Are Beats headphones worth the money?

[SheHateMe]

Beats are made by Monster. The same company that tries to sell $50 HDMI cables to people. Are they worth the money? Nope. Not at all. Unfortunately, College kids made these things insanely popular. When I was still in school, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing most of the students walking around with Beats on their heads.

 

[momeNt]

Beats are made by Monster. The same company that tries to sell $50 HDMI cables to people. Are they worth the money? Nope. Not at all. Unfortunately, College kids made these things insanely popular. When I was still in school, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing most of the students walking around with Beats on their heads.

Beats and Monster split almost 2 years ago. Monster, which is a fairly small company without a lot of resources compared to Dre, got pretty badly reamed all things considered. Not to say that they didn't deserve it, branding cables as THX certified and charging %2000 percent is pretty ridiculous.

 

[HeXen]

Any headphone on the market doesn't cost that much to make, the differences are often if made by hand or precious metals. All of them have way jacked up costs in comparison, it's all still old technology, just different methods of implementation and audio is not a one of a kind exact science, if it was then everyone would have been using the exact same designs and methods since the 60's.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Beats and Monster split almost 2 years ago. Monster, which is a fairly small company without a lot of resources compared to Dre, got pretty badly reamed all things considered. Not to say that they didn't deserve it, branding cables as THX certified and charging %2000 percent is pretty ridiculous.

Can you blame them? People still eat that shit up lol.

 

[Daverino]

Go out and get a pair of VModa headphones.

Twice the quality of Beats at half the price. If you want to spend the amount of cash Beats wants you to, you should be getting much much better headphones.

 

[momeNt]

Can you blame them? People still eat that shit up lol.

You could probably run a business selling $10 coffee too. So no, I don't blame taking money people are too easily willing to cough up.

 

[smackababy]

Beats are made by Monster. The same company that tries to sell $50 HDMI cables to people. Are they worth the money? Nope. Not at all. Unfortunately, College kids made these things insanely popular. When I was still in school, you couldn't go anywhere without seeing most of the students walking around with Beats on their heads.

Please... It isn't Monster's fault the cater to the morons that think expensive cables make a difference. There are plenty of audiophile morons who will buy double coated, military grade copper, insulated with pig intestine and lead paint cables that cost $5,000 a ft because they can "tell the difference" despite not actually being able to.


I got a pair of the $300 Beats for free and they are okay. The noise cancelling is decent enough (but requires a battery) and the bass is a bit heavy. It is nice when listening to Blotted Science or some hip hop, but for anything where you don't want to appreciate the bass, they are just meh. They do look nice though, I suppose there is that.

 

[HeXen]

That doesn't work for everything. You have to market the product in the right way to get people to pay for more than they should be.

No one here should hypocrite, how many here have purchased brand clothing or shoes? It's about the style, how you want to present yourself...etc. Cotton is cheap but it's nothing to see a cotton shirt go for over $50. The price alone makes it popular because it's something not many are willing or able to afford, so like a fancy car, it presents your status.

Please... It isn't Monster's fault the cater to the morons that think expensive cables make a difference. There are plenty of audiophile morons who will buy double coated, military grade copper, insulated with pig intestine and lead paint cables that cost $5,000 a ft because they can "tell the difference" despite not actually being able to.


I got a pair of the $300 Beats for free and they are okay. The noise cancelling is decent enough (but requires a battery) and the bass is a bit heavy. It is nice when listening to Blotted Science or some hip hop, but for anything where you don't want to appreciate the bass, they are just meh. They do look nice though, I suppose there is that.

I hope you never purchased Nike's before or any other such brand and product. As long as you're not a hypocrite that's fine attitude to have but calling such consumer's morons is a little short sighted...there is more to it than that as I stated above. People know damn good and well that they are buying style over substance but that is often what they want. People research and compare prices everyday but there is always that 1 or few other specific things in life they are willing to splurge far more on for other reasons than just what everyone else is selling a comparable product for.

 

[uhohs]

The newer/revised beats are suppose to be less terrible than their predecessors. But definitely still overpriced for what you get.

18 Headphone Brands Ranked from Worst to First

http://time.com/74886/best-headphones/

Beats didn't fare so well.

that ranking is very laughable.

 

[smackababy]

I hope you never purchased Nike's before or any other such brand and product. As long as you're not a hypocrite that's fine attitude to have but calling such consumer's morons is a little short sighted...there is more to it than that as I stated above. People know damn good and well that they are buying style over substance but that is often what they want. People research and compare prices everyday but there is always that 1 or few other specific things in life they are willing to splurge far more on for other reasons than just what everyone else is selling a comparable product for.

Except, I never claimed that Nike's were the best of the best. Nor will I say that one will elevate your game in any sport. Or that I could tell the difference in a blind test. I stand by the statement that anyone who buys http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Ter.../dp/B000J36XR2 is a moron.

 

[brianmanahan]

bose and beats are overpriced

go with sennheiser, grado, or AKG

i myself have the sennheiser 595

 

[Reasonable Doubt]

I have the Beats Studio and Beats Pro. I've owned the Beat Solo (non-hd version) but I returned it to the store cause I didn't like it. I love the Beats Pro (got it on sale for $250 last year). Beats Studio are too loud outside the headphones. Don't know if they fixed that yet. But I'm satisfied with my Beats Pro's.

 

[Paladin3]

$7 EchoUnltd brand earbuds for me from Staples. The audio books I listen to sound good on my iPod Shuffle.

I'm feeling really frugal at the moment, considering what I've paid for my earbuds, bicycle, wallet, jeans, knife, etc. compared to what the rest of you ATOT'ers spend.

 

[dbk]

Never

 

[dr150]

I'd put Audio Technica as the best bang for buck in most price tiers. :thumbsup: A favorite brand among audiophiles.

Sennheiser is also good but more highly priced vs the competition and it has its "house signature" which you may or may not like.

In audio, as you go up in price you get less in return. The law of diminishing returns is rampant among audio offerings so keep that in mind when looking at $400 headphones.

 

[norseamd]

so how do these compare to likes of audio technica and sennheiser

 

[norseamd]

Go with more respectable companies. Grado Sennhieser Denon Sony Beyerdynamic AKG Fostex Hifiman etc. If you want a recommendation feel free to ask, but Bose and Beats are laughed at by anyone who actually knows anything about audio equipment.

no audio technica?

 

[norseamd]

OK here is what I read in the article: Quote: "Using world-class headphones, a $2 Realtek integrated audio codec could not be reliably distinguished from the $2000 Benchmark DAC2 HGC in a four-device round-up. Again, all four devices sounded great." Dedicated DAC are a waste of money, period.

if you ever listened to the difference you could tell that pr piece is pure bullshit

sales of high end motherboards with "high quality audio"

 

[dr150]

no audio technica?

I'm sure he'd include Audio Technica in that group as well as it's a universally revered brand among audio hobbyists.

All you need to keep in mind is that there's LOTS of stuff out there that would handily beat Beats at their given price point(s).

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Get some custom IEM's and never look back.

http://nobleaudio.com/

 

[SSSnail]

Go audition the headphones yourself. I kinda laugh at anyone recommending something as personal as a set of headphones. Either foolish, or full of themselves.

 

[bradley]

Get some custom IEM's and never look back.

http://nobleaudio.com/

I agree with the custom IEM suggestion. Except not those... these.
http://www.jhaudio.com/content/sirens-roxanne

For an on-ear headphone to blow away the Beats, the Sennheiser Momentum for only $199.
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-MOM...973ATPSMQ4J9BE

 

[bradley]

OK here is what I read in the article:

Quote: "Using world-class headphones, a $2 Realtek integrated audio codec could not be reliably distinguished from the $2000 Benchmark DAC2 HGC in a four-device round-up. Again, all four devices sounded great."

Dedicated DAC are a waste of money, period.

I call BS on that quote. Although while someone cannot create a great performing linear DAC *that rivals a Benchmark DAC* for $2, Nwavguy (an audio engineer) objectively proved that one can be built (DAC/amp combo) for less than $200. Quite an accomplishment which rankled many in the audiophile community.

http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/search?...d-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=7

 

[bradley]

The newer/revised beats are suppose to be less terrible than their predecessors. But definitely still overpriced for what you get.


that ranking is very laughable.

Especially since Shure makes some of the world worst performing headphones and are listed by Time as #1. WTF?

 

[crab]

What do you guys think of the Bowers & Wilkins P7 over the ear units? They're quite pricey but my wife purchased me a pair as a gift.

To be honest, they are the most comfortable pair of OTE I've ever used...much better than anything I've ever used. I wish I could use them in my airplane as both my Bose N/C (these were given to me and I hate em) and my Lightspeed Zulu sets that I love but they hurt the top of my head after about 1.5hrs...just as the Bose. It's an issue I've had my whole life with headphones, and what I would consider severe ear pain with ear buds. It's like I have mis-shapen ears.

In addition to the comfortability, they sound incredible, they're not N/C - which I love. I'd vouch for em...hopefully I'm not too far off. Curious if any of you guys have a review.