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Monster receives its first U.S patent several years earlier, for the clever (and cleverly named) Xterminator electrical connector. The Monster product line is expanding. Noel then launches the world’s first computer speaker, The MacSpeaker, foreshadowing the most powerful transition in audio’s evolution – decades before streaming, downloading and cloud storage achieves its dominance. Monster Music is launched in 1986.

Noel's foresight establishes a pattern that enables Monster to become a wellspring of innovation, witness Monster Power. As home theater becomes more popular, the need for clean, filtered, surge protected power becomes more evident than ever. Monster introduces a sophisticated line of power conditioning products and includes a connected equipment warranty. Monster continues to innovate in the power category today.

"In addition to going store-to-store, I rented half a table in a 10-by-10 booth at the 1977 Consumer Electronics Show. I drove to Chicago with a load of wires. I made my first packaging by hand, using rub-on letters and photocopied labels for the packaging and signs. But the labels came out too light, so I bought black felt markers and darkened each by hand. Still, people at the show said they liked the packaging, the idea and our name. At this point we were still working out of the garage in my family's house. The first production table was...

Noel’s son, Kevin Lee meets Steve Berman of Interscope Records while exploring new opportunities for Monster Music. Shortly after, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre express interest in the speaker business and are introduced to Monster. In conversations that are of huge significance in the audio industry today, Noel and Kevin explain that speakers are no longer the hottest item in audio, and that headphones are the new speakers.

Jimmy and Dre go to SLS to create headphones. The deal falls apart and they come back to Monster with a very rough prototype that was too big, too boxy, with terrible audio. Under Noel's direction, Monster engineering develops new technologies for headphones and Apple alumni Robert Brunner is contracted by Monster to do the Industrial Design. More than 30 handcrafted and personally tuned prototypes are prepared before the final prototype is chosen.