Your opinions (mine too) on Beats by Dre headphones/earbuds?

[Kwesi]

Just want know what you guys think of Beats by Dre headphones (any of them) as listening headphones, not for studio work. Yes, I know they are over-priced, lol.

I tried a set of Solos a while back and I didn't like them at all. Squashed highs and completely unruly lows and low-mids. Clearly intended for mainstream hip-hop listeners and generally anyone concerned about the overall quality of their listening experience above 300Hz or so. I put them on the same level as Skull Candy concerning how much I enjoyed listening to music through them. That said... they look mad cool. My brother just got a set of Solo HDs and I actually liked those enough to consider getting a pair myself. It seems that they reigned in the low-end and added more detail to the top. Overall, they made the balance across all frequencies a lot more pleasing to the ear. The mids and low-mids are still very pronounced but not so much that it makes listening to a variety of music a bad experience.

So those are my thoughts, what are yours? Again, these are CLEARLY not for serious studio musicians so no need to comment on how much the advertisements are stretching the truth .

[MJ5150]

When paired up with some Dr. Pepper, you can rock the joint.

-Mike

[J. Crawford]

I tried some on in Best Buy in Chicago, and nothing has sounded as good since.

[MakiSupaStar]

Way too much bass IMO.

[HaRd]

Don't really care for these "gimmicky" headphones. For one the price makes me roll on the floor and it might be because I went to school for audio engineering but they just implode the bass. They seem to be obviously made for hip-hop and dance and I'm sure they will have redeeming qualities in that but not for me.

I recently picked up a pair of skullcandy 50/50's after long indepth research for my "casual" on the go listening pleasures and am quite IMPRESSED. They don't have the best mids but they definitely have quite good low end and high end for me at the price point given. I also find skullcandy gel tips to be the most comfortable for my ears. I'm not an avid earbud listener but they definitely help.

[basstotheface]

God I hate them. Along with Skullcandy.

But I'm a headphone snob.

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by HaRd

I recently picked up a pair of skullcandy 50/50's after long indepth research for my "casual" on the go listening pleasures and am quite IMPRESSED. They don't have the best mids but they definitely have quite good low end and high end for me at the price point given. I also find skullcandy gel tips to be the most comfortable for my ears. I'm not an avid earbud listener but they definitely help.

The lack of mids really killed the skullcandies for me. It was the first time I was upset at a purchase I made in a while because I put a decent amount of research into them. Add that to the fact that they are clearly not meant for folks with large heads and they just weren't for me, lol.

It doesn't take a lot to keep me happy though, just a somewhat flat signal with low/no distortion. Right now I've got a set of Motorola buds that are among the best I've ever used.

[lowfreq33]

Terrible, and terribly overpriced. There are so many headphones out there that are far more pleasing to the ear than those over marketed, under engineered cans.

[tekdiver500ft]

I was going to try a set, until I realized that the majority of the positive reviews came from people who could not spell or write grammatically. I bought a pair of Sennheisers instead, and have never regretted that decision.

[pacojas]

i love my Monster Turbines!!! i hear things that others don't. such as the air between the notes...

(don't forget,... proper fitting buds make all the difff)

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I tend to just pick up Sony, Sennheiser etc buds.

I would wreck an expensive pair of headphones on the move.

[One Bad Monkey]

I got a pair of Solo HDs for my birthday last year, and actually was pretty impressed. There definitely is more bass involved, but like you mentioned Kwesi, it seems to be reigned in than previous versions. I've even used them onstage, in a pit band for a show where they were running me direct (we had a good sound guy, who knew what he was doing). They worked beautifully for that.

[hover]

Honestly, I'm not really ever a fan of the "active" headphones I've encountered whether it be the noise cancelling variety (diminishing returns when the sound quality suffers for the tech) or here with the Dre Beats with the hyped bass, it can get tiring. But that said, they at least went for quality drivers as on the whole the listenning experience is quite ok. Much better than fashion phones like Skullcandies mentionned. Their over-ears are just awful, but some of theirs are getting better too. Their buds? Ugh, forget it. I just read about some Quincy Jones branded phones that are supposed to be just awesome though. Not sure if they're active.

I tend to like Sennheisers or nice AKG's, or even the Grados I've experienced (admittedly more in studio environments...I'm no authority, I just don't like the "overly processed" sound of some cans.

[Ziltoid]

My vote goes to AKG

[Topspin]

I bought some of their "cheap" ($100 ) earbuds last year for christmas. I was (and still am) quite impressed- the bloated bass issue is not present, in fact what I hear is quite even, bass isn't boosted much at all. The sound is quite clear and detailed. One of the nicer things about them is the fact that the buds are metal, and very sturdy (I can't find many other metal earbuds, and I don't think any of the other Beats buds are). They're just solid earphones overall.

[Absentia]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

Way too much bass IMO.

Blasphemy!

But I do agree to a point.
We bought about 20 pair of the solos I think, for our school. So far they've held up quite nicely and because they have the "Dre" name on them the kids seem to respect them enough to not trash them first chance they get.

My wife and I were impressed enough to buy a few pair for home they are pretty great for movies (with the bass they put out) and a lot of music and my wife primarily uses them for her piano and neglecting the skull candies I bought her for christmas.
Mine have been by my guitarist to use in the studio which I need to get back.

All in all they are a bit expensive but sound great in my general opinion, mind you I'm half deaf and can;t hear certain frequencies.

Oh and the replaceable cord is genius for a clumsy oaf like myself.

They are also pretty good at canceling outside noise, which is great except for 3:00am watching a scary movie in the dark and the cat jumps on your shoulder with your back turned.

[L-A]

FWIW, my Skull Candy earbuds (Full Metal Jacket) rocked while they lasted. They had an oversized chamber with a 1cm driver, which gave a very clear sound at low voltage (which also means a ton of volume, but I prefer low volume and noise blocking). The wire broke and I bought a newer version of the same model – they weren't amazing anymore

I only heard good comments about Beats headphones from people who usually don't care about quality. DJs I talk to hate them, unless they fall into the former category. Having tried them myself, I don't feel the sound and make quality justifies such a price.

[Livewire]

I had a pair of the in ear ones. By far the most uncomfortable and annoying headphones ever. They refused to stay in my ear, and I've got that complain with many other people who have used them. The sound was not there, especially for the price range... Not sure if it was my pair, but the right ear bud was significantly louder than the left...

I see people on the New York subways with them all the time, but they're usually just yuppy gimmick kids.

[Happynoj]

I hated the sound of the Beats that I tried. I've also tried/owned a few pairs of Skullcandy phones. As far as over-ears go, the only ones that are worth getting are the SK Pro, which I believe is their most expensive model. I've had mine for a couple of years now, so I can't comment on whether they have changed them at all, but I would recommend them based on my pair.

For in-ears, I really liked my FMJs, but other pairs I tried were not as good. They didn't last very long either. I'm currently using Sennheisers.

[L-A]

If you want to look rad and get good sound, there's the V-Moda Crossfades. There are usually new ones around $150 on Amazon.

::: v-moda ::: crossfade