BEATS BY DRE solo HD

[Austin M.]

Not exactly.

Basically, all open headphones are designed for use when you're alone. They leak sound, much like sound would leak out from your window when it's open. The shell of the headphones themselves actually have openings for the sound to leak out. The people sitting beside you will be able to hear all your music clearly (very annoying for everyone else), and you will hear every conversation happening around you, or traffic noise, car engine.

Closed headphones are designed so that they're not vented, so the headphones are designed to direct the music to the listener's ears (inside the "cup" of each headphone). They will naturally "muffle" all sound around you, since wearing closed headphones is like putting your hands over your ears. In-ear earphones (IEMs) muffle the sound better than closed headphones, but closed cans are much better than open.

The reason why some people like open headphones is because they have what audiophiles call a bigger "soundstage". It basically means that every instrument can be heard distinctly, and it sounds like the music is coming from different areas of a really big concert stage. It's not a big deal for most rock songs, dance, rap, pop, etc. It's when you get to bands that use a lot of rich sounds and instruments where this may be a problem.


In-ear monitors (IEMs) are good because they're very portable, and produce strong bass AND sound isolation. IEMs can easily produce more bass than headphones (closed or open), and so most of them do. However, they have the lowest soundstage (compared to nearly every pair of headphones), so the music all sounds like it's coming directly into your ear rather than from a bunch of different directions. It may not be a big deal, depending on the type of music you listen to. Personally, I don't think you'd care much. Also, headphones will always give you high sound quality, even for $50. To get the same sound quality from in-ears, you need to spend at least $100 (or double the money) to match a $50 pair of headphones.



You said you listen to rock/pop/indie, and outside (on a bus), so I'd get closed cans with strong bass ("low frequency"), and also decent treble and clarity, but not necessarily too much. The Audio-Technica ES7 "Ear-suit" are small and portable like the Dre Solo HD, and look awesome. Amazon LINK. They're easily driven by something like an iPod or iPhone, unlike some of the larger headphones that may need more power than an iPhone can provide. They're also closed headphones, but small headphones don't generally isolate (muffle external noises) very well, and that includes the Earsuits.

If you don't mind a slightly larger pair of headphones, there are several on the market I could recommend.

Perfectly said!

 

[SchneiderMan]

Yeah...I'm a member of the Head-Fi forums....everyone thinks they are horrible.

Not horrible just overpriced. I just sold my Studio for $150 which is much better than their retail price.

 

[Austin M.]

Not horrible just overpriced. I just sold my Studio for $150 which is much better than their retail price.

Sorry, let me rephrase that. They are "horrible" headphones for the price. If it was a fraction of the cost, they would be "decent" cans.

Maybe it's just me being paranoid, but I can't stand people saying the Beats are amazing. I use to think they were perfect, until about a year later when I tried out some other good brands and got a decent headphone amp.

 

[10-Dee-Q]

hi, how about those normal earphone models ?
i neverlike big headphones as it makes my ear sweat too much
and i also dislike in ear as the noise it makes when the cables touches my body.
currently i use audio technica ATH-CM700Ti
http://www.audio-technica.com.sg/con_product.php?prodid=56

it sounded awesome, but im open if there any other normal earphone that can produce better sound than theese.

 

[-y0-]

I read that Audio-technica ATH-M50S is a good buy.

 

[seb1987]

Thank you for all your help and advise my girlfriend got me some beats by dre for my birthday winner!!! I checked to see how much she paid for £120 they retail at 175-180 so wascwell chuffed brand new. Anyways thanks for your advice I quite like them aswell. Think there top!!!!

 

[scowl]

My MEElectronics M21P's came yesterday. A $40 buy. They are great. Comfy. Drown out sound. Bass is fantastic. Perfect for everyday use.

 

[walie]

Orpheus or nothing!! :d

 

[RileyPickering4]

Corrected

PROS
They sound really good
They get rid of most background noise

Corrected again

 

[labman]

PROS
They sound really good
They get rid of most background noise

Corrected again

your opinion based on what. Also compared to what? lots of people think Earbuds are awesome too.

 

[7racer]

I frequent the hifi forum and appreciate a nice set of cans. But to tell you the truth all of my music is standard ripped MP3 stuff and really can't tell a difference in super high quality speakers.

I have a set of Sonus Farbers as my home speakers and while nice, I have heard some panasonics that sound about the same. (due to the type of music I listen to)

If you like high quality speakers than do some searching on the hifi forum. THey will point you in the direction of some really nice cans.

I for one have been pretty happy with the Beats. They do what I need them to do which is to listen to stuff while traveling or sitting in a coffee shop.

I just upgraded to the Parrot Zik's. So far I LOVE these. Sounds nice with tons of nice features! Plus bluetooth so I don't have to mess with the cord when getting up out of my airplane seat. Also the music auto on/off works flawlessly when you take the headphones off. You might also want to take a look at those. The only thing is they probably aren't as "stylish" as the beats....but not too bad for a Starck designed product.
http://www.parrot.com/zik/usa

 

[kaielement]

hell I heard some Skullcandy headphones today that sounded better then the DRE.

The beats are horrible. You lose a lot when listing to them. Yes you get bass, but you lose your highs and mids. I love Scullcandy. If you were looking at the beats you should look at Scullcandy. The Aviator is what I been rocking and I love them. Plus the durability on the beats sucks, and if you going to pay that much money you want them to last. The Skullcandy's durability is awesome plus they have a lifetime warranty. Good luck

 

[gokart mozart]

Overpriced.

Low quality construction.

And if you care about sound accuracy, they suck.

The bass is deep for earbuds, but they distort the mid range frequencies and there is no high range. If you listen to any genre other than dubstep or hip hop, they're substandard. Terrible for rock, classical, jazz, the blues, not very bassy pop, folk, country, punk, etc. They sound hollow on classical and acoustic tracks that don't have much in the bass range. I'd rather buy Skullcandies and save $60, because I'd get the same quality performance with a better warranty+customer service.

These are much better for the money:
http://www.google.com/#q=klipsch+s4...p.r_qf.&fp=904946022c58d679&biw=1440&bih=1099

 

[djransom]

My MEElectronics M21P's came yesterday. A $40 buy. They are great. Comfy. Drown out sound. Bass is fantastic. Perfect for everyday use.

I owned a pair of MEElectronics earbuds and loved the bass they offered.