Bad News: Beats Controls 57% of High-End Headphones Market

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
167
106
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/tech/beats-headphones-audio-market/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

Indeed, according to the NPD Group, a marketing research company, Beats controls 27% of the $1.8 billion headphone market -- and 57% of the market for "premium" headphones, ones that cost $99 or more.
I'm not an audiophile or a snob by any means, but a little part of me died inside when reading that. Is this what headphones have been reduced to? Selection based solely on who has the most expensive marketing campaign?:(
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
This is great, I love it.

Why?

Because I can tell if you have real tech or music knowledge or you are just a sucker by looking at your neck/head.
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
18,700
5,431
136
Image is everything.....

And even though they're not the best performers, they're still better than the standard iPhone earplugs.

But other than that I have the same feeling as OP.
 

BrightCandle

Diamond Member
Mar 15, 2007
4,762
0
76
That is quite an impressive climb in market cap for what are pretty rubbish headphones. But its actually become a bit of a trend really, lots of people are buying things based on their looks rather than how well they function. You can see a tonne of rubbish that sold well on Amazon and yet compared to the product on the next page that is actually the best one it outsells it dramatically. Form over function has become a thing in a lot of areas on PCs as well, gamer mice and keyboards being especially obvious ones.

That is OK take it as a marker of someone that doesn't know anything about audio, paid over the odds and is a form over function kind of person. Unless the other headphone makers that make decent accurate cans don't go out of business I don't really care how well beats do. Maybe Sennheiser should take the hint and produce trendy looking headphones that sound excellent, hmmm scrap that the idea of beats excellent is over done bass like typical Bose headphones. Don't want Sennheiser to dirty themselves with something that can easily be done in EQ.
 

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
21,198
9
81
How is this any surprise? Your average consumer is easily influenced and there isn't a single audio hardware manufacturer advertising and publicizing more than Beats.

Show me the breakdown of >$99, >$299, and >$499. Teenagers and early 20-somethings can easily swing $100-200 if they save up. I don't agree with calling $99+ "high-end" just because the default is a set of bundled ear buds. Not that this affects me...I was given a set of their $200 headphones and gave them to my sister. She only uses them at her office and doesn't bother lugging them around.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
THD, sensitivity, impedance doesn't mean anything to the people who buy these. I remember being in the Apple store looking around and watching some girl tell her mom she needed the Beats Pro for what I think was $400 because "Justin Beiber wore them in that one video". I chuckled to myself because I paid less for my Sony MDR-7520s. Even the Pro name in them is a joke because no professional recording studio uses them. They are too muddy and studio phones need to be neutral.
 
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
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I don't think that nerds realize that people all have different priorities. I like in ears because they're nearly invisible and sound good enough ($10 too, so if I lose them no big deal), but thrift is my priority. Other people value performance supremely. It's not wrong that the majority seems to prioritize aesthetics over performance (I mean, they're bloated but they don't make your ears bleed). In fact, if a pigs anus strapped to your ears sounded like angels singing, well, I'll still stick to ear buds.

Just because you don't value looks and cool factor doesn't mean everyone should have the same values, right? Go ahead and buy your oversized sennheisers and ugly grados (proud owner myself), just don't mind the snickers :)
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
I don't think that nerds realize that people all have different priorities. I like in ears because they're nearly invisible and sound good enough ($10 too, so if I lose them no big deal), but thrift is my priority. Other people value performance supremely. It's not wrong that the majority seems to prioritize aesthetics over performance (I mean, they're bloated but they don't make your ears bleed). In fact, if a pigs anus strapped to your ears sounded like angels singing, well, I'll still stick to ear buds.

Just because you don't value looks and cool factor doesn't mean everyone should have the same values, right? Go ahead and buy your oversized sennheisers and ugly grados (proud owner myself), just don't mind the snickers :)

I've had those snickers. Then I told them to listen to them. Snickers turned to frowns as they realize they overpaid for worse quality. In general though nobody gives a crap what headphones you have on or what earbuds you are using. What matters is I know I'm not buying into a name. Oh and quality doesn't have to mean big and/or ugly.

Sennheiser Momentum
sennheiserside.jpg
 
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JackBurton

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
15,993
14
81
Hahahahaha, the high end market. That's hilarious! I guess Bose controls a lot of the "high end" speaker market too. lol
 
Mar 15, 2003
12,668
103
106
I've had those snickers. Then I told them to listen to them. Snickers turned to frowns as they realize they overpaid for worse quality. In general though nobody gives a crap what headphones you have on or what earbuds you are using. What matters is I know I'm not buying into a name. Oh and quality doesn't have to mean big and/or ugly.

Sennheiser Momentum
sennheiserside.jpg

Again, quality is a subjective thing. And, really.. I don't want to share headphones with strangers to prove my point :) At the end of the day it's all about preference. I'm no Beats apologist (I use $10 philips in ears on the road and huge JVCs that cost 30 bucks but sound lovely at home, plus have random grados and denons), but they understand their market and market to them well. Most people just don't like the audiophile sound signature anyways, younger people prefer an emphasis on bass and want a dash of fashion to go with it, at the end of the day who is that hurting?
 

JackBurton

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
15,993
14
81
Again, quality is a subjective thing. And, really.. I don't want to share headphones with strangers to prove my point :) At the end of the day it's all about preference. I'm no Beats apologist (I use $10 philips in ears on the road and huge JVCs that cost 30 bucks but sound lovely at home, plus have random grados and denons), but they understand their market and market to them well. Most people just don't like the audiophile sound signature anyways, younger people prefer an emphasis on bass and want a dash of fashion to go with it, at the end of the day who is that hurting?

It has nothing to do with that. Beats is all about marketing, and they do it VERY well. It's a trend thing, not a quality thing, like Air Jordan sneakers. The people that wear them normally don't know any better, and if Dr Dre and all the other people he uses to market the product say it's the best, then it must be the best. Secondly, it looks retarded walking around with those things. But the reason they wear them out is because they think they look cool, which they don't. They actually think they have something special, which is why they wear them out, to show off. Little do they know, they look retarded.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,038
5,920
126
i'd be willing to bet that at least 85% of the people in this thread have never even personally heard or used beats headphones, myself included.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
21,995
855
126
I am not a fan of beats by any means, but I would take them over any Grados any day.

Me, I still sport my MDR-V6 from 1988. Nothing can match them in their price range and most over their price range.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
126
Just because you don't value looks and cool factor doesn't mean everyone should have the same values, right?

This is ATOT, so the concept of prioritizing fashion over function leads to

ro69Jxj.gif


Now if we were posting on pintrest or something you would be a hero.
 

desura

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2013
4,627
129
101
I think the real lesson...

is that with headphones, people want a curated, personalized experience. Which is basically what Beats offers.

I mean, there is no real "right" answer for headphones.

Ever tried messing with an EQ? Spent hours going over the same piece of music over and over trying to figure out if it is "right"? Some people want that decision made for them.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
I think the real lesson...

is that with headphones, people want a curated, personalized experience. Which is basically what Beats offers.

I mean, there is no real "right" answer for headphones.

Ever tried messing with an EQ? Spent hours going over the same piece of music over and over trying to figure out if it is "right"? Some people want that decision made for them.

Even if the answer given is wrong? lol

I know what you're saying though.
 

A5

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2000
4,902
5
81
i'd be willing to bet that at least 85% of the people in this thread have never even personally heard or used beats headphones, myself included.

Friend of mine got their noise-cancelling set (the Studio? I think) as a gift from their office. They're OK. I didn't do a hard-core test on them or anything, but they definitely aren't what I would get for $300.
 

tential

Diamond Member
May 13, 2008
7,348
642
121
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/tech/beats-headphones-audio-market/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5


I'm not an audiophile or a snob by any means, but a little part of me died inside when reading that. Is this what headphones have been reduced to? Selection based solely on who has the most expensive marketing campaign?:(

Biased much? Beats are a great headphone company. Can't believe moderation of this site would be so biased.
/sarcasm

It is sad. But this is capitalism for you. Beats came in with an Apple like marketing strat. They convinced people it was the COOL thing to have, and people purchased it even though it's value to performance ratio sucks.
 

Rubycon

Madame President
Aug 10, 2005
17,768
485
126
Beats is considered high end?

Perhaps in the realm of mid fi...

This is high end!

Stax SR009

110925_blog_worldsbestheadphones_photo_SR009.jpg


Inexperienced listeners will often fault cans in this class because their familiar recordings sound worse to them. It's simply due to the ability to hear more flaws in the program source. Listening to lossy files becomes painful.
 

videogames101

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2005
6,783
27
91
I don't think that nerds realize that people all have different priorities. I like in ears because they're nearly invisible and sound good enough ($10 too, so if I lose them no big deal), but thrift is my priority. Other people value performance supremely. It's not wrong that the majority seems to prioritize aesthetics over performance (I mean, they're bloated but they don't make your ears bleed). In fact, if a pigs anus strapped to your ears sounded like angels singing, well, I'll still stick to ear buds.

Just because you don't value looks and cool factor doesn't mean everyone should have the same values, right? Go ahead and buy your oversized sennheisers and ugly grados (proud owner myself), just don't mind the snickers :)

Thats just it, I do not respect someone who purchases Beats Pro for $300 because it looks trendy.

Further, I don't respect people who use $10 in-ears for critical listening. ():)
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,285
5,724
146
This isn't surprising at all, but its not really bad news either. The total headphone market has exploded. There's quite a lot of >$5K headphones that sell these days, but the best thing is, there are a LOT of really good headphones in basically every price bracket now. Unfortunately it seems like most companies still are too hung up on mass production and not willing to do the fine tuning needed to make a truly great headphone, but on the plus side you can often improve even good headphones with a little bit of DIY and know how. Plus the tools and the resources to do that have improved a lot so its easier than ever.

There's been a lot of improvements in personal audio the past few years, and there's much less of the cable BS and other audiophile silliness, while products have continued to improve. There's a lot of cheap/affordable quality products (headphones, amps, etc) and even stuff like computer audio, portable players, and other things have improved in quality pretty drastically.

i'd be willing to bet that at least 85% of the people in this thread have never even personally heard or used beats headphones, myself included.

So, you have no frame of reference or anything of value to actually input?

I'd offer to discuss things further, but frankly since you just admitted you don't even know what you're talking about, it'd be a lesson in futility. If you want some frame of reference check out InnerFidelity for a start. You might start to see why people are criticizing Beats headphones and not just talking out of their ***. Here's a hint, there's quite a lot of other headphones that offer "style" while also sounding decent, often using better quality materials, for the same or less money as Beats.

I don't think that nerds realize that people all have different priorities. I like in ears because they're nearly invisible and sound good enough ($10 too, so if I lose them no big deal), but thrift is my priority. Other people value performance supremely. It's not wrong that the majority seems to prioritize aesthetics over performance (I mean, they're bloated but they don't make your ears bleed). In fact, if a pigs anus strapped to your ears sounded like angels singing, well, I'll still stick to ear buds.

Just because you don't value looks and cool factor doesn't mean everyone should have the same values, right? Go ahead and buy your oversized sennheisers and ugly grados (proud owner myself), just don't mind the snickers :)

Um, no the problem is Beats just offer poor performance. There are a lot of good headphones for you to choose from, even if you want style as much or more than sound quality. There's nothing wrong with different priorities, but let's face it, most people buying Beats are buying it because them and Bose are about the only real "premium" headphones they've been marketed to, and because some celebrity wore a special flashy gold pair so they want one to match their Nikes.

Grados are really just as bad, although really they evolved into a sorta audiophile version of Beats, style and stigma over substance. Beats at least made their headphones mostly comfortable. The best thing about Grados is that you can get about the best of what they offer from their lowest rung model.

Its ok, I'm an Audio-Technica fanboy and they're not much better.

Beats is considered high end?

Perhaps in the realm of mid fi...

This is high end!

Stax SR009

110925_blog_worldsbestheadphones_photo_SR009.jpg


Inexperienced listeners will often fault cans in this class because their familiar recordings sound worse to them. It's simply due to the ability to hear more flaws in the program source. Listening to lossy files becomes painful.

In marketing terms, seems like over $100 is high end headphone $50-100 seems to be midrange, and <$50 is the lowend.
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
167
106
In marketing terms, seems like over $100 is high end headphone $50-100 seems to be midrange, and <$50 is the lowend.
Likely. If you look at sales volumes, no doubt a majority of sales are below $100. Which is why Beats controls just 27% of the total market, but 57% of the high-end market.