CES 2010

Noel Lee is always good for a quotable line or two. For instance: "We loooove 3D!" And, if your 3D experience isn't all you wished for, "don't blame the TV. Blame that cheap-ass HDMI cable you bought." Monster's four classifications of HDMI cable speed have now gone to six, topped by the 17Gbps Hyper Speed cable. HDMI wasn't the only thing on Lee's cable agenda, of course. He also discussed USB 3.0 cables for next-gen drives, players, cameras, etc.

Moving beyond cable – a good three-word description of Monster's strategy of recent years -- Lee talked about lots of other things. In the powerline accessory area, he mentioned the PowerNet wi-fi powerline router, and the GreenPower power conditioner with RF remote and watt meter to make you more conscious of power use. The PowerCenter UPS now has a countdown meter so you will have some advance knowledge of when the juice will run out.

Three console-style remote controls were shown. All three change colors according to source component. The top two also offer lighting control.

And there were a multitude of earbuds (or headphones as Lee calls them). New ones include the audiophile-quality Turbine Pro Special Edition. The indestructible Jam2 -- and its little sister, the Li'l Jam -- are cast from solid metal and can stand up to being run over by a forklift (there was a video demo of this). The Mobile Jam2 has a Mobile Device Manager that facilitates moving music from PC to Blackberry. Finally, there was a classy Miles Davis Tribute product that comes in a carrier shaped like a trumpet case and is packaged with the 50th anniversary edition of the seminal album Kind of Blue (2CD + DVD). Davis family members -- pictured above, with Lee on his Segway, sorry for the blurry photo -- offered headphone-related reminiscences.

The event began with a brief tribute to Daniel Graham, who was for many years the PR face of Monster Cable. Daniel was a sweet, kind man and great to work with. He will be sorely missed.