“People aren’t hearing all the music. Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound. But people can’t really hear it with normal headphones. Most headphones can’t handle bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line, the music doesn’t move you. ” – dr. dre
That’s a quote that basically epitomizes exactly what beats by dr.dre is all about. Headphones made for you to not only listen to the music but feel it the way it was always meant to be heard when mixed and produced at a recording studio. Back in January we reported on the collaboration of Monster and dr. dre and now beats has come to fruition. A pair of headphones that not only look amazing but sound amazing too.
Design:
Beats shouldn’t be misconstrued as just another pair of average headphones. They are a big pair of luxury badass, Samantha Ronson deejaying headphones. The design overall is sleek black high gloss with some red and silver trim and is scratch resistant. There is a lower case “b” for beats on each ear cup. Each cup is outfitted with a comfortable soft leather to provide extra comfy comfort to your ears as well as the headband portion of the headphones. On a female head the beats do appear to be a bit massive but actually wearing them was lightweight and very comfortable. Size really didn’t matter in this instance. And despite their size, these headphones are really comfortable, actually the most comfortable heavy duty pair I’ve ever tried. Often I get a headache from wearing a heavy pair of headphones, but the Beats don’t feel that heavy when I wear them and their leather cushioning has been done so well that they are a pleasure to wear. The Beats can also be folded for easy travel inside an included heavy duty touring case.
Setup:
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out a pair of headphones. However the beats do have a few interesting features not typical of a lets say your standard pair of Bose headphones. In order for the beats to work you need to install the “AAA” batteries into the left ear cup. You press down and turn the cup cover and it will come off revealing a compartment for you to slip two batteries into. Pop them in and then twist the cup cover back in place on the left ear cup. The right ear cup has switch for you to turn the beats on. Once you do, you will see a red LED illuminate. This means the headset is on and ready for music to pump through them. If the red color were to turn amber that means the batteries are dying. Also on the right ear cup is the ability to mute the headset while listening to music in case someone needs to get your attention or if you need to hear something other than the music at the moment. As long as you continue pressing the center of the right ear cup it will stay muted. Once you release your hand the music will go back on.
Sound Quality:
So we unpacked it, stared at it, and drooled over it. Now it was time to actually use it. The beats I have to say is nothing like I ever experienced before. I first tested it with my iPhone and was very impressed. I felt the bass, the treble, the mid-range…what makes music great. But the sound files are only 192kbps, it was not the best way to test such professional headphones. So we tested it with a music CD (yes we still have a few) which has 320kbps and all I have to say is WOW. I had not heard music pumping from a headset quite like this before. It was thumping in my chest and I was bouncing my head to the beat. I also tested it with a TV blasting in the background and didn’t hear a peep from it while using the beats. All I heard was the music. My Co-Editor tried to talk to me while I had the beats on literally shouting at me and I heard nothing. This was better than any Seinheiser noise canceling headset I use for air-travel. The best comparison I could muster up was my Bose on-ear headphones. In all honesty the Bose around-ear headphones would have been a more comparable match up but I had to make due. I have always been happy with my Bose, they too are lightweight with great sound quality but in comparison to the beats I could really tell that I have been missing out. It didn’t have the same depth and quality the beats had when listening to the music, which was kind of surprising to me since I never thought anything would beat a Bose headset. But the beats certainly gave them a beat down.
Conclusion:
The beats are certainly impressive. It is fashionable in design, travel friendly, and above par in sound quality. It comes with a iSoniTalk Monster cable with built-in answer button and microphone for your iPhone or Blackberry, which is a nice touch. There is also a cleaning cloth included to buff off finger prints and a 1/4 inch adapter so that it can work with stereo component systems, not just a simple MP3 Player. Overall, it really has everything you could possibly want – including amazing noise cancellation. The only downside, is that some consumers might shy away from it because of the price which is $349.95. In any case I loved them and the best part is, it drowned everyone out around me….heavenly!
The Good:
Comfortable, stylish, and excellent sound quality.
The Bad:
A bit pricey and may only sell to audiophiles and those in the biz.
Koen
Seems very cool. High quality headphones that are compact enough to carry around. Too bad they are so expensive.
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[...] testing the beats by dr. dre last week, it was pretty much settled that there would be nothing else that could compare,it [...]
Justin Boland
I’m guess nobody releases the driver specs because they don’t want people comparison shopping, eh? Probably $100 of the price tag is just for the “Dr. Dre” branding.
sarah militello
As a professional in music, I am very excited in Dre’s new product. I pray he lives up to his name, as highly respected music producer, a revolutionary mastermind, and a time tested true artist. I hope he did n’t sell out. my main question is this product studio quality? is it for those of us in the studio? I don’t answer or care about my phone while i’m creating> i’m in the zone. So the phone capability is a kuddo right? This isn’t for the general public to be impressed is it? This can compete with Technics? Does he believe these to become the industry standard? I ‘m excited, I believe in you DRe, since I was, well lets say , I love’ me my LL Cool J and still have the original cd’s you, Snoop, 2 short, and Ghetto boys released.
Trusting you on this one, hoping you all the sucess in creating more equipment to fuel the passion in music, for the DJ, and the public. PS Is there a money back guarantee?? How about a new album from you?
God Blesss,
A true fan. PS thanks for eminem. “we all need some white friends” lol
megagavelli
just tried them out at best buy and they are AMAZING !!!
the best ive ever heard…period..the display had a place for you to plug in your current headphones and compare…not even close—
but to all the producer/studio heads out there—THESE ARE NOT MONITORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! repeat THESE ARE NOT MONITORS!!!!!!…these headphones make music sound amazing… everything you hear through them will sound as though you are hearing it for the first time…but they are ENHANCERS, not MONITORS…i wouldn’t mix with them because i wouldn’t want a false sense of sound quality and product success…they are not made for that…they are made to get the best sound you’ve ever gotten out the music you put through them…..
i really hope this clears things up for everyone..pricey for a pair ipod/home stereo/videogame/tv headphones??? yes!!! best you’ve ever heard…yes!!!
however i can say that at least for me they will make good final mix monitors…i find it very helpful to listen to my final product through these to see if it measures up to my source of comparison ( that would be mj’sl thriller and dre’s chronic and chronic 2001 for me)
happy listening!
Ryan
I missed the boarding call for my flight the other day sitting in BWI @ the gate, listening to these headphones. Thankfully I looked up at the right time and made it on okay, all the sound from the plane was drowned out, and the bass reproduction is sick! It was a no brainer from me, I didn’t even try them on, just walked in and bought them – it’s is Dre after all.
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[...] Quality: Cardo S-2 did perform wonderfully in regards to sound. It’s not a Bose or even a Beats by Dr. Dre headset but for a bluetooth headset, it is impressive. I was able to listen to MP3s and the radio [...]
NFF
ok first of all yes they do look good. and second they sound great for a “ALWAYS ON ACTIVE NOISE CANCELING” pair of headphones. if you take that into concidration their great . but you put them in a broader set of competers. (ie the $300 catagory) they stand absolutely no chance. in reality for what your geting the price should be 1/3rd the price. let me put it this way :
the headphones should cost $100 but wait since DR DRE stuck his name on them theres +$100 to the price. but were not done yet. oh no siry guess who produces the headphones? well its MONSTER cables… yea so jack up the price another $100 and there we have it “Beats by DR dre” but as they stand in their price point they cant compete with Sennehiser AKG Ultrasone Audio Technica Beyer Dynamic or Grado
but as i am saying the beats are good but not great. you dont get what you pay for. they are a very expensive consumer headphone. that dosent deliver for its price.
ps bose was the worst thing you could compare them to. but i doubt the reviewer is an Audiophile so i can give her slack for that. but its just plain depressing that none seems to see into the beter HP’s it makes me weep at night thinking about all the people who have to suffer through owning a pair of bose and their grossly over priced products. for the money you pay for a set of bose you can get a better set of headpnones for half the price.
but anyways enough of my rambleing go buy your grossly overpriced well marketed audio equipment.
but if you want to open your eyes to the world of Audiophiles check out some of the brands ill list now.
AKG *very open sounding *
Audio Technica *most of their lineup sound grate un amped*
Beyer Dynamic *the dt770’s are bass monsters.*
Grado *inexspenive quirky styling and some of the best in SQ in their price point.*
Sennhiser *pure SQ*
Dennon *very flat response = acruate to the recording*
Ultimate Ears * best in ear monitors you can get*
the thing is most of these headphones in the “DR DRE BEATS ” price range require an amp to drive to a decent volume.
but anyways happy listening. and go check out the audiophile comunity like Head-Fi
anthony
More people should be breaking away from these name brands and checking out audiophile equipment that is far superior for the same price. The only reason why Monster and Bose are so “highly regarded” is because of their advertising, in a fair comparison they’ll just die. NFF’s got the right idea, compare this to a REAL set of quality headphones and you won’t be sorry.
I’ll tell you right now, there’s no way in hell these are or ever will be anywhere close to “the best sounding headphones EVER”.
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[...] This Valentine’s Day you and the Beats by Dr. Dre could be making beautiful music together. Send us in a photo of your old/ used/ ugly/ gnarly/ decaying headphones and one lucky winner will win a pair of the totally awesome Beats by Dr. Dre. We have three great runner up prizes as well. Three runner ups will win a Monster Cable iCarCharger 200 for the iPod/iPhone. The iCarCharger 200 not only lets you charge your iPod on the road, it also lets you control it via track and playlist controls built in to the charger, while also providing a premium audio experience with advanced noise reduction. And to see why we’re so crazy about the Beats, check out our full review. [...]
Michael
The moment I saw “I never thought anything would beat a Bose headset”, I knew the article is written by person who love music but has close to none professional knowledge of sound quality
Jerex
I have to say I totally agree with NFF, anthony and Michael. The Beats look great and seem to be a respectable pair of active noise-cancelling headphones. However, compared to a set of similarly (or lower priced) headphones from companies such as Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, Shure and Ultimate Ears, they wouldn’t compare as well in terms of sound quality…
For example I use a pair of Grado SR-80s at home which cost around US$95 and they are brilliant, easily giving the Beats a run for the money. And for the equivalent cost of the Beats, you could buy one of the much higher-end models from Grado which would be even better.
So I would definitely shop around more as there are lots of great headphones out there for better prices, as well as a lot of crap to avoid – like Skullcandy.
P.S. Music CDs are actually 1411kbps, not 320kbps.
Anything that’s 320kbps has already been compressed.
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Nikki
In case anybody was trying to learn anything about judging headphone quality, these headphones are the precise definition of “bright” or “tinny.”
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