Monster Cable HTS 800 Home Theater PowerCenter with Clean Power Stage 1

The house I live in was built in 1939; they didn't have TVs back in 1939; the outlets aren't even three prong grounded except for one the landlord had to have put in with a higher capacity circuit to accomodate that new fangled gadget--the air conditioner.So when I picked up my new Sharp Aquos, 1080p, 42" television I was very susceptible to the pitch that I should buy only the most expensive surge protector / line noise reducer possible, the more expensive the better--but I'm not a sucker so I didn't buy it right there and then.Next store, Best Buy, the salesperson recommends the HTS800 as the minimum, and he recommends more expensive ones but not with as much zeal. The difference is that the Best Buy salesperson doesn't work for commission. The logic is of course that if you're going to spend $1500 for a TV, you might as well spend another $100 or so to protect it from electrical surges and clean up the picture static caused by line noise in both our ancient power supply and by our cable provider.I find this on Amazon for no less than a 40 percent discount over what I can find it for anywhere else, and order it, but before I open the package I go to the Monster website to make absolutely sure this one is adaquate--and it is. The difference between this and higher end ones is the capacity and the ability for the unit to not only shut off and sound an alarm when there's a surge, but also turn everything back on safely.This one will turn off everything that's hooked into it and sound an alarm, besides cleaning up the line noise, but that's as far as the description goes.OK, so I open the package and hook it up. WOW. Absolutely huge difference in the picture on the set. I don't think a more expensive one would make a great difference or that it would be worth it for me--on my level of home entertainment--to pay more for a 'better' one.And then, one day soon after, I hear an alarm warning me about a dangerous surge, but it doesn't shut down the system. Perhaps just to assure me, another day it does shut down the cable box only AND then came back on.But the real prize is the picture. There is a huge difference between the quality of the picture on my HD television with this filtering the power and cable lines. I'm thinking of buying another one for my old TV--a Sony Trinitron--because I'm sure it must make a difference there as well.BOTTOM LINE: If you live in a fairly new building, your electrical system is probably not as much of a hazard as mine, but might be just as noisy. And surges are always a big risk, even if you have all new appliances. For what you spend on items like televisions, stereos, and game systems, it's worth paying a bit more to protect them from the kind of damage that insurance wont cover--wear and tear--as well as allow them to perform as intended--better than they do while on display at your local electronics store in fact.This item will not only protect your sensitive electronics, but make them better as well. Clearer images, clearer sound, and it's just plain smart design.Now that I have this one, I definitely would pay for the next level up from this model but I'm also confident that this is all I need. A higher level one has more features, but for my home entertainment purposes I doubt it would really add anything. If one day I really go all out in terms of buying a full home theatre system, I'll spend a couple of hundred dollars on the best one, but this one was made for people like me now who don't have such high end needs but want better-than-expected performance.

For anyone buying their first HDTV, I recommend buying the powercenter (and HDMI cables) on-line to save money. I bought the HTS 800 along with my first HDTV (Sharp 47" LCD). I decided on HTS 800 because it offered surge protection, it filtered out electronic noise, it had plenty of color coded outlets spaced apart, and it was much cheaper than similar products at the electronics stores. Prior to purchasing the HTS800, my old color TV and stereo system were plugged into a regular power strip. Whenever I would try to use the TV and stereo together, the stereo system would flash "surge" after a couple of minutes and turn off. I have had my HDTV and HTS800 for a month now, and I have had no problems. The TV picture is clear, I get great sound whenever I use my TV and stereo system together, and I don't get the "surge" warnings with my stereo anymore!

Well I decided to write a review on this product since I just had it blow and start squealing.I am rating it at four stars due to the fact I have to buy a new one.I have owned and used monster power surge protectors for years. I have an older model HTS MKII 1000 that has functioned flawlessly for the past 5 years or so in Texas and Ohio now. My home has had multiple power issues with storms etc in both states and never had a problem with it. I also purchased the HTS 800 last year with a 60" Plasma screen I bought and wanted to make sure I had it protected. Attached to the HTS800 were a number of devices: 60" Plasma Screen, Onkyo TX-SR-606 AV Receiver, PS3, HD Cable Box, CD Player, iPod Dock and DVD/DVR unit. Well last evening as I was watching HD Television through the receiver I hear a audible click followed by a loader click almost immediately and all power in the wall unit went out and everything turned off. I immediately heard a low squealing noise that I had never heard before. I followed the sound to find it was coming from the Monster Power Center HTS800. I immediately thought thankful that it turned everything off and found that I could not get it to reset the fuse or stop the squealing sound. I then went on line and found a post that the another customer had the same thing happen and that it "fried" the unit and it would need to be replaced but it protected as intended.Well after plugging in my HTS MKII 1000 from my downstairs home theater system, I found that my Onkyo AV Receiver (TX-SR-606) would not come back on. This unit has been giving me problems for a while with consistently reading a multitude of different Blue Ray players and ran very warm... could double as a space heater. Looks like the receiver blew and from a reverse direction blew the receiver or the was a power surge that made it through (doubtful). I just got off the phone with Monster Warranty Department and they were very friendly and courteous with me. They will send out a claim package and will immediately send a replacement power center. I am a fan of good customer service and monster has been a 5 star service so far. I have a few understandable hoops to jump through i.e. fill out a claims package, get an estimate of repair for the receiver, etc but they could be sending me a check for repair/replacement costs.Now, I am not patient so I have already ordered a new AV Receiver (Pioneer VSX-1020-K due to CNET review/Amazon ratings) here on Amazon and yes i also bought ANOTHER Monster Power Center HTS800. I believe it did its job, even though I can not reset it which is the only reason it is receiving 4 stars here. I went with the same unit because of the sale price that I just could not pass up. I would love to have bought the HTS MKIII 1000 which also had a great sale price, but it was almost $50 more and the 800 functioned as it was intended to protect the other valuable items in my home theater.PROS: Sale Price, Customer Service, Lifetime Replacement Warranty on Power Center, Spacing of Outlets, Audible Alarm and Status LightsCONS: Could not reset the unit