How good is the Monster HDMI cable?

ByBen Hestad Hours
monster hdmi cable

Last Updated on: 31st August 2022, 08:16 am

The Monster Ultra High-Speed 8K Cobalt HDMI Cable boasts some impressive specs, including some HDMI 2.1 supported features, but is it really all it’s cracked up to be? Find out if the Monster HDMI cable is worth the $50 price tag!

For transparency, I was sent the 12ft Monster HDMI cable free of charge for review, however, as always, I’m honest with how I feel about a product.

What is the Monster HDMI cable?

The Monster is an HDMI cable that is supposedly capable of delivering one of the fastest data transfer rates at a whopping 48 Gbps. What does this mean, exactly? Well, it means that it can support up to 10K resolutions with lossless digital audio, to give you the best viewing and audio experience that you can have.

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Check out some more features the Monster includes here:

  • CRISP DYNAMIC HDR IMAGES: Monster’s high-speed HDMI cables support Dynamic HDR for videos with greater detail, depth, brightness, contrast, and wider color range
  • CRYSTAL CLEAR SOUND QUALITY: Features Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) for simplified connectivity and support for the most advanced audio formats; our cobalt HDMI cable supports uncompressed and lossless multichannel audio for superior sound quality
  • PRECISION TECHNOLOGY: Our HDMI 2.1 compatible cables support fixed rate link (FRL) technology which allows for uncompressed resolutions at high frame rates; enjoy 4K at 120Hz, 8K at 60Hz, and right up to 10K resolution for commercial and industrial applications
  • UNIVERSALLY COMPATIBLE: Can be used with all HDMI devices and backward compatible with older HDMI standards; Connect to your HDTVs, laptops, Blue-ray Disc player, gaming devices, cable, satellite, and more

HDMI 2.1 Certification

hdmi 2.1 specs
Credit: HDMI

The Monster HDMI cable boasts some impressive features, including many that are supported by HDMI 2.1, but is the cable actually certified to support HDMI 2.1?

Well, the short answer is no, the Monster HDMI cable is not officially HDMI 2.1 certified. I looked all over the box to find the stickers that mark an officially certified HDMI 2.1 cable and found nothing.

Long answer?

The reason that the cable is not HDMI 2.1 certified is due to the fact that the cable was produced to the HDMI 2.1 specifications provided by HDMI, and in market, before HDMI released the official certification standards, because HDMI released specs to build a 2.1 cable well in advance of the certification standards.

So, while it isn’t technically an official HDMI 2.1 cable, due to its lack of certification, it does include all of the features and build requirements that any other HDMI 2.1 cable would include.

If you’d like to take a look at the official HDMI 2.1 specifications, I’ll have them linked here for you, so you can read up on how you can benefit from HDMI 2.1 technology!

Is it worth it?

The Monster HDMI cable comes in a few different lengths at a few different price points:

  • 4 ft ($34.99)
  • 6 ft ($39.99)
  • 8 ft ($44.99)
  • 12 ft ($49.99)

Paying upwards of $35-50 seems a bit much for an HDMI cable, even if it does come loaded with the latest HDMI 2.1 features.

My thoughts are unless you absolutely need this cable for your next-gen console like a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S that can support this technology, you probably don’t need to be spending this much on an HDMI cable.

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If you want to, go for it, but an average consumer should be more than fine with a cheap Wal-Mart or Target HDMI cable.