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.
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.
