Black Enterprise was in the room Oct. 6Â for a presentation which featured the debut of Monster Products’ new items.
For those who don’t know much about Monster, let us “learn” you a bit. Established in 1979, the Noel Lee-created company built its reputation from developing stellar audio and video cables that connect to all types of electronic devices. In addition, they produced power strips, mobile accessories, speakers, and headphones.
Lee, the company’s chief audio scientist, decided to differentiate his style from others by experimenting with sound and its quality. Through his innovations, he persuaded the audio and visual industries to take note of his discoveries; retailers were attracted to his profit margins. In 2008, the company made history by partnering with Andre “Dr. Dre” Young to manufacture the Beats headphones.
Lee helped with the concept and design of the product, as well as with teaching employees how to sell it. In 2012, their partnership ended, and Lee went back to focusing on celebrity- or Monster-branded headphone products. Fast-forward to the event at New York’s famed Standard Hotel, and you can see that the celebrated company has survived the exit of Beats to Apple. It’s now planning its next stage of dominance.
Helping to push along the needle was Evolve Entertainment, run by C.J. Washington and Alex Bracetti who have extensive experience in the tech and digital space. By formalizing this event for “tastemakers and innovators,” the Evolve x Monster happenstance marked an advancement and progression that celebrated Monster’s 35-year investment in excellence. We walked into a presentation of their newest and coolest work at the event.
tom-banner ampforwp-incontent-ad2">On the next page, we recount Monster’s new products…
Monster via Evolve’s event at the Standard NYC introduced a wireless music system called SoundStage. Available in stores Oct. 25, the product will be out in three different models: S1 ($199.95), S2 ($299.95), and S3 ($399.95). The SoundStage is controlled through an app and even offers dual wireless capability. That means you can pair your S1 and S2 and play music throughout the area.
Hearing the wonderful sounds of Bob Marley pumping out of the S1 and then hearing it streamed through the S2 and S3 was impressive. The Superstar is a wireless, lightweight compact speaker that was shown to us immediately after the SoundStage. Water resistant and available in a myriad of colors, the Superstar cons
ists of two full-range speakers for optimal clarity and coherence. The system even has two bass radiators for those who love bass. The goal of the Superstar is to impact the wireless speaker system that’s been monopolized by Jambox.Monster wanted to prove that it is leagues above its competition and didn’t hesitate to let us know. In addition to the Apple shots, the folks at Monster have expanded their headphone collection with brand partnerships with Adidas and UFC. Personally, I was interested in the other part of their collection, the DiamondZ headphones. Debuting four new metallic colors — rose gold, chrome, black chrome, and clear blue, Monster is distinguishing the line by calling it the “first headphones designed specifically for women.”
Throughout my time there I was impressed with how much Monster has ingrained itself within pop culture on the low. Stars seem to easily align themselves with Lee and his merry band of audio engineers — a fact that is very cool to see in real life. Swizz Beatz casually stopped by to see what the company was working on. All in all, with Evolve Entertainment bridging the gap between influencers and the products of Monster, yours truly had a great time, and I am happy to bring this information back to you Black Enterprise lifers.
Be sure to follow Evolve Entertainment (@EvolveEnt) and Monster (@MonsterProducts) on Twitter.