Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
And I bet they'll still sound like crap.

Anyone who is serious about audio knows that that kind of money is better spent elsewhere.

Can you suggest a better wireless NC Bluetooth headphone for the money?

For the record, the newest beats have been much better, still not good enough to justify the price solely on sound. But the wireless noise cancelling model doesn't really have a strong competitor even at its higher price point. So at this price point there are currently very few choices for wireless NC (if they keep the NC).
 
Is it going to look more hipster and have more Hello Kitties? Because being Hipster is the new fail trend.
 
I have the Top of the line Philips Fidelio X1 which are oustanding cans, you can spend a bit less on the M model and get far superior sound quality than beats or bose. Just go to any audio specific forum and you'll hear the same truth.

If you want to impress fools that buy the lie you get beats, if you are serious about sound quality, you turn your sight towards companies such as:
Audio Technica, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Denon, Grado,Sennheiser,Shure, Phillips ( newer ones, old ones are just ok, or so so )Yamaha and the list goes on.

Just avoid the overhyped beats, bose, those sms crap and some other stuff. REad, ask and you'll be safe.
 
A lot of this Beats hate that's here in this thread seems to be from ignorance; Beats has gotten IMMENSELY better than what they used to be. They're now quality, sound great, and are well built.


Here's a review from a well respected headphone guru: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwTUKK3_wvg&list=UU6BW8DqrAmBEIeCtMa4bfBw

Highly rates them.

And as others have noted, the Beats Pros sound right up there the Audio Technica ATH-M50's, though the Pro's cost about twice as much, but if you factor in the design and build quality, the Pro's can be viewed as a good investment.
 
It's all a matter of preference. Bose is marketed towards older consumers like me and Beats are marketed to the younger generation.

I've never really looked into Beats products, but I have been a Bose customer for 20 years and have never been disappointed. My house is full of Bose equipment and it all sounds great.

----------

Is it going to look more hipster and have more Hello Kitties? Because being Hipster is the new fail trend.

Yeah. I've been saying the same thing since 1966.

----------

Almost irrelevant to the topic: I really kind of want to find some broken Beats and see if I can transplant some Koss speakers into them. I am a sucker who wants the design, but I just don't want that [lack of] sound quality.

I wonder if this is doable...

Koss? Really? Those are the crappy, low-budget systems I used to make fun of when I was younger, right? Made cheap-ass aftermarket tape decks and whatnot?

----------

Kind of defines the current state of innovation at Apple.

And what exactly have you innovated lately? In the space where you work, I mean. How exactly are you rocking your own industry?

Yeah, that's what I thought.

So sick of people complaining about Apple's lack of innovation. If you want innovation so badly, go out and create it yourself.
 
If you want a comparison for good headphones, go look ... or even the Sony high ends.

I bought a pair of Sony XBA 3's but I sent them back, I tried to like them but in the end I had to admit they were no better than my $20 Philips SHE9550's and the Philips' seal was much better even though the Sonys came with like a bucket load of multi-sized buds with and without foam reinforcement.
 
And as others have noted, the Beats Pros sound right up there the Audio Technica ATH-M50's, though the Pro's cost about twice as much, but if you factor in the design and build quality, the Pro's can be viewed as a good investment.

How is twice as much for almost as nice a good investment?
 
A lot of this Beats hate that's here in this thread seems to be from ignorance; Beats has gotten IMMENSELY better than what they used to be. They're now quality, sound great, and are well built.


Here's a review from a well respected headphone guru: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwTUKK3_wvg&list=UU6BW8DqrAmBEIeCtMa4bfBw

Highly rates them.

And as others have noted, the Beats Pros sound right up there the Audio Technica ATH-M50's, though the Pro's cost about twice as much, but if you factor in the design and build quality, the Pro's can be viewed as a good investment.

You are absolutely correct about how much Beats have improved in sound quality! I just recently bought a pair of the wireless Studios and they sound really nice as they're now great with the various forms of music genres. If you're into hip/hop, dubstep, soul, rock and some electronica they will sound absolutely amazing!

I like the fact that I don't have to be tethered to my phone with or any DAP via a cable when playing music.

In fact I'm running The Black Keys "Turn Blue" through them as I type this and these headphones sounds amazing!
 
Last edited:
How is twice as much for almost as nice a good investment?

It's literally as good. And you get the incredible design, incredible build quality. There's a premium to the price, but A+ studio grade sound? For sure a decent buy. There's just no denying that Beats are actually a quality headphone these days.
 
I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

I just purchased my first Beats product a few months ago with the new Solo2 headphones. I've never heard previous Beats headphones but I've owned several top of the line studio headphones from Sony, Pioneer, and Sennheiser over the years and these Beats sound good to me. For some folks, they may not be the best sounding, and although a little pricey, I do find the sound quality to be very good and nothing from the previous companies I've mentioned have anything that can match Beats sleek aesthetic design in my opinion. I think Pioneer comes close to design but still has a more of that industrial look, which actually may still appeal more to others depending on personal preference. But I find the screw less design of Beats very sleek and elegant looking.

Anyway, just looks like a lot of angry audiophiles in here getting their panties all tied up in a bunch. I look forward to checking these new headphones out when they get released and hope they'll support wireless AAC to optimize wireless sound quality for Apple devices.
 
I just purchased my first Beats product a few months ago with the new Solo2 headphones. I've never heard previous Beats headphones but I've owned several top of the line studio headphones from Sony, Pioneer, and Sennheiser over the years and these Beats sound good to me. For some folks, they may not be the best sounding, and although a little pricey, I do find the sound quality to be very good and nothing from the previous companies I've mentioned have anything that can match Beats sleek aesthetic design in my opinion. I think Pioneer comes close to design but still has a more of that industrial look, which actually may still appeal more to others depending on personal preference. But I find the screw less design of Beats very sleek and elegant looking.

Anyway, just looks like a lot of angry audiophiles in here getting their panties all tied up in a bunch. I look forward to checking these new headphones out when they get released and hope they'll support wireless AAC to optimize wireless sound quality for Apple devices.

I had a pair of Solo HDs from 2010 and they were pretty crappy. But I'm willing to give them a second chance.
 
Beats' aggressive marketing tactics and clever advertising campaigns have skyrocketed its headphones to popularity, and they are very popular with athletes and the younger demographic.

who wrote this?

Very popular with athletes. Here athlete have some free headphones and we pay you to wear them. Oh look everybody BEATS are popular with athletes.

The world is doomed
 
When I saw the Apple Watch announcement, I thought that Apple must be working on wireless headphones to pair with them—independent of Beats. This must have been in the works for some time.

I think this explains the apple branding. My guess is these weren't a beats project, but rather an apple one, and now will be rolled out under one of the brand umbrellas.

But I bet these have been in the works for years. It's the natural companion for the Apple Watch—particularly for exercise.
 
Bose can be a hit or a miss. My car's Bose sucks butt; however, Bose Soundlink Mini at home is awesome for its size.

I once owned a late 1990's Corvette with the Bose sound system. It sounded fantastic and I had no complaints.

And just last weekend I just heard some over-the-ear Bose headphones at Worst Buy; they sounded fine with my own source music; no better or worse than the Bowers & Wilkins in the home theater showcase part of the store. I'd consider a set of the smaller Bose over-the-ears with the noise cancellation feature, except right now I have a perfectly working (though slightly larger/clunkier) Panasonic headset with that feature.

I know some people who use the portable Bose speaker devices for acting, dance, and music accompaniment, and they're quite happy with Bose. One time in an emergency, one of the smaller speakers+iPod got used for a performance when the DJ's equipment wouldn't accept an iPod player (or maybe it was a laptop or other device requiring a 1/8" output jack).

Anyway, that little Bose was not designed for that huge space but it still performed admirably. It was clear and easy enough for performers and audience to hear. Remember, "the show must go on!"

Bose is expensive, but I'd still consider it. And I still have my 901's from the 1980's. :cool:
 
My pair of beyerdynamic headphones sounds better than the high-end Beats headphones... and more comfortable.

Apple, please hire some German or Japanese sound engineers and get the sound right on the Beats Headphones... The Sony MDR-7506 (from 1991) is better than SOLO HD/2 and it is under $100

Here's the thing that some of you audiophiles don't get..... Not everyone hears sound the same. Or likes what they hear the same. You want technically correct sound. As a musician I don't go by specs.... I go with what sounds right for a particular song. It seems Beats gets that their target audience wants their music to sound a certain way. They are catering to their target audience and they do it very well.

Not unlike Apple, who a lot of people complain don't target a wide range of consumers. But Apple has been successful focusing on a specific target audience.
 
Here's the thing that some of you audiophiles don't get..... Not everyone hears sound the same. Or likes what they hear the same. You want technically correct sound. As a musician I don't go by specs.... I go with what sounds right for a particular song. It seems Beats gets that their target audience wants their music to sound a certain way. They are catering to their target audience and they do it very well.

Not unlike Apple, who a lot of people complain don't target a wide range of consumers. But Apple has been successful focusing on a specific target audience.

Audiophiles are the sound industry's equivalent to the tech industry's militant spec nerds.

----------

I heard beats' quality has improved in recent years. I don't have a pair of Bluetooth headphones so i might try a pair of these.

The new Beats Studio (wired) sound far, far better than the original Studios. I was actually impressed the first time I tried them out. Mind that my expectations we're pretty low (Beats suck, right?) and I still wouldn't consider buying it unless it were $100 cheaper.
 
Why wouldn't Apple put a small hard drive, shuffle like size, in the ear muff of the Beats Solo headphones? Set it up for WiFi synching when you charge the headphones at night. Seems like a no brainer to me...

user interaction would be no good unless it's always shuffle or playlist (as in, it's on your head.. you can't see your head ;) )
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.