Monster HTS 3600 vs. APC H15

[Arjun]

I was looking at buying either the Monster HTS 3600 ($360 shipped) or the APC H15 ($420 shipped) to use as a power conditioner for my HT. I know the Audioholics reference systems use APC gear, but is it worth the $60 premium?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[HiJon89]

I say yes. The APC weighs a lot more and I trust the brand name a lot more. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Haoleb]

The monster unit actually weighs about a pound more. The last time i fell for one of those "Automatic voltage regulation" jokes was when i got a battery backup for the pc, It was actually a unit that was for home theater too. Voltage regulation my ***, Their definition of voltage regulation was having the thing kick over to battery power which outputs around 95 volts. Great!

If your just buying it for the surge protection and filtering Personally I think I would choose the Monster. I had bought an HTS3500mk2 just less than a year ago for pretty cheap off buy.com ($109), When the volt-meter illumination gave out a couple weeks ago i called monster, sent it back, They sent me a brand new Hts3600mk2 for free. No hassle, Quick turnaround. The monster has a 5 year warranty and at least from my expeirence they honor it no problem. Its also got a higher Joule rating, and "t2" circuitry which from their descripton saves your MOV's (the things that do the surge protecting, by sacrificing themselves) from failing prematurely. I think the monster is also probably capable of more current delivery. I read 12A max for the APC unit on one site. Not sure if thats true or not.

Heres a pic of the 3600mk2 Insides just so you get an idea of what your buying...

 

[Briant73]

Does the mk2 have the usual Monster statement in the directions that you should unplug it anytime there is a lighting storm?

As for recommendations I would say read the APC interview article on this site and make an informed decision either way.

 

[Haoleb]

Does the mk2 have the usual Monster statement in the directions that you should unplug it anytime there is a lighting storm?

As for recommendations I would say read the APC interview article on this site and make an informed decision either way.

Yes sure does. No matter how good of protection you have theres no reason to take unnecessary risk by leaving all your appliances plugged in during an electrical storm. Most surge protection is done with MOV's which only have a limited amount of times they can be shocked by a surge before they dont work anymore. If you have those cheap surge protectors around your house its a good idea to replace them every couple years or even sooner because once they get old theres a good chance they dont do anything more than act as a power strip.

 

[Briant73]

I will agree to a point that unplugging is a good idea but it's not always something you can like when your not at home. Also I know some products out there are lacking some certifications the APC has. Maybe this has changed but when shopping make sure your products are certified.

I will say that the Monster looks like a nice product and from what you said they stand behind their product. I always get turned off by their marketing which always seems to be over the top (but effective to the general public).

 

[Audioholics]

We certainly haven't bench-tested either one, but I can sympathize with the computer/HT solution doing bogus power regulation.

The H15, however should not be included in the above reference. It actually does real voltage regulation (trim and boost). Below is a picture of the H10 (the smaller version to the H15) I pulled off the web. I believe there is a mini-review over at AVS Forum as well. It's not as pretty as the 3600, but has quite a bit more under the hood in terms of the power supply. But then the 3600 doesn't need more as it doesn't do voltage regulation.

It's hard to downplay either product based on simple opinion or the looks of the outside of the box. You'll need to look at both and decide which one is more robust and which has the features you need (for the price).

And as you can see, any weight advantage Monster has is in the chassis, not its components.