How Beats by Dr. Dre played the world ......

When I bought my HD600s around 15 years ago, it felt like they were one of the last five types of headphones on the planet, and that I was buying the only pair of 'phones (indoor) that I would ever need. Portable music listening was on life support, and people sought out 'phones that were as discreet as possible. I still don't think that I need another pair of 'phones (which says a lot, I think), but first Apple and then Beats changed the status quo. They aren't geniuses -- others have already pointed out that they're using playbooks the fashion industry has been using for centuries -- but they did a nice job of exploiting a trend.

 

My journey with the Sony V6 did have consequences. I ended up buying lots of digitally recorded classical CDs. Like the early Telarcs. I didn't hear their faults. I listen to those CDs on headphones now and hear a flat constrained soundstage, lack of sonic space. I couldn't hear those faults with the Sony. The Sony V6 doesn't do soundstage, or depth, or space. The Sony V6 actually has an anti-soundstage. My roommate had Bose 601 speakers and those certainly didn't help me hear those faults. So I kept buying lots of expensive classical CDs not knowing any better. Classical CDs weren't cheap back then. $18 for a CD was normal.

I also missed out on musical listening enjoyment. The Sony V6 is a superficial listening experience. It does not and cannot draw you into the music, into the playing, into the space. Proper headphones can. The Sony V6 cannot. I missed out on years of musical headphone immersion because of those headphones. Because those headphones were hyped as being true and good when they actually were not.

I'm old enough and experienced enough now that I can listen to any headphone and judge whether it is good or not now, and judge how good it is. I wasn't experienced back then. Had to rely on others and marketing. And that led me wrong.

Hear the music as the artist intended. Baloney.
Don't lie to people. They'll become bitter old men when they discover they've been conned.

 

I agree with that: people are free to buy what they want. But I've never met another audio engineer who believed that Beats headphones were anywhere near flat. "Bloated, bassy, and shrill" are how I usually hear them described. On an audiophile forum like this, I'd like to believe people know the difference from accurate sound reproduction and hype.

 

Well, what is your argument? I thought you were basically against Beats because they were an inferior product sold at a premium price...An opinion. Now it would seem you are positioning yourself as the guardian against gear you deem inferior, based on your opinion, that others may purchase. Are you are okay with someone else legally spending their money to get what they want, without your approval, opinion, or guidance based on reasons that have nothing to do with anything you personally value? Also, are you able to let said person completely enjoy their purchase simply because they think it was a good value based on their criteria?

 

First off, I think it is okay that you desire sonic perfection. However, it saddens me to hear how easily swayed you allowed yourself to be. Don't forget that you made the choice to purchase based on the amount of information you chose to uncover. It also saddens me to realize that you have narrowed your ability to enjoy music to such an ultra fine point that most every music experience must be torture to your ears. We each have our own wants and desires and attaining them, or attempting to, is one of the many things that make life pretty great. What you are doing hear, accidentally I hope, is broadcasting your desire to listen to perfection on all who happen to listen differently than you. I know many, many, many, many people who could give a rats behind how "perfectly reproduced" their favorite song is being play right now. Instead they are totally enjoying the song and all it has to offer them at this moment. Hats off to those who enjoy in spite of less than perfect conditions. They don't feel conned, no sir. They are elated and having fun with the music as it brightens their day irregardless of the sonic quality. Enter Beats headphones and somebody who just wants to listen and be happy.

 

I'm not after sonic perfection now. And certainly wasn't after sonic perfection back then. It was headphone listening after all. Compromises must be made to do headphones. If I was less willing to compromise I'd be doing speakers. Big speakers. Good speakers. In a big room.

It's not about me allowing myself to be swayed. It's about the sound of reproduced audio being a difficult thing to pin down as to what is good and what is not when you don't have experience listening to lots of variety of gear, especially the good gear. If what is good audio playback was so easy to determine by the general population then Bose would not be in business and Beats would have never been able to claim it offered good sound. What is actually good audio playback is a vague thing. It is easy to get swayed when you're new to listening to audio playback, even when you're after good quality or what you think is good quality.

Listening to the Sony V6 wasn't torture. I was enjoying music listening. It's just that I wasn't enjoying it as much as I could have been. I wasn't able to recognize that I was getting shortchanged at the time. I did enjoy music listening back then, but being able to hear more into the music, especially with classical, does bring you more into the music and appreciate it more. There's a difference between listening to just the surface of the music and being able to listen into the music and into the performance of the musicians and into the recording. And I missed out on that. I got played. Like how Dr. Dre played the world.

 

Everything I say here is just an opinion. But there's a difference between a loudmouth opinion with no credibility, vs. an informed opinion backed up by facts. At least I posted a half-dozen reviews that support my opinion that the headphones sound bad. The newspaper stories on the huge markup of the headphones are also backed up by facts.

Do you really want to be the guy who defends Beats here? If so, that's your prerogative, but it's kind of like saying, "I don't see why anybody wants filet mignon. I'm perfectly happy with my McDonald's toadburger, and I don't ever want to even try steak." Come on.

 

It's a funny contrast with me complaining about how bad the early Sony V6 was compared to how bad the Beats headphones are. The Sony V6 was bad to me for my needs and wants, but it's not really a bad headphone. Meanwhile, the Beats are just bad. How do you even defend that level of bad audio quality?

The early Beats headphones were sonic rubbish. Beats introduced their first headphone in 2008 IIRC. They came to a Portland OR head-fi meet to demo their Studio headphone. I of course gave it a try. Cause why not. Its level of bad was unbelievable. Wow. Why are you here with these headphones? Do you know the crowd that comes to things like this? So out of place. In one part of the room we were getting impressed with things like the early Audeze headphones with the guys from Audeze there. Then in another part of the room the Monster/Beats rep was demoing the early Studio headphone. Wow. Such a dichotomy at a small meet. Monster/Beats likely helped with some of the costs for the meet so not entirely bad to have had them there. But dang, that was weird having such a contrast represented in one room.

 

Exactly. The V6s (and the "pro" version, the MDR-7506) are pretty standard in the location sound business. They definitely have a hyped sound -- inflated low end and a somewhat harsh high end -- but it's not something that makes me run screaming out of the room. I've tried to listen to Monster headphones four or five times, and I've never been able to make it more than :30 seconds. It's all about that bass, 'bout that bass, 'bout that bass...

 

Vidiot, I was afraid things would turn out this way. First off, I have not "defended" Beats. Go find where I said they are good, or you should try them, or buy them, or anything leaning towards the purchase of anything made by Beats...you will not find that information under my signature.
You have lost sight of my point and direction completely because you are so bent on disparaging what you think is a poor purchase and so desperate to force your opinion on others. Please go back, read my replies, compile the data and then you may find my position...Wait. I'll spell it out for you so there will be little room for confusion. All of this has been said already, in different words of course, but the theme is there.

The thing I am defending is the individual choice to do as they see best. Also, your opinion is not fact, no matter how strongly you give your opinion.

Beats headphones are not very good headphones when one is searching for serious sound reproduction. One can easily find better products at much lower prices if they choose to do the legwork required to find this out. Beats, on the other hand, has done a spectacular job marketing their product to the target audience. Beats caters to a sense of style and position in the world of image as accomplishment. The purchasers of Beats are not searching for aural perfection, nor are they concerned with price VS build cost valuations. Nope, the purchasers of Beats have a different value system and that system does not jive with your value system...this bothers you so much that you have lost sight of your opinion based suggestion and are now pushing that opinion as a pseudo fact to further your personal opinion. My "problem" lies in the fact that you think others should evaluate their purchase based on your opinion. If they do not heed your opinion then something must be wrong with them and thus their purchase is also flawed and wrong. Step back from yourself and realize that others do not need your opinion to make a choice. They made said choice based on their own set of wants and desires all while being able to make other choices as well. They bought Beats because they wanted to, period. You did not, or will not buy Beats because you do not want to. Both positions are based on wants, desires, opinions, and empirical data only important to the individual. Both positions are okay if you are willing to live with the other person not doing what you see as the "best" choice. Let them enjoy their Beats. If you get the opportunity, let them try your particular flavor of headphone too. But do it without disparaging their choice. Then, step back and let them make a choice based on their own methods of value.

 

I don't really think Beats is looking to corner the home headphone market. They are going after the i-Pod - smart phone crowd and that's not really what comes to mind when I think of audiophile. Lemmy and Angus sound great when I'm working out with my Beats on.

 

I agree with this. The most common Beats headphone I see is the wireless bluetooth model. To me, this puts them in the space Bose headphones operate in, not the audiophile headphone space. They're lifestyle products designed for form and convenience above all else. I've never read a review of Bose headphones (which tend to be reviewed in non-audiophile publications) that didn't admit they didn't sound especially great for music listening but still praised them for their ability to drown out airplane noise, which is what they're for.

 

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I'm just mad I didn't think of it first and I'd have so much money we could talk in person. But, some have a conscience. We might be thinking differently at $79 to $99, except that the Sony 7506 and the Sennheiser HD280 would still be better.

 

Made a mistake being new to headphones and bought into that ****! I listen to rock and those headphones sucked they were hollow to much **** bass. After I figured things out I got a pair of Sennheiser HD650's for home use and a pair of PSB M4U 2 for going out. People that buy Beats don't give a **** about how music sounds

 

Substitute Bose for Beats. Same kind of situation, same kind of outrage expressed on this board, same content customer base.

 

****!

 

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Just ordered a pair of Shure 215 earbuds from Sweetwater.com off a good review from InnerFidelity. Looking to see what $99 buys in an earbud.

 

"I don't even think he's a real doctor".

 

Sounds to me (a pun, because I haven't actually listened to Beats) like maybe they are tuned to match the "loudness" mixes being produced for pop MP3s? That might explain why they sound "good" to a certain segment of the market.

 

Just to point out, how much do some of you think some of your bling hifi costs to build in relation to the price sold and for the parts inside? How much do you think the dealer markup is and likewise distribution costs?

Answers on a PM please...

 

Beats was a new way to market headphones as a fashion statement as much as any kind of audio product. The traditional players in that arena didn't have that vision.

Much like when rappers started wearing Adidas gear in the 80s and 90s did you start seeing the big change in the company's approach and the introduction of leisure gear as well as sporting wear.

 

I listen to my Beats Studio Wireless on my i-Phone. I downloaded a equalizer from audioforge and it's a great way to tweak the sound. I found that my old first generation i-Pod touch sounded better than my i-Phone 6 so I tried the equalizer and it was a great improvement. I use the Beats at the gym and I'm not a home headphone guy.

 

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For the price of them, I'm glad you found an EQ setting that works to fix the overall balance, but it is sad you have to do it.

 

On the upside though, when you get back from the gym and take the Beats off, you can at least say "Honey I've lost a pound"!!

Total placebo but hell...!

 

Just came across this article - they added weights just to give them the appearance of being a premium product

http://www.news.com.au/technology/h...eel-more-premium/story-fnpjyqfo-1227409432951