LOL at all the Beats bashers........  

Quote:

Originally Posted by lebomb 

and they never, ever tried to hoodwink the public. 

Um, yeah they did. Read their site some time.

If you don't like the trashing, then don't listen to it. It's very simple.

I had an open mind about Beats initially. I appreciate the attention to styling detail. After hearing them, its clear that's all they have.

Its not like some people like BMW and others prefer Lexus, or Cadillac.

Its like a Yugo with a body kit and a fancy paint job, a celebrity endorsement, and a huge marketing budget trying to pass itself off as a Ferrari equivalent and selling at that price point. Bring it to an exotic car show and you're going to get laughed at. 

Everyone hates to see an inferior product be so successful when its completely based on hype and marketing and not on the products own merit. The iDevices may be over-priced, but you will find many enthusiasts that love them because they are quality products (though it pains me to say it ;) ).

It also goes back to a long tradition for hate for Monster.

I'll refer you to this gem from 2004 - http://www.somethingawful.com/d/news/monster-monsters.php

This pretty much sums it up

Yep, its the advertising that most of us are bothered by. I have no problem with people wanting fashionable headphones or headphones with tons of bass. More power to them. If that's what they want then they will be happy with Beats and that's all that matters. The problem is that Beats is constantly using outright lies in their advertising, telling people things like that Beats magically restore lost data in lossy files and that they are the most accurate headphones on the market when in reality no sound engineer would ever use them for mixing/mastering, including Dre himself. Which is fine. Again, they are great for people who aren't concerned about price and want fashionable headphones with tons of bass but the problem is in how many people are completely mislead by the lies Beats shamelessly promotes. I think the biggest reason why that bothers a lot of us is because we come into contact with people who have fallen for those lies and it sucks to realize that those people would have discovered a completely different world of headphone listening had they not been duped by Beats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pallentx 

Its like a Yugo with a body kit and a fancy paint job, a celebrity endorsement, and a huge marketing budget trying to pass itself off as a Ferrari equivalent and selling at that price point. Bring it to an exotic car show and you're going to get laughed at. 

^This. This is why Beats get bashed so hard in communities like head-fi. And its completely valid that they do. From a business standpoint you might respect what Beats has accomplished but from an audiophile perspective they are nothing but frauds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lebomb 

They are not pieces of ****, and they never, ever tried to hoodwink the public.  

When compared to headphones in their price range, they ARE pieces of ****. Most of what Beats do is hoodwink the public, promising "what the artist intended" and giving out no actual specs on the headphones. Their claims can be disputed when you compare the Beats to real studio headphones, no contest. :)

I detest beats because I too once believed them to have "studio" sound quality.

I was completely convinced that flashy packaging and a "b" logo meant the best sound.

People going around comparing every headphones to a "beats" standard is the result of false advertisement by the brand claiming to have "what the artists intended". Not to mention those also claiming "BETTER THAN BEATS!", which is to say, nothing much at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pallentx 

The iDevices may be over-priced, but you will find many enthusiasts that love them because they are quality products (though it pains me to say it ;) ).

 

I think Beats to iDevices is a legitimate comparison. They're both quality products if you disregard price. A lot of people like the sound and look that beats have. iDevices are pretty well constructed. But put either of them toe to toe with an alternative at the same price range and they can't hold a candle.

Quoting lebomb, “and they never, ever tried to hoodwink the public.”

Quoting the Beats Pro webpage…

“The Headphones Used To Mix In Every Major Studio.”

“Beats Pro headphones are designed for sound engineers, musicians, and those who take sound seriously. They’re the headphones that artists like Will.i.am use in the studio, and are designed to deliver the same level of emotion and power the artist originally intended.”

“Beats Pro headphones sound so good because they put back the quality lost in modern-day file compression. That means you’re really hearing music the way it was originally heard by the artist in the studio.”

The above aforementioned quotes from their website, is exactly what I would call “hoodwinking” the public. Perhaps if they would specify exactly what music it is that they would be best for, and not just making a blanket statement about putting quality back into music. For some recordings, it’s adding something that was never there in the first place. This is where I find fault with the marketing they do and misrepresentation of their products. With that I will say that every company can, and does interpret their products a certain way and can market them however they want, but would hopefully have somewhat of a conscience when describing their product. I also doubt that any self-respecting sound engineer is mixing, tracking, or monitoring with these in any studio. That is unless they are making a rap album, or something that is mainly BASS, even then that is highly unlikely…in most cases studio monitors are used for those applications. I guess I just have a problem with the overall picture they paint about their headphones. I do however really like the way the pro’s look and feel…I love the materials, fit and finish. I just don’t want little subwoofers sitting on my head. To some degree, I do understand where you are coming from though. To each there own, you don’t like it don’t buy it. But, that’s what something extremely popular does, it makes waves, it has fans and haters alike and with that the pro or anti beats arguments will never die.    

I wouldn't compare them to the 'iDevices' at all.  The iphone, ipod etc flourish because of a developer's community and support surrounding them, plus they're very well engineered and constructed hardware.  Beats is poorly constructed, and has the same access to whatever pool of songs that any other headphone would.

I also don't buy (or will thoroughly laugh at) anybody who rags on Beats because of their price/performance.  Audiophilia is built upon poor price/performance, and taking advantage of people with deep pockets and/or are crazed enough to devote an entire lifestyle to their obsession.  HD800 is overpriced.  LCD2 is overpriced.  T1 is overpriced.  Your 200,000 dollar boutique speakers are overpriced-- and everything in between.  The hifi era has since been long past us, and most of what you buy today is largely the component of marketing propaganda-- just like the Beats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMRaven 

I also don't buy (or will thoroughly laugh at) anybody who rags on Beats because of their price/performance.  Audiophilia is built upon poor price/performance, and taking advantage of people with deep pockets and/or are crazed enough to devote an entire lifestyle to their obsession.  HD800 is overpriced.  LCD2 is overpriced.  T1 is overpriced.  Your 200,000 dollar boutique speakers are overpriced-- and everything in between.  The hifi era has since been long past us, and most of what you buy today is largely the component of marketing propaganda-- just like the Beats.

I cant deny that to some degree, but there is still a spectrum of quality most audiophiles will agree to - that the earbuds that came with your iPhone are not as good as the Sennheiser HD800. Beats pushes the envelope on lofty claims of quality vs pricing far beyond any other manufacturer I can think of.

Those flagships (HD800, T1, LCD3) may be overpriced, but at least their manufacturers put SOME effort into developing them and are able to do what they advertise on the box to some degree. Beats on the other hand just flat out lie about everything.

I personally wouldn't mind paying extra for the brand name, but it has to be worth it.

The original post really comes off as an angsty teenager. They do infact straight up lie and hoodwink their customers and many people have already came here to tell you how you're wrong.