BeatsX

[MICHAELSD]

I'm having the same problem, despite having tried literally DOZENS of tips including two different kinds of Complys ... I just cannot get a good seal, no matter what I try. My AirPods have WAY more bass, and I know it's just a seal problem but even with tips that work well on other headphones, I simply cannot get a good seal with the BeatsX.

I didn't like the design of BeatsX either. The positioning of the drivers is off so the way they stick into the ear canal isn't ideal. While I could get a good seal with the medium and large tips, it was uncomfortable and bass sounded artificial to me which is a result of the ear tips.

Honestly I think BeatsX are a bit of a dud. In addition to the poor comfort design (for some ears), the cable is too long so style isn't great and it hits the back of the neck during physical activity which distorts the audio.

I'd be far more interested in Beats' version of the AirPods.

 

[mavis]

I didn't like the of BeatsX either. The positioning of the drivers is off so the way they stick into the ear canal isn't ideal. While I could get a good seal with the medium and large tips, it was uncomfortable and bass sounded artificial to me which is a result of the ear tips.

Honestly I think BeatsX are a bit of a dud. In addition to the poor comfort design (for some ears), the cable is too long so style isn't great and it hits the back of the neck during physical activity which distorts the audio.

I'd be far more interested in Beats' version of the AirPods.

I agree on all counts, although I did find something interesting - immediately after posting that, I put the Comply tips back on and tried switching L&R. Surprisingly, it helped a great deal. They still don't sound as good as the AirPods (which is ridiculous as the AirPods' seal is non-existent) but still, an improvement. If the driver/stem position is bothering you, try using them "backwards."

 

[Rigby]

Are you guys sure that you put them on the right way around in the first place? There have been some reports that the little "L" and "R" have been printed the wrong way around on the cable ends in some cases (although it's correct on mine). In any case, the remote control must be on the left side.

For me they have near perfect fit with the default tips and are very comfortable, and I don't believe my ears are in any way unusual.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I agree on all counts, although I did find something interesting - immediately after posting that, I put the Comply tips back on and tried switching L&R. Surprisingly, it helped a great deal. They still don't sound as good as the AirPods (which is ridiculous as the AirPods' seal is non-existent) but still, an improvement. If the driver/stem position is bothering you, try using them "backwards."

I actually was accidentally doing that when I first got them since I was used to the controls being on the right side, and I agree the fit/sound is improved that way even though there's no way to flip the audio so it's accurate.

Will be waiting for something better.

 

[cyberhound]

I got my BeatsX last week and so far I am pretty happy.

I have had several bluetooth earbud sets over the last 3 years and these are overall these are the best I have had.

I used to have the Plantronics BackBeat Go 2s. They worked well, though the buds were a little big. I lost those to the pool. Leaned over and they fell out. Dried them out, but lost the left earpiece due to the water damage.

I then got the Jabra Rox. I really liked those. I loved the magnetic clasping of the buds and unlike the BeatsX, they went into sleep mode when clasped. However, I think this was a fatal flaw. It would seem that the mechanism would fail and the buds would never come out of sleep mode. Happened twice. So, while I think that would be a cool feature on the BeatsX, I don't know how it might work over time. Yeah, my iPad has done it for years without fail, but it doesn't take the jostling and beating headphones do.

I then got the JBL Everest 100s. Still have them as a backup. Not great for noise isolation, but do have good sound. Not sweat resistant either, but have held up very well. Hopefully this will be true of the BeatsX.

And, then for my birthday, as a surprise, I got the PowerBeats3. Loved the sound, and even though I was skeptical about the over the ear design, I really liked them. But, the first pair suffered connectivity issues after 3 weeks. So... I got another set. 6 weeks later, they stop charging and won't turn on.

So, now I have the BeatsX. So far, so good. Love the W1 connectivity like the PowerBeats. Love the lightning port (one less cord to carry). The cord is a bit long and gets in the way at some points when I work out, but overall, the sound is pretty good, and the noise isolation is excellent with the right tips.

I do have a question.... Has anyone tried the "MagSafe" lightning adapters for the iPhone sold on Amazon? With the open port on the BeatsX and PowerBeats, I am considering using one of those so that the port will be closed during workouts and it would be easy to connect for charging. You can get one for $9-14 on Amazon.

 

[chriscrowlee]

The software update thing is driving me nuts. Current version is 7.0.1, I'm on 6.7.0. I installed the updater a while back on Mac. When I plug them in it recognizes them, and when I click the name of them, it loads the website and I get the spinning ball, then the "we're having technical difficulties" BS message. It's been doing that for weeks. Even the page with the updater download does that for me so I can't even re-download the updater. For Apple, this is pretty bad.

I've tried turning the headphones on\off when plugging in and nothing works. The updater obviously recognizes the beats, but when I go to the site that does the update, "technical difficulties"

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

The software update thing is driving me nuts. Current version is 7.0.1, I'm on 6.7.0. I installed the updater a while back on Mac. When I plug them in it recognizes them, and when I click the name of them, it loads the website and I get the spinning ball, then the "we're having technical difficulties" BS message. It's been doing that for weeks. Even the page with the updater download does that for me so I can't even re-download the updater. For Apple, this is pretty bad.

I've tried turning the headphones on\off when plugging in and nothing works. The updater obviously recognizes the beats, but when I go to the site that does the update, "technical difficulties"

Answered in the thread you created.

 

[chriscrowlee]

Answered in the thread you created.

Figured it out. They never auto updated, but I connected to a canadian VPN server then tried again and it updated just fine. Something wrong with their US servers clearly. Resolved.

 

[MaxPower49]

Just got a pair of these and I'm really impressed. I kind of expected the cord to be really annoying, but it's not bad. Sound quality is good and they are comfortable.

Only complaint is that Apple is no longer honoring the $30 apple music / itunes code that comes in the box. They say the promotion ended. Has anyone had luck getting them to honor it recently?

 

[Sith Vol]

Just got a pair of these and I'm really impressed. I kind of expected the cord to be really annoying, but it's not bad. Sound quality is good and they are comfortable.

Only complaint is that Apple is no longer honoring the $30 apple music / itunes code that comes in the box. They say the promotion ended. Has anyone had luck getting them to honor it recently?

I purchased a pair on Friday and contacted Apple Support to see about getting the free 3 months. No luck. The chat representative escalated the issue to a supervisor and I received an email stating the promotion had ended and they have no way of honoring the promo on their end. I did get 5 movie rental credits though. So it might be worth a shot to ask about it.

 

[antnee]

Just got a pair of these and I'm really impressed. I kind of expected the cord to be really annoying, but it's not bad. Sound quality is good and they are comfortable.

Only complaint is that Apple is no longer honoring the $30 apple music / itunes code that comes in the box. They say the promotion ended. Has anyone had luck getting them to honor it recently?

No dice they won’t honor it anymore.

 

[MaxPower49]

Weird question here.. I bought the gray version which I like. I think they would look even better with some different color tips.. maybe the blue ones. I see some on amazon, but they look cheap and I'd prefer the first party ones.

Does anyone with the blue want to trade tips (and/or wings) they aren't using? I use the large tips and wings, so I can trade the medium or small tips for your large ones. It would only cost us a stamp to send them... just a thought. PM me if interested.

 

[vistokid]

Ended up taking back my Airpods (couldn't get a good fit in my ears) and grabbing a pair of BeatsX. Pretty impressed thus far. Using them at work and the noise cancellation is great for me.

Long story coming up:
So in my box was the free 3 months of Apple Music card. I know it's expired but only because of this thread. There's no expiry on the card itself and it's only when you get to the last step of the registration process does it say the promotion is no longer available. The card even says "promotion is in addition to any promotion you are receiving".

I called Beats support through Apple Chat, they said I was totally right and there have been many complaints that there's no expiry any where on the card itself. She was very nice but said she was tech support and I needed to call 1-800-MY-APPLE and they would sort me out. I called 1-800, explained again, and they said I need iTunes support to provide a credit, they transferred me over, after 30 minutes of being on hold I hung up and called again. Finally got through to iTunes support, they said there has been lots of complaints about the expiry and next years card will be properly labelled. They offered me 3 movie rentals or 5 songs for my trouble. I said I want neither (I already have Apple Music). They said take or leave it.

 

[vistokid]

Also, when you take them off your ears is there a standby mode that kicks in? Or do they power off themselves after say 15 minutes?

 

[cyberhound]

Also, when you take them off your ears is there a standby mode that kicks in? Or do they power off themselves after say 15 minutes?

No to both. You have to turn them off. That's probably my only gripe.

 

[vistokid]

No to both. You have to turn them off. That's probably my only gripe.

Valid gripe. Kind of a pain.

 

[mickeydean]

I returned the BeatsX today.

What I liked: 1. the choice of materials and the cabling were all good though the ribbon cable felt cheap the metal ?battery casing felt solid and didn't feel obtrusive 2. comfort of the IE portion itself was great for me, held well in runs without the annoying (if not painful) over-ear hooks that are used in most sport wireless IEMs.

What I disliked: 1. sound quality 2. W1 chip was a huge letdown for me having not read about it in detail. I paired with my mac/ipad/iphone and had to select the beatsX (Bose QC35 does the autoplay from one of the two connected devices - I know Apple didn't advertise this but I just thought it would have that feature). 3. battery life - I'm used to the 20 hours on my Sony MDR-1000x and the 12h from the Jlab Epic 2 (the battery states 12 h and generally not wrong but doesn't seem like 12 sometimes but I haven't measured it ever so just a subjective gut feeling which is useless I know). 4. price $200 AUD is a lot for what you get (and unlike in America - retailers here don't discount Apple which renders them entirely useless for buying Apple).

They were comfortable and stayed in for running, best in-ears I've used for running even though they're not designed for this purpose (as the powerbeats are) but I couldn't find any info on the durability to elements rating (IPX etc).

I can't return my Jlab Epic 2 wireless so that's a reason to keep them because the BeatsX are better for running ironically but the Epic 2's do sound better than the BeatsX.

I'm hoping before 2017 finishes we get an in-ear wireless that combines:
1. Form factor similar to the beatsX - the overear hooks of Jlab Epic2s and Powerbeats annoy the **** out of me. I gave away free Shure SE215s because of that design.
2. 20h battery life or more
3. Sound quality at least as good as your average $30 Sony wired IEMs (some might argue beatsx are above this standard, I can only say beatsX sound awful to me).
4. Waterproof
5. Simultaneous connection to multiple devices (like the Bose QC35) and ease of initial pairing (Apple W1) - I guess it might come in W2 when Apple changes the world again...
6. Noise-canceling (least important and not essential)

 

[markhort]

I forgot my AirPods leaving home for work today so I've been rocking the BeatsX. I've been really enjoying using them again. Going to use them a bit more.

 

[chrissuth]

Is it just me. Or has the beats x volume reduced? I have to have it louder than I used to before the update.

 

[SoN1NjA]

Well my BeatsX are broken! Only the right earphone plays sound

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

Try a reset. If that doesnt fix it take them to Apple

Well my BeatsX are broken! Only the right earphone plays sound

 

[SoN1NjA]

Try a reset. If that doesnt fix it take them to Apple

Already talked to Apple, I’m sending them in