Besides the cables being overpriced, the other problem with them is that they have been suing just about everyone who uses the word “Monster” in any business, even if it has nothing to do with electronics at all. According to Wikipedia they have sued:
Snow Monsters (a kid’s skiing group)
MonsterVintage, small used clothing store
Monsters, Inc., an animated feature film
Monster Garage, a television series
Monsters of the Midway, a nickname of the Chicago Bears football team
Fenway Park’s Monster seats Monster.com employment website
Monster Mini Golf
Monster Balls Paintballs manufactured by JT Sports
Monster Transmission
I think that’s reason enough to boycott them.
There’s a company called Blue Jeans Cable that designs their cables and markets them according to straightforward engineering principles: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ They probably aren’t any cheaper than Monster, but they’re a more reputable company and they’re cheap compared to the “audiophile” cable industry.
There are a number of Dopers, myself included, who have worked in the Bose corporate headquarters. Their products are very expensive but completely legit as well and the development sections of the massive campus, “The Mountain”, are like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory except for sound with thousands of researchers and technicians and support personnel. Dr. Bose himself is a really accomplished MIT scientist and professor (retired from that now) is a billionaire and the company is one of the largest privately held in the U.S. Their products aren’t designed to produce sound in the same way that most audiophiles are used to measuring it. The are based on psychoacoustics rather than simple acoustics because the brain and not the ears is always the primary sensory organ for hearing.
There are a whole bunch of things you can make fun of Bose for like really aggressive marketing and pricing but the products and innovations are real unlike some other some sound equipment like Monster cables.
These are examples of the Challenge being offered for things that their purveyors say are scientific and not paranormal. The Pear thing is another example.
I’m not sure you understand the setup. The JREF is basically Randi. He is the CEO. He is the only paid member of staff (or at least the only senior one, last I checked, there may be a PA). His pronouncement that Pear’s claim was paranormal was made in that capacity, the official journal of the JREF. The prize money may not belong to the JREF as such but it is the prize for the challenge and the challenge rules are set by the JREF, which basically means Randi.
There is no realistic prospect of the JREF being able to deny a claim for acceptance for the Challenge on the basis that the claim is not paranormal when the CEO of the JREF has confirmed in writing, in public, in the official journal of the organisation, that the claim is paranormal.
You missed a step. The obvious thing to do if they have any doubts about qualification is to ask if they qualify for the challenge. Pear didn’t do so. They preferred to duck the challenge on the basis of a faux doubt rather than ask the question that would have clarified their supposed doubt.
You have to do this when you are a random lunatic. It is not going to be any effort when the CEO of JREF has sought you out and personally invited you to apply.
Because companies claiming to have scientific validation of their stuff are common as dirt and few believe them. The JREF is well known as being independent, tough and skeptical and validation from JREF would reap positive publicity beyond Pear’s wildest dreams. Pear would have to pay media to publicise their own testing. Media would publish a story that Pear had taken the JREF prize for nothing. It would be the headline on every stereophile mag the world over.
That is not exactly the same thing though. I hate Bose for personal and professional reasons but it is pretty impressive what you get to see when you get one of their internal security clearances. It isn’t some fly-by-night company that just places ads in every magazine in the world although they seem to do that too. The Research and Development costs are exorbitant and military contracts for things like fighter-plane headsets are a big part of their business.
They have the absolute best and brightest brainpower available combined with incredibly impressive labs and test chambers to make things happen. The products are cutting edge and of very high quality but they charge a lot because they sink that back into R&D again for the next cycle. Bose is basically the Apple of the sound world except Bose is older so I guess that relationship should be reversed. Their products aren’t for people that like to tinker around with their sound systems or want bulky equipment and lots of wires.
I don’t want to take up for them too much but Bose serves its place in the consumer world and self-described audiophiles tend to make conspiracy theorists look completely sane in comparison. There are a ton of bullshit sound products out there and Bose doesn’t produce those.
Randi doesn’t do the Challenge screening, I don’t believe. Indeed, I don’t think he’s done it for quite some time.
It might, but you might be overstating the fame of the JREF Challenge. It’s well known among hard core skeptics, especially on the Internet, but I don’t believe its existence is common knowledge; truth be told I have never in my life met a person in the flesh who was aware that there was a standing $1 million prize for someone who could demonstrate a paranormal ability. (Anytime someone brings this stuff up I always ask “So why haven’t they taken Randi’s challenge?” I always have to explain what it is.)
Engadget, Gizmodo, Head-Fi and the other technophile sites would all pick it up if Pear passed the challenge, not to mention audiophile consumer and trade mags, and they’re all that really matter to the sort of demographic Pear is squarely aimed at. The average consumer may not know JREF from JIF, but they aren’t the ones likely to drop seven large on a pair of 12’ cables.
I do know that cable quality makes a huge difference when trying to do a run with VGA cables. Almost impossible to get a clear VGA signal after 40 or so feet.
Holy coincidental timing, Batman! I just posted this linkto a letter from Blue Jeans Cable in another thread. It is worth the read and it addresses Monster’s history of suing every entity that uses the name.
I have purchased many HDMI (and other) cables from www.monoprice.com. I will not pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable. Read the reviews at www.avsform.com. No need to spend big money on these cables.
So? JREF is a very small tight organisation run (except for Randi) by enthusiast skeptic volunteer Randi-ites. You think they don’t read Swift? You think they aren’t going to know that Randi, CEO, has already publically stated that he considers something paranormal? Why is there even any need for you to waste electrons on discussing the extreme hypothetical of whether the JREF screeners would refuse something on a basis that their boss has already said is not an issue?
This. Randi’s sem-regular challenges to stereophile woo woo have been the subject of a great deal of vitriolic discussion on stereophile enthusiast blogs and magazine websites. An extreme audio component called out by Randi but which beat the Challenge would result in the most triumphant news stories possible amongst extreme audiophiles. Pear would be heroes.
Well, I honestly don’t know enough about it to make any sort of case, so I concede the argument (if that’s what this is). I was merely reporting what I have observed on some audio forums; that is, that many who profess to know audio take great pleasure in ridiculing anyone who suggests Bose is serious (and properly priced) gear.
When I finally decided to jump into the 21st century and get a new Hi-Def TV and Blu-Ray player for Xmas, I already had my $3 HDMI cables from Amazon waiting at home. Works great!
Gizmondo did some actual tests a few years back with Monster Cable. The verdict seemed to be that Monster was worth the price if you were doing extremely long runs (35’+) for 1080p, or were anticipating future HD standards such as 1080p-120hz or 1440p (like, for example, if you’re building a cable into the wall of your house and don’t want to have to change it in 2014 or so), but that at 3-6’ almost anything HDMI-certified will work fine.
I don’t know if I would ever drop 500 bucks on headphones, but I did spend 300.
I asked my wife for Bose headphones for my b-day a few months ago.
I know she was shaking her head in disbelief when she bought thesefor $160.
I was tickled that she actually got them when I tore open my present, but was confused because I couldn’t find where the battery went. It took a moment for me to realize that they were the regular on-the-ear style instead of the noise-cancelling model that I wanted.
Being the ungrateful bastard that I am, I loan them out to my kids on an as-needed basis, after going out an getting thesefor myself.
I can’t stand earbuds, but I have tried a few, and I can tell you there is certainly a difference.
The 90 dollar Boseblow away anything you see for 5-50 bucks at Best Buy or wherever.
I’ve also tried lesser noise-cancelling cans, and I stand by my Bose purchase.
I can’t imagine anything sounding 100 or 200 dollars better than mine.
Actually, I can get behind this. I’ve taken apart a few of their speakers and confess to being rather impressed with the engineering. The parts and components used were such utter and complete shit, that I was amazed the engineers were able to coax barely passable sound out of them.
I worked at Best Buy over a decade ago. Worked in the appliances department for a while. Electric dryers and ranges don’t come with power cables since different homes have different outlets (4-prong vs. 3-prong). We sold basic power cables for $8.
I remember the day these arrived. $40 retail. We all laughed ourselves silly. We all balked and asked “are you serious? you want us to try to sell these?”
Since no one forced us into offering them we never sold a one.
I bought a Monster subwoofer cable once because I wanted instant gratification and it was the only cable in the store (I think it was a Circuit City – this was almost 10 years ago) long enough to go to where my sub needed to be. The build quality is decent – definitely better than the really cheap ones – but it’s not amazing. You can get the same or better quality cables from places like Blue Jeans Cable. I generally just go with something from Monoprice, but sometimes I do buy from Blue Jeans if I want better quality. While the quality doesn’t make any [noticeable] difference in picture and sound, the cables are more durable, tend to stay on the terminal better, last longer, look nicer in the places where they’re visible, etc.
Opinions may of course vary on whether or not it’s worth it the premium. But if you think it is, I’d recommend looking at BJC (or other similar companies) instead of Monster. You’ll save money and probably get a better product too.