I just got the Beats by Dre Studio headphones , not custom ones though , regardless i would have to say at first i was a little hesitant at first like the average consumer for even thinking to spend $200+ on a set of headphones. I can honestly say that the purchase was worth every dollar I spent and im an extreme penny pincher. Nowadays you get what you pay for, and when it comes to my music and gadgets i dont mind spending the extra cash.
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Beats by Dr. Dre vs Bose Quiet Comfort 3
- Thread starter amnichols10
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They might be good. But you can get better for 1/2 the price. Sweetwater has the K240 on sale for $99. This is like a half price sale. You can buy "real" studio headphone, the one you see actually used in studios for $99.
It's painfully obvious that you have absolutely no clue as to what you're talking about. Beats are ok for $30 and that's about it. A simple side by side test against any headphone in the price range makes that very clear.
Op - go to a music store with a decent recording department and give some headphones a listen. The environment tends to be quieter which will help if you end up testing something open or semi open.
AKG makes some nice headphones in the same range as does A LOT of other brands. In the end, don't trust us. Just go listen.
I have only heard the Beats at Best Buy. Impressive bass but I would like to hear them plugged into my own system. I have heard some Audio-Technica ATH-M50s and I was really impressed. Very nice bass. Not overblown at all. They can be had for under $150. Not active noise cancellation but they are sealed and block out a lot of noise. They sound pretty good on my Mcintosh system
Audio-Technica ATH-M50s
Audio-Technica ATH-M50s
I don't know why you guys hate Beats so much? :S
Isn't it just a personal choice at the end of the day? If you like the sound then buy it, if you don't then don't buy it. I like my hip hop, bassy tracks and I like fashion. The Beats are stylish and the bass is incredible. I like them so I bought it, nothing to it. Also, if you think the price is ok then buy it. Personal choice if you ask me.
Also, if you read most reviews on the Beats, almost all reputable sites will say that they are excellent in quality, so I don't know why some say its bad quality? :S
I tried the Bose and its clear but its not punchy.
I'm happy with my purchase, like someone posted: just go try them out with your own music. (Bring ur own iPod or something).
Isn't it just a personal choice at the end of the day? If you like the sound then buy it, if you don't then don't buy it. I like my hip hop, bassy tracks and I like fashion. The Beats are stylish and the bass is incredible. I like them so I bought it, nothing to it. Also, if you think the price is ok then buy it. Personal choice if you ask me.
Also, if you read most reviews on the Beats, almost all reputable sites will say that they are excellent in quality, so I don't know why some say its bad quality? :S
I tried the Bose and its clear but its not punchy.
I'm happy with my purchase, like someone posted: just go try them out with your own music. (Bring ur own iPod or something).
I'm normally an anti bose snob... but I actually like my Quiet Comfort 2's. I travel a lot and their a god send for the noise cancelling. They're not the best cans out there, but do what they claim well and are comfortable. Plus it's easy to find replacement pads, etc when I need them (have worn them out twice... I'm at Equator and used to exercise in them). Also like the replaceable battery over the charger since I do some long haul, 20+ hour flights.
Paul
Paul
no highs? no lows? It must be Bose!
haha,
On a side note, I'm another for the ATH-M50's. Lots of good reviews, they look good, and are cheap!
Personally, the way Bose does noise canceling hurts my ears, its like a constant buzz that hurts after about 5 minutes (the Bose cans at BestBuy do this at least...)
haha,
On a side note, I'm another for the ATH-M50's. Lots of good reviews, they look good, and are cheap!
Personally, the way Bose does noise canceling hurts my ears, its like a constant buzz that hurts after about 5 minutes (the Bose cans at BestBuy do this at least...)
It's a matter of two bad choices. As a side-note. If you watch Dre's new HP ad, he doesn't even use the Beats by Dre; not that this would come as a shocker to anyone in the recording community.
Couple totally subjective comments from a non-audiophile:
I've looked at the Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and others being recommended here but they are not noise-cancelling headphones. The noise cancelling models by those brands are all a lot more expensive. The vented or open-back models especially seem a bad idea for use at work or commuting, regardless of their qualities in a studio or home setting.
As for the Bose, they cost a lot. More than every other brand on average, And they get nothing but hate from most audiophiles. To be fair, I think audiophiles have a tendancy to take their search for aural purity to frightening extremes (
), but if the vast majority of audiophiles avoid Bose then there must be some reason - and that reason appears to be poor value for money above all else. I like the Quiet Comfort headphones but there's no way I'm going to pay that much for a set of headphones - my budget is more like $100 max, so I'll probably have to forget about the noise cancellation.
The Dr. Dre headphones get a no-vote from me simply because they are Dr. Dre branded. It seems like they are fine if you have 1. cash to burn, 2. like hip-hop/R&B/Electronic music that has heavy base, and/or 3. want to be seen wearing Beats. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
For the record, I use cheap Sony MDR-V150s at home and the standard Apple iPod earbuds. In other words - not an audiophile!
I've looked at the Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and others being recommended here but they are not noise-cancelling headphones. The noise cancelling models by those brands are all a lot more expensive. The vented or open-back models especially seem a bad idea for use at work or commuting, regardless of their qualities in a studio or home setting.
As for the Bose, they cost a lot. More than every other brand on average, And they get nothing but hate from most audiophiles. To be fair, I think audiophiles have a tendancy to take their search for aural purity to frightening extremes (
), but if the vast majority of audiophiles avoid Bose then there must be some reason - and that reason appears to be poor value for money above all else. I like the Quiet Comfort headphones but there's no way I'm going to pay that much for a set of headphones - my budget is more like $100 max, so I'll probably have to forget about the noise cancellation.The Dr. Dre headphones get a no-vote from me simply because they are Dr. Dre branded. It seems like they are fine if you have 1. cash to burn, 2. like hip-hop/R&B/Electronic music that has heavy base, and/or 3. want to be seen wearing Beats. Otherwise, look elsewhere.
For the record, I use cheap Sony MDR-V150s at home and the standard Apple iPod earbuds. In other words - not an audiophile!
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If these are for at home listening and you won't be disturbing someone if they can hear some music bleeding out of the headphones then I'd definitely recommend Grados. Be careful though, the sound signature is very polar; you either love it, or you can't stand it. They are much more "involving" than comparable Sennheisers, to me, and that is what I love about them.
You might also consider Shure's new line of full size studio cans such as the Shure SRH840 (http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH840-Professional-Monitoring-Earphones/dp/B002DP8IEK) if you require a closed headphone. I used a pair on a recent trip and they were great on the airplane -- very comfy & passive noise canceling since they are completely circumaural. Best of all, they were only $129+tax at J&R in-store (even though the website says $199).
The Grados will sound passable unamped out of something like an iPhone/iPod, but you'll really be pushing it to try and use the Shures unamped (I'm talking almost full volume on my iPhone to get a moderate amount of sound out of them). I used a PA2V2 (http://www.electric-avenues.com/audio8.html) amplifier with the Shures on my trip and it was more than sufficient (and cheap!).
Good luck with your decision!
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People are too over-analytical.
I have used both the Bose headphones and the Beats headphones. If you think about this logically then you can make a good decision. The more money a company charges for a product the more money it takes to build the product. Which means the parts used to create the product are more expensive when it comes to assembly. With the beats headphones people complain about muddy sounds. The idea of engineering a good recording comes from making the recorded song or movie sound good on any speaker. From ****** 1980's car speakers all the way to movie theater sound systems and headphones of all kinds.
When you initially plug the headphones in they may not sound exactly like you wanted them to. This is why you must go and tinker with the sound equalizers. Every iphone/ipod/macbook/ pretty much anything that plays music comes standard with an equalizer bank. These allow you to adjust the sound manually or choose 1 of around 30 or 40 preset tones of equalization. Depending on what type of music you are listening to sometimes you may need to go into your equalizer and choose a different equalized sound. For example if you are listening to rock music on the beats by dr. dre headphones, you may need to go to your equalizer in your itunes or on your ipod and choose either "rock" or "acoustic." Acoustic for me sounds good with pretty much everything. The beats headphones are not just some overpriced piece of trash. They are highly calibrated and extremely well designed headphones. A few tweaks in your sound quality will be really all you need to make what your listening to sound wonderful. The same goes for the bose headphones.
I prefer the beats headphones because the sound quality is top notch and the fit is beyond comfortable. The noise cancellation is superb as well. I put those babies on in the apple store once and i could not hear a thing other than the music, even when nothing was playing the sound flooding in was minimal. I think it's funny that people are showcasing you headphones that do not ask for your specifications here. They are saying man these other headphones are good but they have no sound cancellation. Did anyone posting here actually read what the poster wanted? Quit bombarding him with **** he doesn't want. He wanted an opinion on what was better, the beats, or the bose. Most people on here usually post bogus responses because they themselves cannot afford the high priced headphones. I mean really, which do you think sound better, a set of 40 dollar panasonic headphones, or some 250 dollar headphones designed and tested by dr. dre. I'd take the beats or the bose over those junky 40 dollar headphones any day. The only thing I can tell you on here that has nothing to do with what you posted is, don't buy skullcandy. Even the high priced skullcandy headphones are junk. They sound terrible no matter what you do. The beats headphones are the way to go my friend. You will not be disappointed. Just play with the equalizer on your ipod and itunes on your macbook to find your sweetest sound.
I have used both the Bose headphones and the Beats headphones. If you think about this logically then you can make a good decision. The more money a company charges for a product the more money it takes to build the product. Which means the parts used to create the product are more expensive when it comes to assembly. With the beats headphones people complain about muddy sounds. The idea of engineering a good recording comes from making the recorded song or movie sound good on any speaker. From ****** 1980's car speakers all the way to movie theater sound systems and headphones of all kinds.
When you initially plug the headphones in they may not sound exactly like you wanted them to. This is why you must go and tinker with the sound equalizers. Every iphone/ipod/macbook/ pretty much anything that plays music comes standard with an equalizer bank. These allow you to adjust the sound manually or choose 1 of around 30 or 40 preset tones of equalization. Depending on what type of music you are listening to sometimes you may need to go into your equalizer and choose a different equalized sound. For example if you are listening to rock music on the beats by dr. dre headphones, you may need to go to your equalizer in your itunes or on your ipod and choose either "rock" or "acoustic." Acoustic for me sounds good with pretty much everything. The beats headphones are not just some overpriced piece of trash. They are highly calibrated and extremely well designed headphones. A few tweaks in your sound quality will be really all you need to make what your listening to sound wonderful. The same goes for the bose headphones.
I prefer the beats headphones because the sound quality is top notch and the fit is beyond comfortable. The noise cancellation is superb as well. I put those babies on in the apple store once and i could not hear a thing other than the music, even when nothing was playing the sound flooding in was minimal. I think it's funny that people are showcasing you headphones that do not ask for your specifications here. They are saying man these other headphones are good but they have no sound cancellation. Did anyone posting here actually read what the poster wanted? Quit bombarding him with **** he doesn't want. He wanted an opinion on what was better, the beats, or the bose. Most people on here usually post bogus responses because they themselves cannot afford the high priced headphones. I mean really, which do you think sound better, a set of 40 dollar panasonic headphones, or some 250 dollar headphones designed and tested by dr. dre. I'd take the beats or the bose over those junky 40 dollar headphones any day. The only thing I can tell you on here that has nothing to do with what you posted is, don't buy skullcandy. Even the high priced skullcandy headphones are junk. They sound terrible no matter what you do. The beats headphones are the way to go my friend. You will not be disappointed. Just play with the equalizer on your ipod and itunes on your macbook to find your sweetest sound.
LOL!
LOL! I can afford any headphones I choose, but I prefer studio quality sound over overpriced junk!
One question: would you buy those dre headphones if they were branded wallmart and still pay $300
Didn't think so, they carry dre's name and will be expensive regardless of quality.
OP look at the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, very nice and good value for money.
Yes, neither
No. It should be: the more money it takes to build a product, then the more money a company charges. (In theory) But, that's not reverse causal.
No. It might mean: the engineers figured out an alternative, the engineers were not as efficient, the marketing campaign costs more then others or a company is using its name to maximize profit margins
That assumes the Beats by Dre would be used in a studio, that's not true. Secondly, engineers strive to make what they believe is the best mix from their standpoint, they understand that the awful stereo system that is most people's cars is not a pair of Yamaha NS10s. They also understand that few ever will go in a studio, let alone listen to a track in a studio, yet, engineers and studios use products from companies like Yamaha, KRK, Genelec, and Mackie, despite the fact that few consumers own that equipment.
Okay?
Or because they are awful. There are limitations that every product has. Maybe you mastered this better then I did, but even using something like the DPS Plug-In; my MacBook Pro speakers sound significantly better with the added mids and lows from the Twelve South BassJump. Why? Because the technical limitations of my MacBook Pro speakers even with the help of an equalizer cannot make up for the bass that is added by a simple five-inch woofer.
True.
You then have to change this for every song, also see above.
That's because the sound is heavily artificial and needs to be toned down, this doesn't get over the fact that using a superior product would remove the need for an equalizer.
And this is where we know we can stop.
You're right. They come in a beautiful box with a cool-looking cord.
A few? Really now. Sound is subjective and whatever floats your boat, but it's really a sub-par product made to look appealing with a cool name in a beautiful box and a wonderful marketing campaign.
Umm... see my last statement which is equally applicable here. Except for the case of the Bose In-Ears which are some of the crappiest earphones on the market, as opposed to just sub-par and overpriced.
Congrats. Sound is subjective and whatever makes you happy is all that counts. (That was not in anyway meant to be sarcastic)
(Back to the rant) Active noise-cancellation is not good for sound. It adds extra waves to the sound which makes it utterly artificial. In addition, people like me suffer from white noise. Noise-isolation solves all your problems while leaving the sound pure.
This I found hilarious. Please get me some specs on the Beats. Monster does not release specific information, i.e. tech specs. Go try to find the driver size of the Beats by Dre.
We are just voicing our opinion regarding both, what's so wrong with that. If you were given a choice between A or B and 90% of people said go with C, would you be using profanity?
I'll take the Panasonics. The monetary value of the headphones that I own is embarrassing. I'm not afraid to say when something is bad or overpriced or when some low-end brand makes a great headphone. There are 25 pairs of headphones/earphones sitting in my room and the most expensive ones get used less then the least expensive ones.
News flash. Neither Jimmy Iovine or Dr. Dre engineered those headphones. Just because it cost more doesn't make it better. And just because it is $40 doesn't mean it is junky. You might think I despise Monster, which is fine. After owning both the Turbines and the Jamz, I'll take the Jamz. Why? They sound better.
But the EQ can't fix them? What happened to the all holy EQ?
Go to the Apple Store and test for yourself. Both Bose and Monster have used their respective names to market mid-range products in the top-end of the market. The end-result: marketing campaigns work. Bose has horrific customer service and their products have degraded. Monster is still a baby in the headphone industry as far as I'm concerned, but their strategy seems clear. Go look at the Red Sox headphones if you need recent proof.
newuser2310's recommendation is not a bad one at all.
So you think the Jamz are decent? I found the Lil' Jamz for $50 and the Jamz for $60. Thought about picking up a pair at that price.
Here is my thoughts on the Jamz. I found them to be better then the Turbines.
Depending on what you are looking for in a headphone, I would probably end up recommending the thinksound rain in that price range.
thinksound's are more natural and balanced, significantly lower power to drive.
The Jamz are bass heavy, but still pretty clear throughout.
Unless you listen to exclusively hip-hop, I'd say the rains are the better, the bass is still quite good.
I listen to hip hop occasionally, but I do listen to a lot of bass heavy pop-punk.
I am really confused between the two. Leaning more towards Beats, purely for style and they are a bit cheaper. I only listen from my iPod so the studio ******** is irrelevant and I prefer my music better then accurate. Also should I go for Beats Studio or wait for Beats Pro.
I will always prefer ANY Bose headphones over the Dre's for pure music listening. I've had a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 2's for 3 years now and they are great. I've had friends who's Dre's stopped working after a few months. For just music listening, my opinion is that the Bose sound better/are more pleasing to the ear.
If you are in the studio and looking for a completely flat response, then neither of these are recommended at all.
If you are in the studio and looking for a completely flat response, then neither of these are recommended at all.
Is this a real question?
I have owned nearly 15 different pairs of headphones. Of course, my premiere choices have always been Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. I actually got an opportunity to experience the new "Beats by Dre" headphones. The bass is extraordinary, almost to the point of being overwhelming. The mids and highs, however, have a tendency to resonate in an "unattractively bright" sound timbre.
I have been a cheerleader for Bose products for years. (The SoundDock, the Wave System, Quiet Comfort2 headphones, my Mercedes stereo system) Of course my opinion will reflect my allegiance to the Bose namesake. I do however submit that if it's bass and loudness you seek, "Beats" will take the cake. However if it's that sophisticated, plush, luxurious, capable, clean sound you would to like acquire, then Bose will be a more appropriate choice. Many musical enthusiasts are deterred from the Bose product line because of the sometimes exorbitant pricing. But, you get what you pay for. If you want a loud, ostentatious, flashy set of headphones (a Pontiac G6) then get the "Beats". If you want quality and resilience (Mercedes e350) then get the Bose. (Then again, if you want performance and affordability, (Honda Accord) get Sony.)
Of course you could NEVER expect a new comer, marketed my a Rap artist to compete qualitatively with a leader in sound cancelation and quality. You would have to own Bose to bash it.
I have owned nearly 15 different pairs of headphones. Of course, my premiere choices have always been Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. I actually got an opportunity to experience the new "Beats by Dre" headphones. The bass is extraordinary, almost to the point of being overwhelming. The mids and highs, however, have a tendency to resonate in an "unattractively bright" sound timbre.
I have been a cheerleader for Bose products for years. (The SoundDock, the Wave System, Quiet Comfort2 headphones, my Mercedes stereo system) Of course my opinion will reflect my allegiance to the Bose namesake. I do however submit that if it's bass and loudness you seek, "Beats" will take the cake. However if it's that sophisticated, plush, luxurious, capable, clean sound you would to like acquire, then Bose will be a more appropriate choice. Many musical enthusiasts are deterred from the Bose product line because of the sometimes exorbitant pricing. But, you get what you pay for. If you want a loud, ostentatious, flashy set of headphones (a Pontiac G6) then get the "Beats". If you want quality and resilience (Mercedes e350) then get the Bose. (Then again, if you want performance and affordability, (Honda Accord) get Sony.)
Of course you could NEVER expect a new comer, marketed my a Rap artist to compete qualitatively with a leader in sound cancelation and quality. You would have to own Bose to bash it.
Is this a real answer?
I don't think so, there's a pretty unanimous view on Bose being awful value for money.
Every time I read or hear 'You get what you pay for' I die inside - It's simply not at all true....and you're help ruining it for the rest of us
The car thing's are pretty irritating too Remember when a new mercedes E class cost less to make than a ford mondeo? Remember when the vw polo got rated far less in quality/reliability than the fiat punto?
Price/brand/marketing/looks/personal bias/etcetcetc is all completely irrelevant to every product ever produced - literally everything has to be looked at for what it is...
I don't think so, there's a pretty unanimous view on Bose being awful value for money.
Every time I read or hear 'You get what you pay for' I die inside - It's simply not at all true....and you're help ruining it for the rest of us
The car thing's are pretty irritating too
Remember when a new mercedes E class cost less to make than a ford mondeo? Remember when the vw polo got rated far less in quality/reliability than the fiat punto?Price/brand/marketing/looks/personal bias/etcetcetc is all completely irrelevant to every product ever produced - literally everything has to be looked at for what it is...