Head Monster Vows Each Product Will Be a Leader

September 11, 2009 By Jeff O'Heir

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Head Monster Noel Lee, saying that his company won't release a product unless it's a category leader, unveiled new Ethernet cables, in-ear headphones, mounts and power products for the custom and retail markets.

"All of our products must be innovative," Lee said during the company's press conference here at CEDIA Expo in Atlanta. "We must lead; we will never follow."

With that said, Lee introduced what he's calling the world's fastest Ethernet cables. The CAT 6A cables provide load capacities of 15.8 Gbps to ensure the bandwidth needed to carry high-definition signals throughout a house. Lee referred to the high capacity as a way for installers to "future proof" a solution by providing the bandwidth needed to support the most demanding applications. The thousand-foot cable will be available in December for $1199.95.

"I believe the customer today needs to be free from the fear of obsolescence," Lee said.

The company will continue to focus a lot of attention on growing its share of the headphone market, an area Lee said is at its "embryonic" stage. Monster will be spending more time with its retailers to expand the market in much the same way it drove the cable market," Lee said.

"Dealer by dealer, demo by demo we will build this market," he said, adding that new Beats by Dre and Heartbeats by Lady Gaga will be available next month, with prices ranging from $99.95 - $149.95.

Later this year, Monster will raise the bar with a new line of Turbine in-ear headphones, the Turbine Pro Gold and Copper models, which will retail for about $300. "I can't make a better headphone," Lee said.

Monster also highlighted its new HDMI 1.4 spec speed-rated cables, which carry the company's "Cable for Life"
and "HDMI 1.4 Upgrade" programs. The two ensure that if the components a customer buys surpasses the bandwidth capabilities of the cables or require the additional functionality of HDMI 1.4, Monster will upgrade the cables for free.

Pricing for the new line of speed-rated cables is HDMI Basic $39.95 - $69.95, HDMI 500 $59.95 - $139.95, HDMI 700 $69.95 - $279.95, HDMI 800 $89.95 - $199.95, and HDMI 1000 $99.95 - $499.95.

On the power front, Lee announced the availability of Monster's HTUPS 2700 (SRP $649.95) uninterruptible home theater power supply, as well as the HTUPS 3700 (SRP $1099.95) and HTUPS 600 (SRP: $349.95), both scheduled to hit the street next month.  The 3700 and 2700 feature a display that shows remaining battery power so that users can see how much time they have left to safely shut down their system in the case of a power failure.