Are Beats headphones worth the money?

[smackababy]

They're a private company and don't really post financials but I believe they do 10 figure revenue and 9 figure profits annually. The headphone brand is well established, you can call it a "Chinese headphone repackaging company" but how many kids you know want one? It's fashionable to wear the headphones. Plus, Apple is purchasing the company more so for Beats Streaming service rather than the headphones. The built technology, patents are all already there and the Beats music service could've developed into a big iTunes competitor.

Using analytics on iPhone usage (sending data back to Cupertino), they probably know that the landscape is starting to shift towards more streaming than downloading. Lots of Spotify usage, etc.

iTunes Radio is awful. Their streaming service is a failure, as of right now. Spotify is estimated to have around 4 million users with Pandora being the giant at 250 million. Beats had more than Apple, and with it being a paid only service, only had around 500,000. However, Apple getting this service is a good thing for them, as it is lightyears ahead of their service.

 

[WHAMPOM]

I see Dre Beats headphones selling for $300-400 for over-the-ear models. Are they much better than similar headphones from other manufacturers like Bose?

I have a forty year old two speaker set from Radio Shack that have a great bass. They are big , heavy and have giant cushions that fully cover my ears. For what I paid then they would cost $400.00 now!

 

[Hugo Drax]

Best thing to do is find out what Chinese headphones they are buying and rebranding.

You would then just be able to buy the same headphones for 15-20 dollars.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Considering Beats looks to have had $1.5 billion in revenue, and the engineering has largely been done, I am going to guess quite a lot of that is net profits.

They are dominating the headphone market. It is estimated they sold between 15 and 20 million units in 2013.

I am only interested in what is the bottom line net profits after expenses.

Does anyone have hard numbers?

 

[bradley]

I bought a pair of HD-580s when they were closing them out for $175 and a $150 amp to drive them. They are amazing and blow everyone who listens to them away. I wish I could buy speakers nice enough to get similar quality but I'm sure I'd have to spend several thousand.

I have a pair of HD-580's, yes they are fantastic. Something comparable in speakers is the Energy RC line. You can find them on sale frequently at Frys.com for much less than several thousand.

 

[Koing]

I see a lot of students with beats. What is the problem if they like bass? Not everyone likes accurate sounds.

Koing

 

[AznAnarchy99]

I see a lot of students with beats. What is the problem if they like bass? Not everyone likes accurate sounds.

Koing

Audiophiles getting angry at what's popular. IMO at least Beats takes a step in the right direction.

 

[jwhorfin]

"I think the Koss Pro-4AA headphones were the phones of choice for Noah on his ark - they've been around a LONG time. And contrary to some longstanding products that stick around in spite of newer, more technically advanced competitors simply because a bunch of eccentrics swear by them, these phones are a fabulous choice for anyone at any time."

A quote from the first Amazon review I just read I couldn't have said it better.
I've used these for 36 years and only on my second pair! They also promote good neck muscles.

But if your only going to go and plug them into trash then maybe the Beats might be a better choice. This extra bass everyone speaks of might help mask the emptiness.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I see a lot of students with beats. What is the problem if they like bass? Not everyone likes accurate sounds.

Koing

They can have bass for less.

 

[Ichinisan]

iTunes Radio is awful. Their streaming service is a failure, as of right now. Spotify is estimated to have around 4 million users with Pandora being the giant at 250 million. Beats had more than Apple, and with it being a paid only service, only had around 500,000. However, Apple getting this service is a good thing for them, as it is lightyears ahead of their service.

What's wrong with iTunes Radio? I used it extensively while iOS 7 was in beta. It worked fine for me.

I already had iTunes Match though, so I haven't experienced iTunes Radio with ads.

 

[Ichinisan]

Bah... Jobs only seemed to understand Marketing when it came to selling speakers. I remember that he once tried to convince people during an Apple product launch that he sold his high end stereo system for one of those "iPod Hi-Fi" boombox speaker systems. Yeah, right. It was one of the few products that Apple introduced in the last decade that was a total flop.

Two obvious reasons for the failure of that product:

• It was absurdly expensive
• It worked only with iPod (no Bluetooth)

I'm convinced that Apple never intended for it to sell many units. How could anyone possibly expect it to sell well? Apple just wanted to sell a few $400/$500 iPod boom boxes to a few suckers out there...and I guess they did that.

 

[desura]

while I'm also dubious of the price tag and strategic value, you can't have it both ways.

You can't applaud FB for paying $19B for WhatsApp or GOOG for paying $9B for Motorola Mobility (which they've already flipped at a loss), and then knock Apple for buying Beats for $3.2B. Each is arguably a "bold" bet and while WhatsApp is no doubt the dominant messaging app these days, that's probably the most absurd valuation out of all 3 transactions.

Yes, but--

At least I can respect the engineering talent behind those companies. Even if overvalued.

Beats...it's just an EQ setting. That's it. There's hardly any engineering going on here.

 

[Pacfanweb]

I see a lot of students with beats. What is the problem if they like bass? Not everyone likes accurate sounds.

Koing

Well, the original question was:

"I see Dre Beats headphones selling for $300-400 for over-the-ear models. Are they much better than similar headphones from other manufacturers like Bose?"

And the answer is clearly "NO". You can buy a set of 40-60 dollar headphones that are as good as, or better than Beats.

 

[brianmanahan]

What is the problem if they like bass? Not everyone likes accurate sounds.

only cretins listen for the bass

 

[HeXen]

Call me cretin then. I don't care. Audiophile stuff to me sounds flat and boring. I like some excitement in my music.
The real comedy here is how long this thread keeps going. Audio is subjective but everyone thinks it's an exact science and everyone should have the same taste

 

[William Gaatjes]

I have Sennheiser over the ear headphones. The HD202. Sounds great and not too expensive at all. Only 34.95 dollars.


http://en-us.sennheiser.com/over-ear-headphones-hd-202

 

[rockyct]

Call me cretin then. I don't care. Audiophile stuff to me sounds flat and boring. I like some excitement in my music.
The real comedy here is how long this thread keeps going. Audio is subjective but everyone thinks it's an exact science and everyone should have the same taste

You can get bass-heavy headphones without spending $400 though. Listen to some higher-end audiophile headphones (even ones under $200) sometime. The bass is much sharper and cleaner than beats. Sure your whole head isn't vibrating because of the excessive bass, but you still feel it.

 

[WelshBloke]

Audio is subjective but everyone thinks it's an exact science and everyone should have the same taste

Headphones are supposed to be a mechanism to transmit sound to you. To do a good job they should do it accurately.
If you don't like an accurate transmission of the sound then that's more a problem with the music you're listening to than headphones.

 

[MongGrel]

Originally Posted by smackababy
Considering Beats looks to have had $1.5 billion in revenue, and the engineering has largely been done, I am going to guess quite a lot of that is net profits.

They are dominating the headphone market. It is estimated they sold between 15 and 20 million units in 2013.

Sheer stupidity, but I guess they are making money.

 

[Eug]

Headphones are supposed to be a mechanism to transmit sound to you. To do a good job they should do it accurately.
If you don't like an accurate transmission of the sound then that's more a problem with the music you're listening to than headphones.

Interestingly, most of the better but not super high end models do not strive to provide truly accurate sound, because most customers would complain if they did.

For example, my Etymotic 4P ear canal phones intentionally provide an altered curve to the frequency response for its desired usage.

The 4S is intended to be used with a standalone amplifier, whereas the 4P is louder with an altered sonic profile, intended for use with iPods and iPhones, etc.

 

[KillerBee]

wow - that is insane people will pay that much for freekin' headphones
but congrats to Dr Dre

 

[alkemyst]

wow - that is insane people will pay that much for freekin' headphones
but congrats to Dr Dre

LOL

http://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreymorrison/2013/11/24/10-most-expensive-headphones/

 

[uhohs]

I only have one headphone on that list, so i'm not insane. :whiste:

 

[KillerBee]

LOL

http://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreymorrison/2013/11/24/10-most-expensive-headphones/

lol - unbelievably unfreekinunbelievable

 

[bradley]

We actually can objectively quantify the worth of any headphone, similar to the below camera site, based on several criteria, including: SNR, THD, IMD, phase, frequency range etc.

Science!
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Ratings

Beats, when compared to other brands in the same price range, are simply *extremely* poor performers.

I haven't heard all of these headphones, but have heard many, and this dude's list is pretty on the money.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/bat...ompared-update-audeze-lcd-2-revision-2-6-4-13