Monster, Dr. Dre & Interscope Records Introduce Headphones
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 6, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- CES 2008
Show coverage sponsored by ASUS
Monster's founder, Noel Lee, was on his Segway again this time at CES introducing a few new products. Mr. Lee was on his education kick once again, asking for the press' help to educate consumers on why some HDMI cables cost $125 while others cost $25.
Why is this education necessary? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that Monster is announcing a brand new member of its speed rated cable lineup: the Ultimate High Speed M1000HD HDMI cable. The Ultimate High Speed cables are rated for speeds greater than 14.93Gbps, but as we outlined before the performance rating is overkill for the most commonly used short cable runs.
The big announcement of the day however was the introduction of a new set of headphones, branded by none other than legendary hiphop artist and producer Dr. Dre. Along with longtime friend and Chairman of Interscope records, Jimmy Iovine, Dre introduced his new headphones called: beats.
Appearing in a velour track suit, Dr. Dre didn't really fit in with the Monster crowd, but his reputation as a perfectionist is supposedly what drove the development of the beats headphones.
The beats by Dr. Dre will be available starting in May/June of this year with a price tag of $399.95. The beats headphones will ship with an iPhone compatible connector.
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pzkfwg - Friday, January 18, 2008 - link
I can't be more straightforward: Monster is nothing less than a scam. It hooks on poor ignorant people that buy a TV by then convincing them that they need 100+$ cables and of course the 160$ special surge protector without which the TV will surely burn...Seriously, a salesman told me that when I bought my TV.
fic2 - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Best description of Monster that I ever heard was "Better sound through marketing".Spacecomber - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Good for a giggle, I guess.Randum - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
also is the monster founder a Midget! Thats awesome if he is+1 for monster!
SLEEPER5555 - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
No he is not a midget, he is just asain.Randum - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
yeah HDMI, sure, i think the 125 dollar ones will make my HD picture greater than the current picture i have with an $11 cable...wtf...headphones for over $300....does this include an MP3 player?
pleeze...whoever buys those are suckers..
themadmilkman - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
While I won't comment on the value of anything produced by Monster Cable (seriously...) $300 headphones are not that uncommon.Try the Sennheiser HD650 for $600, or the Grado GS 1000 for a flat $1,000. Mixed with a proper (and not necessarily expensive) amp, either of these will produce sound quality unlike anything you've heard from a set of headphones before. The real question, as always, is whether that increase in quality is worth the increase in price to YOU.
Axbattler - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Or the Stax Omega II. Although you'll have to cross out 'not necessarily expensive amp' on that one ;)Seriously though, most entry amps are more than what a non headphone enthusiast would pay for a headphone..
To be honest, I do think that you are long past bang for buck at that price range, and you sometime pay a high mark-up for something that is different, subjectively better or worst, rather than better or worst in absolute terms. Case to the point, I actually consider I consider the AKG K501 to be different, yet on par, to the Sennheiser HD650 (yet they are very different cost wise). Similarly, some prefer the HD600 to the HD650. Granted, the headphones I mentioned are all in the 3 digits wise, but I do reckon that you hit fairly significant diminishing returns even before you hit 3 digits.
themadmilkman - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
I agree fully on the point of diminishing returns. Case in point: at the moment I use a pair of Grado SR-60s. But I'm a poor law student right now, and much more price conscious at the moment than I hope to be in the future.gevorg - Monday, January 7, 2008 - link
Wireless headphones by Monster? Wow! Finally a Monster product without 24k gold titanium oxygen-free cables. This will be a tough choice between Bose.