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Beats by Dr. Dre vs Bose Quiet Comfort 3

A

amnichols10

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 19, 2008
233
28
Don't know where else to put this thread but I wanted know about the comparison of the two. Which would be better headphones as far as...

-price
-sound
-durability
-noise cancellation

I will be using the headphones for music, movies, etc. Also using it with my iPod and MacBook. Any suggestions or advice.
 
Is neither a good answer? lol. I have mixed opinions about both brands.

First off, Dre's cans... These are sold as studio phones, but anybody who works in a studio knows that these are a gimmick. Pretty much a run of the mill set of headphones with a celebrity producer's name on them, a lot of eye candy, and overpowered bass.

Bose... A lot of people will swear by these (although I think it's atleast partially because of bandwagoning). As far as sound quality I'd say they aren't any better or worse, just different. They are designed so they make music sound better than what it may actually be. Once again, though, these are a no-no in the studio because you want something that doesn't make your music sound any better or worse, but you want the most accurate replication possible.

So to answer your question... if it's only going to be for personal music players, movies, etc. then they will both suit you fine. The Beats might impress more of your friends, but I imagine you would enjoy your music more with the Bose. Plus I can say that the Bose are SUPER comfortable.
 
Oh yeah and if I could recommend any pair to you, these are what I have myself for ipod, etc...

Panasonic RP-HTX7
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._K1_RP_HTX7_Around_Ear_Stereo_Headphones.html

Those are everything you are looking for at hundreds of dollars cheaper. First of all, they are the best phones I've ever had for sound cancellation. Durable? THey have no delicate pieces... actually the earpieces are pretty damn hard (of course without looking bulky). I'd go as far as to say not only are these babies more durable than the two you listed, but they are more durable than 90% of the headphones on the market period!

And they sound fantastic. Unless you are a producer or somewhat of an audiophile you wouldn't be able to pick out the difference very easily doing a blind test.

Comfortable..hell yeah. Can wear them for hours and my ears don't get soar... I just forget I'm wearing them.

And, of course, I'm a college student and I wear these around campus so they have to be stylish :cool:;) . These are retro to the max, without looking corny and they come in all sorts of piano-esque shiney colors (the black ones in the link look damn sexy!)

I'm not trying to sound like a salesperson here, but don't let their price fool you. Dre's headphones and the Bose's both sound ~OK~ but not nearly good enough for what you pay for them. When you buy those, you're breaking into the triple digits to wear a brand name.

And there will most likely be people on here disagreeing with me, but that's because they've probably bought a pair of Boses or something, and don't want to believe that they paid too much. Just go to head-fi.org and do a search for Bose or Beats by Dre.
 
Sennheisers

Hi.

I found your query interesting as I faced a similar dilemma. I too was interested in buying the Beats headphones, but a number of factors stopped me. They run for about 30 hours on a set of batteries, and will not work without them. They sound good, but not suitable for studio work as they flatter the incoming audio signal.

A much better alternative are Sennheiser HD 650's. I just bought a pair and they have a very flat frequency response. They're comfortable and do not flatter the sound like high end hi-fi headphones. I put a frequency of 19 Hz through them (just for the hell of it) and while I couldn't actually hear the frequency, I could sense the vibrations. They are extremely well designed, but be warned, DO NOT buy them if you need them for a noisy environment. They're great mixing headphones, but are open backed (preventing frequency resonances between the driver and the outer casing). You need a quiet room, and six hours at least to burn them in. Once done, they're the best headphones I've ever used.

Regards.
 
Everyone seem to have a headphone they like. I've owned a pair of AGK K240 for more then 25 years. I like them but they are open era headphones and don't work in some environments. These where a defacto standard in every recording studio for years. Very good for listening to music. If you hunt you can find them at just over $100

I recently bought a set of closed headphones (the closed version of the above AKG) for music practice. So I can play my keyboard or bass. I needed the closed version to isolate sound.

I think the mid range of AKG line is the best for the money. Very accurate and un-colored
 
I would say that if you purchased any other headphone in the price range, except these two... I do recommend the Panasonics, for $33.00 I find it hard to find a better buy...I mean, they are no $300 pair of AKGs or Sennheisers; but they are a lot better then $50...
 
Both are rubbish. Sound quality is very poor at the prices asked.
I would suggest a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 which can be bought for around $100. Superb sound to equal the performance of phones at twice the price, and beautifully made. They are comfortable closed phones and provide a decent seal against outside noise.
They are also sensitive enough to use with portable audio. These phones are used by many professionals and are a top buy at the price.
They can be bought in two versions – one with a straight cord (ATH-M50s) and one with coiled. I prefer the straight cord version as there is less drag on the phones when moving around.

They fold too. Image here:
http://www.proaudiomart.com/_PageImages/AudioTechnica/AudioTechnica_ATH-M50s_accessories.jpg
 
Gretsch said:
Definitely the Bose are "rubbish"! The company hardly sells any of their terrible poor performing products... Yep.
Click to expand...

Millions of mp3 players are sold, but that doesn't make mp3 a high quality audio format. It just means that more people don't care about quality sound these days. If you rate Bose products highly, I'm happy for you because you are so easily satisfied.
 
denon d2000's if you want serious performance. I am not going to go over why, as you can do your research on sites like head-fi. They have a low impendance, which means that that mp3 players and computers can easily drive them.

Bose: dont get me started on them. however, i will say that they sound "fun"...extremely inaccurate with rolled off lows and highs. the lows have a one note "bump" and do not let you hear the different spectrums of bass.

Beats: their sound is somewhat muddy. Huge emphasis on bass, to the point where it just gets annoying. You may try them out at a store like best buy and be impressed initially, but in the long haul, the bass coloration gets annoying.
 
Yah, both are no good. Bose have super thin cords that break easily, and Dr...is just over priced junk. Just search around for good studio head phones. Each pro brand has awesome phones. Just look at the specs and decide what you want more.
 
There are millions of threads on Bose, including what has to be hundreds on here. Bose makes some very bad products, say the In-Ear Headphones and has made some decent products, say the 901s. Where most of the frustration comes from Bose, is that the products that Bose sells are price 2, 3 and 4 times higher then what they should be compared to the rest of the industry. Consumers seem to flock to the Bose name and continue to flock towards a sheep mentality towards the brand.

With that being said Monster is exactly the same way.

Like it's been said prior, stay away from both of these procucts unless you are paying 1/10th of the price.
 
Stay away from the Beats by Dre headphones.


Ridiculous bass. Even more ridiculous price tag.
 
beats vs bose

first off i can tell lot of post here are people into studio stuff and and have never given beats a listen just assume......i am not a studio person but love music and listen to mp3's and movies ect....run of the mill stuff.....i own a pair of beats and have had bose qc3's......here is what i found for general music app...........first $30 headphones of anytype will not and cannot comapare night and day......when comes to listening to ipod.........
the qc3's and beats are both comfortable able to wear for hours....
qc3's little more compact
beats although with batteries they do last for 24hrs of listening and you can use rechargables.....so i found that not a big issue...
the sound you will hear from beats is unbelievable.....with all types of music...i listen to everything from classical to death metal to rap.....they sound amazing you will here reverb, echo, vocals ect. you never heard b4 on songs you have listened to millions of times.......
the beats sound i found better than bose but the noise canceling is lot better with the qc3's......

beats are not just a gimic with dre's name....yes is a marketing thing but the quality is amazing......they are a bit combersome though with large carrying case.....only down side........

if you really want noise canceling then go with bose
if you want sound quality go with beats.........
price wise beats run $299
and bose around the same depending on where you buy them they could go as high as $350.....

hope this helps.............
 
sondowner said:
first off i can tell lot of post here are people into studio stuff and and have never given beats a listen just assume......i am not a studio person but love music and listen to mp3's and movies ect....run of the mill stuff.....i own a pair of beats and have had bose qc3's......here is what i found for general music app...........
Click to expand...
Well this is the Digital Audio Hobbyist Forum...

sondowner said:
beats are not just a gimic with dre's name....yes is a marketing thing but the quality is amazing......they are a bit combersome though with large carrying case.....only down side........
Click to expand...
They are a Bose competitor, but they are still overpriced, like Bose, because it's Monster.

sondowner said:
if you really want noise canceling then go with bose
Click to expand...
Or you could go with another brand that has decent sound-cancelling

sondowner said:
if you want sound quality go with beats.........
Click to expand...
Or one of the other hundred or so headphones that for $300 have better sound.

Side-bar: iThought that I has a problem with the dots...but I feel fine now...
 
Thread

YES YOUR RIGHT could go with other $300 headphones......and i know is audio hobbiest forum.....but i was just answering the posters question.....

beats vs bose qc3.................didn't mean to insult anyone........the biggest question is to you or whom ever ......is buying headphones is the quality difference worth $300 vs. $30?......to me i found it was.......but to some of my friends they thought i was on crack to spend $300 on head phones....but then i thought they were on crack for buying a $500 8 ball jacket...lol
we all have our guilty pleasures....
 
sondowner said:
YES YOUR RIGHT could go with other $300 headphones......and i know is audio hobbiest forum.....but i was just answering the posters question.....

beats vs bose qc3.................didn't mean to insult anyone........the biggest question is to you or whom ever ......is buying headphones is the quality difference worth $300 vs. $30?......to me i found it was.......but to some of my friends they thought i was on crack to spend $300 on head phones....but then i thought they were on crack for buying a $500 8 ball jacket...lol
we all have our guilty pleasures....
Click to expand...

What's with all the dots?

Anyway, the dr dre headphones feel like they're punching your eardrums with all that ridiculous bass. I still don't understand why people equate huge bass with good sound.

The Bose, for the price are simply meh. Nothing spectacular. But yes, very comfortable.

Check out AKG, some higher end Sennheisers and audio engine aren't bad.
 
My dad gave me an old set of Pickering OA-3's and they are just amazing. He had them when he was in high school, so they are at least 50 years old. They have the best sound i have ever heard. Very flat and even. If you see a set of vintage Pickerings anywhere stop and check them out. The set i have is uncomfortable as hell after about 90 minutes, but its totally worth it.
 
NoSmokingBandit said:
My dad gave me an old set of Pickering OA-3's and they are just amazing. He had them when he was in high school, so they are at least 50 years old. They have the best sound i have ever heard. Very flat and even. If you see a set of vintage Pickerings anywhere stop and check them out. The set i have is uncomfortable as hell after about 90 minutes, but its totally worth it.
Click to expand...

Somehow I don't think these would help the OP watch movies or listen to his/her iPod?
 
Neither. Get the HD 595 if you want real audiophile sound. Very balanced sound, no overpowering bass, incredible mids. Can't go wrong with the Sennheiser HD 595's.
 
Gretsch said:
Definitely the Bose are "rubbish"! The company hardly sells any of their terrible poor performing products... Yep.
Click to expand...

The number sold is not an indicator of quality. If it were, we'd all dump our Macs and buy $299 PCs at Walmart.

Bose takes advantage of the fact that you don't hear as much with your ears as with the brain. So they make a sound that the brain can reassemble as music. This is different from the flat response headphone used in the studio

"boom boxes" are more popular then audiophile grade stereo systems too. and this says noting about relative quality.

About thos $300 headphones. I spent half that on my AKG studio headphones. Go look at photos taken in music studios over the last 25 years. 99% of the headphone you see musicians and engineers with are the 240s These guys have the budget to buy anything they want but they seem to mostly stay with these mid-priced ones

But this changes if you need active noise cancellation. If you are listening is a noisy environment it is better to use active noise cancellation then to simply turn up the volume. You will get the best sound with the studio phones but if you most listen in a city buss or noisy gym the studio phone will not screen the noise and the technically poorer and more expensive boss active noise cancelling phones may sound better in the high aabient noise environment
 
Just thought I would chime in on this thread because I own both of these cans. I also own a set of AKG K81, Shure SE240 and NuForce NE7M.

Those that say the Beats by Dre have boomy, muddy bass have NEVER listened to them, there is just no way one can listen to these cans and make that statement. The Beats have a very balanced response, they do have incredible bass, but it never overpowers the mids and highs and the sound quality is top notch. They are very balanced cans. There is a slight hiss from the noise canceling but you will find that in all noise canceling headphones and you will never hear it listening to music. Compared to my QC3s there is no comparison in sound quality. The Bose QC 3s have slightly better noise canceling but not by much and that is their only advantage over the Beats, they also cost 50$ more than the Beats. My Bose QC3s are going on Craigslist.........
 
I have bought 2 sets of the Bose Triports. The first was decent for $80, but eventually they suddenly stopped working. I traded them in for a new version, but these had terrible, muffled sound quality. Blhowever, both versions had amazing bass for such small headphones. Then I tried Shure SE210, but they sounded tinny and metallic, as well as a noticable absence of bass. I tried the Dr. Dres in Best Buy, and found that they worked well with the heavy music included with the display. I then tried an opened pair at the Geek Squad desk, and found them to be heavy, geeky, and for some reason they terribly distorted classical music.
 
i prefer the QC2. i love over ears and they sound pretty good. the sennheiser NC headphones are pretty good too.
 
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