Beats: What so special about them?

[Supercowboy1986]

The only thing I like about beats is reselling them. I was able to get 2 solo hd drenched in color for cheap (real not fake) and sold them really fast on CL and made a nice profit. I always just used cheap ear buds for the longest time until black Friday when I got some hd 598s for 99.99 which has to be the best investment I have ever made on headphones. I am in no way an audiophile but they are noticeably better and I find myself listening to music and podcasts more.

 

[CowboyStar88]

I have a pair and I actually really like them I also have an original pair of Beats by Monster ear buds. Both produce top quality sound and a very clean sound.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

Beats are turrible. My 80$ Sennheiser HD-280 Pro's are better.

Don't even get me started on the Beyerdynamics I had that were similarly priced. The comparison was laughable.

Also, I'm sorry Idgit but I've never noticed a difference in quality between Monster cable or the 5$ HDMI cable I get off the web. And this is on my 70 inch.

Maybe I'm just hatin'.

youd be surprised with cables.

im into high end ht. actually didnt believe the cable stuff. so we took a set of martin logans, a computer, a reference mic, and set it up. we played the test pattern at the same volume level on the marantz receiver and recorded the sonic frequency return on the software on the computer as well as DB return.

You could actually watch the roll offs of frequencies happen at different points and at different rates.

The biggest anomaly was, we tested about 10 different ones from $1/foot to like $100/foot, and the Monster XP (which was like $5/foot) actually stored energy. All the other 9 returned 85 db...the monster XP returned 80db. 5db is the equivalent of a loss in 50% of the perceived volume. It was ridiculously noticeable.

 

[gmoney112]

youd be surprised with cables.

im into high end ht. actually didnt believe the cable stuff. so we took a set of martin logans, a computer, a reference mic, and set it up. we played the test pattern at the same volume level on the marantz receiver and recorded the sonic frequency return on the software on the computer as well as DB return.

You could actually watch the roll offs of frequencies happen at different points and at different rates.

The biggest anomaly was, we tested about 10 different ones from $1/foot to like $100/foot, and the Monster XP (which was like $5/foot) actually stored energy. All the other 9 returned 85 db...the monster XP returned 80db. 5db is the equivalent of a loss in 50% of the perceived volume. It was ridiculously noticeable.

So the Monster cables are actually worse?

 

[65fastback2plus2]

So the Monster cables are actually worse?

That particular speaker cable was...we tested multiple house brands, monster and audioquest. We concluded the XP was storing energy due to its twist and cabling looking similar to monster's car subwoofer power cable.

 

[gmoney112]

That particular speaker cable was...we tested multiple house brands, monster and audioquest. We concluded the XP was storing energy due to its twist and cabling looking similar to monster's car subwoofer power cable.

That's pretty cool to hear. So a quick question for you since you seem pretty knowledgeable...

At what point do the cables reach a point of diminishing returns? As in, is my 5$ cable "good enough", or is there like a 20$ cable I can get that's better?

I have a home theater setup right now that's pretty sweet, and well, i'm kind of an audiophile so if there's some quality cable I'm missing that isn't terribly expensive i might spring for it.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

That's pretty cool to hear. So a quick question for you since you seem pretty knowledgeable...

At what point do the cables reach a point of diminishing returns? As in, is my 5$ cable "good enough", or is there like a 20$ cable I can get that's better?

I have a home theater setup right now that's pretty sweet, and well, i'm kind of an audiophile so if there's some quality cable I'm missing that isn't terribly expensive i might spring for it.

I always equated it to buying walmart tires for your ferrari. if you really have top notch stuff, or are experiencing an issue, then it might be worth it. If you dont, then probably no loss.

Another one is power conditioners. People are convinced they dont do anything. My parents TV was having issues with picture fireworks. They tried a couple different cables they had laying around...no change between any of them. This is in the gameroom above the garage. The main 200 amp power for the house comes in the garage just below the TV. There was just too much interference from the high voltage. Put a decent power conditioner on the tv and problem solved.

 

[Seven]

Nothing. They're a fashion accessory. You can get better sound quality at the $75 mark.

Yep......

 

[DallasDomination]

I had other good headphones before and I can honestly say Beats are pretty good. I like the bass you get out of them and crisp sound. Bose focuses a lot on the clarity of the words but the overall music experience imo beats is better.

 

[kristie]

i have a pair of beats & i like them.

 

[StarBoyz83]

They have good bass but absolutely not worth the price. You can get some for 10 dollars at Walmart that sound almost the same!

 

[viman96]

Audio Technica ATH-M50x are great headphone for around $170

 

[Wheeltax]

I spend around the $100 mark on headphones, and have loved both the Sony and Sennheiser cans I've snagged around that price point.

Also I love Bose. They are pricey but to my ears are hard to beat for quality.

 

[viman96]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but one thing to keep in mind is the Beats are tuned for bass. IIRC they emphasize the lows for bass and highs for treble and de-emphasize the midrange.

 

[Blackspider214]

There is nothing special about them at all. It's a fashion statement and marketing. You are paying for that logo. So many want to be seen out in public with that logo on their ears.

I have some Audio Technicas I got on Amazon. $89. Regular 200. Had a big blowout sale on them some years back. Much better than Beats and for much less.

Also, don't be fooled when you listen to them in the stores. They are hooked up to amps.

Bose is like this, too. Marketing and name brand but not that great.