Beats Studio by Dr. Dre - Hi-Def Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones

the good~~~

if you have heard these things, there is something very addictive about them. they are a very nice looking pair of headphones, and they sound very good to the untrained ear(heavy bass, good highs). These headphones also come with a warranty that lasts one full year, and i like how when mine broke, they sent me a new pair sealed in box the second that they received my defective ones.

 

the bad~~~

these things are super flimsy! have you ever heard them in best buy? chances are you heard one ear of them! mine broke even though i completely baby them, and i had to send them in to get fixed by warranty. When they are put on a HATS machine, they have bad ratings in distortion, tracking, and worst of all, frequency response.

 

The ugly~~~

The worst part about these to me, is how genius the marketing team for monster is. one thing about these headphones, is that they are called "studio high definition) well, there isnt really a "high definition" standard for headphones, and if there was, these wouldnt be it. I feel kinda like i was lied to by them in a way. also, they are called "studio" and it says their purpose is for people recording in the studio. well, in reality, we all know that people in the studio use headphones that have super super flat frequency response, and they are normally pretty ugly. there is a lot of stuff done on tv to make these look better than they are. they sound great yes, but they arent what they are said to be. in the end, im very sad that i hate these so much because I remember loving them to death in the first place. i have learned a lot about audio since then, and can do a lot better than these headphones in the given price range

I've got to hand it to Monster - as mediocre as these headphones are, they've done a bloody good job marketing them. No other brand of headphones has developed such a cult following. They are just about the only brand that's easily recognisable by pretty much every organic life form on the planet. They appear in TV commercials, magazines and music videos. Wearing them in the street automatically attracts attention, for better or worse. The label on the back of the box claims reference-level sound quaility. In reality, none of this is deserved, yet people still keep falling for it. Hell, I fell for it and bought them about a year ago - a decision which I came to regret. 

 

Let's look at the most obvious stuff fist. The design of Beats Studio is incredibly distinctive and frankly, really nice. It's simplistic and elegant enough on one hand and and manages to attract attention on the other. The finish is glossy though and is therefore prone to proudly display each and every smudge or fingerpint. They might be a tad too big for someone as well. 

 

The build quality is nothing special but it's not too shabby either. It holds together a lot better than its smaller sibling Beats Solo and generally feels pretty solid, although the plastic layer on the top looks somewhat brittle. I've heard people complain about the layer cracking but I've never had that problem, even after a year of daily use. The cable is detachable which is always a plus.

The set is als extremely comfortable with its soft cushions and light weight. Transport is not a problem either, the headphones can be worn around the neck with surprisingly little discomfort, they fold up nicely and they come with a nice impact-absorbing case.

 

Now this is all nice and well but unfortunately, the same positive qualities don't carry over to where it matters the most - the sound. To be completely fair, they are not the worst-sounding headphones I've heard. The sound is fairly immersive and a lot of fun to listen for someone (like me) who used to have an inferior set before them, they're just not what you'd expect from a set of cans in that price category. For one, the bass is fairly heavy - perhaps not as heavy as in Denon D1100 but unfortunately not of the same quality. The main problem is that it sort of spills all over the place and the mids and highs feel a bit muffled as a result. Which brings me to the next point.

 The active noise cancellation. Now the person who thought that forcing me to have the noise cancellation on at all times was a good idea should be kicked in their privates. Not only is the constant buzzing interfering with the sound quality but it also requires two AAA batteries to work. Oh, you're out of batteries? Then enjoy your useless piece of $300 plastic.

Last but not least, the headphones suffer from a range of little annoyances that could be overlooked individually but put them together and you'll be searching for the nearest second-hand electronics shop to sell your Beats to. First of all, the sound leakage. Make sure you listen to them at a low volume when you're on a bus - even then, you'll still probably earn a few less than enthousiastic looks from people around you. Second,  Remember the sound your old computer speaker used to make when your mobile started ringing? Yes. They do that. You're looking at $300 headphones that are not shielded from interference. This also carries over to attempting to use them with your PC. In some cases, you're going to hear more of your hard-drive than your games.

So what's the moral of this story? Well don't trust marketing. Beats aren't the worst headphones ever (unlike what many an audiophile would have you believe), they are, however, far inferior to most headphones you can get for the price (unlike what the media and general public would have you believe). They look nice and are supremely comfortable but you need to ask yourself whether that's reason enough to justify a $300 pricetag.

Borrowed these for a week for the purpose of studying them (having previously borrowed the Beats Solo HD from another friend for studying) and the friend I borrowed these from swears up and down that they're real, and I believe him. I'll talk about 4 criteria: design, comfort, noise canceling, and sound.

 

Design

These headphones, as with all the other Beats, are pleasing to look at. They're shiny and look like they have a piano finish, and their shape gives them a cool look in a "blingy" sort of way. Personally, that look isn't really my cup of tea; reminds me of Skullcandy. The design is clearly made to be flashy and easy to show off, like it was designed for high schoolers that want to brag about them.

 

Unfortunately, although they're good looking, they don't have the strength to back it up. The plastic is brittle, and under that thick band of plastic there's only a thin metal band keeping the headband together. The earcups are also somewhat rattly, adding to the feeling of flimsiness. Although on a brighter note, the unpluggable thick red cable that plugs into the left side is a plus. It's strong, and even if it gets yanked, it's more likely to unplug itself than break.

 

 

Comfort

Not much to say here. It's a typical around-ear headphone with soft pads. Comfortable, but might make your ears sweaty on a hot day.

 

 

Noise Canceling

To test out the noise canceling, I brought these to the local audio store on a busy day when people were testing the stereos and car subwoofers in the other corners of the store and went for the Bose Quietcomfort 15s and Sennheiser PXC450s (also active noise canceling headphones) that were on display in the store. I first put on the Beats and turned them on. Then I turned them off and put on the Bose QC15, then took those off and put on the Sennheiser PX450s. Shockingly, suprisingly, totally completely unexpectedly, totally OMG, unbelievably, (that was sarcasm, by the way) the Beats' noise canceling couldn't match up to the Bose QC15s nor the Sennheiser PXC450s. It did negate a small amount of the low frequency ambient noise, but it didn't do even half of what the Bose QC15s and Sennheiser PXC450s did.

 

 

Sound

Bass is big. That's a plus for me, but for those of you seeking an accurate response or even using these for the *cough cough* STUDIO, the Beats STUDIOs are not the answer. Don't get me wrong, big bass is fun when you're listening to lots of dubstep like I do, but the bass here is slightly "mushy." I prefer punchy bass over mushy bass.

 

Mids are muddy, mostly because of the lack of clarity. Instruments sound like they're blended together; it's hard to tell them apart sometimes. There're some of those moments where it's like "Is that the piano or the guitar?" Ironic, because the box says these are "HIGH DEFINITION" headphones. No, these are not high definition at all.

 

Highs are not really much to brag about. Some detail is missing around these frequencies. Wait a minute! Dr Dre himself said that when people aren't using Beats, they're "NOT HEARING ALL THE MUSIC." Huh? We're not hearing all the music even if we ARE wearing the Beats! But I digress. Bottom line, there's some sound missing from the high end through these headphones.

 

 

Conclusion

It might sound like I'm bashing these headphones, but I'm not. I'm judging them from the $300 standard. If I'd been judging these from the $50 standard, these would actually have gotten 4 stars. But from the $300 standard, the construction is flimsy and the sound is muddy. Its two strong points are the appearance and the bass. Look, if we ignore the price, these are not horrible headphones. But when you pay that $300 for these, you're overpaying by $250. Is the Beats brand really worth that?

The Good:
These headphones are banging!... I never pictured myself buying a $300 headset but something about these made me walk out the store a very gratified customer. I was blown away by the acoustics and noise cancellation that drowns out background noise leaving you drenched in a bass heavy orchestra! These headphones were made with hip-hop in mind and they bang! If you got a few hundred to spoil yourself go ahead but I warn you be careful walking down the street. People have been walking into traffic and hurting themselves...Really these are some very stylish, comfortable and dynamic sounding headphones.
The Bad:
$300.00 is a lot for headphones, seriously even for those who have this type of money to throw away. They are also very bulky, I would suggest getting a pair of in-the-ear type phones if you plan to be mobile a lot, these are better for chilling at home are in a studio…..The battery cap is flimsy so must be careful not to break it when changing batteries.
Conclusion:
These earphones rock and come with all the accessories you can use including a nice case you can attach to your keys or back pack. I mean the box is even pleasant to the eye and you’ll probably end up keeping. You can flex theses headphones and they will snap back in to place…..I would have never took the time to write this review had I not been very impressed……

I will start my completely realistic review by saying how sad I truly am to see so many "abusive" reviews toward Beats headphones lineups (except for the Solo/HDs, they do sucks overall :p ).

(I'm also not a Beats-Junkie, or even a young man who embraces the word SWAG or YOLO.)

 

Saying things like:

• "Beats are overpriced piece of plastic sh*t & nothing compared to audiophile headphones AKG blablaseries, Audio Technica blablaseries, and Sennheiser blablaseries!
• "It's a total marketing scam! It's not even an audiophile headphones with that similar pricetag!"
• "Get these headphones instead (with lists) If you wanna get a much better sound at WAAAY WAAAY cheaper pricetags and MUUUCH MUCH better overall sound quality. F*** Beats!"
• "This should be priced at blabladollars considering the sound quality!"
• "The way artists & producers wanted you to hear. Yeah right."
• ..and more.

 

 

Here are my responses:

 

IT'S A FASHION HEADPHONES! My goodness you guys seriously (-_-).... Why are most of you guys (with all due respect) comparing it with audiophile headphones?? Of course it's not gonna win. It's like comparing a newly released fancy-looking casual laptop with a 5 years-old gaming laptop for their ability of playing hardcore games.

 

IT'S NOT EXACTLY A MARKETING SCAM. While I agree their marketing/copywriting strategy are indeed genius, I don't think they are scamming. Here are why:

• They've NEVER marketed Beats as a true audiophile headphones as far as I'm aware of.
• Dr. Dre have stated during the press conference that they made Beats (Studio, that time) as the kind of headphones that represents what a modern music should sounds and feels like, NOT what all kinds of music should EXACTLY sounds like.
• When he said that it makes the music sounds like the way artists & producers wanted us to hear, he could be right. As modern music sounds relatively boomy & full of (electronic/digital) instruments nowadays, perfectly balanced audiophile and monitoring headphones can't capture the EMOTIONS that the artists and producers aimed at.

 

FASHION HEADPHONES ARE EXPENSIVE FOR A REASON! Beats Studio, in this case, priced at You pay that much for 70% head/fashion accessories & packaging, 20% Audio Quality, and 10% Built Quality.

Fashion headphones are in similar class to travel/outdoor headphones; it HAS to look good, because you'll wear it in a place where people are around you (and possibly see you). Otherwise, people will laugh so hard at you wearing a big-ass long-chord visually-swagless headphones (there I said 'swag' already) around the urban street. FYI I was once being laughed for carrying my friend's Sennheiser HD 700 around the street of Oxford Street in London despite the superb audio quality it produce.

So if you're looking for a headphones that screams fashion-statement more above anything, this is it. Beats are in that kind of headphone class, so comparing it with a true audiophile headphone is just plain stupid to be honest :S.

 

 

I've had a chance to try several fashion-headphones like Skullcandy, Marshall, Ministry of Sound, House Of Marley, and Incase. None of them, arguably, can top the overall value of Beats Studio in this case. While the audio quality are far beyond audiophile, it sounds excellent for a fashion headphone (so far, I haven't tried the Monster Inspiration yet). Even though I hate the fact that they do need batteries to work & sometime produces interference when wore in between strong wifi/cellular signals.

 

The values of these cans are exceptional for those who look for fashion/travel headphones. If you're not one of those guys, YES, spend your money elsewhere.

I've found my Beats Studio to be an excellent travel companion, and it makes my music sounds exciting and fun to hear. I love it.

 

For those of you who wonder if I'm one of those "Beats Army", I'm NOT.

I own a pair of Monster Beats Studio (Red) for my travel headphones due to functionality & looks.

And I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 202 for my home studio recording & DJ set on-a-budget, and a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro for critical video & audio editing and HDSLR separate audio monitoring. Solely because of the quality.

See right there? Know the class of your headphones before you judge ;).

 

With Love,

thepan