Best Buy is aiming to become a destination for DJs. The retailer has partnered with Monster Cable and Beats by Dr. Dre headphones to launch its new in-store “Club Beats” area.
The big-box retailer is creating a new section in all its stores where consumers can sample the latest audio, music, entertainment and technology products including DJ equipment, mixing software, turntables, headphones and laptops.

To help promote Club Beats, Best Buy will host a series of events featuring appearances from top music artists including Lady Gaga, Will.i.am and Dre.  It will tout the events through local radio and newspaper advertisements. The retailer spent $213 million on advertising in 2008 and $142 million in the first eight months of 2009, per Nielsen.

Best Buy sees a growing interest not only in DJing, particularly with the recent release of DJ Hero, but also in the concern for sound quality. Beats by Dr. Dre — which was co-founded by Dre and Interscope Geffen A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine –  was selected because of its commitment to giving average listeners a professional-quality experience through their headphones. Monster Cable, meanwhile, promises to “make music sound better” in its ads.

“DJs in clubs are now the new rock stars that are sought after because of [their sound]. It changes the whole atmosphere, and our average users are really picking up on that,” said Wendy Fritz, svp of merchandising for mobility at Best Buy.

The services will be tailored to meet a variety of DJ needs, whether for the novice making sure his or her laptop is configured for new software, or professionals seeking something more sophisticated.

Best Buy sees this DJ-focused offering as something brand new for mainstream retail. “It may not be simple to find these products in a mainstream environment-either you have to know what you need, or you have to talk to someone who is in the industry,” said Fritz. “What we’re trying to say is ‘hey you can do this,’ and when they come into the store our Blue Shirts can say ‘these are the three or four products you need to get started.’”

Seven stores will feature a full “experiential” Club Beats area, with a spectrum of products while 300 stores will features an “interactive” area, with similar options but slightly fewer products to try out. All remaining stores will include a “core” Club Beats area, with a product selection, merchandising signage and customer service assistance but less of a focus on interactivity.

Spotted @ Brandweek

The electronic accessories company Monster Cable is one of the corporations that abuse their power. This company is suing anyone who attempts to use the word monster. In short, proving trademark infringement is based on the possibility of confusion between two brands. But, Monster Cable is suing businesses in other industries that would never get confuse with Monster Cable’s products.

Monster Cable files lawsuits against other businesses claiming that the other businesses are hurting their brand. Noel Lee, founder of Monster Cable says, “we have an obligation to protect our trademark, otherwise we’d lose it”. However, after the lawsuit they license or sell the name back to the original owner.  At the end, Monster Cable only cares about the financial gain no matter who they hurt while doing so. Monster Cable is abusing their power to sue under trademark infringement and running small companies out of business unless they surrender their name to Monster Cable. There must be a change in the system to stop this type of corporate abuse.

Monster Cable has sue about 400 companies including Monster.com, Monsters Inc. from Disney, Monster Transmission, Fenway Park’s Green Monster, Monster Mini Golf, Monster energy drink, and the Chicago Beats for its nickname Monsters of Midway. Here is a link to the United States Patent and Trademark office’s website that states the lawsuits. http://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/v?qs=monster%20cable%20products&qt=adv&page=1

Компанията Monster Cable в повечето случаи вади на параза професионална техника, предназначена само за маниаци. И цените на продукти също са маниакално високи… Най-новото попълнение в каталога им са слушалките Monster Turbine PRO, който би трябва да изолират перфектно страничните шумове, да са много удобни за носене и да доставят перфектен звук. Изработени са така, че да издържат на силно замърсяване от прах и да изглеждат добре. Та говорех за цената… готови ли сте? Monster Turbine PRO се предлагат онлайн срещу скромните $250 (предупредих ви!), а в магазините могат да бъдат намерени и на около $300. Само за луди фенове на музиката! Дано да предлагат и качество на звука, съответстващо с цената им

Ревю на Monster Turbine PRO от Chip Chick

Източник: Uncrate

How many times have you gone down to your local electronics retailer and bought that shiny new TV or stereo speakers only to find out you need to buy some cables to get them to work. The salesman escorts you to the cable section and starts to tell you how a $100 cable is far superior to the $10 cable and that by using the more expensive stuff your picture and sound will be lifted to new heights. Well if you ended going with the sales pitch you just threw away your money. I will give you an example that recently happened to me. I was setting up my new office in my house and moved my printer to the other side of the room, well I needed a longer USB cable about 12ft or so. I wanted to get the project done that day so I made a trip to BestBuy and was disgusted to find out that a 14ft USB cable retailed for $49.99, that is extremely overpriced when considering the average online price is $5 to $10.

This is a very common scenario that is played out everyday in the BestBuy’s and other retailers in this country. The truth of the matter is cables have very little variance in quality when dealing with length’s under 50ft. It’s even less discerning when using digital cable types such as HDMI, DVI or USB. All cables for TV’s, surround sound systems and computers use basic copper wire and plastic sheathing to make a cable. Provided there is no electrical disturbance or excessive amount of power, say over 1000 watts per wire, basic copper wire will get the job done extremely well. In fact using lamp cords from your local hardware store for about $0.25 a foot will make great speaker wire in most situations.

So why the huge price difference? Companies like Monster Cable and BestBuy are simply greedy. They know cables are cheap to produce and most homes need them for their electronics so why not charge a premium for them and make gobs of money. Monster Cable is notorious for having very deceptive store displays that trick customers into thinking there is a difference. BestBuy has begun to phase out inexpensive brands and replace them with their own house brands, Geek Squad and Dynex, and their deceptive training  is designed to get sales people to convince you that the overpriced products are the better choice. Another issue is the lack of competition. Since Circuit City and CompUSA have gone out of business and their names sold to Systemax (owners of TigerDirect.com) there is little to nothing for BestBuy to compete with which puts them in the perfect position to price gauge. Once again consumers need to educate themselves when buying these types of products.

So where can you find good deals on cables? Well as long as you have a connection to the internet, which I will assume you do since your reading this, you have quite a few good alternatives. Two of my favorites are Blue Jeans Cable and Monoprice. Both of these retailers offer good quality cables that meet and in most cases exceed the materials quality of Monster Cable and BestBuy’s offerings. But the best part is they are anywhere from 50% to 300% cheaper. Think your getting ripped off now? That’s what I thought. In fact it just makes good sense when buying electronics to check online first before walking into the store for the best deal. As always I would love to hear what you think and shed some more light on the subject.

How many people have bought electronics from a “big box” store?  Don’t be shy, I know you’ve all done it.  Ever notice how quick the salesman is to push you into a brand new, “signal enhancing” $150 1 meter HDMI cable?  It’s ridiculous!  Don’t get me wrong, a quality cable goes a long way in the world of audio/video.  But some of these cables are so out of this world when it comes to price, I can’t believe they can get away with it.

Cables do a job.  They transfer data.  They do not improve it, they do not enhance it. A good quality cable is doing the best job it can when:

1. The data travels from point A to point B
2. There is no artifacts in the picture/audio
3. The picture/audio holds steady

So people, please!  Don’t let these stores fool you.  If you are buying a dvd player for $59.99 and the cables to hook it up cost $100.00, there is something seriously wrong!

At Marcus T. Solutions, I use quality cables that won’t break the bank. All my cables are tried, tested and true, and I have the knowledge to correctly judge when a higher quality cable is required.  If you are unsure, ask a professional, don’t trust some kid at Shmest Buy!

Die schillernde Popikone Lady Gaga war mit ihren neuen Kopfhörern am Montag auf der IFA die Attraktion.
Leider bekamen wir von Ihr nicht allzu viel zu sehen. Bereits Stunden vor ihrer Ankunft war die Halle voll. Auch draußen war es schwer ein Bild zu erhaschen, da sie innerhalb von Sekunden nach drinnen verschwand.

(Photos by Toto)

Monster Cable first teamed up with Dr. Dre for their Beats headphones, but apparently the women didn’t feel like they were getting the same love. No worries, because they teamed up with Lady Gaga[but isn't she a man?] for their new line of Heartbeat in-ear headphones that are catered more towards the females. They are pretty much the same thing as the Tour Beats by Dr. Dre, but with different styling. The Heartbeats will be available in three colorways, silver/white, silver/pink, and black, and will be available in October.

[MonsterCable]

Click for more pics

I’m a musician and I’d say I’m a poor man’s tone whore. Meaning, if I didn’t spend half of my paycheck every month on rent to live where I live then I would probably be into the nicest equipment available, but since I’m not I make the most out of what I can get my hands on (until my lease ends later this summer… bastards…)

Anyway, Engadget has an article on high-end audio cables…

We’ve always believed that the perceived quality boost that comes from using high-end cables is really just a trick of the mind (read: justifying the ridiculous cost of premium cables to yourself) — if you’ve dropped enough cash, you can probably hear anything you want. Still, our belief is one thing — cold hard proof is another, and it looks like a group of 12 self-professed “audiophiles” recently couldn’t tell the difference between Monster 1000 speaker cables and plain old coat hangers. Yeah, coat hangers. The group was A-Bing different cables, and unbeknownst to them, the engineer running the test swapped out a set of cables for coat hangers with soldered-on speaker connections. Not a single one was then able to tell the difference between the Monster Cable and the hangers, and all agreed that the hangers sounded excellent. No wonder Monster has to rig HD displays. Still, we bet people still fall for the hype — oh hey, if you’re looking for the ultimate in sound, we’ve got half a meter of oxygen-free, triple-wrapped double-insulated Sonically Shielded AmpliSized Egyptian Llama cable here that we’ll part ways with for just a couple grand.

So, basically, monoprice.com and Livewire are ok in my book…

Sweet, sweet tone…

Yes, he was arrested, but totally worth it.

Art or Vandalism? – DivineCaroline.
N.C. State student accused of creating a ‘monster‘

I finally broke down and bought a flat-panel TV in February, finding a great deal at Ken Crane’s, a local Los Angeles video shop. All was well until I saw the final bill–the HDMI cable, needed to plug the TV into my Verizon FIOS box, a hefty $100. I balked and demanded a lower cost cable. The folks at Crane’s said they didn’t have any, because Monster Cable was the best. I found it hard to fathom that any cable had to cost $100, refused to buy the Monster, and went to Fry’s, where I was able to pick up a Belkin cable for $40.
So why does an HDMI cable have to cost $100?
On one of my recent trips to San Francisco, I stopped in to see Noel Lee, the “Head Monster,” of Monster Cable to ask, in a visit to Monster headquarters.
“Well Jeff, I’m glad you asked–this is how retailers make their profits, on accessories like mine, as they see very little markup in those big TVs.”
That, of course, is not what Lee said–so click on the video and see what he said for real.

Monster Cable is sueing another company with Monster in their name but a business model that is completely different. I was wondering since they have so many companies that they have sued, is there an archive of all these court cases? If you decide to make one, that is if you can’t find one that is already built, go ahead and call it Monster Sue-Age (like sewage). And email me at apainintheneck@gmail.com when you make this so I can write about it. I mean this would be like a small niche museum. We as tech people should start a bunch of online museums of tech history.

more  @  cesonthetube

Dr. Dre tells us about the passion and technology behind the new ‘Beats By Dr. Dre’ headphones, in a private interview.

I would really appreciate if somebody copped these for me..

So I go into the Apple store today so those bumbaclots could replace my Macbook Pro charger…. (I’m on charger 4 now) and I see the “Beats by Dre headphones that I been seeing and hearing about alot… I take a listen to see what all the hypes about..

You know shit like this is usually just a marketing thing.. Dre is a renown producer so put his name on some headphones and people are bound to buy em’ cause his names on em.

But unlike the George forman grill, you can actually tell Dre was very much apart of the end product that his names on..

With that said I wanted to buy em… Until I found out their $350.. bastids.

One of the biggest hassles when traveling is trying to find outlets to either plug in and use or charge up your multiple electronic gadgets and devices. How many hotel rooms have you been in where, despite having a nice workspace, there is only a single available outlet to power your phone, blackberry, PC, iPod and, say, your Bluetooth headset. Gadget hounds would have to either swap the plugs out and spend four times longer to charge/use everything, or lug a bulky power strip around.

Today, though, Monster has provided a compact and ingenious solution to the multiple plugs and one-outlet problem. Monster’s Outlets to Go™ Power Strip is an extremely compact travel power strip that is designed to fit into your laptop bag with minimal fuss and little additional weight. It’s unique design places two outlets on each side of the strip, allowing even four bulky chargers to fit easily. It’s low profile, and it’s cord flat male end (that plugs into the outlet) ingeniously yet simply stores by wrapping around the strip and plugging into one of its own outlets.

Other reviews I read complained that it didn’t work overseas; however, I did confirm directly with Monster customer service that it works from 110-240 volts and has a built in, resettable circuit breaker. So, if you travel overseas, you simply need to carry one international plug adapter to charge four of your gadgets. That makes for easy packing.

Available at Amazon.com (for US$14) and Radio Shack, among other retailers. Visit the Monster Web Site for more information.

Anyone who needs to buy a last-second gift for a professional that will bring joy 365 days a year (or at least a snicker a day), should definitely consider a Dilbert flip calendar. My boy Scott Adams (total stranger) captures the office culture as well or better than any blog or British sitcom ripoff and it’s truly a treat to share a few minutes each morning with the Elbonians, his pointy-haired boss and of course Dogbert and Catbert.

Pick one up at Amazon.com or find one at the mall.

In honor of CES 2009 product launches and the our toilet bowl economy (and because I am running low on original thoughts), here is the comic from this past Saturday.

there is been a video out, which was made by the founder of Monster Cable and everyting else that monster deals with in intending to change the company’s sue happy/overpriced image. But there is a problem, they have created this image by themselves by suing everyone and charging $2 per inch for a six food HDMI cable!!!!! That is wack. They should be called SCAMSTER CABLE  not MONSTER CABLE.

The company Monster Cable has filed hundreds of lawsuits over the use of the name “Monster.” Now it’s suing a chain of mini golf courses. Monster Mini Golf is fighting back and taking its case to the public.

read more | digg story

This is definitely a debatable topic but I’ll cover it anyway from the standpoint of a semi-pro engineer/musician. For years, we’ve been told to use the best cables to connect audio equipment and for years we’ve all continued using what we have because the cables we have work. We really can’t hear a noticeable difference between audio transferred with standard guitar/instrument cables and audio transferred using high-end, professional interconnect cables. The truth is, we’ve all been lying to ourselves. I’ve personally heard differences between the quality of audio transferred using a standard guitar cable compared to a high-quality Monster Cable. Yes, this is a post that I shall give to Monster. Why? They work, all of their products.

From cables to power conditioners, they do exactly what they say they do. I was skeptical for a long time too until I had to opportunity to hear the difference first hand. Monster uses better shielding to almost completely eliminate RF (radio Frequency) interference. They are utilizing time-correct winding within their top line cables so that all the frequencies from instruments and equipment arrive at their destination at the same time resulting in fatter, punchier sound. Monster also utilizes a patented filtering technology in their power conditioners which translates into lower nose interference in your stage and studio gear which in-turn translates to cleaner mixes and happier clients. Monster also has a one of the best warranties in the business. If your monster power conditioner gets fried by a power surge, lightning strike or any other power anomaly, they will replace it, period. Do yourself a favor and go with Monster.
-Ryan

On Tuesday night I hopped on the subway downtown to a restaurant in Chelsea, Manhattan for a rendezvous with a bunch of Monster Cable executives. The Monsters (as they refer to themselves) were there to showcase their new value-priced Turbine in-ear headpones. I walked away reasonably impressed. Looks like Monster is doing more than just diversifying itself: It is serious about being a player in the headphone market.

The Turbine was a pet project of company founder  Noel Lee, and its development was ongoing for three years. It was originally conceived as a $500 product, but the market dictated otherwise: The Turbine lists for $150. Monster experimented with using different materials and manufacturing processes while keeping with the spirit of designing a $500 headphone, according to Monster’s Headphones and Digital Life product area manager Kevin Karth, a longtime Intel veteran.

Monster’s claim that the Turbine was intended to be a $500 set of headphones contains a pinch of vendor bravado., but these headphones are an excellent follow-up to the company’s $350 Beats by Dr. Dre headphones that were released earlier this year, and a sign that the company is seriously cycling its resources into the headphone business. My experience listening to some of my favorite music on the Turbine was very positive, though. While I cannot legitimately claim to be a serious audiophile, I can trust my own ears. I could hear very nuanced sounds that I usually have to jack up the volume to enjoy on my Sennheisers. “Sleeping with Ghosts” by Placebo played nicely; it is a very textured song that demands quality speakers. The Turbine also carries some decent bass for its diminutive size.

The Turbine features 8mm drivers and facilities for delivering audio accurately as well as for ensuring quality signal transfer. It has an impedance of 18 ohms and sensitivity of 97db/mW @ 1kHz. I am only mentioning that information because the Web site has not been updated for the product yet.

Overall. Turbine looks like a very good value, and a worthwhile replacement for your current ear buds.

I recently found this cute gem from kids group Trout Fishing In America.  The tune is based on their song ‘Big Trouble,’ but the lyrics were rewritten for a promo for Monster Cable.

Enjoy.

Dr. Dre se ha asociado a Monster Cable para crear estos auriculares.

Monster presenta un producto promocionado por primera vez en su historia por el legendario productor de música y artista Dr. Dre.

Los nuevos auriculares “Beats by Dr. Dre” de alto rendimiento fueron concebidos por Dr. Dre y diseñados mutuamente con Monster. Los auriculares llevan un estilo único y futurista además de tecnologías sonoras nuevas para un rendimiento de calidad sin precedentes. 

Cuando productores internacionales como Dr. Dre graban música, utilizan altavoces grandes de alto rendimiento y amplificadores potentes para captar todos los detalles del ambiente sonoro. Hasta ahora, por tanto, el oyente que escuchaba esta música con auriculares convencionales no podía tener la experiencia de la riqueza de la paleta sonora que contienen estas grabaciones, con sus dinámicas, sus graves, la potencia y la claridad para las cuales trabajan los productores. Para proporcionar un nuevo nivel de rendimiento del audio de auriculares al consumidor, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Lovine, Presidente de Interscope Geffen A&M Records, y Monster, tres de las fuerzas más potentes de la música y de la tecnología, se han juntado para crear “Beats by Dr. Dre”. Los ingenieros de sonido y diseño de Monster han puesto sus competencias innovadoras al servicio de la visión del grupo.

Los auriculares están equipados con una amplificación numérica y largos audífonos, y dispone de un sistema de aislamiento del ruido ambiente.

Características :

• Respuesta en frecuencia : de 20Hz a 20KHz
• Salida máxima : 115dB
• Longitud del cable : 1,3m
• Necesita 2 baterías AAA (incluidas)
• Peso : 260g
• Botón de silencio para escuchar los ruidos exteriores sin necesidad de quitar los auriculares
• Auriculares plegables para un transporte conveniente
• Acabado brillante que resiste a los arañazos

Los auriculares Beats By Dr. Dre se entregan con :

• Una caja de transporte resistente
• Limpiadores anti-bacterianos
• Un cable Advanced Monster Cable con estructura retorcida Quadripole 4
• Un cable iSoniTalk Monster compatible con el iPhone
• Adaptadores para el oído de 3,17mm a 6,35mm
• Dos baterías AAA

Los auriculares Beats By Dre de Monster ya están disponibles en el sitio de Apple (distribuidor oficial) y en el sitio oficial www.beatsbydre.com a precio de 349,95$ / 349,95€.

Power surges and spikes happen every single day, whether you notice them or not. Also, most surge protectors work only once then continue to pass electricity and all the surges and spikes that come from unconditioned power. Straight, out-of-the-wall AC power is never clean and it’s rarely at 120 volts. The best solution to all these issues is a high-quality Monster Power Conditioner. Not only do these incredibly built units protect your equipment from power surges and underage, they are equipped with filters to nearly eliminate AC line noise which can be heard (or should I say no longer be heard) in your sensitive audio gear. That’s right, no more hum and buzz coming through your studio monitors driving you to insanity. Not only will these fine units protect your gear, Monster protects these units, even if they are struck by lightning, Monster will repair or replace them at nothing but a shipping cost. Now that is what I call protection. Check them out at American Musical Supply today, before it’s too late!
-Ryan