Interview with Noel Lee, "Head Monster" of Monster Products - Head-Fi TV - Page 4

9 words....wow!

Beagle - yes those ones. They're very nice wrt tonality, mids forward, somewhat rolled off highs, super smooth, and hearty but not overdone bass. Quite musical and enjoyable cans. They look and feel great in person too. I'm curious how the DT would compare - they would appear evenly matched just based on marketing and price, but the ESW9 aren't just a pretty face, they'll deliver sonically as well. Which is what separates them from the Beats and other fashion cans imho. My only complaint is their relatively narrow stage, but I think that's more to do with their size than anything else.

I tried out all of these new models about 3 weeks ago in Frankfurt.

 

They seem very well built, they're comfortable, but I didn't like the sound from any of them. 

They're better than beats, but there's too much 'air' for my taste... almost a thin sound in the mids. 

 

Thank you, they sound nice! And I love the aesthetics as well.

 

Wow, I was ambivalent about this company, until now.  I thought folks didn't like them since their products were more hyped than substance.  

 

This is horse crap...I just hate companies/folks who feel that they can just bully people around (and abuse the patent system).  Like Donald Trump tried to trademark "You're fire!"  C'mon man, be real! 

 

I do have some Monster cables (which I thought work just fine).  I guess it's time to ditch them.  Thanks for the story!      

Ifinally watched the entire clip today and I got to say Noel Lee was very honest in this interview. Credits to him for this. 

Yea I'm jumping on that bandwagon [not that I wasn't already on it] 

Oh course he's honest he's a monster <3

 

 

Also, to much air sounds like a decent amount of low-fi cans that cost mid-fi prices. I demo'd some Koss Porta Pros that sounded better than a few of those monster products -.-

OMG... Time for reality check!
I have owned a few audio Technica as well as the esw9 mentioned above, wich by the way are so superior in quality and sound to the monsters,
that it is synonymous to comparing a single LED bulb to the sun.

The audio level of the diamond tears are lesser than the klipse image one for less than half in a price.

I owned both the black Diamond and the DNA.
DNA were more engaging.
Diamond are a fingerprint magnet as well as a super dust magnet for their gummy headband.

That interview was an utter joke when he says he has some great technology.
He can't be talking about the audio, most probably he is talking about the nice plastic!

The lesser priced and extremly well made vmoda m80 completely obliterate all of monster offerings and mops the floor with every can they have, as I have listened to the others in store.
and I am not even going to start with the greater m100.
Or even the new offerings by AKG, Sony & audio technica in that same price range.

Lets be real, Monster simply are not trying to aim for the audiophile.
How can we take them serious with these current models squarely aimed at mass market?
Come on now.
Sorry but this interview is a sad denial of reality.
Edited by Maxx134 - 2/23/13 at 3:26am

I agree.

I didn't feel that the style was aimed at 'gear-heads', but rather 'the street', where they will be worn and shown off. 

 

Somehow I feel sound was the 2nd priority. A close 2nd, but 2nd none the less.

I feel there's a bit of a problem with price inflation vs. the actual quality some newer headphones bring to the table these days. There are several good non-expensive headphones that obliterate some newer offerings that are priced high (AKG K181DJ, CAL!/D1001, ATH-ANC7, SRH-840 etc.). I just feel overall that it's kind of sad the way the market is going although I would say that some brands have kept their prices relative to their quality. I haven't heard any of the new Monster headphones, but I will be surprised if anyone can really say they're "audiophile"-sounding. People are throwing that word around carelessly, and I think that's a little troubling and misleading. Much like the way Beats markets their headphones as the sound "as it was intended to be heard in the studio."

 

That said, I look forward to hearing Monster's new headphones however I can say that I am not expecting much, given all the headphones I have heard in the past and what is out right now. For example, the new Yamaha series has raised the bar as well in the price range, and I would absolutely call the PRO 500 an audiophile headphone. The higher the price, the more critical I am of the headphone's value and I feel that those cans are worth every penny. V-MODA is another brand that goes above and beyond when it comes to the quality of their products, both BQ-wise and SQ-wise.

Edited by roma101 - 2/23/13 at 8:22am

friend tried it out at the shop. sounded okay, maybe has a bit of forward upper mids. can't really remember his statement about it.

monster = polk audio of headphones

Just trying to be constructive for a moment...  But to anyone at Monster who cares:  I would be happy to check out your new headphones/IEMs (BEFORE they are released) to give you some useful and constructive feedback. 

As.stated monster aims for style... Unless ur Gucci Man I doubt they want some one who listens well to improve the sound.

 

Yeah, but now they can't say we didn't try to show them some love.  It's a fair olive branch, and theirs for the taking.