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I'm a bit of an audiophile myself, so I wouldn't listen to Beats, but I do think "bad" is a value judgement. I want a neutral reproduction of the music, and I

I'm a bit of an audiophile myself, so I wouldn't listen to Beats, but I do think "bad" is a value judgement. I want a neutral reproduction of the music, and I get that with my Grado's. The Beats customer wants lots of thumpy bass. We each get what we want.

batiudrami 12y ago
This is exactly it - they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy, and mistake for sound quality. They're paying a high price for a brand and experience, rather than for the quality of the components, like many other premium brands. I don't wear them, but I don't hate the people who do (though I'm not huge on Beats' "the way it was meant to sound/the way the musician intended" branding)
- hessenwolf 12y ago
  Quality is in the eye of the beholder, and there were several blokes sporting them on the U-bahn train this morning, all much cooler than me.
  - batiudrami 12y ago
    It's not really, when frequency response is a measurable quantity - sound quality can be, and is defined, and Beats do not fare well[1]. But you're right, they do look cool, and they have a fun listening experience. [1] http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/monster-beats-dr-dre-solo http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/monster-beats-dr-dre-so...
- paulrov 12y ago
  > they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy, and mistake for sound quality. "You're listening to it wrong"
- mrexroad 12y ago
  "they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy" ding that's the crux of it. people want something that makes them feel good, which often isn't something you can quantify in a lab. so rather than trying to build a better headphone, beats built the equivalent of a booming car stereo strapped to your head, and that evokes a very specific emotional response for most of their customers. fwiw: i have a pair of Bose QC15 cans that i got as a gift from work. i think they're crap for reproduction purposes, but the experience they're designing for is noise cancellation.
madeofpalk 12y ago
They should join the 'Vinyl sounds better' camp in mistaking what they prefer for what is objectively better.

batiudrami 12y ago

This is exactly it - they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy, and mistake for sound quality. They're paying a high price for a brand and experience, rather than for the quality of the components, like many other premium brands. I don't wear them, but I don't hate the people who do (though I'm not huge on Beats' "the way it was meant to sound/the way the musician intended" branding)

hessenwolf 12y ago
Quality is in the eye of the beholder, and there were several blokes sporting them on the U-bahn train this morning, all much cooler than me.
- batiudrami 12y ago
  It's not really, when frequency response is a measurable quantity - sound quality can be, and is defined, and Beats do not fare well[1]. But you're right, they do look cool, and they have a fun listening experience. [1] http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/monster-beats-dr-dre-solo http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/monster-beats-dr-dre-so...
paulrov 12y ago
> they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy, and mistake for sound quality. "You're listening to it wrong"
mrexroad 12y ago
"they give a 'fun' listening experience that people enjoy" ding that's the crux of it. people want something that makes them feel good, which often isn't something you can quantify in a lab. so rather than trying to build a better headphone, beats built the equivalent of a booming car stereo strapped to your head, and that evokes a very specific emotional response for most of their customers. fwiw: i have a pair of Bose QC15 cans that i got as a gift from work. i think they're crap for reproduction purposes, but the experience they're designing for is noise cancellation.

madeofpalk 12y ago

They should join the 'Vinyl sounds better' camp in mistaking what they prefer for what is objectively better.