Monster Music Revolutionizes Home Entertainment With Superdisc!

Featuring Top Artists In Releases That Utilize Advanced Technologies Including High Definition Surround Sound

24-Oct-05

Monster Cable Products, the leading manufacturer of high-performance cable and power for home theatre, car, and Apple iPod, announced today the launch of SuperDisc, an innovative High Definition entertainment product from Monster Music. Fully compatible with the current installed base of home theatre systems, SuperDiscs pioneer the use of advanced technologies that bring a ìMonstrousî gain in performance, completely redefining the ultimate entertainment experience. Each limited edition release is painstakingly mixed and mastered to bring out all the clarity, detail and excitement of the original performance.Most SuperDiscs include 2 discsóone featuring a Stereo mix that plays on any CD player and the other, which plays in any DVD player, features High Definition Surround Sound in Dolby Digital and DTS 96/24 as well as High Definition PCM 96/24 Stereo, all taken directly from the studio masters. In addition, some discs feature multiple mixes that allow listeners to select their own ìSurround Experience,î ranging from ìfront row performanceî and ìin the roomî to ìon stageî and ìorchestral.î Monster Music head Kevin Lee says, ìFrom cables to clean power to components, Monster has long led the pack in utilizing the latest technology for the pursuit of superior quality. Now, releasing these timeless recordings in High Definition Surround Sound, we finally extend our vision to encompass the entire processófrom the source direct to your senses.îFor those who want to take their Monster Music mobile, SuperDiscs include High Definition Digital Music files encoded directly from the master recordings, ready to drag and drop into your iPod or MP3 player. These Digital Music files are encoded in AAC (@320 kbps), WMA (@192 kbps), and better-than-CD-quality Apple Lossless (PCM 48/16). Also included are Dolby Headphone encoded music files, which will give your player a surround sound music experience through any pair of headphones. Monster Music SuperDiscs are also the first music releases to be certified by THX for high quality sound and picture, multiple surround experiences, and digital music file quality. ìWeíve spared no effort in making these the highest quality, most technologically advanced home entertainment products on the market,î says Monster SuperDisc producer Rich Casey. ìBut the technology alone doesnít get the job done. Itís finding people whose artistry and creative passion is inspired by these performances, then allowing them the opportunity to create a presentation that significantly enhances the listenerís emotional connection to the music.îMonster Music titles will cover all popular genres. However, unlike a music label that signs artists, Monster Music is mainly working with other labels to produce SuperDisc versions of their top artists and top releases, often at the same time as the labelís regular CD release. Launching in November, Monster Music plans to present a small initial group of select albums. One of the first to be released is a SuperDisc of Ray CharlesóGenius Loves Company, winner of 8 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Surround Sound Album. Jazz aficionados will appreciate the new Peter Cincotti release, which features both the recent studio album ìOn The Moonî plus ìLive in New York,î a concert performance originally shot in HD. For rock fans, Universal is releasing the latest concert performance of its top group, 3 Doors Down, exclusively through Monster Music. This release is both a Digital Music Album and Live Video Concert (filmed with 12 HD cameras), featuring multiple ìSurroundî mixes including an ìOn Stageî experience that puts you right in the middle of the band. ìTrust me, itís better than the front rowî, says lead singer Brad Arnold. (See review in Widescreen Review November Issue 102.)Rounding out this first batch of SuperDiscs, Monster presents a unique pair of jazz bookends. First, they cracked open the vault to revitalize the Original Soundtrack Recording of the CBS television special ìA Charlie Brown Christmasî performed by the Vince Guaraldi Trioótaking the original analog 3-track tapes and remastering them to 96/24 High Definition Stereo and Surround. To complement this special reissue, Monster is also releasing ìA Charlie Brown Christmas 40th Anniversaryî featuring newly minted interpretations of the classic tunes by artists like David Benoit, Vanessa Williams, and The Rippingtons, recorded in 96/24 High Definition Stereo and Surround. Although SuperDiscs represent a significant technological breakthrough in home entertainment quality, theyíre also poised to redefine the way in which entertainment programming is marketed. In todayís music world, consumers often find themselves buying music in non-traditional locations, like coffeehouses, bookstores, or other specialty retailers. In a natural extension of this phenomenon, Monster Music intends to sell SuperDiscs through yet another non-traditional retail channel, the places where people shop for the music gear itselfóelectronics stores. Consumer electronics retailers boast a highly qualified customer base for music purchases and tend to be equipped with the kind of on-site demonstration systems that can best promote the qualities of a product like Monster Musicís SuperDiscs. Monster will develop that potential through the creation of special promotional discs for retailers that champion the features and benefits of the SuperDisc experience to consumers at the store level. These discs will also serve to demonstrate the quality and performance of the systems on which they are played. ìItís a natural for cross-promotion; each product brings out the best in the other. Consumers and retailers will both reap ìmonstrousî benefits!î says Noel Lee, Monsterís CEO. Monsterís extensive distribution places its products in every type of electronic retailer from national chains such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Target to audio/video specialists like Ultimate Electronics, Fryís, and The Sound Room. ìCurrently, over 14,000 retail locations sell Monster products, and more than half of them do not sell musicÖyet,î says ìHead Monsterî Lee.About Monster:Monster Cable Products, Inc. was founded in 1979 by Noel Lee, then a laser-fusion design engineer at Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory, as well as an audiophile and professional drummer. Lee discovered that, when hooked up to loudspeakers, wires of different constructions produced varying degrees of audio performance. From this discovery, he developed a high performance speaker cableónaming it Monster Cableóand literally created an industry. The invention of Monster Cable created a new product category that revolutionized the audio market. Prior to Monster Cable, most stereo systems were wired with ordinary ""zip-cord,"" the same cable used for electrical household and lamp wire. Lee chose the name ""Monster"" because it sounded strong and powerful. It became an immediate hit with consumers. In fact, the name Monster Cable is so synonymous with high quality and high performance; customers often assume that any cable they purchase in reputable stores will be Monster, even though there are other cable brands. Monster is now the world's leading manufacturer of high performance cables that connect audio/video components for home, car and professional use as well as computers and computer games. Monster Cable is an indispensable component for music lovers, audiophiles, recording studios, sound professionals, musicians, custom-installers, and home theatre enthusiasts. Monster's audio cables increase the clarity, dynamics and power of the audio signals that travel through them. Monster video cables deliver the sharpest, clearest picture possible with naturally vivid color from traditional and digital television, projectors, home theatre and satellite systems. Monster Game products let enthusiasts enjoy the ultimate gaming experience by maximizing sound and video quality of a gaming system. Monster Power, a division of Monster Cable, delivers cleaner AC power to A/V components and computer products and high joule surge protection for maximum performance. Monster offers over 4,000 products and is sold in over 80 countries worldwide.

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