Why is Monster M1000i interconnect overlooked?

When Jeffreybehr mentioned test...well, I knew he was in trouble! I didn't mean to imply that I needed a Jeffrybear to fill me in...I've owned more classic gear and cable combinations than most reviewers. All I can say is come on over and bring your ears...not the tester! You do have ears don't you???

Ooh, Dave, trying to be cute, or just nasty? The test instruments were indeed our ears.
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Dave_b, this post made me curious and I just happened to have 2 XLR pairs of M1000i's laying around that I put back into my system replacing the Acoustic Zen reference II XLR's. The most noticeable difference was that the Zen's have a slightly smoother midrange and highs and a touch more definition in the base. The M1000i's on the other hand, seem a little "faster" giving guitar strings for example a little more "speed", "attack" and "bite". The Zen are a little smoother and warmer sounding without giving up resolution or dynamics. Focus, depth, width and height of the soundstage remained the same. In my system (BAT VK-250, VK-31SE, Meridian 588) switching between the Totem 1's and Arro's, the results were consistent and I prefer the Zen's. In a system that needs more "zest" or "jump" the M1000i's may just be the wake up call. At $200 as compared to $500 Zen's the M1000i's are an excellent "budget interconnect" and hold their own across the board, especially considering they can be had much cheaper pre-owned.

It's all synergy!

I have stubbornly resisted spending big bucks on cables, so I have been using an original pair of Monster M-1 and M-1000s through many systems and upgrades.

I bought them in 1986 (?!?!), in order to use with my new Magnepan MG IIIa's, Audio Research SP-9 and Linn LP 12. At that time -- with that equipment which is still respected -- they were supposed to be great, and were allegedly designed by Bruce Brisson of MIT fame.

Nearly 20 years later, I recently subsituted a much more expensive set of Madrigal interconnects, which were supplied with my Mark Levinson 23.5. By comparison, the pricey Madrigal cables sounded TERRIBLE - cloudy, dark, and closed in by comparison.

So I don't know why they are overlooked -- a perfectly good cable in my experience.