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Never liked beats anyway.

Have owned a pair in the past. My m50x's were half the price and WAY better.

In saying that, if Apple did fix the beats brand and make legit killer headphones, I'll definitely get a pair. For now, they're all marketing and less 'sounding great'.
I love my M50x too and for the price it's a great deal. Although in the beginning Beats is just pure crap, overpriced bassy heaphones. Mainly targeted for rap music and marketed with famous celebrities who likes listening to hip hops. But since Apple acquired them and the release of Solo 2 the sound has improved significantly. Actually one audiophile review claimed that newer Beats actually impressed him. The only problem is still the price, it's a good sounding headphone but the quality is not $300 worth.
 
After Apple drops the headphone jack, no manufacturer would make quality headphones without an interchangeable cable. They'll make headphones that can be used with anything, by simply replacing the cable. And they will likely make cables with hybrid plugs so that a person doesn't even need to carry around an adapter.

Anybody who would buy a set headphones without an interchangeable cable is as foolish as the manufacturer who made them. So nobody's locked into anything proprietary. This is the biggest non-issue I've seen raised on these forums (second only to not being able to charge and listen at the same time). These are just idiotic attempts to push a pro 3.5mm jack agenda.

The only headphones I would expect to see with fixed proprietary cables are the cheap disposable ones they sell at convenience stores, and who cares in that case? Heck, they might even come with an adapter for the same price.

companies who product highend quality headphones are not targeting smartphones , so no, they will not release exhangeable cables .

Companies that release average heaphones and want a slice of the smartphone pie, the will release heaphones to support lightning, And will increase the prices .

the audio industry as a whole, the iPhone 7 is a non event, heaphones will continue to be analogue, so all this talk of using lightning, changes nothing other than added costs to the consumer . A complete non event cause the DAC has moved to the cable instead of the phone (which retains the DAC for speakers)
 
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Vanilla Bluetooth is unreliable because it is built for thousands of devices, not one in particular. The Apple Pencil is a recent example of a proprietary implementation of Bluetooth that is designed from the ground up to work only with the iPad Pro and specifically the iPad Pro. It works flawlessly every single time because it knows what to expect.
The Pencil does not use a "proprietary Bluetooth" implementation. Teardowns show that it uses a standard Bluetooth chip by Cambridge Silicon Radio.
 
heh, if you're in the market for some headphones today, get wireless..
not because of the iPhone or whether-or-not such&such has 3.5mm.
they're just better to use.
i'm pretty positive if you tried some wireless headphones for a while, you be like "oh, duh.. why'd i wait this long to get wireless ??" ;)

Cause the sound quality if inferior. I've tried all the top wireless heaphones, and currently have B&O H8 and between connection issues at times and wired being better sound quality , I have not used wireless for months , only reason I charged the battery was to use the noise cancelling on a flight .

I agree on the convienice of not being wired.... But I prefer sound quality .
 
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I know a lot of people have their concerns about the iPhone 7. Personally I'm a little disappointed the design isn't as dramatic as I would like for a new generation remodel, however, I'm still probably going to get it. I've been looking at the Samsung devices, but with Samsung's mask over android I'm not too impressed. iOS was still going strong, so it's going to take a lot for me to dump this OS.
 
If Apple comes out with wireless earbuds, they better redesign them with around the ear hooks...cause their ear pods now are constantly falling out of my ears. If they have no wires, I'm gonna lose a lot of money.
As will a lot of other people. Don't think Apple's thought it through too well what effect stuff like that will have on their reputation. People will tire of the expense no matter how good it is if they keep losing them.
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I know a lot of people have their concerns about the iPhone 7. Personally I'm a little disappointed the design isn't as dramatic as I would like for a new generation remodel, however, I'm still probably going to get it. I've been looking at the Samsung devices, but with Samsung's mask over android I'm not too impressed. iOS was still going strong, so it's going to take a lot for me to dump this OS.
There are plenty of other Android manufacturers besides Samsung that do Android a hell of a lot better than Scamsung does. They're just as big a parasite of other Android makers' innovations as they are of Apple's. take a look at HTC and OnePlus if you wanna see superior Android hardware. The HTC 10 even has Airplay support. Not that I'm saying you should switch, just that it's quite easy to do a lot better than the junk scamsung tries to pass off as premium.
 
"We've removed the headphone jack from the iPhone, and now we've revolutionized Beats by removing their headphones. You can now have the high-profile look of Beats, all without the sound. We call them 'BeatsAir'."
Im amazed how many thumbs up this received...might its late and I'm missing the humor. Thought it failed. no disrespect to @randymac09
 
I don't get all the hate towards Beats. Even if they made them "clearly superior" people could only picture themselves CONSIDERING buying a set of Beats. They're already pretty good, and if Apple poured R&D into making them obviously better than any competitor, I would definitely want a pair.

Because there is only about $20 of components & the sound quality wouldn't have been acceptable 40 years ago?
 
The only way I can see the 3.5in removal working well for Apple is if they've been secretly creating the best bluetooth earbuds ever and are going to include them with every phone . Awesome bluetooth earbuds with every phone would be a huge selling point that no other company would be able to replicate quickly with commodity components.

If they bundle lightning earbuds, then they're lost.
 
Ok, so you're saying that you're going to buy an Android phone because the Beats headphones they are releasing in a couple weeks that you've not used/seen reviews for suck?

Do you usually decide to not watch a movie as soon as they announce its going into production?

I think he is saying that he has a set of high quality headphones and doesn't plan on replacing them with a PoS set of Beats headphones.
 
I was wondering when someone would point this out. Agreed. Thanks for this.

Of course, Apple hasn't said anything about what they believe, but you want them to stop selling products based on comments in a forum? And whenever a company envisions a product changing they are obligated to cease selling all other versions, e.g., says future of cars is electric, so they are obligated to stop selling all their other cars?
 
Do you have any recommendations? No promises, but this does sound like something I don't mind investing in if it can guarantee a better listening experience.
My earphones are Etymotics hf3's (I like them a lot, but there are numerous good competitors). Etymotics has a program called Custom Fit, where they basically play middleman, handle some of the paperwork, and get you a bit of a deal: through the program, you register your Etymotics earphones, get a certificate from them, make an appointment and take the certificate to one of their recommended audiologists, get the impressions done, and then they send off the impressions and a few weeks later you get the earpieces back. (Note, I did this a few years ago, the procedure may have changed since then). I've been very pleased with the result, and where the original Etymotics silicone tips gave great isolation but were kind of "shove this in until it touches your brain", the custom earmolds just pop in and exactly fill the space in your ears.

But that's just Etymotics pulling together the various bits as an inducement to get people to buy their earphones. There are several companies that do the custom earpiece casting work (I believe ACS was one, I don't recall the other names, sorry), Etymotics contracts with one of them. If you talk to the earpiece companies directly, they can recommend local audiologists and make custom earmolds to fit any of a variety of different popular higher-end earphones (that is, they have numerous earphone samples in-house to cast earpieces to fit - if you're getting earpieces to fit one of those, you just tell them which model and they handle the rest). (This is all based on recollections of things I read years ago when I first looked into it, so, uh, contents may have settled during shipping.)

BTW, if you want crazy good sound and just won the lottery, there are also companies that do a similar thing (though generally with hard acrylic vs. soft silicone), but instead of just earpieces for other company's earphones, they hollow out the earpiece and construct amazing multiple-driver speakers inside - custom fit and stupendously accurate sound - you'll find a lot of famous musicians wearing these on stage in concert. Westone and UltimateEars are two of the companies making these, but I believe there are others.
 
Of course, Apple hasn't said anything about what they believe, but you want them to stop selling products based on comments in a forum? And whenever a company envisions a product changing they are obligated to cease selling all other versions, e.g., says future of cars is electric, so they are obligated to stop selling all their other cars?

It was a general comment of agreeance. When did I ever say I want them to stop selling anything based on a comment? I didn't. Don't assume or read to deep into posts, which clearly you executed.
 
The Pencil does not use a "proprietary Bluetooth" implementation. Teardowns show that it uses a standard Bluetooth chip by Cambridge Silicon Radio.

Proprietary doesn't mean custom silicon. It means a custom implementation, specifically designed to be paired with only certain hardware — hence "proprietary". Evidence of this is that the Apple Pencil doesn't show up as a Bluetooth device nor does it broadcast itself as one.

Existing AirPlay is proprietary even though it uses a ubiquitous standard WiFi protocol. It's proprietary because it's a custom implementation where only authorized devices can use it.

Switching AirPlay to Bluetooth 5 (or even BT 4 LE) would dramatically improve battery life for very small devices like earbuds. Building AirPods to specifically pair with iPhone 7 and AppleWatch 2 would improve reliability because both know to expect each other and there is no guesswork involved.
 
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On a scale of 1 to 10 how good of an investment are Beats headphones? I've heard many say they're cheap quality and over priced.

Depends....... I actually listen to a lot of music, both portable and at home, and have several pairs of Beats that sound very good. People LOVE to just criticize Beats because its the "cool thing to do" and easy to repeat continuously what they have heard or read. People say, "people buy them because their favorite athletes or celebrities wear them and/or endorse them," or people buy them "...because they think they make them look cool" and on and on. Bottom line is this; people BUY what THEY want to buy for WHATEVER REASON they want to buy something. It is NOT my job, or anyone else's job to tell someone else how to spend their money, or what to spend their money on. It's getting really ridiculous with this "Beats Bashing" around here. You don't like the product, don't buy it. And if you have NEVER TRIED the product then STOP telling others "your opinion" of said product based on someone else's review or opinion.

For what it is worth, I have MANY kinds of headphones. I have Audio-Technical ATH-50x, Beats PRO, Beats NSpire, Street on Ear, BOSE QC (in ear and over ear), Powerbeats, Shure, BO, Sony, etc.; with NONE of what I own being CHEAP. I even own a pair of Grado's. I probably have over 10+ pairs of on ear cans, as well as 10+ pairs of in ear buds. I am constantly buying new headphones just so I can hear what's out there. The reality with a collection like that, despite what is "parroted on this forum," is the most expensive pair I own, the Grado's, get used the LEAST, and the cheapest pair I use the most, Street onEar; for cans. In ears I used the BOSE most because they fit the best and stay in my ears without discomfort.

The bottom line is, use what YOU want to use and what SOUNDS BEST in YOUR ears. I am by no means a "kid trying to be cool," and I use my Beats all the time. The only reason I don't use them more is because too much use in the sun makes sweaty cushions inside the leather on the ear cups. After a while they needed to be replaced; and they were so good I REPLACED THEM with a SECOND PAIR of Beats Pro's. Don't be afraid to buy and use something you like because of what SOME STRANGER on a web forum tells you lol. Wear, use, and buy whatever sound and best to you based on your listening style, and your listening needs.

Hope this helps.



Best,

USVet
 
companies who product highend quality headphones are not targeting smartphones , so no, they will not release exhangeable cables .

Companies that release average heaphones and want a slice of the smartphone pie, the will release heaphones to support lightning, And will increase the prices .

the audio industry as a whole, the iPhone 7 is a non event, heaphones will continue to be analogue, so all this talk of using lightning, changes nothing other than added costs to the consumer . A complete non event cause the DAC has moved to the cable instead of the phone (which retains the DAC for speakers)

Agreed. I have a nice pair of Headphones with an interchangeable cable (low impedance model optimized for mobile devices) but I would consider it a royal pain in the rear having to change cables, depending if I use my MAC, iPhone or use the cans on an aircraft while traveling. It adds nothing but cost and inconvenience.

As you rightly pointed out about the DAC: as someone with a degree in physics I would cringe looking at a DAC-dongle/adapter knowing that my iPhone has a perfectly capable DAC sitting inside being bypassed. :confused:
 
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Don't know if it's already been said, but this isn't really a surprise. They are releasing a new iPhone with no 3.5mm jack, so they are going to need to release a new line of lightning port headphones, right?

Will be interesting though. I see a lot of Beats phones connect to phones that aren't iPhone. Would be shooting themselves in the foot if they don't include the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter (or will it be vice versa?).

They could be releasing new models claiming to be updated and better sounding but the only real difference is that they come packaged with a Lightning adapter??
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Bottom line is this; people BUY what THEY want to buy for WHATEVER REASON they want to buy something. It is NOT my job, or anyone else's job to tell someone else how to spend their money, or what to spend their money on.
Ha ha ha, I have no problem with what you just said, but the very definition of a marketing professional is to tell people how they should spend their money ;-)
 
Wearing glasses, it's just so hard to find a pair of comfortable headphones that don't squeeze the sides of your head tightly.

I hear ya! It's so hard finding headphones that don't hurt after a while. Especially if you actually make your money with anything acoustic. I love my Bose, which I had for a few years, now, they're the most comfortable headphones I've ever owned/tried.

But I do hate wires. Steve Jobs did a pretty good job on me in this regard ;) I hate wires on my desk and I hate them on my headphones. They're just ALWAYS in the way, get caught in stuff etc. But I live in a hot climate and for working out, over the ear headphones just don't work well. I know there already are plenty of semi-wireless earbuds around, but none of them really convinced me...until Bragi's Dash. Especially, since you can also use them for swimming - which I do a lot. As I said, I've been kinda holding off getting them to see what Apple will come up with, but if they don't deliver, I will get the Dash to complement my Bose headphones.

I'm all for a wireless future and probably am one of those who are the minority who just don't mind at all about the - likely - missing headphone jack in the new iPhone. Actually, I'm already looking forward to that, hoping it will translate to a bigger battery and water resistance (field biologist working on the ocean, here, so yeah, that's something that would be REALLY beneficial for me)
 
Is there even any word of the reason why they have decided to do away with the headphone jack, in what way does it improve the phone? It really is starting to look like a blatant Beats/Lightning MFI cash grab. Bit risky they could really get trashed for this.

It's not about the iPhone people. It's about the watch. Removing the headphone jack moves the industry forward with headphones that also work with a standalone watch.
 
While Beats are generally overpriced garbage, if Apple poured some legitimate research and development into either making Bluetooth audio better or lightning audio clearly superior to the analog headphone jack - and released the resulting products under the Beats brand - I could picture myself CONSIDERING buying a set of Beats headphones.
I think lighting audio has the potential to be better since the DAP is no longer constrained by space in the iPhone. As for Bluetooth audio, if they can increase the bandwidth to allow for lossless audio then we can for sure say goodbye to the analog headphone jack without anyone missing it.
 
I just hope the wireless are more:

0000377_apple-earpods-with-remote-and-mic.jpeg


and less:

in-ear-headphones.jpg


I can't use the IN-in-ear headphones so I'd hate for Apple to make that jump. Not sure how wireless with the current EarPod shape would perform though (which I've never had a problem with, the EarPods fit me perfectly).

Would love this:

airpods-renders.jpg
 
While Beats are generally overpriced garbage, if Apple poured some legitimate research and development into either making Bluetooth audio better or lightning audio clearly superior to the analog headphone jack - and released the resulting products under the Beats brand - I could picture myself CONSIDERING buying a set of Beats headphones.

Yeah, Apple has all the money in the world to push research into audio to make the headphones to be of similar quality to offerings from AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamics, etc. Though, Apple's neglect of anything 'too professional' (i.e., niche market void of profit) seems to indicate that that will never happen.
 
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