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Can an audiophile comment on the actual quality of Beats' technology? Or is it just successful due to celebrity endorsements? I am not an audiophile, and I'm u

Can an audiophile comment on the actual quality of Beats' technology? Or is it just successful due to celebrity endorsements? I am not an audiophile, and I'm usually happy with sub-$10 earbuds from Amazon.

sjtgraham 12y ago
Can an audiophile even comment? They routinely embarrass themselves in double blind tests.
- collyw 12y ago
  I was just wondering the same. I tried a couple of my colleagues headphones when I had left me own at home. He seemed annoyed at me for preferring the 30 euro ones over the 100 euro noise cancelling ones, but I preferred the sound that came from them.
- josai 12y ago
  I agree that some "audiophiles" are susceptible to ignorant beliefs, which they then zealously defend. I used to work with a guy who bought a CD player with a weighted turntable for the CD to sit on, on the grounds that it increased the "stability" of the bitrate. I laughed at the time and I'm still laughing now but he just could or would not understand why such a setup was useless. He'd also claim computers simply could not produce good audio, for some ludicrous reason I can't remember. So I suppose that's the type of person you're talking about. But remember, the word "audiophile" simply means someone who loves sound, and in practise that means someone who cares about good sound and will expend money and effort to achieve it. I'd count myself in that category, and am annoyed at the misguided noisy minority who give us a bad reputation. There's plenty of well informed, intelligent audiophiles who know their shit, aren't susceptible to marketing hype, and just want a faithful reproduction of their treasured music. Unfortunately, there's also a certain type of person who needs "something to believe in" in life and so gets on board with this kind of pseudo-religion with about as much credibility as the healing vibrations of crystals. You'll find them at the high-end stereo shop buying $500 ethernet cables (the network packets are so much more vibrant!) or signing up for the Pono kickstarter.
- ksec 12y ago
  I guess we need to define what you call an Audiophile first. I dont consider myself one. As i think spending over certain amount of money is just silly. In that regards i am just a consumer who expect high quality headphone within a price, that could be around $200 - $300. To simply put, if you are heavy Bass listener. And dont listen to any type of music other then Rock / Hip Hop. Then may be Beats is perfect. You could argue most audiophile would embarrass themselves with blind test, but the traits in Beats are so different that any normal human being should easily distinguish it.
- d2ncal 12y ago
  Beats headphones have very heavy Bass, a little bit overpowered Treble, and low Mids. This is basically what you get if you try to make a cheap headphones and add a lot of bass on it. This makes them fun for HipHop but sucks for everything else, specially anything with vocals. They are, however, pretty good looking (imho), sturdy and extremely comfortable. They have also become (amongst non-geeks) the go-to headphones if you want something good as they don't have time to research the differences between HD598 and HD650. If you buy a good pair of headphones that are balanced (eg. Sennheiser HD598), you can use a equalizer on your computer to make them sound just like Beats. Basically, you can make Sennheisers sound like Beats, but you can't make Beats sound like Senheisers.
Bahamut 12y ago
They're way overpriced & not good headphones. If you're seriously into good headphones with close to balanced EQ, brands like Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic are ones to look out for, not Beats. Beats is essentially a fashion brand when it comes to headphones.
naner 12y ago
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/are-beats-by-dr-dre-headphones-worth-the-money/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/are-beats-by... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdbn_pmxFic&t=3m0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdbn_pmxFic&t=3m0s
buro9 12y ago
I'm not sure who calls themselves an audiophile, but would guess that most people would call me one (music industry background, more money spent on stereo equipment than computer equipment, etc). I've used two pairs of Beats headphones and disliked both. I guess the best way to describe it is that they sounded non-neutral... they change the audio. When I try stereo equipment I have a few pieces of music I always return to and I know well, my reference points. I, and most audiophiles, shoot for equipment that is as neutral as possible, that introduces nothing new into the recording whilst reproducing the recording as faithfully as possible. If you're asking audiophiles what equates to good, the answer will be neutrality; not modifying the audio at all. Usually this means introducing no warmth where there was none, no harshness where there was none, emphasising nothing that wasn't originally emphasised in the recording and studio, etc. You shouldn't hear the equipment used for reproduction in the music that you're reproducing. Beats headphones are a bit like a Mega-Bass switch on old Walkman systems. What they do to the audio isn't enjoyable if you tend to like things with acoustic sections, folk music, classical, jazz, and rock. But... for House music, Hip Hop and other club beats the changes may actually be something you enjoy and seek as they reproduce an element of how you enjoy music (closer to the memory of the club, or a loud car stereo than a perfect recording). They are crap, for want of a better word, because they change the music noticeably. But you've got to realise this is super-subjective stuff as some people want those changes. They are also crap, probably the right word this time, because the material choice at this price point is pretty dire. But hey, they made plastic a luxury thing again, you could argue there's some brilliance there too. Most issues around durability come from the choice of materials. As to whether they're crap full stop... well, no. If you like the big beats of clubs, reverberating bass that dominates, and you rank the iconic fashion statement above durability (because fashion isn't designed to last anyway)... then Beats aren't a bad choice.
- RobinL 12y ago
  The neutrality point is kind of interesting because if the sound engineers start adjusting recordings to sound best though Beats headphones (or other audio 'enhancers'), then the recording will actually sound 'worse than intended' if it's listened to through a neutral system....
audeyisaacs 12y ago
I've never listened to Beats, so I can't say first hand. However, the general sentiment from the audiophile community is that they are not terrible headphones, but you can get much much better for your money. Especially if you want transparency in your audio equipment(ie: doesn't cut/boost certain parts of the audio spectrum). http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/search?q=beats&restrict_sr=on http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/search?q=beats&restrict_s...
camus2 12y ago
I'm a music producer and a dj(minimal/tech house and hiphop),this is definetly not professional gear. People buy them because of the brand not because of the qualitity of the headphones. And yes you can get way better headphones for half the price. I have nothing against Beats and i'm happy for the team.But it's just not worth the price for a professional or someone that actually cares about high fidelity. It would be like buying a low end Huawei phone at the price of a high end Samsung phone just because Dr Dre is endorsing it.
- phaus 12y ago
  Why would you be happy for the Beats team of if they are actively trying to trick people into buying an inferior product at a premium price through celebrity endorsements?
leoc 12y ago
This article http://www.dailydot.com/technology/apple-beats-jimmy-iovine-dr-dre/ http://www.dailydot.com/technology/apple-beats-jimmy-iovine-... speculates that the main attractions for Apple are the streaming service and the deal-making juice, which makes sense to me.
IBM 12y ago
I wouldn't put too much stock into audiophile opinions anyway (speaking as someone who got sucked into the community at head-fi.org before I realized how much bullshit there is). >Scientific claims to knowledge and the uses of technological artifacts are both inherently contestable, but both are not usually contested together. Consumers of ‘specialty’ audio equipment (known as the ‘high end’), however, connect both forms of resistance. These ‘audiophiles’ construct their own universe of meaning around their equipment; they cultivate a distinctive vocabulary and set of attitudes. In this they resemble other groups of users dedicated to supposedly antiquated technology. But they also engage in controversy to defend themselves against knowledge-claims that would delegitimize their universe of meaning. These debates concern recording formats or media (the relative merits of the compact disk [CD] and long-playing record [LP]), user ‘tweaks’ of purchased equipment, and the supposed audibility of differences between different brands of amplifiers, cables, or CD players. In all of these cases, audiophiles resist the claims of audio engineering by privileging their personal experiences, and they argue against scientific methodologies that seem to expose those experiences as illusory. Some of these patterns of epistemic contestation resemble those in non-musical domains (such as biomedicine). But audiophiles also make epistemic use of values crucial to their identity as music-lovers. They appeal to a common understanding of music as an exemplary locus of subjectivity, emotion, and self-surrender, in order to ward off the criticisms directed at them from a science they construe as objective, detached, and dispassionate http://sss.sagepub.com/content/34/5/783.abstract http://sss.sagepub.com/content/34/5/783.abstract

sjtgraham 12y ago

Can an audiophile even comment? They routinely embarrass themselves in double blind tests.

collyw 12y ago
I was just wondering the same. I tried a couple of my colleagues headphones when I had left me own at home. He seemed annoyed at me for preferring the 30 euro ones over the 100 euro noise cancelling ones, but I preferred the sound that came from them.
josai 12y ago
I agree that some "audiophiles" are susceptible to ignorant beliefs, which they then zealously defend. I used to work with a guy who bought a CD player with a weighted turntable for the CD to sit on, on the grounds that it increased the "stability" of the bitrate. I laughed at the time and I'm still laughing now but he just could or would not understand why such a setup was useless. He'd also claim computers simply could not produce good audio, for some ludicrous reason I can't remember. So I suppose that's the type of person you're talking about. But remember, the word "audiophile" simply means someone who loves sound, and in practise that means someone who cares about good sound and will expend money and effort to achieve it. I'd count myself in that category, and am annoyed at the misguided noisy minority who give us a bad reputation. There's plenty of well informed, intelligent audiophiles who know their shit, aren't susceptible to marketing hype, and just want a faithful reproduction of their treasured music. Unfortunately, there's also a certain type of person who needs "something to believe in" in life and so gets on board with this kind of pseudo-religion with about as much credibility as the healing vibrations of crystals. You'll find them at the high-end stereo shop buying $500 ethernet cables (the network packets are so much more vibrant!) or signing up for the Pono kickstarter.
ksec 12y ago
I guess we need to define what you call an Audiophile first. I dont consider myself one. As i think spending over certain amount of money is just silly. In that regards i am just a consumer who expect high quality headphone within a price, that could be around $200 - $300. To simply put, if you are heavy Bass listener. And dont listen to any type of music other then Rock / Hip Hop. Then may be Beats is perfect. You could argue most audiophile would embarrass themselves with blind test, but the traits in Beats are so different that any normal human being should easily distinguish it.
d2ncal 12y ago
Beats headphones have very heavy Bass, a little bit overpowered Treble, and low Mids. This is basically what you get if you try to make a cheap headphones and add a lot of bass on it. This makes them fun for HipHop but sucks for everything else, specially anything with vocals. They are, however, pretty good looking (imho), sturdy and extremely comfortable. They have also become (amongst non-geeks) the go-to headphones if you want something good as they don't have time to research the differences between HD598 and HD650. If you buy a good pair of headphones that are balanced (eg. Sennheiser HD598), you can use a equalizer on your computer to make them sound just like Beats. Basically, you can make Sennheisers sound like Beats, but you can't make Beats sound like Senheisers.

Bahamut 12y ago

They're way overpriced & not good headphones. If you're seriously into good headphones with close to balanced EQ, brands like Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic are ones to look out for, not Beats. Beats is essentially a fashion brand when it comes to headphones.

naner 12y ago

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/are-beats-by-dr-dre-headphones-worth-the-money/index.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/05/are-beats-by... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdbn_pmxFic&t=3m0s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdbn_pmxFic&t=3m0s

buro9 12y ago

I'm not sure who calls themselves an audiophile, but would guess that most people would call me one (music industry background, more money spent on stereo equipment than computer equipment, etc). I've used two pairs of Beats headphones and disliked both. I guess the best way to describe it is that they sounded non-neutral... they change the audio. When I try stereo equipment I have a few pieces of music I always return to and I know well, my reference points. I, and most audiophiles, shoot for equipment that is as neutral as possible, that introduces nothing new into the recording whilst reproducing the recording as faithfully as possible. If you're asking audiophiles what equates to good, the answer will be neutrality; not modifying the audio at all. Usually this means introducing no warmth where there was none, no harshness where there was none, emphasising nothing that wasn't originally emphasised in the recording and studio, etc. You shouldn't hear the equipment used for reproduction in the music that you're reproducing. Beats headphones are a bit like a Mega-Bass switch on old Walkman systems. What they do to the audio isn't enjoyable if you tend to like things with acoustic sections, folk music, classical, jazz, and rock. But... for House music, Hip Hop and other club beats the changes may actually be something you enjoy and seek as they reproduce an element of how you enjoy music (closer to the memory of the club, or a loud car stereo than a perfect recording). They are crap, for want of a better word, because they change the music noticeably. But you've got to realise this is super-subjective stuff as some people want those changes. They are also crap, probably the right word this time, because the material choice at this price point is pretty dire. But hey, they made plastic a luxury thing again, you could argue there's some brilliance there too. Most issues around durability come from the choice of materials. As to whether they're crap full stop... well, no. If you like the big beats of clubs, reverberating bass that dominates, and you rank the iconic fashion statement above durability (because fashion isn't designed to last anyway)... then Beats aren't a bad choice.

RobinL 12y ago
The neutrality point is kind of interesting because if the sound engineers start adjusting recordings to sound best though Beats headphones (or other audio 'enhancers'), then the recording will actually sound 'worse than intended' if it's listened to through a neutral system....

audeyisaacs 12y ago

I've never listened to Beats, so I can't say first hand. However, the general sentiment from the audiophile community is that they are not terrible headphones, but you can get much much better for your money. Especially if you want transparency in your audio equipment(ie: doesn't cut/boost certain parts of the audio spectrum). http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/search?q=beats&restrict_sr=on http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/search?q=beats&restrict_s...

camus2 12y ago

I'm a music producer and a dj(minimal/tech house and hiphop),this is definetly not professional gear. People buy them because of the brand not because of the qualitity of the headphones. And yes you can get way better headphones for half the price. I have nothing against Beats and i'm happy for the team.But it's just not worth the price for a professional or someone that actually cares about high fidelity. It would be like buying a low end Huawei phone at the price of a high end Samsung phone just because Dr Dre is endorsing it.

phaus 12y ago
Why would you be happy for the Beats team of if they are actively trying to trick people into buying an inferior product at a premium price through celebrity endorsements?

leoc 12y ago

This article http://www.dailydot.com/technology/apple-beats-jimmy-iovine-dr-dre/ http://www.dailydot.com/technology/apple-beats-jimmy-iovine-... speculates that the main attractions for Apple are the streaming service and the deal-making juice, which makes sense to me.

IBM 12y ago

I wouldn't put too much stock into audiophile opinions anyway (speaking as someone who got sucked into the community at head-fi.org before I realized how much bullshit there is). >Scientific claims to knowledge and the uses of technological artifacts are both inherently contestable, but both are not usually contested together. Consumers of ‘specialty’ audio equipment (known as the ‘high end’), however, connect both forms of resistance. These ‘audiophiles’ construct their own universe of meaning around their equipment; they cultivate a distinctive vocabulary and set of attitudes. In this they resemble other groups of users dedicated to supposedly antiquated technology. But they also engage in controversy to defend themselves against knowledge-claims that would delegitimize their universe of meaning. These debates concern recording formats or media (the relative merits of the compact disk [CD] and long-playing record [LP]), user ‘tweaks’ of purchased equipment, and the supposed audibility of differences between different brands of amplifiers, cables, or CD players. In all of these cases, audiophiles resist the claims of audio engineering by privileging their personal experiences, and they argue against scientific methodologies that seem to expose those experiences as illusory. Some of these patterns of epistemic contestation resemble those in non-musical domains (such as biomedicine). But audiophiles also make epistemic use of values crucial to their identity as music-lovers. They appeal to a common understanding of music as an exemplary locus of subjectivity, emotion, and self-surrender, in order to ward off the criticisms directed at them from a science they construe as objective, detached, and dispassionate http://sss.sagepub.com/content/34/5/783.abstract http://sss.sagepub.com/content/34/5/783.abstract