Monster Beats Pro by Dr Dre
Introduction
The Beats headphones are definitely one of the most polarizing products ever made. It gets a lot of love but just as much hate. Head-Fi is a prime example of this. On one hand, people will point out that everyone they know plus their grandmother has “the beats” but on the other, every Beats thread ends with trolling without fail. I would not be surprised if many of the “haters” have never heard them before and just jump on the bandwagon because that’s the “cool” thing to do. For those that have actually auditioned them and left helpful impressions, you have my utmost respect for actually contributing to the community
Slotting above the Solos and Studios, the Pros are the top of the line Beats. If the name “Pro” is not indicative of this, the $400 price tag surely clears all doubt. I think it’s safe to say everyone knows the Monster Beats line is overpriced, but, are they “bad”?
Presentation
Taking a page right out of Apple’s books, everything about the Pro screams style. Included is the headphone (obviously), the detachable cable, a pouch, microfiber cloth, 1/8 in to 1/4 in adapter, and of course, literature. Everything is contained in a nice magnetically sealed box.
Saying the Pro is built like a tank is an understatement. Everything, including the headband, earcups, and hinges are made out of strong aluminum. The headband and cups are padded with leather and screams luxury. The included cable is about 4 feet long (perfect for non-studio use) plus a little coiled section that stretches out another foot and a half. Cable is nicely built, thick and tangle free.
The earcups can be rotated back 180 degrees which allows you to use a single channel at a time or just for portable storage. Both cups have a 3.5mm jack which allows for dual entry. Whichever port is not used for input becomes output. Although not particularly useful, it is an interesting and unique feature. I use it to burn in other headphones while I listen.
The drawback of the Pro’s amazing build is that they are ridiculously heavy. Not only that, but it also has a strong clamping force. The vice grip combined with the on ear design gets uncomfortable and warm real quick. You would also expect them to have good isolation, but alas, it is only subpar. If you have even a remotely big noggin, do not attempt!
Now while style is very subjective, I personally think the Pros (along with the whole Beats line) look great. The two tone silver and black plus a hint of red makes it a beauty to behold. Add in the now iconic “b” logo and you have a headphone that doubles as a fashion statement. As far as presentation is concerned, the Beats nails it.
Sound Quality
For sound, I am driving my Beats with an integrated laptop sound card + iPod Nano 4G. Nothing fancy or audiophile grade but I have a feeling most buyers won’t either.
As expected, the BP is bass heavy but it’s not as bad as you think. From memory, there is definitely less bass than the Studios. For comparison right now, I have a Sennheiser HD 598 and a Sony MDR-ZX700 on hand. Though their sound signature is completely different to that of the Beats, they do have very nice and clean lows. Listening to them with the Pro side by side I found the Pro’s bass just as clear but with significantly more quantity though slightly looser as well. Lows were very impactful but never boomy nor overdone. I did, however, found some of the deep deep rumbles absent.
The midrange is also pretty good. Despite the accentuated bass, the mids are still perfectly intact, maybe very slightly recessed. Vocals and instruments show good clarity and no bleeding was detected.
High frequency notes are a bit weird on the Monster Beats Pros. I threw every female vocal treble heavy song I could find at them and expected them to pierce my ears just as my HD598 and ZX700 would but no dice. Frequency response graphs show the highs to be erratic and rolled off so my money is on that. Despite that, I still found music to sparkle in all the right places and is extremely pleasant on the ears.
Soundstage on the MBP is okay at best. Since they are close-backed, I did not expect much, so in that regard, my expectations were met. Orchestral music likely won’t shine on these but for everything else, it’s okay. They aren’t confining by any means, merely adequate.
Overall, I found the sound signature to be very close to what I consider ideal. Bumped up bass, smooth and clear mids, along with laid back upper notes makes the Beats Pro very inoffensive and fun to listen to. Besides neutrality seekers, I can see the colored sound appealing to everyone (ESPECIALLY the target market).
Comparison with ATH-M50 here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/603726/
Conclusion
Let’s a few things out of the way first: YES the Beats have a terrible price-to-performance ratio, YES there are many better options, and YES people buy them without regards to either of those. However, looking at them from a regular consumer’s perspective and not an audiophile, I though they are actually quite good. For audiophiles the sound is just “okay” (possibly “****ty” if you’re a troll) but the target demographic is the masses, and as such, they do not disappoint. The sound signature is very FUN, the build is top notch, and the style simply cannot be beat. When you consider that many of the buyers likely also overpay for brand name clothing, what’s another $400? At least they will last longer and be more satisfying than an A&F T-shirt.
So all in all, I walked away from this experience saying to myself, “Hey, these are not bad”, and in fact, considering I only paid $100 for my pair (refurbished), I would even go as far as to say I quite like them!
*puts flame suit on* 
Edited by GigaFi - 5/11/12 at 5:15am
