Beats By Dre Solo vs. Solo HD

I checked out the Beats headphones at Best Buy and they were OK... lots of bass response, but not very accurate (true) sounding. Kind of like Bose products in that you are paying for a name/marketing and that they make the music sound better than it really is. But you should really check out the Audio-Technica ATH-M50 or Beyerdynamic DT770. These are studio headphones, both available at places like Guitar Center for less than the Beats. Plus, the Beats felt flimsy like they would easily break.

Do not,under any circumstances, buy the regular Solos.

I did some research before buying them (I bought the white ones), and found that many, many reviewers (not like official Cnet reviews, etc., but user reviews on sites Cnet and the Apple Store) said that they broke very, very easily. I told myself that this wouldn't be an issue, because I'm very careful with my stuff. I went out and bought it, with the extra warranty just in case. They came to about $300 Canadian total.

Three weeks later, I went to put them on my head, and *sNaP*. I don't have a huge head or anything, they just broke. Right above the hinges, where everyone else's break. They showed ni signs of wear and tear or anything, they went from perfectly maintained to perfectly broken in half a second. And, even worse, Future Shop told me my warranty didn't cover breakage like this.

So, for $100 per week of use, these headphones are BRUTAL.
I really wish someone had really enforced how shittily these are made before I bought them. It's an actual design defect, and it's pretty much guaranteed to break. The head band is plain plastic, with no metal reinforcement, and weak, thin plastic at that.

On the plus side, they sound great. The HD's, however, were fixed (the headband is infinitely more durable now), and sound better.

If you decide to buy the original Solo's, I'll have to hunt you down and smack you upside the head.

The smart decision would be to look somewhere else, but it sounds like you made up your mind.

JasonZ10 said:

Alrighty, thanks, I heard that the HD's can have the headband bent horizontal before snapping, but have seen no videos or any real proof other than youtube comments... But yeah, I'm going with the HD's

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I bought the Beat Solos HD in (RED). There awesome. My friend has the compared Bose headphones and a pair of Beats Solo (non HD). After he listened to all 3 (he's a seasoned music guy), even said that he would have to buy a pair because it's the best of both worlds. It's got the beat that the bose does not have, and the mids and highs that the bose did have that the original beats solo didn't have. So in all the beats solo HD is the love child of the the original beats solo and the bose phones

Beats Solo vs. Beats Solo HD

I just checked these out. I'm no audiophile but a pretty good researcher. The breakage problem with the original beats is no longer an issue. The HD version and the non-HD version both use the same "superior strength" material now. That doesn't mean they wont break but at least there is not different construction between the two. It is pretty clear on the boxes with a new sticker as of Nov 2011. So why are the HD beats more expensive...I don't know but I did listen to both, side by side, on the same songs and two things were very clear to me: 1) The bass was clearly more powerful and very clean on the original non-hd version. I have no doubts about this, and 2) the treble or mid-range sound was more dynamic on the HD version. I'm not sure if this means they used different speaker material, etc. I can tell you that if I wasn't going directly from one to the other, I don't think I would have noticed any difference...they are very similar. My son loves Hip Hop/and mega bass so we went with the non HD but I if you tend to always adjust your treble above your bass, the HD will sound better to you.

DieHardVol said:

I just checked these out. I'm no audiophile but a pretty good researcher. The breakage problem with the original beats is no longer an issue. The HD version and the non-HD version both use the same "superior strength" material now. That doesn't mean they wont break but at least there is not different construction between the two. It is pretty clear on the boxes with a new sticker as of Nov 2011. So why are the HD beats more expensive...I don't know but I did listen to both, side by side, on the same songs and two things were very clear to me: 1) The bass was clearly more powerful and very clean on the original non-hd version. I have no doubts about this, and 2) the treble or mid-range sound was more dynamic on the HD version. I'm not sure if this means they used different speaker material, etc. I can tell you that if I wasn't going directly from one to the other, I don't think I would have noticed any difference...they are very similar. My son loves Hip Hop/and mega bass so we went with the non HD but I if you tend to always adjust your treble above your bass, the HD will sound better to you.

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I think you are right, you made a wise choice.
beats by dre solo vs beats by dre Studio
Obviously, the latter better.

Beats By Dre vs SMS

Well I've had mine since christmas and in the last 3 months the remote wire has been torn and the padding has come off. Not begin funny but for £150 you would expect them to be durable. I have the Beats Solo not the HD ones as I like to have a lot of bass in my songs. I love the headphones other than that but I do need to ask 1 thing, has anyone heard the SMS ones and if so how do they compare to beats in terms of bass?

Any unbiased info would be appreciated, thanks

Both awful.

Plain and simply look at anything else.

rogan said:

both awful.

Plain and simply look at anything else.

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+1

Having had both the Beats Solo and Solo HD, I'll share my thoughts. I'm a bigger guy, 6'4 with a big sized head.

Beats Solo - you can find them now for $150. Matte paint finish, if you get black, good for you, no finger prints. If you get white(my color) over time, the paint can tarnish. Solos I feel are very comfortable, with more Cushing than HDs. Sound quality? These things BUMP! Amazing bass but mids not really there, and highs sound just barely there. Any quality of song sounds good, 128kbs or 320kbs. Sounds good with hip hop, rap, techno, dubstep.

Beats Solo HD - $200. Black or red color leaves finger prints, from the HDs shiny finish. Solo HDs, I felt like they were too tight around my head. The cups felt stiff, where I would have to adjust a few times. The regular Solos, I could just put on and the cups would adjust themselves. Hds do not have as much Cushing as Solos. Sound quality? Overall... Amazing. Can hear the bass different from the highs and you can pick out the mids...as long as what you are listening to is high quality. Example, same song, one is 3mb at 128kps, the other is 9mb at 320kps. If your music is low quality, 128kps, it sounds horrible. But higher quality song? Sounds awesome, but lacks the head rattling thumping bass that the original Solos produce. Sounds good with any rock, alternative, pop music and Techno.

In Conclusion - I kept my Beats Solos. I've had them for 6 months. I had the Solo HDs for only two weeks. They broke at the ear cup from a 6 foot drop onto a kitchen tile floor, and I was able to return them. I've dropped my Solos a few times, and they never broke, Solos could be a better build quality from the Solo HDs, from my experience.

Final thoughts - I consider myself to be an audiophile, and the comfy, head rattling bass from a $150 pair of Solos is justified more than a $200 pair of uncomfortable Solo HDs that may or may not sound great depending on the audio quality of your music.

Winner - Beats Solo

If monster cable made headphones these would be them.

noteple said:

If monster cable made headphones these would be them.

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If monster cable made headphones, they would be called "Beats by Dre".

in all honesty, beats by dre suck. your are pretty much buying the name, i had the solo hd's and i returned them 20min after i bought them for 200+ i expected way more than i got. look elsewhere their are way cheaper headphones the have better quality i would personally recommend sennheiser they have some dope ass headphones... and i also listen to rap and hiphop

Beats are marketing hype. If you're dropping around $200 on headphones, check out the Grado SR225 and an amp. Also, check out head-fi.org forums.

jdavis89 said:

There awesome.

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Says the guy who can't even use proper English....

Seriously Beats are mediocre. Lots of bass. Awesome. But I like to enjoy the entire spectrum of music and not just the Bass. I guess I am crazy like that!

Further, I am not giving my money to Monster Cable in anyway. They make overpriced products. I had a buddy who worked for Best Buy, his employee discount (which I believe was 10% above cost) meant he could buy Monster cables for about 30 cents on the dollar. That is how much of a mark up there is on Monster Cables.

Has anyone bought a newer package of the solo HDs? Just wondering, I've seen that the newer ones come shipped in a box almost half the size. Was just wondering if they are comfy like the original solos or stiff like I remember the HD's being.

BygSii said:

Final thoughts - I consider myself to be an audiophile, and the comfy, head rattling bass from a $150 pair of Solos is justified more than a $200 pair of uncomfortable Solo HDs that may or may not sound great depending on the audio quality of your music.

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Well, who else would consider you an audiophile with your love of Beats, if not you? If I bought a six-pack of Coors Light, I hope I can count on you to consider me a beer connoisseur.

paulrbeers said:

Further, I am not giving my money to Monster Cable in anyway. They make overpriced products. I had a buddy who worked for Best Buy, his employee discount (which I believe was 10% above cost) meant he could buy Monster cables for about 30 cents on the dollar. That is how much of a mark up there is on Monster Cables.

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The irony of this statement on an Apple forum

These beats are cans are like gold plated iphone cases, WAY overpriced and just for the look. They perform the same as a pair literally 10 times less cost wise.

But hey if ur Andre and image is everything then feel free to burn your cash. After all it's people like the you those marketing folks were hoping to dupe.

For good info on headphones and their associated gear, check here. Especially useful is the Wall of Fame.

The site is part of the Stereophile family, and the guy who runs InnerFidelity has been measuring and evaluating headphones for just about forever. Yes, he reviews the mega-expensive stuff, but he also reviews a lot of budget cans as well, so take a look when you are looking for headphones.

I don't know if you're still looking for advice, but I recommend the Sennheiser HD 595's. I've had them for a couple years now and they're amazing.

I've tried a pair of my friends Sennheiser's, and the ones he had didn't fit my head. I have a big head, and the Beats solo hd's pulled out to the max fit perfectly. So even though the Sennheiser's sounded nice, and he said he spent over a hundered, if i saw a pic i could point them out, but i didnt like them, they didnt stretch out enough to fit comfy over my ears.

Depends on what type of music you listen to

If you wants lots of bass, then probably beats are ok (and so are Koss porta pro at a much smaller cost compared to beats), If you want headphones with a big sound stage consider AKG or Audio Technica, if you are a rock/metal listener than nothing beats a Grado. I personally think that beats are overpriced.

You want bass? Get either the Denon AD2000 or the Ultrasone HFI-780. Even the Beyerdynamics DT770 is a better buy.

I have yet to hear Beats by Dr. Dre after the company went separate ways with Monster Cable, but Head-Fi'ers have said they actually were decent.