Home > Consumer Reviews > Monster Cable MP AV 800 PowerCenter AV 800 with Surge Protection

I bought two surge protectors at the same time. One was the Monster AV 800, the other was APC Performance SurgeArrest 11 (PF11VT3).

The Monster is fine. Most importantly, it should do a good job of what it is designed for: extension cord + surge protection. It does NOT have a phone line protection, just for coax cables. But if your only criteria is whether it does it's job, it gets an A in that area.

But, I'm more picky, so here are additional items for consideration:

It has a right angle plug allowing it to be plugged easily to a wall behind a desk or other tight spots. The plug is angled towards the right hand side, so it's better if you're going to keep the surge protector on the right hand side of the wall outlet. My equipment was on the left side of the outlet on the wall, so the plug looks a little weird for me; the APC unit has a left angle, so that was a better fit. Obviously this is purely cosmetic.

I also have mixed feelings about the color-coded outlets. They also come with stickers so that you can tag the power cords, so that you know which cord belongs to which unit. That certainly makes things easy when you need to unplug just one of the items. On the other hand, since each plug is titled with a specific equipment name (TV, VCR, DVD Player), if you are plugging something else, you are stuck with using one of the existing tags so you have to sub-optimize. Again, just a cosmetic complaint.

But, overall, the main reason I'm not as passionate about the AV800 is that it is not as good a value as APC Performance SurgeArrest model is. I bought both at the same price (About $30 on Amazon). But:
a) APC comes with phone line protection, Monster doesn't (and in fact, you can connect two equipments to the same phone line on APC, so it also acts as a phone-line splitter)
b) APC has safety shutters on its outlets, Monster doesn't (Although they do make it slightly more difficult to plug things in and out of the APC unit, and some complain about this. I find it as a useful feature)
c) APC has 11 outlets, Monster has 8.
d) On APC, 2 of the outlets are "always on", while the remaining 8 can be swtiched on and off using the switch on the unit. This is useful, if you are going on vacation and want to leave only your VCR or DVR on for recording, but want to cut power off from your amplifier, your TV, and any other equipment. When you initially set it up, just make sure to put your VCR on the always on plugs. Then you can flip the switch to off and leave. Monster AV800 does not have such a feature, so the switch turns all outlets off.
e) Cord Guide - APC also has a cord guide, so you can group all cords together and guide them from one end of the surge protector, making it look a little tidier. It's not perfect, but better than nothing (which is what Monster has).

Finally, if you are obsessed about the joule rating (I'm not), the APC also has a higher joule rating at 2030 joules.

They both get the basic job done, but the APC comes with more bells and whistles, making life just a little easier, but for the same price.

My friend has this product - Monster Cable MP AV800. I am starting my own home theater system. I borrowed the surge protector from him because I needed one with a longer cord.

I need a decent surge protector and other Monster products were good so I'll end up buying this. The price is right. Hmmm, maybe I'll keep my friends and buy him a new one. :)

Other things I liked is the three outlets that allow space for ac adapters. The color coded outlets are convenient if you tend to add and remove plugs when other items are on. I think the coaxial and phone line protection are nice features. I haven't used the free video and phone cable so I don't have any comments regarding that besides that its free.

[Since the following was written, the price difference between the Monster and Belkin (both approx. 25) has become decisively gaping (20 and 35), making the Belkin the only sane choice.}

Monster is premium quality at a premium price. Musicians will pay more for a Monster patch cord than some folks would pay for an electric piano. But on closer inspection, this power strip is competitively priced. I recently purchased a 12-outlet Belkin strip at only several dollars below this Monster strip. But the Belkin would accommodate only 8 of my plugs because 6 of the receptacles are in a vertical row (with the ground holes on the inside, not the outside as is the case with Monster). Consequently, a right-angle plug took up the space of 3 receptacles, in effect reducing me to the same number outlets as this Monster.

Even so, why not save several bucks and get the Belkin? Two compelling reasons in favor of the Monster (the included HDMI cable isn't one of them): 1. The color coding is a thoughtful timesaver/frustration eliminator (how many times have you found yourself on the floor suddenly at a loss about which device connects to which receptacle?) 2. The well-illuminated surface tells you at a glance whether the unit is connected and receiving power (Belkin units have too few or zero lights, requiring the user to get down on all 4's to determine whether the problem is a loss of power to the strip).

I'm giving it 4 instead of 5 stars because only 3 of the 8 outlets are dedicated to those space-robbing power adapters (wall-warts). Count on the remaining 5 outlets accommodating no more than 2 additional power adapters.

This is a great value for a power cleaner/surge protector under $100. This will clean dirty electricity better than pieces in the hundreds of dollars in other brands, for a better picture and better sound. It also protects against cable spikes with it's coax protection. Not only are the color coded outlets nice to look at, they also help to correctly unplug the home theatre component you were looking for. Try and find something like this with an 1850 Joule rating, that has a lifetime replacement warranty. When your tv blows up from a lightning hit, don't say I didn't warn you. I bought 4 of these for all my tv's!! I recommend these to all!

I purchased this product to use with a new Samsung 52 inch A650, a blue ray player, and satellite HDDVR. I plugged everything as instructed. Plugged the unit in and turned it on. Bottom line: there was a loud popping noise and a strong smell of something burning. I was afraid it ruined my new TV but was fortunate that it didn't. The smell was awful and the unit was ruined without even being used. One would think they would test these things before they sent them out.

I sent it back to Amazon and purchased another brand. Seems this works for some, but is the risk worth it?