are way too bright!

So far, the only thing that bugs me about this unit is the front status LEDs. Damn they are bright. I may just open up this unit and replace the resistors in line with the LEDs with some larger ones. In a dark room they're blinding.
Otherwise, very nice and ez to plug AC power into. Nice to have a rack surge protector that fits nicely with other equipment.
Remote turn on and especially timed turn on feature very useful. Now I can power my sub on and off without making a pop sound ;-)
Cannot tell *any* difference in sound quality though. I was not really expecting any diff, however. I got it for piece of mind to protect my HT equipment. Also, it's not very expensive (paid $260) for what it does.

Similar Products Used:

Panamax el-cheapo surge protector.

Small, lightweight, simple to use, nice looking, plenty inputs, monitors the ground as well as the live current.

Backlight dims, but doesn't go completely out. The timed switch seems to take an excessive amount of time to cut on and off.

I never used my system without it, so I don't know about the improvement. I do notice that I still see a little static on the TV when the vacume is being run if it's pluged into the conditioner itself. (I rarely vacume, so it really doesn't matter).

Overall, I think it's a pretty good product, and I wouldn't play my system without it.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good price and warranty.

non yet.

I was experiencing the "electric chair" effect (dimming of my lights) and some short outs when running an electric heater with my a/v equipment. So I ran out and picked this up and I'm pretty happy knowing that my $12k plus investment is protected. The built in meter is a good gauge to see exactly the flux and inconsistency from the incoming current. Plenty of options for equipment plug-ins. Except there isn'te a specific outlet for the sub. Which is dissappointing. I ended up pluging into the "pre-amp" outlet. All in all it's comforting to know that everything is protected with the $100k warranty.

As far as clarity and sound... I notice a slight improvement on the audio end, but that could be my imagination. But then again, I've only had it for about a week. If you could get it for $300 or less, it's a good buy.

Oh by the way, the manual IS pretty crappy. It's a xerox with a staple in it. Talk about low budge. Sheesh!

Similar Products Used:

plain jane surge protectors and computer battery backups.