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Beats Solo2 Wireless and urBeats Headphones Now Available in Rose Gold

ForkHandles said:
But are they any good? My daughter fancies a pair but I just don't hear it.

If I want a phone I go to Apple, If I want a camera I go to Nikon, If I want headphones I go to Bose, I go to Sennheiser, I go to the people that know music and have a track record of creating devices for audiophiles.

I put this to my girl and she stared that stare, I knew that meant I was older than her and knew nothing of the real world.

So if I buy a pair of these for her Christmas pressie am I just throwing money away on £30 of tech and £200 of Rose Gold Beats branding. Or is the ratio more in the tech's favour?
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You should buy them! Music is after all entertainment - so the best headphone is the one that brings the most enjoyment to the owner. It doesn't matter if they connect with the color, shape, or sound quality. The important thing it that they like it. What use is buying a great sounding headphone, if your daughter doesn't like the way it looks, and is less likely to wear it?

Beats have a bassy modern sound to them. They aren't the most accurate sounding - but that isn't the point of them anyway. Audiophiles get enjoyment out of owning the most accurate equipment, yet most recording studios use monitors like Yamaha NS10 that have an extremely uneven EQ. Ironically audiophiles with flat EQ headphones and speakers hear a sound that is drastically different to what the artist heard in the studio!

I've used lots of different studio monitors and headphones, and I like beats headphones for their fun, bassy sound.
 
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i5pro said:
Is it just me, Or has Apple finally ran out of ideas and just makes everything in different colors now? Maybe we'll see a new Rose Gold iMac next?
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when empires expand, they don't usually start culturally and politically exotic brand-new empires.

but to break analogy, i guess you're never here to read the stories on patents, new product lines, bigger, better faster things, services..? nope - the rose colored beats are what clued you in to apple's lack of ideas.. and 'innovation' - whatever the heck that even means to tech heads anymore.

i think we need to petition apple to get into fully viable space travel by next week or people will literally die from internet browsing boredom.
 
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ForkHandles said:
, If I want headphones I go to Bose, I go to the people that know music and have a track record of creating devices for audiophiles.
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Bose. Audiophiles. Right ...

Honestly, a pair of Sony MDRs will cost a quarter of the price and have far more balanced dynamic range/frequencies. You can't hate on Beats headphones for being overpriced junk yet use Bose ones instead.
 
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Rogifan said:
I guess Apple was out of ideas in 1999 and 2008 as well?

original-iMac.jpg


ipod-nanochromatic.jpg
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I don't think they've run out of ideas. However this isn't a good analogy. Especially the first example. What made Apple unique many years ago was offering computers in fun colors when every other manufacturer was pretty much using black, white, gray and silver. These days - computers, tablets, phones, etc come in many colors.
 
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The Solo 2's actually sound pretty decent and much better than the originals.. build quality is good and design is also good. Audiophiles/many others look down on Beats because of their price & bass-heavy sound profile (which has been toned down a lot) -there's no denying that a large part of the purchase price goes towards advertising and brand awareness, or the 'cool factor'.

Like others have said though, buying a nice pair of headphones isn't only about their sound quality or profile (except for audiophiles, mostly)... Many people would never buy a car based purely on the engine/performance -there's also design, extra features, colour, materials etc -you see where this is going.

If you are comfortable paying the price, they will make your daughter really happy.
 
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Jesus. The snarky comments .... Apple can do nothing right in these people's eyes. Thank god they are not listened to.
 
ForkHandles said:
So if I buy a pair of these for her Christmas pressie am I just throwing money away on £30 of tech and £200 of Rose Gold Beats branding. Or is the ratio more in the tech's favour?
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Most people I know don't think that Beats are 'cool' anymore. I think the rose gold plastic would look quite tacky on the headphones, although the metal earphones look quite nice and are cheaper.

The headphones aren't as bassy as they were on older models and are more balanced, but still don't sound great and are extremely overpriced for something that I personally find feels really cheap in the hand. They don't block noise very well due to being on-ear and they leak sound so everyone can hear what you are playing unless you have the volume low.

They definitely aren't something which I would consider paying £270 for, which is in the price range of some higher end and solid metal construction headphones. For the same price, you could even get Bose QuietComfort 25s which have active noise cancelling and make your surroundings silent when worn, even with no music playing.
 
I read reviews stating that the new solo 2 is now actually a very competent headphone versus the previous model. Clearly Apple is doing something right. As for this color, please don't tell my wife -- I am trying to resist any more apple toys this year.:D
 
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ForkHandles said:
But are they any good? My daughter fancies a pair but I just don't hear it.

If I want a phone I go to Apple, If I want a camera I go to Nikon, If I want headphones I go to Bose, I go to Sennheiser, I go to the people that know music and have a track record of creating devices for audiophiles.

I put this to my girl and she stared that stare, I knew that meant I was older than her and knew nothing of the real world.

So if I buy a pair of these for her Christmas pressie am I just throwing money away on £30 of tech and £200 of Rose Gold Beats branding. Or is the ratio more in the tech's favour?
Click to expand...


Are you saying companies can only do one product category well? I won't waste my time listings companies that dominate or excel in multiple areas. You are way off base on your Apple for Phone, Nikon for Camera, Bose of headphone logic.

Saying that Apple is not the "...people that know music" is off as well. iTunes, iPod, AirPlay... Apple pretty much is considered one of the top music industry companies.

Now back to Beats headphones, if you think they are crappy sound quality per dollar spent, you're pretty much dead on. I honestly think the stock earbuds that come with iPhones are amazing (when they sit properly in your ears). And yes, I know headphones, I have a pair of Grado top of the line as my daily desk pair.

People bought the Beats brand headphones more as a status/fashion statement and "head jewelry" than "I'm an audiophile looking for the most dynamic range" reason. Making it in more colors is simply offering that buyer more options.

So the ratio is in the favor of pretty colors and cool branding/status in this case.
 
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Cuban Missles said:
I read reviews stating that the new solo 2 is now actually a very competent headphone versus the previous model. Clearly Apple is doing something right. As for this color, please don't tell my wife -- I am trying to resist any more apple toys this year.:D
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My mother got a pair for my daughter. Listening to her music sounded better using the Beats vs my trusty Senn HD598's. Shocked the heck out me. Depending on your wife's taste in music, your wallet might take a... wait for it... Beating.:)
 
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Ok, so now they matched the colors with the apple colors of their premium line
they also end the beats subscription by the end of this month

when will that ugly b be replaced by an apple logo?any guesses :D

what are people squabbling about innovation and headphones? don't you have anything better to do then comparing some headphones with years of r&d and meticulously planned product maps? get back to work! :D
 
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I used to be a big Apple fan and user. Now I'm just more of a committed and slightly disgruntled Apple user.

IMO. the snarky comments are mostly well deserved. If you step back and take an objective look at the "big picture" with Apple, it's clear to me something's not right with things. Right before Jobs passed away, they claimed he had several years worth of product ideas in the pipeline. I look at what's happened since then and feel like I can just watch those ideas draining out.

IMO, the Beats purchase was a bad move. You can just look at the reviews of the Beats Music app and how so many users loved it, but now strongly dislike the forced move to Apple Music. Meanwhile, it caused Apple to buy into this headphone production when it conflicted directly with the earbuds it already manufactured. To this day, it doesn't seem like Apple figured out a good way to integrate it? Why do iPhones ship with white Apple earbuds instead of some sort of Beats branded earbud instead? Why did Beats Music get cancelled, vs. re-branding Apple Music as the new Beats Music upgrade? How come it used to be other companies like HP bragged about featuring Beats audio integrated into their products, yet no Apple laptop mentions such a thing? If the Beats brand had so much value, you'd think Apple would embrace it everywhere it could.

And truthfully, Beats products aren't aligned with Apple's original product standards; match style/elegance with best in class technology. They're just expensive fashion statements that don't provide superior sound quality to the competition.


appledefenceforce said:
Jesus. The snarky comments .... Apple can do nothing right in these people's eyes. Thank god they are not listened to.
Click to expand...
 
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I used to be a big Apple fan and user. Now I'm just more of a committed and slightly disgruntled Apple user.

IMO. the snarky comments are mostly well deserved. If you step back and take an objective look at the "big picture" with Apple, it's clear to me something's not right with things. Right before Jobs passed away, they claimed he had several years worth of product ideas in the pipeline. I look at what's happened since then and feel like I can just watch those ideas draining out.

IMO, the Beats purchase was a bad move. You can just look at the reviews of the Beats Music app and how so many users loved it, but now strongly dislike the forced move to Apple Music. Meanwhile, it caused Apple to buy into this headphone production when it conflicted directly with the earbuds it already manufactured. To this day, it doesn't seem like Apple figured out a good way to integrate it? Why do iPhones ship with white Apple earbuds instead of some sort of Beats branded earbud instead? Why did Beats Music get cancelled, vs. re-branding Apple Music as the new Beats Music upgrade? How come it used to be other companies like HP bragged about featuring Beats audio integrated into their products, yet no Apple laptop mentions such a thing? If the Beats brand had so much value, you'd think Apple would embrace it everywhere it could.

And truthfully, Beats products aren't aligned with Apple's original product standards; match style/elegance with best in class technology. They're just expensive fashion statements that don't provide superior sound quality to the competition.


appledefenceforce said:
Jesus. The snarky comments .... Apple can do nothing right in these people's eyes. Thank god they are not listened to.
Click to expand...
 
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MacHiavelli said:
Hardly ever see anyone wearing headphones. Never seen anyone wearing Beats. An indoor thing?
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Nope... just take a walk around NY or ride the subway and you will see 4 to 6 people in every subway car rocking some beats headphones... Mostly Young people which are the people Beats targeting anyways....
 
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