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Beats Pill+ Speaker Launches Alongside New Colors for Solo2 Headphones
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Those headphones look gorgeous. Say what you want about the sound but brands like Bose etc look like crap compared to these. I've owned Bose and Sennheiser and yes, they sound great. But they look like poop.
In other words, you came here to feel better about yourself whilst complaining about Beats....
He probably meant much better from the last improvement. I tried the Solo 2 it was a big improvement from the original. But I didn't bought because of the price. Was it a better headphone from the previous model? Absolutely! Is it worth the price base on the sound quality compared to other brands of the same price? No! But the people who bought Beats actually uses them. Instead of buying one for your kids a headphone with great sound yet they never uses it. I think this is a better investment because they'll be using it all the time or just hang it on their neck for fashion statement.
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Not available on the UK store
I know
my wallet was ready, I take it there is no way to get this in the UK then? Anyone know when it's available for UK?
Did they make a new version of the Solo 2s? Pretty much everything I read trashed on the first ones and when the 2s came out it seemed like most people didn't like them. I've only listened to the earlier ones.
As I said above, only the first one which sucked. Reviews of the 2s didn't seem very favorable when they came out. Then I saw online that they're mostly plastic junk with cheap metal weights inside to make them feel premium. To me, that's shady at best and flat out dishonest at worst. I'm no audiophile, but I'd rather just go with some cheaper Audio Technica kit before Beats. But I also don't wear headphones out in public, so the design doesn't matter as much.
I have the Solo2, while they aren't bad, they certainly aren't $200 good. Which is the problem. I picked mine up open item for about $100 bucks and that's about where they should be. Maybe MSRP $150 and on sale for $100 is fair. But for pure recommendation between retail price the ATH-50x and Solo2 I'd tell people to get the ATH-50x every time and save 30 bucks.
I found a short cord with iPhone control for the m50x on ebay for like 10 bucks. They are no more bulky than Beats Studios, which is what they should be compared to since these are both Studio style phones... Wireless Beats do have some good style to them. Just ooof on that price.
my mistake. I had the M50LE. That cord is fixed. The newer "x" has a detachable cord.
I know the article you're referring to and that only applies to the old pre-Apple Solos as far as I know. The new 2s are pretty great in both build quality at choice of materials used. I've felt them in hand at my local Apple Store and it certainly felt like a quality product, especially in terms of the plastic used. Not even accounting for the really nice, polished metal bits.
These new 2s are pretty excellent and completely destroys everything bad about the previous Monster influenced generation of Beats. I remember memes on headfi.org making jokes about "why can't we just give beats good sound quality" etc. and it finally happened. Good stuff.
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1) The Beats by Dre branding on the HTC phones was simply a software thing. Nothing special about it.
2) Apple will not include Beats headphones for free. They want people to buy them.
Beats sound quality is very good. Just overpriced. Like most apple products. You pay the premium price for the logo/brand. I have the JBL Charge 2 which is $149 and they sound just as good, if not better than the beats pill. Same with the solo 2's. I can get a pair of similar sounding sony headphones for $150 instead of $299. And, one uncanny thing I noticed when shopping for a wireless portable speaker, beats products don't have technical specifications anywhere on the packaging or even on google...So literally you have no idea what your'e buying. I guess it's smart because if you compared the tech specs to other products you'd see you're overpaying for the product.
I don't know when the reviews were released, but a quick Google (UK version), shows me 7 visible results (scores out of 10): 7, 6, 6.1, 8,8,8. That's not too shabby. (https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=beats+solo+2+reviews)
However for me they could still do with "improvement". I use quotes as I don't think the target market would particularly see toning down the bass as an improvement. For their market they're an excellent choice. People like the fact they produce that deep bass.
I guess ultimately they've never been marketed as reference headphones. One thing I can say (even the older ones which IMO were pretty damn bad) - every person I know that actually owns a pair of Beats really likes them, none of them seemed as though they regretted their purchase.
If I mostly listened to pop(ular)/radio type or other bass friendly music I'd definitely consider them.
But my taste is wide ranging so I too prefer the more nuanced brands.
I pay a premium for many other things when choosing Apple, certainly not the logo or brand:
- Privacy.
- A company that's got a great cohesion between desktop, tablet, phone and watch products out of the box.
- A company that provides first class troubleshooting, support, replacements and repairs at self run stores.
- Products that for me last longer than the competition.
- Products that always seem to hold their value best.
- A company that' always seemed to push forward with Accessibility features.
Etc. Etc. All of these things cost money to do. It's taken from the higher prices they charge.
Note: I'm not "all in" on Apple, I own a wide variety of products. I couldn't give a monkey's about the brand or logo. Design yes. Brand or logo no. If the only benefit to using Apple was a popular logo or brand I'd stop using them for cheaper alternatives.
I have Beats Solo 2 Wireless, Master Dynamic MH40, Audio Technica M50, and Grado SR-125e sitting around and I actually reach for the Solo 2s more than any of the others. The combination of on par sound, wireless, small, and lightweight definitely make them more convenient than the super heavy MH40s, unwieldy M50s, or sound-blasting Grados. The battery life is insane too, sometimes I use them at work all week before charging and I've never run down the battery completely. It's also slick how the battery life shows up in notification center with my phone and watch.
http://headphones.specout.com/compare/133-344/Beats-by-Dre-Studio-vs-Bowers-And-Wilkins-P5
This just says it all.
Beats peripherals are just "prettified" junk with a celebrity endorsement.
No audiophile would touch them. They're garbage.
This just says it all.
Beats peripherals are just "prettified" junk with a celebrity endorsement.
No audiophile would touch them. They're garbage.