To beats or not to beats, that is the question. Capitalism works when people have choices. I am happy that there are a lot of people that like Beats gear. But the reason a lot of people have Beats (and even Apple) gear has relatively little to do with performance. Apple is a fashion company and if you run in certain circles you have to have either Beats or Apple stuff, whether you realize it or not. And to most people the quality is acceptable.
People that stand alone and require performance (us elites
) understand that for low to medium quality music Apple and Beats are just fine. Like when working out, for background music on the bus, plane, etc. That does not mean that there is a right and wrong. Those that enjoy Apple and Beats listening devices, I say more power to you.
My ears cannot stand either for any extended listening. Over the ear, open back headphones are the best for extended critical listening. Even high quality closed back headphones result in fatigue over time as do in-ear devices.
I do listen to music with Bose sound cancelling headphones on a plane. But then again, that is not a critical listening environment and I can't do it for the complete flight. Until you have tried good quality headphones you cannot judge how bad Apple and Beats are.
Of course one would never connect good quality headphones to an Apple device because headphones cannot produce good sound if the audio quality is not present in the source.
Apple and Beats are good enough because most people don't have the experience with really good sound.
People that stand alone and require performance (us elites
My ears cannot stand either for any extended listening. Over the ear, open back headphones are the best for extended critical listening. Even high quality closed back headphones result in fatigue over time as do in-ear devices.
I do listen to music with Bose sound cancelling headphones on a plane. But then again, that is not a critical listening environment and I can't do it for the complete flight. Until you have tried good quality headphones you cannot judge how bad Apple and Beats are.
Of course one would never connect good quality headphones to an Apple device because headphones cannot produce good sound if the audio quality is not present in the source.
Apple and Beats are good enough because most people don't have the experience with really good sound.