I’m not sure how to describe this thing. There’s no frame of reference in the picture, and it’s supposed to be “tabletop,” so I suppose it could be several feet long and you use a mallet to hit the buttons. I’d better let Monster explain this creature:
In July, meanwhile, Monster will release the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, a tabletop universal remote control. The device includes a portable game console-like design, Web-based setup, and simple touch commands like “Play a DVD” or “Listen to Satellite Radio.”
Hmm, that didn’t help at all.
I have never once questioned the quality of a Monster Cable cable. The cables and power products are top notch. They have never failed me and I’ve used their products for years. But I won’t spend any money supporting the company anymore. It’s a shame too, ’cause I really trust the products, but I refuse to support the company with my hard earned cash.
That’s who I am. I simply cannot support a company that constantly sues the little guy and hustles overpriced digital cables that offer little to no benefit over $10 options. My decision is solely based on these dick moves by Monster Cable and I’m sure many of you also follow similar sentiments about the company. Thankfully in the vast Internet connected world, there are equally good products available from companies with dramatically better track records.
Come on, really? Monster Cable is like the trust fund douche that drives an Audi, wears Lacrosse, and gets pedicures. He tries so hard to get people to like him, but at the end of day, runs home to his father who happens to be the DA and rats on everyone smoking pot. He just doesn’t get it and neither does Monster Cable who is sueing Monster Transmission for trademark infringement.
Everyone’s favorite cable company (hehe) is working with silicon chip developer Redmere to develop a super-thin HDMI cable that can transmit at high speeds. The magic that Redmere is providing comes in the form of a chip technology that can maintain a 10.2 GB/s data rate while being super thin. How thin you ask? No idea. How much you ask? No idea. What do we know? The cable will be expensive cause it’s coming from Monster.
Here’s the interview we promised you guys the other day. Enjoy Now!
Last night Greg Kumparak and I had the pleasure of interviewing the Dr. Dre of NWA fame. Jimmy Iovine from Interscope, Noel and Kevin Lee from Monster were also present. Our video isn’t quite finished yet, but we’ll have it up soon. We asked Dre a couple questions like what his favorite gadgets were, what he thought of DRM and what he’s working on now. But you’ll have to wait for the interview. In the meantime enjoy a few shots of some prototype brushed aluminum Beats over-the-ears.
Monster Cable: hate ‘em or love ‘em, they are a driving force in the CE world. Their 2009 lineup, at least according to its wares spread out in front, doesn’t look to innovate. A few headphones we’ve already seen and reviewed, a couple of new power centers, and HP branded HDMI cables that are sure to carry a high MSRP. Hopefully the head monster, Noel Lee, will have something special for us. And later to rag on.
Monster Cable is out to make money with the Beats by Dr. Dre with another special edition. These cans are equipped the same innards of the standard black edition, but sport a custom LeBron James #23 paint job. Only 20 of these ‘phones have been made with 15 of ‘em going to King James’ Cavalier teammates so chances are you will never, ever be able to rock these. Sorry. There is always the white, $699 Ron Herman edition if you want something a bit more exclusive than the $349 black models.
Monster Cable’s second foray into the in-ear monitor area is much, much better than their first go-around with the Turbines. Knowing that Monster Cable loves to gouge folks on overpriced cables, one has wonder if their headphones are overpriced as well? Perhaps, but it depends on who you’re asking.
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No images of the white Beats exist at the moment
Three hundred fifty dollars for a set of over-the-ear headphones is a lot whether or not we’re in a recession. But the Beats by Dr. Dre are a great set of cans that don’t need a headphone amp to rattle your noggin. They look great in black, but how much would you pay for a pair of white ones? Monster and some fellow named Ron Herman believe the resident douchebags of Los Angeles will throw down $699 for a pair. I understand these are limited edition, but come on! The Beats are great, but they’re not worth $700. Sadly, these LE Beats will more than likely sell out.
No one denies that Monster Cable makes quality products, it’s just the unnecessarily high price and shady business practices that kills their street rep. From time to time Circuit City pops a few outdated Monster Cable products into their outlet store and makes them a bargain. 6-foot Monster Cable Component cables for $13.96; nice. 6-Foot Monster Cable Component cables and Optical cable for $21.99 - really nice. 20-foot Monster Ultra Series THX speaker cable for $8.96 - if you can find it at a local store; awesome.
I’m not really sure how I feel about these in-ear Beats by Dr. Dre from Monster Cable. The Turbines that were announced last month were so-so compared to other in-ears at the same price point and for $150 I’d probably recommend a pair of Shures, Etymotics or Ultimate Ears over these ones. But the over-the-ear Beats are actually pretty good headphones, so I’ll have to wait and see what the Tours are made of when they start shipping in one to two weeks.
The best part of the Beats Tour seems to be the tangle-free cable that took 10 years to develop.
Monster could really cut down on the packaging of their headphones as well. The Turbines came in the biggest box of all time and it appears the Tours do as well.
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This video from Pud (the guy who started F_ckedCompany and AdBrite) shows us the difference between expensive Monster guitar cable versus $10 cable he bought at check-out. The difference, needless to say, is pretty striking, and not in the way you think.
Remember a few weeks back when my Monster Central remote suddenly stopped working? If you didn’t, its no biggie, I still love ya. Anyway, here is a nice story about how Logitech handled a similar out of warranty issue with a Harmony remote. Instead of sending the guy packing and with the advice to buy a new remote - like Monster Cable did with me - they shipped him a brand spanking new remote. Yeah, I’m still a little burned that Monster didn’t do anything for me so it’s nice to see a company actually care about their customers. Oh, and by the way, the Monster Remote is made by Logitech just supported by a Monster Cable. Food for thought.
Now that I’ve had a couple days with the Turbines, I think it’s time for a full review.
I’m sad to say that my initial praise may have been premature having listened to a few CDs (I had to open up moving boxes in my apt to find one) and comparing these against my Shure SCL3s and Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pros. I also brought in my secret weapon Dave R. to consult. He’s a professional sound engineer who specializes in monitors and has toured with The Cure, The Used, Linda Ronstadt, Interpol, Yellowcard and Fall Out Boy, so he knows this stuff inside and out.
With any in-ear monitor the biggest challenge is to find a tip that actually isolates and blocks everything out. I’ve found that foam tips work best, but the Turbines come with two types (trees and mushrooms) each having three sizes. You might as well skip the mushrooms because they don’t block anything out. Read More
It’s become apparent that Monster is getting into the high-end audiophile game with the launch of the Beats earlier in the year and now the in-ear Turbine ‘speakers’. I’ve only had an hour or two to check them out, but I can honestly say that I’m pleasantly surprised at the performance of the Turbines thus far.
I’ve always been a proponent that you shouldn’t be doing something you’re not passionate about and Kevin Lee, Noel Lee’s son, is obviously passionate about what he does and I have the utmost respect for that.
“My father and I have always wanted to make a headphone that didn’t sound like a “headphone”. We have the up most respect for all the headphone companies that are in business, because we now know it is not easy. That said, we are humbly proud of what we’ve achieve in Monster Turbines. We only hope everyone else agrees”
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My second Monster Central Control System AVL 300 universal remote just died shortly after one year of use. The first one did the same but sucked it up then and purchased a second one; not anymore. To be honest, the remote seemed nice at first (my original review), but shortly after a month or two of use, it began to show it’s true evil Monster Cable side. The charging system sucks, the remote is fragile and frail, the PC software is pathetic joke, and worst of all now, it won’t do anything.
I just called Monster Cable for advice, but because I was 2 months out of warranty, they simply told me to buy a new one. Sorry, Noel Lee, I did that last time and I won’t do it again. I’m growing up and will purchase a real remote from a company that doesn’t own a NFL stadium and sue the little guys.
Monster Cable setup a mobile test lab at CEDIA this year, challenging any cable manufacturer to a head-to-head battle. Only one attempted to enter, but didn’t see disclaimer that Monster wanted 4m cables or longer in the match up, and that particular maker didn’t have HDMI cables that long.
I know what’s yelled whenever a Monster Cable HDMI story comes up: Monoprice-4-evah playa! I hear ya, but take a look at what the test equipment that Monster Cable employs to prove their cables are the best. It impressed me.
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ROFL. More Monster Screen cleaner and is there really a need for an iPhone cleaner, along with a separate cell phone cleaner. Really? Come on. LOL. And dedicated GPS screen cleaner? ROFL. On a personal note, my shirt cleans my Blackberry just fine and I didn’t have to spend the $10 bucks for these monster oils. Moving on….
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Monster Cable. I know you hate ‘em and you’re not planning on reading this post because of that, but these new power centers are kind of neat so I implore you to read on. It’s the hip thing to go green and these latest power centers from Monster Cable will help with that.
The Monster GreenPower IR Control is featured on the remote-control enabled EPIR 2450, EPIR 3650, and HDP 2550 PowerCenters. Designed for use with home entertainment systems, these PowerCenters let users eliminate stand-by energy waste with their remote control. Each of these PowerCenters features remote controlled outlets that can be completely switched off using any universal learning remote. Users simply plug their HDTV or other energy wasting electronics into these outlets and add the PowerCenter to their remote. They can now use their remote to completely cut power to AV components that would ordinarily use electricity even when their home theater isn’t on. EP IR 2450 has 3 outlets, EP IR 3650 has 4 outlets and HDP IR 2550 has 2 outlets that can be turned on or off by remote control.
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