And the Beats Go On!

I was able to get a pair of Dr. Dre Beats Headphones by Monster Cable. They’re glossy, and look cool with their red “b”…but I listen to my iPod, how good could they be? I had bought a pair of $100 in-ear Sony earbuds some months ago and they have good sound. But the Beats are amazing! It’s the difference between just listening to music on my earbuds and having a musical experience! And, even more amazing about the Beats–they come with a cable that has a microphone…they work with my iPhone!

I put on the Beats and close my eyes and the musicians are in the room with me! The nuances of how the music was produced–echoes, gentle bongo beats that increase to a head pounding boom, a whispering vocal–is clear. I heard every instrument. It moved me, tapping into my emotion, filling all my senses as if I could see or smell or touch the music– a whole body phenomenon.

Listening to music without good speakers, or in this case, good headphones, is like looking at a fine painting that’s hung in the dark. You miss the change in hues, mixture of colors, details, brush strokes. It’s just a picture of something. Shine the light on that same painting and you can appreciate the emotion and the artistic expression and skill that tells the whole story. You see hidden details that delight. The Beats is like that light on the painting.

Everyone I have put the headphones on have been blown away at first note. Maria Muldaur’s classic “Midnight at the Oasis” brought my girlfriend (a singer) to tears. I had to pry them off my son as he played his video game in full immersion.

iTunes compresses songs so you can fit a lot of them on your iPod, so it’s such a surprise that the Beats can bring that much out in the music. Add a less compressed music format, like the digital downloads on the Monster Music discs, and it’s all that much better. I think I’ll seek out a good turntable and some vinyl records. I bet that will be existential!

See below for Unboxed video by Andru Edwards of gearlive.com Shows you the experience of taking them out of the box!

Great info on HDMI

I was at a client’s house the other day working with the local Dish Satellite installer. He was using component cables and I asked him why. He said that he knew that HDMI cables were better but they were so expensive. I mentioned what I always hear…there’s inexpensive cables that people say don’t make a difference (I was being the devil’s advocate here because I’m aware of the differences). He said, “Those cables are junk. I can’t tell you how many times they’ve failed after a couple of months and I’ve had to go out and replace them. It costs me money. The only way to do it right is to get a cable that costs well over $30, and I can’t afford that so I’ll just hook it up with component cable…at least they’ll get HD.” This is a busy installer…there is a difference.
If you want to know details of this difference, Clint DeBoer wrote an amazing informative blog that is very complete and one of the most thorough pieces I’ve EVER seen on HDMI.

More on Why to Use Quality HDMI Cables

I keep harping on why to use quality HDMI cables. It’s because there is so much information on the web to the contrary and very little of it talks about real life experience. Working on consumer education with Monster Cable, and watching the testing, I am never disappointed at the verified quality of the cables. And quality is important to me. Again, if I’m spending money for better quality in a TV, I want it to perform at its best.
HDMI cable failed one day!
So, the HDTV LCD in my bedroom didn’t have near the quality of the other HDTVs in my house (yes, I have a few…I need them for testing). Then one day I turned it on and there was this weird solarizing effect. I didn’t touch it and it just appeared one day. A friend of mine had pictures like these too and I wondered if they were real. Well, they are. The cable just failed. Now I had to crawl around and replace it, and luckily I had a Monster cable to hook up. Night and day difference. So, that’s what the HD picture is supposed to look like! Using the cheap cable, I hadn’t even noticed that the TV could look better. Test all you want, it’s how the cable performs over time in my home that counts! And this is the second time that I’ve had a cheap cable fail (the other was installed by the Satellite company and it stopped working completely after less than a year).

Much better with a Monster HDMI
Lately I’ve been thinking about cables like car tires. When I go to buy new tires, the salesperson goes on about radials and tread patterns and lots of stuff that I don’t care much about. It’s when I hear the word “performance” that I listen. I have a decent car and live in the mountains so I want good handling. I’m not going to buy the cheapest tires, I want ones that will last, be backed by a reputable manufacturer and allow my car to handle to the best of its ability. And I know I wouldn’t buy the cheapest tires if I were to have a high performance car. The difference between cables and tires is that the price difference on quality tires is several HUNDRED dollars. The price difference for quality cables is at most a hundred dollars, and more likely only $50.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to rip my system apart to replace a cable that has stopped working, or worse, not realize that the quality has diminished and just complain that my TV isn’t looking so good.

I’m going to get it right the first time. And Monster has the Cable For Life, HDMI cable where I know I’ll never have to spend another dime for an HDMI cable if I get new equipment. Learn more about HDMI at the Monster HDMI learning Center .

Quality Cables Make a Difference-Why I believe Monster HDMI is worth it

Having worked first in film production, and spending 10 years in selling, training, reviewing, and consumer education in home theater, I am what most would call somewhat of a videophile. I love a good picture, that is crisp, detailed, and has realistic color. And I have grown to love audio that brings the musicians or the action into my room. Once high definition TV came on the scene, the picture and today’s higher definition TVs thrilled me and high def disc players are even more true-to-life, more detailed.

In the years on the sales floor selling home theater, I learned about Monster Cable and did my own blind tests (and continue to do so today). Often, I could see actual differences—better contrast, richer color, more details, less interference and artifacts—when I upgraded my cables and even when I couldn’t pinpoint it, I noticed a “feel” of more realism.

I have heard that digital cables are all the same, but have seen for myself and since learned by interviewing the engineers and inventors of HDMI, this is not at all true, particularly with advanced high definition TVs and sources. There is a lot of information being transferred over cables with higher definition video and uncompressed audio. Steps must be taken to ensure that all of the signal arrives at the right time without digital packets of information being dropped, or interference altering the packets and creating artifacts, digital snow, or other picture degradations. This is much more apparent on today’s big screen TVs.

A quality cable that has been tested to be sure that all of the signal arrives at the right time is essential to get all of the performance possible from the components and TV. First, being sure that signal is not lost via poor soldering of the connectors to the wires. And being sure that the cable does not lose signal or gain interference by having a well-insulated cable. And finally, choosing the cable that is speed tested to get me the best performance for the gear that I am connecting. If I am connecting a satellite or cable box with 1080i, compressed video, it’s appropriate that I buy a less expensive standard speed, quality HDMI cable. If, however, I want the best from my Blu-ray Disc player (that I may have spent $1000 for plus $30 per movie) I am going to want to get an ultimate high-speed, quality HDMI cable. And I’m even happier if I buy a “Cable for Life” so I don’t have to purchase another cable in a couple of years because technology has advanced. These are the quality features available on Monster Cables speed rated HDMI cables.

If I’ve spent thousands of dollars on a high definition TV and high def player, and I’m spending money each month for high definition programming, I don’t think skimping on cables for a one time, extra $50 to $100 is a wise decision. I bought a 1080p, FULL HD TV because I want that improved picture quality. A few more dollars to make sure that I get all that I paid for is worth it to me.

Barb Gonzalez
The Simple Tech Guru

Note: Because of my passion for home theater quality, I have decided to work with Monster Cable on consumer education. We are working together to simplify buying, hooking up and setting up home theaters through a book, Home Theater Made Simple, web education and the monstercommunity forum. Look for my blog and tips at www.monstercommunity.com.