[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchank /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....There's a feeling of covert racism in this thread as people are automatically dismissing these headphones just because of their association with Dr. Dre or hip-hop in general....

C'mon, man, you can't be serious. Racism? To me, the community's reaction would be might be quite similar if The Beats were developed in conjunction with Eminem or Lady Sovereign. Is there a predisposition regarding the hip hop association that might have one expecting bass heaviness? Yes, probably. To call that racist is absurd. Save that card for something else.

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif C'mon, man, you can't be serious. Racism? To me, the community's reaction would be might be quite similar if The Beats were developed in conjunction with Eminem or Lady Sovereign. Is there a predisposition regarding the hip hop association that might have one expecting bass heaviness? Yes, probably. To call that racist is absurd. Save that card for something else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by troymadison /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, but I really don't think this thread is racist.

I respect your opinions, but maybe you can expound upon your positions by explaining the myriad of unfounded, hypercritical denunciations that have plagued this headphone from the mere utterance of its name and endorser.

Your respected opinion as follows:
Quote:

Originally Posted by JUDE I could end up being very wrong, but I think The Beats will probably be the best selling headphone in its price range.

In contrast:

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I hate the fact that someone like dr. dre is promoting them. I know he's going to make a lot of cash for it but i'm still angry at him for doing it.

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they are not out yet... but they are "comparable to BOSE". What?!?! is that meant to be a compliemant. no odubt they will be good, but only $50 or at the most $100 good. with overpowering bass (cos we all are wanabe gangsta with no idea of originality) that muddle out everything.

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I wonder how it will really sound, I have doubts though. Especially the fact that it's from a Rapper, one of those musicians who don't care that much about clarity and only about all the up-in-your-face bass.

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Specifically marketing it with Dre's name on it means the likely target audience are those people who like rap in general - meaning lots and lots of loud, boomy bass. I doubt he had much of a hand in design or production - he's just gtting royalties from them using his name to target a specific group.

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I agree with you, most of today's rap scene music is just out-of-control bass. But that wasn't my point, my point was that I MADE A GUESS THAT THE BEATS headphones are going to be most bass-driven and lacking in highs.

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I think they look like cheap generic bluetooth headphones... aka crap.

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Haha, I can alreadly see middle-class white peeps saying 'Look at my gangsta headphones!'

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You must remember the demographic that this is probably going to be aimed at: Middle class white non-audiophiles.

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They're made my Monster, use the name of an artist who probably doesn't give a crap about sound quality, they're marketed towards people who only like Bass and they include active noise cancellation. All these things add up to a pair of very bad sounding headphones.

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i dont like the whole "dr. dre" theme behind it. i think its cheesy.

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A 350$ active noise cancelling FOTM endorsed by a rapper? What's the world coming to....

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fans of Dr. Dre, and really, how many of them can afford $350 headphones? This is the group, however, that will provide most of the revenue, since Dre's popularity has actually found him fans in the higher income brackets.

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But it will fail.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

99% of those you quoted are not racist. You are blinding yourself. Being a rapper does not mean you have to be a black person, and even if it does, who said because it's because of a black person they hate these 'phones? They didn't, they specifically stated it was because this 'phone was produced by a rapper. They didn't say it's because it was endorsed/produced by a black person.

 

[phkd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif 99% of those you quoted are not racist. You are blinding yourself. Being a rapper does not mean you have to be a black person, and even if it does, who said because it's because of a black person they hate these 'phones? They didn't, they specifically stated it was because this 'phone was produced by a rapper. They didn't say it's because it was endorsed/produced by a black person.

I agree with you here.

And please (Usagi and others) could you all leave me and my quotes out of this side-argument? I just listed why I don't think they will sell many pairs.

If you want to debate or discuss my points, fine, but do it in context with what I said (i.e. "they will sell because.."). I never said anything racist, and I never said that they sound bad. Nor do I need to have any evidence to support what I wrote since it's speculation (not a statement of fact), and I'm willing to say "I was wrong" if I am. Sorry to keep repeating myself, but I think I've finally made my point, so I'll stop.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif 99% of those you quoted are not racist. You are blinding yourself. Being a rapper does not mean you have to be a black person, and even if it does, who said because it's because of a black person they hate these 'phones? They didn't, they specifically stated it was because this 'phone was produced by a rapper. They didn't say it's because it was endorsed/produced by a black person.

Even then, they make the point about rappers because of the sound characteristics that they tend to favor.

I'm just stupefied by the claim of racism based on those quotes.

It remeinds me of this.

 

[malldian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Usagi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I respect your opinions, but maybe you can expound upon your positions by explaining the myriad of unfounded, hypercritical denunciations that have plagued this headphone from the mere utterance of its name and endorser. Your respected opinion as follows: In contrast:

In all those quotes two could be considered by some large stretch of the imagination racist. And I quote:

Quote:

Haha, I can alreadly see middle-class white peeps saying 'Look at my gangsta headphones!'

Quote:

You must remember the demographic that this is probably going to be aimed at: Middle class white non-audiophiles.

Oops?

 

[jude]

I think we'd see negative reactions if the endorser/co-designer was Creed's Scott Stapp, the DJ for Linkin Park, or Barry Manilow.

Okay, ladies and gents, back on topic--the headphones.

 

[mr.khali]

I have been a part of this community for only a short time and I have realized that people here take their headphones seriously. I don't believe the thread is racist at all. It just has been quick to denounce these headphones as hyped average phones comparable to Bose and perhaps labeling hip hop as a non audiophile brand of music. So called bassheads are always defending their preferred tastes around here. I don't know the good doctor (just know his classic work behind the boards) but common sense tells me his endorsement is included in the price. I think that is what is causing the bias against these knew cans. We want to save the masses from paying for marketing.

 

[Drag0n]

Well i heard the headphones, and i didnt get to hear them "well", because of the LOUDNESS of them, and the fact that theyre stuck on their system and i couldnt listen to them on my own equipment that i brought with me to demo them that day.

I wrote what i heard.
Theyre loud and stayed clear for the amount they were blasting them.
Bass didnt seem bloated or muffled or over-powering.
They were comfortable and seemed well-built.
Sounded balanced for the volume it was blasting at.......

BUT, i wish i could have heard them at a reasonable volume with my own equipment that im used to, and un-EQ'd.

The isolation was great though. BestBuy is very noisy, and without music playing, it was near silent with them on.
There were boomy car stereos blasting with subs, boom boxes and home stereos on, people talking loud, etc.

Without a proper audition, i cant say if its worth $350usd.....but it is at least worth $100 for sure.

 

[b0ris84]

i don't think anyone is trying to be racist when relating these headphones to dr. dre. people are hating the fact that a producer like him is putting his name on the headphones to make a lot of money. I wouldn't be angry if these headphones were actually awesome. I've said it before that I love his musical works. The hate towards the headphones have absolutely no association with his ethnicity.

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0ris84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i don't think anyone is trying to be racist when relating these headphones to dr. dre. people are hating the fact that a producer like him is putting his name on the headphones to make a lot of money. I wouldn't be angry if these headphones were actually awesome. I've said it before that I love his musical works. The hate towards the headphones have absolutely no association with his ethnicity.

I hope you are correct. Given our reputation, our community has a responsibility to the world to conduct overall objective critiques of audio gear. When we lambaste equipment based on conjecture and superficial associations, we debase our credibility and influence.

Unintentional consequences of our actions could also quell future innovation or investment in our niche market. In any case, we should welcome any new company with open arms who dares embarks on an audio crusade that could result in spoils of sonic bliss.

 

[aaron313]

Earnest discussions of race are far too subtle, sensitive, and nuanced for this medium.

 

[Skylab]

So - has anyone else actually HEARD these?

 

[Drag0n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif So - has anyone else actually HEARD these?

Haha, i hope you didnt just say that after reading the entire thread..lol.
A few have heard it. Ive said a few times in the thread what i thought,....unless you were just trying to change the course of the race discussion, which was supposed to be put to rest awhile ago, so people should stop talking about it.

The Beats may be targeted at a genre, but not a race, the genre being hiphop,rap, etc, but from the little i got to hear, it really didnt sound like they were just made for rappers at all, at least not by how some people stereotyped how rappers headphones should sound.
They actually sounded pretty balanced and very clear for the loudness they were blasting at.
I would bet at a more humane volume, they would sound good,,,but im not sure about $350usd good.
At least $100 good, maybe $200? They look nice and seem well-built.

 

[darwinyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif So - has anyone else actually HEARD these?

Feel free to ask the Team U.S.A. Basketball team