Alternative to Beats headphones

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by head_unit, Nov 28, 2015.

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  1. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    My kid is rather stuck on wanting Beats headphones, I think the gold ones, which seem wildly expensive for the OK sound I heard in not the best demo in an Apple store. (Bass heavy, yes, though I will say the heavy bass was much clearer than I expected).

    I want the kid to have over-the-ear BUT small cups. Like some of the Bose noise-canceling, where the cup is kind of oval shaped. NOT the 4.5" big round 1980s studio producer look, that is a non-starter. Yet I feel over-the-ear is more comfortable than on-the-ear. Doesn't mean on-the-ear is totally no-go, it's more my preference.

    Stylish is important-generic black stuff, nah. It's for a kid! Style matters! Which is why Dre is now worth 1/2 billion dollars.

    Maybe $100-$200 or so? Flying is several times a year, sometimes overseas, so a good noise canceling feature would be a very very good feature (which might mean more budget, yes). Bluetooth does not seem to be necessary believe it or not. Foldability is probably important though, back to local and long distance travel.
     
  2. Pancat

    Pancat Senior Member

    Location:
    Merry England
    I love the oppo pm3 but they're some way out of your budget. Closed back design so great for flying. And they now come in some funky -looking colours. The sound is fantastic.
     
  3. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    I would get him what he wants, not what you want him to have. Within your budget of course.
     
    JamesD1957, George P, curbach and 3 others like this.
  4. Jasonb

    Jasonb Forum Resident

    Gaslight has a point. Lot of decent headphone recommendations can come your way but if he's a kid with beats on his mind and Xmas is coming.....
     
    forthlin and nightstand68 like this.
  5. sportzdad

    sportzdad Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Athens, GA
    Was in the same boat here. My 11 year old insisted on beats. I knew I could find a better set of cans for less money or even a much better set for the same money. Amazon delivered the beats a few days ago
     
  6. Gary

    Gary Nauga Gort! Staff

    Location:
    Toronto
    Do you need or have a pair of alternate, better cans? One day, you should have your 11 year old compare them both.......
     
    ben_wood and forthlin like this.
  7. sportzdad

    sportzdad Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Athens, GA
    He will, but in middle school it's all about fitting in.
     
    ben_wood and Gary like this.
  8. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    This.
    Did your parents ever get you a substitute for something you really wanted. It sucks.
     
  9. Paul Saldana

    Paul Saldana jazz vinyl addict

    Location:
    SE USA (TN-GA-FL)
    The Noontech Zoro looks like a pair of Beats - but unlike the Beats the sound does not suck.
    Look for Steve Guttenberg's review last year on C-Net. I bought a pair based on his review and got them for under $40.
     
  10. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident

    I always wonder how many of the Beats haters have actually listened to any of their most recent offerings. I haven't, but rumor is that many of them are quite good and a huge step from the boom boom of early ones.

    I agree with the others, if he wants the Beats, then you're not likely to convince him otherwise. One thing you might consider would be to offer him a set at a particular budget and establish that you believe they are the best, but if he wants to make up the difference -maybe work for it- he could upgrade to whatever he wants. One that might be worth offering would be the Audio Technica ATH-M50X as they are excellent, nice looking and are probably second to the Beats in cachet as they are pretty universally known to be excellenT. Also much easier to live with when traveling.
     
    nightstand68, russk and head_unit like this.
  11. Record Fan

    Record Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Germantown, TN
    He's a kid. Get him the Beats. Both my boys have them. It's about what they like and prefer, not you.
     
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  12. gd0

    gd0 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

    Location:
    Golden Gate
    Don't blow this. Get the Beats.

    Sooner or later your kid will realize that Dre and Iovine are a coupl'a putzez.

    It's common knowledge to people who don't care what The Herd is doing.
     
    forthlin and nightstand68 like this.
  13. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    Hmm, I like the idea of donating towards headphones! The kid can then decide if the Champagne whatever Beats are REALLY worth the premium.

    Meanwhile, the Beats Pill is on sale for $129 (down from a ridiculous $199) so maybe I'll pull that trigger instead...
     
  14. russk

    russk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    I'd second Audio Technica. Great cans for the money. Way better than beats. My son has a 200 dollar pair he insisted on and they just sound bad. Wouldn't buy them for 50 bucks
     
  15. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    I agree with our friends who said just get him the Beats. Someday he'll hear some better quality cans and say "What the heck have I been doing with these Beats???!!!"
    If you'll allow me an anecdote about "substitute" gift-giving: I had a fairly long sick spell as a ten year old. My mother offered to pick something up for me as a "get well" gift. I told my mother exactly what would do the trick--a Beatles "Flip Your Wig" game. A few hours later I watched as she pulled up in the driveway bearing a Macy's bag!
    I couldn't wait to dig into the sack and retrieve my new treasure...a Yahtzee game:rolleyes: Mom explained that she looked at the Beatles game but it didn't look like much fun to her. I was very disappointed that day, and even moreso as the Beatles game became a coveted collectable over the years. While it's unlikely the Beats will ever be as collectable as The Beatles, just get the kid what he asked for (assuming it's affordable for you.)
     
  16. detroit muscle

    detroit muscle MIA

    Location:
    UK
    I still haven't forgiven my mother for getting me the bike she thought I should have rather than the bike I wanted - Christmas 1969
     
  17. BayouTiger

    BayouTiger Forum Resident


    Yahtzee is much more fun! Mom was right! (as usual!) :)
     
  18. twowwheels

    twowwheels Forum Resident

    Have him listen to a couple sets and then choose. Try some grado sr 60 or 80, they provide an awful lot of good sound for the money.
     
  19. Marty Milton

    Marty Milton Senior Member

    Location:
    Urbana, Illinois
    As several others have suggested, I also would recommend you go with the Beats. I'm assuming your child is a teenager. At that age group it is more about peer acceptance than best sound. You will have plenty of time to educated him on best sounding equipment when he is ready.
     
    BayouTiger and ben_wood like this.
  20. Jack Flannery

    Jack Flannery Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I think Grado sr80's are $75 on Massdrop.
     
  21. HotelYorba101

    HotelYorba101 Senior Member

    Location:
    California
    For a kid fashion is taken into account way more than audiophile quality - so even though something like the Audio Technica M50x is way better sonically, it does not have that popular widespread name recognition and branding. So if your kid wants Beats, I say get him Beats!

    I know that when I was little I wanted Cheerios, not the off-brand versions even if they were identical in terms of taste
     
  22. mj_patrick

    mj_patrick Senior Member

    Location:
    Elkhart, IN, USA
    I say get the kid what he's asking for. Buying him a pair of headphones he doesn't want is going to be a disappointment. Alternatively, if they're too much for the budget, give him money to put towards whatever he wants. I've never seen a kid complain about getting money for Christmas.
     
  23. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    Beats are a fashion statement. I'd recommend Sony V-6s, but they're not "cool" with the kids. I would suspect the current iteration of the AKG 240 would also be excellent. My wife got a pair of Beats in the version with the smaller drivers. Sounds like mush.
     
  24. Dino

    Dino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City - USA
    My Girlfriend's daughter (age 22) has Beats headphones. I don't know what model, but I asked her if they sounded good and she said "Yes. They should for $200." She uses her cell phone to listen to MP3 files. I am sure she would not think about kbps.

    She see's me listening to Sennheiser HD650 balanced from PonoMusic Player quite a bit. Once I asked her if she would like to listen to it. She did. She likes mostly R&B and Rap. I didn't have anything like that on the Pono except for D'Angelo - Black Messiah in 24-96 FLAC. She was not familiar with that but gave it a listen.

    I put the volume on low and let her to it. She cranked it up and was clearly enjoying herself. She listened to 3 or so songs and took the headphones off. She said "That sounds good. That sounds really good!". (She is not the type to say something to be nice, BTW.)

    I asked her if it sounded as good as her Beats. She said "It sounds a lot better. But I couldn't wear those anywhere."

    I understood what she meant.
     
    Robin L, Gaslight and LivingForever like this.
  25. phish

    phish Jack Your Body

    Location:
    Biloxi, MS, USA
    I'd go with the beats, since that is what the kiddo wants. It's more about the style and function than the sound quality at that age.
     
    Burning Tires likes this.
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