Monster

Monster Inc. is an American company that manufactures and sells approximately 6,000 products, but is best known for its audio and video cables. The company also produces speakers, headphones, extension cords, mobile accessories, and car audio products. The company was founded by audiophile and engineer Noel Lee. In his family's garage, he experimented with various copper conductors, wire designs, and winding methods, comparing them while listening to Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." He became convinced that audio cables could improve sound quality by conducting electricity more efficiently. Using a borrowed part of someone else's booth at the 1978 CES, he demonstrated his cables compared to standard wires. After a positive reception at CES, he quit his job at Lawrence Berkeley Lab and founded Monster Cable Products with $250,000 in bank financing. The first Monster cables were handcrafted by Lee and sold directly door-to-door.

Over the years, new divisions were created, such as Monster Music, Monster Game, Monster Mobile, Monster Photo, and Monster Power. In 2008, the company began producing Beats headphones in partnership with Dr. Dre. The partnership ended in 2012, after which Monster began producing headphones under its own brand.