[Mister A]

Before I offend anyone, I just want everyone to know that I AM NOT a headphone expert. I currently own a pair of Sennheiser HD218 headphones, but my friend recently recommended the Beats Solo HD (which is what he uses). I haven't had a chance to try them out, but he told me that it's truly a whole new level when it comes to sound quality. I'm not an expert on either of them, and the Sennheiser HD218s are the best headphones I have, so my knowledge is pretty limited. Is this claim worth looking into, or are they not really a step up from my HD218s? I'm pretty skeptical about dropping $200 for "another level of sound quality" when I think my current ones are already pretty darn good.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Drop $25 on some jvc s400 if u are in a search for an on ear that sounds better than the solo imo.

 

[davidsh]

Your friend seems to know nothing about audio. They are just plain bad 'phones, yours are probably way better sound quality. I would choose them over iBuds, but I'm quite sure i could find something better under 40$.
 
You pay for a trend and looks. Nothing more.
Even the build quality is bad, they are not durable. What they do have, is loads of blurred bass.

 

[mitchflorida]

wouldn't it make more sense to try your friend's headphones for yourself instead of asking other people what they think?

 

[Mister A]

Lol thanks Doc-holliday and davidsh, you've successfully put down any thoughts I had that I was missing out. Now there'll be no more nagging urges to get the Beats in the back of my head any more. @mitchflorida: Well my friend went off to college on the east coast while I'm back here at the west coast. I've tried every method to get to try them; I asked him to mail them back here to me and I'd mail them back when I was done with them, but he didn't like that idea. I also tried asking him to hand me the Beats through Skype, but that didn't work either because they wouldn't fit in the webcam. Finally I told him to use his engineering-major skills and build a catapult that could launch them over here from the East Coast but he said it's physically impossible. Then I tried having him email them to me but that didn't work either because we don't have a matter-to-data transcriber. Bottom line, getting stuff from the east coast to the west coast is harder than it seems. Besides, after hearing what people here have had to say, I'm not even willing to pay the postage to mail them over and back to try them any more.

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

Lol thanks Doc-holliday and davidsh, you've successfully put down any thoughts I had that I was missing out. Now there'll be no more nagging urges to get the Beats in the back of my head any more. @mitchflorida: Well my friend went off to college on the east coast while I'm back here at the west coast. I've tried every method to get to try them; I asked him to mail them back here to me and I'd mail them back when I was done with them, but he didn't like that idea. I also tried asking him to hand me the Beats through Skype, but that didn't work either because they wouldn't fit in the webcam. Finally I told him to use his engineering-major skills and build a catapult that could launch them over here from the East Coast but he said it's physically impossible. Then I tried having him email them to me but that didn't work either because we don't have a matter-to-data transcriber. Bottom line, getting stuff from the east coast to the west coast is harder than it seems. Besides, after hearing what people here have had to say, I'm not even willing to pay the postage to mail them over and back to try them any more.

Well, upgrading from the  ibuds, i guess the beats would be something rather different and exciting...

 

[SforStupendous]

If you really want to try the Beats Solo several retail stores have them out for demo, including Best Buy and Target. But if you are going to drop $200 on pair of On-Ear headphones I would highly recommend the V-Moda M-80 (style plus sound quality) or the Sennheiser HD25-1 ii.
 

 

[Mister A]

Lol I went and tried the Beats Solo HD in the store, just for kicks. Lucky for me, the store I went to allowed us to plug in our own audio source. So I tested them with my Sansa Clip mp3 player and a couple songs that were ripped at 256kbps.
 
The bass was definitely way more intense than my HD218s. The bass drum hits hard, but the good news ends there. Although I personally like big bass, so this isn't a minus for me.
The mids were alright, but felt slightly less clear in comparison to my HD218s. Really, the quality of the mids was nothing to brag about.
Highs were somewhat "clouded." I felt like I wasn't getting the whole picture in the treble frequencies, which is ironic because Dr. Dre himself said "people aren't hearing all the music. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear, and listen to the music the way they should: the way I do." I guess Dr. Dre likes a sound signature where bass is really strong, mids are just ok, and highs feel clouded.
 
The Beats Solo HDs reminded me of a time when I was riding in my friend's car, and he had his subwoofer system cranked up. The bass is intense and that intensity feels good, like a "bass high", but it's so powerful that it buries all the other frequencies.
 
I also tried the Studios for kicks, and they were a little better; they could almost match my HD218s, if not actually match them. But come on! I paid $50 for my HD218s. If I pay $300 for the Studios, I'd be getting the same sound! Again, big bass at the expense of other frequencies. It seems that big bass seems to be a trend with this brand, actually.
 
I also tried on the Pros. Their sound was pretty similar to the Studios. The big difference here is build quality; they had more metal in their construction whereas the Solos and Studios were almost entirely plastic. 
 
Bottom line here (although some of you probably know this already): To the untrained ear, these headphones could definitely trick one into thinking they're high fidelity. Heck, if I never owned my Sennheiser HD218s, I'd actually think the Beats were pretty darn good. BUT - you're dropping $200-$300 on sound quality that you could get for $50 from Sennheiser. It's all good though; if my friend is happy that he dropped $150 on sound that he could've gotten for $50, I'm just happy that he's happy.