If
you have a home theater, mid-fi or hifi stereo
system or a bedroom recording studio you share
one problem: a big heap 'o power cords and not
enough power outlets. Moreover, the ravages of
your local power utility can pump all sorts of
audio and video garbage into your system or, in
a worst case scenario, fry your expensive gear
in a nanosecond. Need relief and peace of mind?
Bust out a Monster HTS2000, it does the job of 3
different units: a power strip for more outlets
and a master power switch, a surge protector to
keep your gear from frying during electrical
surges or lightening strikes, and a power
conditioner to filter out electrical
interference.
Appearance
& Construction
At 20 inches in
length, the Monster HTS2000 is one big honkin'
power strip/surge protector. It sports 12 AC
outlets, 3 gold plated coaxial I/O and telephone
I/O. There's plenty of room for several wallwart
power supplies if needed. Supposedly, each
outlet has filter circuits optimized for a
particular component type, e.g., high current
amp, video, audio, switched, unswitched, etc.,
and bears a color coded label for each port. The
body consists of black painted metal with black
plastic trim and appears well built for home
use, especially considering the low price ($135
at globalmart.com). The strip also features
pretty green ground and protection lights and a
red glowing rocker switch for the switched
outlets. The plastic end trim can be removed to
allow for mounting in a 19 inch rack. You'd have
to leave a couple of rack spaces open above and
below it in order to plug your gear in. However,
I wouldn't want a bunch of power cords sticking
out of the front of my rack case.
It didn't do
well during the wife test as she immediately
noticed it laying behind a speaker and remarked
that it was big , ugly and full of wires! I
promptly placed a fake plant in front of it. The
component style HTS2500 probably would fare
better in this area but I though the rear
positioned AC outlets would be a pain in the
butt as I often move my gear around.
Audio
Did it make a
difference in my system? Yes, there was a
significant improvement in the audio and, to a
lesser extent, to cable reception. Foremostly,
the bass and midrange took on better focus and
clarity, i.e., the mud was gone. I didn't
realize there was mud down there until I plugged
this puppy in. When comparing, it took me 45
seconds to switch off my system, pull the plug,
power on and clue the same track. I repeated
this ritual numerous times with different
recordings over the course of 2 months. I'm
still not sure about some small details I seemed
to hear: 45 seconds proved to be too long a
period to be absolutely certain about them. I
though perhaps there were small improvements in
sound staging, but maybe the increased midrange
clarity made separation and placement seem
clearer. Anyway, the bass and midrange
improvements were obvious and unquestionable.
The treble seemed about the same with or without
the HTS.
Video
Although I could
detect no significant improvement in the video
output from my VCR or DVD players (they were
very good to begin with), my analog cable reception
cleaned up noticeably. This improvement was
solely due to plugging the TV's power cord into
the HTS2000. At first, I ran my CATV into the
HTS but noticed a small amount of signal loss,
i.e., the picture looked less grainy but darker,
so I reconnected the cable directly to my TV.
Maybe the darkening was due to the additional
cable required or the HTS filters? I don't know.
My CATV signal is weak and prone to RFI. Even if
I run the CATV into my VCR first and then into
the TV there's a loss of picture quality. I
bought Monster M1000S video cables and it helped
some. I live on the 31st story of a condo in
downtown Honolulu near a transmitting tower.
Perhaps after 31 floors of signal amplifiers and
splitters there's not much juice
left!
I have heard
numerous comments about this device: most say it
improved things while some felt that it did
nothing or degraded performance. My guess is
that ultra high end components have power
supplies with as good or better filter circuits
than the HTS and thus reap little benefit. Some
have complained that their 500 watt power amp
choked when exacting a sforzando at eardrum
bustin' volume due to insufficient current draw.
However, budget 'audiophile and mid-fi gear may
stand to gain significant improvements. For only
$135 this has proved to be the cheapest and one
of the most significant upgrades to my humble
system.
Monstercable
HTS2000