On the rear of my Infinity IRSV is a wire bundle connecting all the tweeters and midranges to the crossover. The wiring appears to be standard lamp cord until you look closely. There, in small white writing, are the words
Monster Cable.
Before Monster Cable we all connected our speakers to our amplifiers with what is commonly referred to as zip or lamp cord: 12 gauge stranded copper wire commonly used to power lamps.
Monster Cable's founder, Noel Lee, figured out that with enough legwork and marketing he could convince people that a better, more expensive alternative would help their stereo systems sound better. And he was right.
The only difference between lamp cord and early Monster Cable was the quality of the copper and an added twist to the conductor.
That it sold for 10X the cost of lamp cable is a testament to Noel's marketing chops.
That it improved sound quality is a hat tip to Noel for having started an entire industry that has forever improved the way our music sounds at home.
Clear away all the hype and craziness we associate with the cable industry and for just a moment, recognize the positive impact of what this man started.
Those that followed Noel have made huge contributions to our hobby.
Thanks, Noel.
