Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Constructive "Anti-Beats" headphone discussion
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Constructive "Anti-Beats" headphone discussion - Page 26

post #376 of 399
3/1/13 at 5:24pm

The argument is around price. What if Beats are sold for $20? Would it now achieve the same status of the Monoprice phones, best bang for the buck. Or nobody will care because they're too cheap for discussion and too cheap to buy for the "cool" status?

 

IMO, people perceive quality differently. Beats has reasonable quality but not at the price. But there is also an intangible, Beats are designed for looks, it is an accessory. There are Polo shirts that's $10 and Polo shirts that are $200. What is the price/performance ratio here? What I am saying is there are two view points and value systems here. And they are not compatible. This almost reminds me of the cable debate.

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #377 of 399
3/1/13 at 5:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Billyjoegunrack View Post

I simply don't buy them.

Because they are over-priced and too expensive for you, huh? wink.gif
Reply
post #378 of 399
3/1/13 at 5:35pm

Your outlook really makes it seem like you have a fear of communication and differing opinions. That's what the whole of society is built upon. You infer every "controversial" statement as something bred to be as insulting to people as possible. You can, in fact, say "I don't like ____ and here are reasons why" without being "self-righteous" or insulting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Billyjoegunrack View Post

I doubt 1/100 of the people who bought and enjoy Beats could a darn about the respect people around here have for them because they chose those headphones. Only someone obsessed with headphones goes around looking for respect because they bought some silly little toy, as all headphones are at the end of the day. For the record, Beats are not my cup of tea, but I will be dammed if I am going to psycho-analyze, and trash people because they like a different headphone than me. I simply don't buy them. I have nothing but respect for what they did though, and sales of headphones have doubled in the US as a direct result of what they did, putting this little hobby on the map. 

Reply
post #379 of 399
3/1/13 at 6:24pm

okay well Ive tried just about every pair of beats, and the only ones that don't sound like total garbage (for the price) are the Executives and the Mixers, they both look allot more subtle then the crazy brightly colored ones, and i think they sound okay too.  i would never buy a pair for over 100 dollars however.  i got my akg k702s for 180.  i know they aren't really a headphone to wear around outside the house, and you cant wear them on the neck without choking, but they are the only ones i have so i do it anyways.  kinda got off-topic, but the main point of this is how much i love the expression on kids faces when they hear how much better my headphones sound then their 400 beats pros and even better, when i tell them how much i payed.

Reply
post #380 of 399
3/1/13 at 7:43pm

We are all here because we love finding the perfect sound for ourselves and comparing our findings with each other. Hating on someone because of their headphone choice is silly. We should strive to offer suggestions based on our own personal listening experience without jumping to conclusions about brands. Saying beats/bose/(random brand) sucks without trying them is silly, but saying beats/bose/(random brand) is the best without trying other alternatives is also silly. Remember not everyone is buying headphones for sound quality alone. Comfort, fashion, price, customer service, musical tastes, and sound signature preference all come into play.

 

The fact is most headphone enthusiasts that tried a lot of different equipment think that the Beats sound muddy and there are other better alternatives at that price point. However, headphone enthusiasts also disagree about a lot of things because finding the sound you like is very personal. If you found the sound of the Beats to be good for you at that price point after doing a few comparisons, that is great!

 

I would suggest for you to try some other highly-recommended headphones and see if you can hear differences that you like. People here are just trying to be helpful and offer suggestion of things that they found to be a better sonic value per dollar.

 

Don't take criticism about the sonic quality of your headphones as personal attacks. We are just trying to share what we discovered & help each other discover their own personal perfect sound signature heaven :)

 

Happy Headphone Hunting! lol

Reply
post #381 of 399
3/31/13 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrontius View Post

That just means companies who are good at sound need to spend some effort on making their products beautiful. Bowers & Wilkins* proves this is possible.

*(While I've heard it argued they're overpriced, some significant portion of their cost is in making them into comfortable, sturdy knockabout 'phones with a lot of structural stainless steel. Subjectively, I think they sound way better than anything else in their price range; YMMV.)

To be honest I really don't think that there's so much "structural stainless steel" on Beats. I've broken a pair at the headband just from sliding it on my head which haven't been an issue with any other of my headphones. My friend also broke his on one of the arms because the headphones fell once.

What's worse is that me and him both called it in under warranty and they refused to do anything about it saying it was our fault we don't know how to put them on.
Reply
post #382 of 399
3/31/13 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac View Post

Here's the thing - two things set off the people who hate the brand. First, that the people who buy them aren't simply misled as to their sound quality or value, but they can be very aggressive too. It just seems like it's the anti-Beats that are aggressive because this is Head-Fi, or any audiophile forum for that matter, but some of this hate is just ranting coming from offline experiences - kind of like going into an all-(insert elite university here) party, where they'll really say things the way they'd never say them in public. A lot of these people in those other threads have some story about some guy SWAG-ging around with Beats calling their cans "ugly," or maybe some are kinder and say they're "boring" in the sense that they are equated to "the man" because of their business-like appearance in dark colors and are thus touted as somewhat lacking in "soul" and "personality" (if they can even get that articulate) and completely miss the point of 1) serious looks and 2) serious sound (where the real soul is). Some gave them a try, but they think it sounds like crap because Lil Wayne or Lil Jon can't blow their eardrums out with an AKG K701.

Also, expanding further into the looks, if you look at it from a social constructivist standpoint the contention then is how people interpret the meaning behind the headphone choice. Where, as stated above, the stereotypical Beats customer tends to think a reference headphone is like "The (soulles) Man,"  their gravitating to the Beats as trendy status symbols means that si also open to interpretation by others. In this case, even the image of the stereotypical customer whether it factored into the manufacturer's marketing or not plays a part - a teenager screaming "YOLO!" or posting an Instagram image with an idiotic statement like "Who needs condoms when you got SWAG?" and somehow getting associated with Beats (whether they were worn in the photos, or people who dress or think like them that we personally know tend to be the ones who like Beats, etc) sends its own signal to audiophiles. That signal is in simplest terms received as them being all sorts of stupid.

Of course, it doesn't help that it is also associated with rap music in general or at least some parts of it. That is, the people who would think such of Yolo and Swag either don't listen to rap, or they listen to 2Pac or Coolio (particularly the Dangerous Minds movie and soundtrack). That has a very different take on the realities of the origin of hiphop and rap. Where 2Pac or Coolio would decry the realities, maybe calling for change, a good chunk of rap music now either glorifies "bling" over the struggle to get out of the projects, or instead of "struggle" it's about "making it" as a gangsta rapper in the worst way of emulating how 2Pac "made it" in which case success if fully hinged on bling and bravado. Given what happened in Vegas last week, or to 2Pac and Biggie for that matter, gangsta doesn't end with selling enough records to buy Lamborghinis. It all ultimately boils down to a social ideology, even if they're not really aware of it, and the Beats hate only grows with the fear of getting associated with it, which is why they get rabid about not spending money on, or worse, getting caught wearing, Beats. Anyone with younger family members would know that the instinct to make sure the younger ones don't "go astray" or at least don't embarrass you kicks in, so they have good motivation to grind into their age inferiors' heads their own ideas.

So basically, it's not really the headphones but the stereotypical buyer that is the crux of all the negativity.


Amen
Reply
post #383 of 399
4/1/13 at 2:13pm
I thought this thread was to suggest similarly priced cans for possibly better quality than Beats. Instead we are just bashing on each others opinions of Beats.

If Beats are "bad" then justify, include examples, list some suggestions for better headphones

If you think otherwise don't bash the people who have a distaste for them. Maybe try convincing others to see them as you do.

I personally have a distaste for them. They're just not for me. What really gets to me is the people who try to flaunt them any call them the best for everything. Obviously people here can agree and I know some will disagree. I can accept that not everyone shares my same thought and opinions, I respect that. If you wish to disagree, feel free.
Reply
post #384 of 399
4/1/13 at 2:39pm
Well the sony xb lineup can beat the beats lineup at any price range. Ultrasone and denons also beats beats in the same catagory.
Edited by streetdragon - 4/1/13 at 2:43pm
Reply
post #385 of 399
4/1/13 at 9:09pm

Seriously who cares enough about what other people buy.  We all make our own choices, and we all have different opinions of "good audio quality." People going around preaching about stuff like this are stressing over something they'll never be able to control.

Reply
post #386 of 399
4/1/13 at 10:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anewills View Post

Seriously who cares enough about what other people buy.  We all make our own choices, and we all have different opinions of "good audio quality." People going around preaching about stuff like this are stressing over something they'll never be able to control.

+1 :)

Reply
post #387 of 399
4/8/13 at 10:28am

I was watching "The Voice" and low n behold, a pair of beats studios being used in the sound booth (my god) and the recording area. I laughed.  If I owned a studio, that would be the last thing in my inventory. I have been in a few studios and have seen the dt770's, mdr7506, shure srh's, seinheiser's. Never a beats. I asked some of the sound engineers about beats and they say that their really bad for vocals.

Reply
post #388 of 399
4/8/13 at 12:51pm

Yay product placement. 

 

I bet they modded the Studios for decent sound though. 

Reply
post #389 of 399
4/8/13 at 3:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThinkAwesome View Post

Yay product placement. 

I bet they modded the Studios for decent sound though. 

I bet that's exactly what it was: free Beats if they wear them where people can see them.
Reply
post #390 of 399
4/8/13 at 3:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cel4145 View Post


I bet that's exactly what it was: free Beats if they wear them where people can see them.


Aww only a free beats? I think i'd pass.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)

Gear mentioned in this thread:

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Constructive "Anti-Beats" headphone discussion