Are Beats headphones worth the money?

[railer]

This will get some panties in a wad around here, which is partly why I post, but the Skullcandy Aviators are actually a good headphone, at a very good price. I've seen them on Amazon for like low $60's, although they're right around $80 now. Now before any bird-brains start crying and whining about the Skullcandy brand being crap, these cans are actually quite well received by anyone who knows anything about sound quality:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/549218/skullcandy-aviator-appreciation

Keep in mind these are sub $100 cans, so there certainly are better choices out there, if money is not a concern.

 

[uhohs]

I really like my SR-60s. Only problem is the pads suck and are expensive to replace. I'm not paying $15 for $0.15 worth of foam rubber.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get a really good pair of headphones or buds. The Beats are overpriced and really too bassy to be used for anything but hip hop.

there's a seller on ebay that sells 3rd party grado earpads

http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW5AHUK/
http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW4XQZ4/
http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW4RWH2/

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

For < $100, I'd just roll with plain 'ol Koss KSC-75s or PortaPros, which is what I was using at the office before neighbors complained of sound leakage.

 

[MetalMat]

For < $100, I'd just roll with plain 'ol Koss KSC-75s or PortaPros, which is what I was using at the office before neighbors complained of sound leakage.

I need some decent headphones for playing guitar at night. I'll give these a look, my good old cheapo depot gym headphones ain't cuttin the mustard.

 

[IAteYourMother]

IEMs ftw. I'm partial to Westone's UM series

 

[uhohs]

yeah, the ksc75 is still one of the best bargains around. They're often on sale for ~$10 too.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I got a pair too, probably the better of the earbuds out there. I don't like the wire though, too stiff. Sound wise they sound fine but I don't seem to like the sound that most audiophiles do, to me it's bland. they don't hold the air tight seal in my ear too well however. I paid around $150 a year or so ago and plenty of sources to find them far below msrp, no clue where they came up with that price from. I only use them when I mow my lawn cause I don't want to advertise any kind of well known brand to my neighborhood. Their ok, I'm not wowed by them.

Ideally, it's a custom made mold so you have an airtight seal that makes all the difference to any in ear buds.
Speaking of Beats, I think the solo on ear versions do fatigue a lot more than the Bose on ear's which I found pretty comfy for long periods, not sure which I prefer better. People like to bash both brands but they should understand that some people just prefer their warmer sound characteristics.

I had a custom made wire made for me from hplaudio.com. The stock Logitech ones were horrible and kept going back. I did multiple warranty swaps until my warranty ran out and I just bought one.

 

[desura]

Of course not.

But at the same time I would also argue that *no* headphone is worth over $100.

There might be some slight difference but it is slight.

Speakers OTOH are worth the extra expense.

Beats are basically headphones tuned to Dr. Dre's personal musical preferences. Nothing wrong with that, but that's all that they are.

 

[yhelothar]

Of course not.

But at the same time I would also argue that *no* headphone is worth over $100.

There might be some slight difference but it is slight.

Speakers OTOH are worth the extra expense.

Beats are basically headphones tuned to Dr. Dre's personal musical preferences. Nothing wrong with that, but that's all that they are.

I used to think this until I tried a set of real audiophile headphones. The difference between good sounding headphones and audiophile ones is that good sounding ones will sound clear and will give you punchy bass, but audiophile ones will make you feel like you have front row seats at the concert.

For me, I'm partial to the Etymotic ER4. They're quite known for delivering that experience.

 

[mnewsham]

Speakers OTOH are worth the extra expense.

Eh, higher quality headphones will give much better value for the listener than a high end speaker system. Now if you want multiple people to be listening then obviously speakers are more desirable. But a decent quality headphone setup will destroy anything even close to it's price range in the speaker world. You can easily spend $1000-2500 on a good headphone rig. But to get the same sound quality from speakers you will be spending $5k+

 

[JM Aggie08]

Speak of the devil.

One of the most universally recommended/acclaimed "priced right" headphones on the market just went on sale on Massdrop. Fantastic headphones!

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ath-m5...Product Announcement 2014-05-02&utm_content=C

Why did you have to show me that?

Also, now there are Beats ads all over AT. Thanks guys.

 

[SP33Demon]

They are hand made by Dr. Dre. They are the best in the industry by far, and well worth their price tag.

Yes, he has also autographed each one and personally shit in it just for you.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Also in case you guys didn't know, Dr. Dre and Mr. Iovine completely cut out Monster and all of their stake in the headphones, completely owning all of the profits for it now.

http://gizmodo.com/5981823/beat-by-dre-the-inside-story-of-how-monster-lost-the-world

Awesome story from a business aspect. Kinda shitty for Monster though. Then again, this is the company who charges us $100 for a 3ft HDMI cable so screw them.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Also in case you guys didn't know, Dr. Dre and Mr. Iovine completely cut out Monster and all of their stake in the headphones, completely owning all of the profits for it now.

http://gizmodo.com/5981823/beat-by-dre-the-inside-story-of-how-monster-lost-the-world

Awesome story from a business aspect. Kinda shitty for Monster though. Then again, this is the company who charges us $100 for a 3ft HDMI cable so screw them.

The people are stupid for buying them, cant solely blame Monster.

 

[JM Aggie08]

The people are stupid for buying them, cant solely blame Monster.

You seem really fired up about this.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

You seem really fired up about this.

I do?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Eh, higher quality headphones will give much better value for the listener than a high end speaker system. Now if you want multiple people to be listening then obviously speakers are more desirable. But a decent quality headphone setup will destroy anything even close to it's price range in the speaker world. You can easily spend $1000-2500 on a good headphone rig. But to get the same sound quality from speakers you will be spending $5k+

Put it this way. With the Senn Momentums (over ears) at the office, it feels like I have a Klipsch Promedia 4.2 setup that no one else can hear.

Since I'm pretty much using it ~6-7 hours a day, it's definitely worth the $250 that I paid for it. While I was happy with the KSC-75 and PortaPros that I had before, these just blow them away.

 

[desura]

Eh, higher quality headphones will give much better value for the listener than a high end speaker system. Now if you want multiple people to be listening then obviously speakers are more desirable. But a decent quality headphone setup will destroy anything even close to it's price range in the speaker world. You can easily spend $1000-2500 on a good headphone rig. But to get the same sound quality from speakers you will be spending $5k+

No, because headphones only stimulate part of the body: the ears.

Speakers can make your entire body feel the music. What you miss by listening to music by headphones all the time is the feeling of music as it vibrates your sternum.

 

[desura]

The fact that there are people on these forums who say that Beats are in fact the *best* headphones...really does not bode well for the quality of these forums.

 

[natto fire]

The people are stupid for buying them, cant solely blame Monster.

Seriously, I know we live in a culture where popularity is more important than substance, and American politics are driving this home that it doesn't matter about what you know, but who you know.

I know it is a reach to equate moron deafening devices to something as "sacred" as personal governance, but I find it hard to believe anyone who posts in this thread (barring the P&Ntards) have never felt like something is "off" in the whole democratic process. Too much money changing hands to coerce people's votes.

MENSA exists for a reason, and there are definitely plenty of people more swayed by money than policy, which is sad, but so institutionalized, I can't imagine any other way.

Run on sentence, I know, never claimed to be a MENSA member myself...

 

[mmntech]

there's a seller on ebay that sells 3rd party grado earpads

http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW5AHUK/
http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW4XQZ4/
http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Repla...dp/B00BW4RWH2/

Nice.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

The fact that there are people on these forums who say that Beats are in fact the *best* headphones...really does not bode well for the quality of these forums.

You gotta think about it like this. For years people have just used the basic iPod ear pieces, which are total shit. No one besides an audiophile really bought nice expensive headphones. It was never marketed towards the mainstream. Here comes along Beats by Dre, who put his recognizable name on it and sold it to the masses. It's not great but its worlds ahead of the normal iPhone earpieces that everyone used.

Hell I don't hate on Beats at all. When people ask me what I think about them, I say they're fine but I tell them about better ear pieces for less by other companies. I let them ear my TF10s and they are blown away.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Thanks. That's a very interesting concept for an IEM, exciting actually. Think I just found a new toy.

I have a set of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5EB Hybrid IEMs reshelled into a custom IEM by Unique Melody and they're still one of my favorite sets for hip hop. They require a very quiet source (which is why I use a FiiO E17 with them) because they only have nominal impedance of around 7 Ohms. But they hit incredibly hard. For those hip-hop or trap music days, they still wow me every time I put them in.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

This thread cracks me up. We've got folks with modded dollar store cans all the way up to mega buck ear porn. What's clear to me is that if it produces sound somebody is going to love it. So even though I've never even had a pair of beats near my earholes I'm giving them a big :thumbsup:

 

[JM Aggie08]

I do?

Do you?