OK I know the forum doesn't like these earphones. But I bought them, and will just be writing my personal feelings here. Photos will be included when i bother to take them.
Beats by Dr. Dre Tour Earphones (Without Control Talk). This was bought for approx. $217 USD (bought in Hong Kong, had to convert the price). Yes I know its damn expensive, but doesn't matter, i bought them already, and everything here isnt cheap.
This review has nothing technical. I am no audiophile. It contains only what i felt about the earphones.
Aesthetics
I must say the thing that made me want to buy them is the looks. The bright red wire that never tangles (its true!), and the bright "b" on the silver aluminium background on the top. The black with red color of the earphones really do make them look attractive, especially when its shiny. You do get jealous looks on the streets with these, i guess thats a plus.
Ergonomics
The earphone itself is quite long, and sticks a long way inside your ear. It does get uncomfortable after long usage, since it goes quite far in. Theres 5 pairs of earbuds in total, and you can change them easily. Although the long tips, the earphones itself fits quite easily into your ear, and hangs there really stably. It wont fall out without a hard tug. Im pretty impressed with the fit, but it may be different for everyone.
Now on to the wire. Yes it doesnt tangle no matter what you do, unless you deliberately tie a knot in it...I was disappointed that the flat red wire was quite soft. They bend and twist easily and gives me the impression that they're really fragile. Compared to the Sony MDR-XB700 i have, their wires are a lot more rigid, and gives a higher quality impression. Also, for the Tours, where the red wire meets the jack, the plastic coat on the jack is quite hard, and this can wear off the soft wire easily, and since the wire bends easily, it often rubs against the hard plastic jack.
Sound Isolation
The sound isolation is actually pretty good with the music playing. You do notice that the sound levels reduce significantly even without music. While listening to music on the bus or on the subway, i can't hear any surrounding sound unless they're LOUD. However, to my disappointment, i noticed that electronic sounds coming from speakers (eg. the subway stop announcing thingy) gets past the noise isolation. This is a good earphone to bring around with, since usually you won't hear any outside sound (careful crossing the roads). it does come with a rugged case, and with your earphones inside it, its near impossible to damage them.
Sound
I know you guys are all waiting for this. Lets begin.
The sound is EXCELLENT with CERTAIN types of music, and HORRIBLE for others.
OK i listened to a few songs with the Tours using an iPod Touch 8Gb and Sony W595 and Sony Vivaz and my Laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X200s). The equipment did not really make a huge difference to the sound, just that the Vivaz sucked at music and im never using them for music again.
I played the following songs on my laptop using Winamp (i just listened to them while i was doing something...time passed quickly). These are the genres i like to listen to, and i chose some different genres so people can see what Tour will do to their music.
1) Bad Romance - Lady Gaga (320kbps.)
2) Alejandro - Lady Gaga (320kbps.)
3) Gee - Girls Generation (320kbps.)
) Silent Jealous - X Japan (192kbps.) This is an old track from 1989.
5) Teardrops on my Guitar - Taylor Swift (192kbps.)
6) A Nightmare to Remember - Dream Theater (256kbps.)
7) The Count of Tuscany - Dream Theater (256kbps.)
8) Flag in the Ground - Sonata Arctica (320kbps.)
9) Fireflies - Owl City (128kbps.)
10) Bye Bye Beautiful - Nightwish (320kbps.)
11) Ellinia - Wizet (MapleStory Soundtrack) (80kbps.)- LOL yes i do have 2 albums of maplestory soundtrack 
12) Symphony No.3 in E-flat by Beethoven (160kbps.)- Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia
Summary
Right. So what did i get from all that listening? A headache? for some of the songs yes. Rock and Roll and Classical Strings were simply not for Tours. Tours completely screws up on the layering for the Rock songs. Emphasis were placed on the wrong places, and the song just sounds like a complete mess. But piano were very nice. You can feel the emotions in a good piano piece, and i was very impressed. Also Dream Theater (Progressive Metal) Drums were simply amazing on these. They reproduced them with utmost detail. i enjoyed it fully.
I also found that the combination of bass mids and treble were like this:
if the bass and treble was loud, then there will be little mid.
if the mid was loud, then the bass and treble were weak
Overall, it really depends what kind of music you listen to. If you listen to Pop, Techno, Hip-Hop, Urban etc. This is the perfect product for you. Lady Gaga, Girls Generation and Owl City had excellent playbacks using this thing, and i became quite addicted to them. But Tours, although it have great detail and clarity, cant seem to handle a song with numerous instruments, like Nightwish or Orchestrals. It just kept placing the wrong emphasizes on the wrong sections, and sounded wrong in the end. OK, it isnt BAD, but for the price your paying for, you deserve more. So im my opinion, Tours are for Pop, Techno, Hip-Hop, Urban, or Drum/Guitar solos. It just doesnt handle rock and metal. The vocals were harsh and it sometimes became a burden and unenjoyable.
So decide if you want to buy tours with your genre of music. Playing the wrong genre of music on Tours is disastrous.
P.S. Dont use while eating...you can barely hear anything like that.
PPS. When walking, the wire knocking against you when walking makes sound which is disrupting.
Beats by Dr. Dre Tour Earphones (Without Control Talk). This was bought for approx. $217 USD (bought in Hong Kong, had to convert the price). Yes I know its damn expensive, but doesn't matter, i bought them already, and everything here isnt cheap.
This review has nothing technical. I am no audiophile. It contains only what i felt about the earphones.
Aesthetics
I must say the thing that made me want to buy them is the looks. The bright red wire that never tangles (its true!), and the bright "b" on the silver aluminium background on the top. The black with red color of the earphones really do make them look attractive, especially when its shiny. You do get jealous looks on the streets with these, i guess thats a plus.
Ergonomics
The earphone itself is quite long, and sticks a long way inside your ear. It does get uncomfortable after long usage, since it goes quite far in. Theres 5 pairs of earbuds in total, and you can change them easily. Although the long tips, the earphones itself fits quite easily into your ear, and hangs there really stably. It wont fall out without a hard tug. Im pretty impressed with the fit, but it may be different for everyone.
Now on to the wire. Yes it doesnt tangle no matter what you do, unless you deliberately tie a knot in it...I was disappointed that the flat red wire was quite soft. They bend and twist easily and gives me the impression that they're really fragile. Compared to the Sony MDR-XB700 i have, their wires are a lot more rigid, and gives a higher quality impression. Also, for the Tours, where the red wire meets the jack, the plastic coat on the jack is quite hard, and this can wear off the soft wire easily, and since the wire bends easily, it often rubs against the hard plastic jack.
Sound Isolation
The sound isolation is actually pretty good with the music playing. You do notice that the sound levels reduce significantly even without music. While listening to music on the bus or on the subway, i can't hear any surrounding sound unless they're LOUD. However, to my disappointment, i noticed that electronic sounds coming from speakers (eg. the subway stop announcing thingy) gets past the noise isolation. This is a good earphone to bring around with, since usually you won't hear any outside sound (careful crossing the roads). it does come with a rugged case, and with your earphones inside it, its near impossible to damage them.
Sound
I know you guys are all waiting for this. Lets begin.
The sound is EXCELLENT with CERTAIN types of music, and HORRIBLE for others.
OK i listened to a few songs with the Tours using an iPod Touch 8Gb and Sony W595 and Sony Vivaz and my Laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad X200s). The equipment did not really make a huge difference to the sound, just that the Vivaz sucked at music and im never using them for music again.
I played the following songs on my laptop using Winamp (i just listened to them while i was doing something...time passed quickly). These are the genres i like to listen to, and i chose some different genres so people can see what Tour will do to their music.
1) Bad Romance - Lady Gaga (320kbps.)
- Quite a big echo, but the song does that itself.
- Bass is very heavy and punchy. But to my disappointment it doesnt reach low unlike my sony XB700s, its only the middle bass thumping...But the bass is clear and each note is clear.
- Bass can overwhelm the singing at times.
- When the background music comes in, it feels as if all the music is trying to cram into your ears at the same time...a bit tired listening to it...too much to handle. Not enough layers as my XB700s had
- However everything is really clear. You can hear all the singing and music clearly.
- Loud and clear singing (is this called treble?)
- Overall a good effect
- Bass is very heavy and punchy. But to my disappointment it doesnt reach low unlike my sony XB700s, its only the middle bass thumping...But the bass is clear and each note is clear.
- Bass can overwhelm the singing at times.
- When the background music comes in, it feels as if all the music is trying to cram into your ears at the same time...a bit tired listening to it...too much to handle. Not enough layers as my XB700s had
- However everything is really clear. You can hear all the singing and music clearly.
- Loud and clear singing (is this called treble?)
- Overall a good effect
- Bass is much lower than Bad Romance. Very heavy, rigid and punchy. Each note is clear. Doesnt overwhelm the singing. This is just the way i like it 
- Can hear the background music clearly.
- Singing is very clear and precise.
- You can hear everything, except the bit at the end, where the singing is much lower, and the bass covers it slightly
- Excellent overall for this song. I would never get sick of listening to this
- Can hear the background music clearly.
- Singing is very clear and precise.
- You can hear everything, except the bit at the end, where the singing is much lower, and the bass covers it slightly
- Excellent overall for this song. I would never get sick of listening to this
- Extremely low bass!!! thumping and stiff. Excellent.
- High and clear singing Bass doesnt overwhelm it at all.
- Background music is slightly overwhelmed by bass
- The music seems to be coming from the same direction though...there isnt much of a layering... Ofcourse, there is layering. you can tell the difference between the sound sources, just i dont think its enough
- Very high treble at the end. Can be heard clearly with bass.
- Overall I would never get sick of listening to this, just like alejandro
- High and clear singing Bass doesnt overwhelm it at all.
- Background music is slightly overwhelmed by bass
- The music seems to be coming from the same direction though...there isnt much of a layering... Ofcourse, there is layering. you can tell the difference between the sound sources, just i dont think its enough
- Very high treble at the end. Can be heard clearly with bass.
- Overall I would never get sick of listening to this, just like alejandro
- The piano start was extremely clear and precise, and wasnt cold and unemotional. i liked it alot.
- The drums were really really clear. you can hear everything. Guitars were clear, but covered up a bit by the drums.
- You can hear the really quiet bass guitar in the background, this surprised me considering how old this track is. However, there the guitar was too loud in the chorus, and was heavier than the lead.
- The singing is clear and doesnt get overwhelmed.
- The drums and piano duo was really good. you can easily tell them apart, and each note was very clear
- The guitar duet sounded amazing. Each note was clear without slurs
- Towards the end, the drum rolls were fast but clear. i was very impressed
- Seems like Tours do well on drums and piano
- The drums were really really clear. you can hear everything. Guitars were clear, but covered up a bit by the drums.
- You can hear the really quiet bass guitar in the background, this surprised me considering how old this track is. However, there the guitar was too loud in the chorus, and was heavier than the lead.
- The singing is clear and doesnt get overwhelmed.
- The drums and piano duo was really good. you can easily tell them apart, and each note was very clear
- The guitar duet sounded amazing. Each note was clear without slurs
- Towards the end, the drum rolls were fast but clear. i was very impressed
- Seems like Tours do well on drums and piano
- All the sound in this one is layered properly o.o
- i could distinguish all the instruments easily.
- Again, the bass was loud and easily heard. (not sure if this was intended)
- The guitar solo had a extremely slight hissing (not sure if this was due to the quality of the track). Guitars were generally very precise.
- Very very loud singing, almost tiring.
- i could distinguish all the instruments easily.
- Again, the bass was loud and easily heard. (not sure if this was intended)
- The guitar solo had a extremely slight hissing (not sure if this was due to the quality of the track). Guitars were generally very precise.
- Very very loud singing, almost tiring.
- GIANT DISAPPOINTMENT AT THE START. ok the thunder was nice deep and rumbly. then the rain came...if sounded like grains of sand tapping against a car window...wasnt like rain at all. Other headphones made the rain sound like rain...
- The drums were simply amazing. Every beat on the drums were presented with precision, however the mids were overwhelmed completely by the bass drum. Bass drums were solid and low, very impressing.
- Bass guitar overwhelms singing, but this is a problem with the original track made worse with Tour.
- Again, the drums are like competing with the voice. cramming too much into the ear. need better layering.
- I realized when more instruments are present, Tours lose its layering and screws up big time...sounds scrambled and messy.
- Once the instruments reduced, it sounds really nice and accurate.
- The emotional section in the middle - Voice sounds very emotional, guitar was loud and echoey. It was nice, but sorta cold..
- Bass was as loud as the lead and ended up sounding very messy.
- When using beats, keyboard sure goes well with drums. excellent combination.
- Extremely impressed with the double pedal. presented with detail. just like the vocals. No distortion.
- The dark vocal bit at the end was a bit overwhelmed by the bass
- The drums were simply amazing. Every beat on the drums were presented with precision, however the mids were overwhelmed completely by the bass drum. Bass drums were solid and low, very impressing.
- Bass guitar overwhelms singing, but this is a problem with the original track made worse with Tour.
- Again, the drums are like competing with the voice. cramming too much into the ear. need better layering.
- I realized when more instruments are present, Tours lose its layering and screws up big time...sounds scrambled and messy.
- Once the instruments reduced, it sounds really nice and accurate.
- The emotional section in the middle - Voice sounds very emotional, guitar was loud and echoey. It was nice, but sorta cold..
- Bass was as loud as the lead and ended up sounding very messy.
- When using beats, keyboard sure goes well with drums. excellent combination.
- Extremely impressed with the double pedal. presented with detail. just like the vocals. No distortion.
- The dark vocal bit at the end was a bit overwhelmed by the bass
- The opening was always as beautiful as it is. Emotion presented well by Tour. Each note is highly accurate.
- This time, its the mids that were extra loud and covered the highs
- The bass was very low. sounds fitting
- Each instrument can be heard clearly. More layering noticed, but still lacking compared to other brands of earphones.
- This song was surprisingly good. The guitars were a slight loud.
- Feels less overwhelming, perhaps because this song is much slower than the previous two metal songs.
- Very impressed at the ending solo and with the crazy drumming. clarity was good and it was detailed without distortion
- The final vocal was overwhelmed by the mids and bass.
- Overall this song is extremely detailed. I think its because this song is more emotional and slower compared to others, which Tour performed better.
- This time, its the mids that were extra loud and covered the highs
- The bass was very low. sounds fitting
- Each instrument can be heard clearly. More layering noticed, but still lacking compared to other brands of earphones.
- This song was surprisingly good. The guitars were a slight loud.
- Feels less overwhelming, perhaps because this song is much slower than the previous two metal songs.
- Very impressed at the ending solo and with the crazy drumming. clarity was good and it was detailed without distortion
- The final vocal was overwhelmed by the mids and bass.
- Overall this song is extremely detailed. I think its because this song is more emotional and slower compared to others, which Tour performed better.
- Surprisingly this time the bass was a lot weaker. The vocals were loud and clear.
- The bass drum is still there. its still solid, but the highs and mids are really loud in this song and covers it.
- Solo was very detailed.
- The bass drum is still there. its still solid, but the highs and mids are really loud in this song and covers it.
- Solo was very detailed.
- I found that this sounded brilliant. A pleasure to hear, and i can listen to this for days.
- The vocals were emotional and clear.
- All the background instruments can be heard without difficulties
- The bass is extremely low, deep and powerful
- Vocal and piano is very detailed.
- The vocals were emotional and clear.
- All the background instruments can be heard without difficulties
- The bass is extremely low, deep and powerful
- Vocal and piano is very detailed.
- Murderous bass. At the beginning i got bruises in my ears. Amazing.
- Through out the song, you can hear the low and powerful bass (drums and guitar)
- Mids covers the singing.
- Although the unmatchable bass and detailed presentation, the rest of it felt too much. Especially in the chorus. Nightwish is known for using a lot of instruments. And Tours seem to present that poorly. It just seems messy.
- Gets better towards the end. Becomes enjoyable as well.
- Through out the song, you can hear the low and powerful bass (drums and guitar)
- Mids covers the singing.
- Although the unmatchable bass and detailed presentation, the rest of it felt too much. Especially in the chorus. Nightwish is known for using a lot of instruments. And Tours seem to present that poorly. It just seems messy.
- Gets better towards the end. Becomes enjoyable as well.
- The beginning piano sounds very emotional and sweet. Presented with accuracy
- In the middle where the electric organ comes in...it just covers the piano where its not supposed to...
- Then the drums and bass comes in. Bass is much too loud and competes the piano for loudest sound..not good. Drums were clear and accurate. If the bass was not as overwhelming, then this would be a perfect playback.
- The next maplestory soundtrack had overwhelming bass and out of proportion music. Emphasis was placed at the wrong places. not that it matters to this..but just in case you would like to know.
- In the middle where the electric organ comes in...it just covers the piano where its not supposed to...
- Then the drums and bass comes in. Bass is much too loud and competes the piano for loudest sound..not good. Drums were clear and accurate. If the bass was not as overwhelming, then this would be a perfect playback.
- The next maplestory soundtrack had overwhelming bass and out of proportion music. Emphasis was placed at the wrong places. not that it matters to this..but just in case you would like to know.
- Cellos section were really low and deep..but sounded unlike cellos for some reason i cant describe
- The highs were very loud but clear and accurate
- Emotions were included as well as details
- Impressive overall
- The highs were very loud but clear and accurate
- Emotions were included as well as details
- Impressive overall
Right. So what did i get from all that listening? A headache? for some of the songs yes. Rock and Roll and Classical Strings were simply not for Tours. Tours completely screws up on the layering for the Rock songs. Emphasis were placed on the wrong places, and the song just sounds like a complete mess. But piano were very nice. You can feel the emotions in a good piano piece, and i was very impressed. Also Dream Theater (Progressive Metal) Drums were simply amazing on these. They reproduced them with utmost detail. i enjoyed it fully.
I also found that the combination of bass mids and treble were like this:
if the bass and treble was loud, then there will be little mid.
if the mid was loud, then the bass and treble were weak
Overall, it really depends what kind of music you listen to. If you listen to Pop, Techno, Hip-Hop, Urban etc. This is the perfect product for you. Lady Gaga, Girls Generation and Owl City had excellent playbacks using this thing, and i became quite addicted to them. But Tours, although it have great detail and clarity, cant seem to handle a song with numerous instruments, like Nightwish or Orchestrals. It just kept placing the wrong emphasizes on the wrong sections, and sounded wrong in the end. OK, it isnt BAD, but for the price your paying for, you deserve more. So im my opinion, Tours are for Pop, Techno, Hip-Hop, Urban, or Drum/Guitar solos. It just doesnt handle rock and metal. The vocals were harsh and it sometimes became a burden and unenjoyable.
So decide if you want to buy tours with your genre of music. Playing the wrong genre of music on Tours is disastrous.
P.S. Dont use while eating...you can barely hear anything like that.
PPS. When walking, the wire knocking against you when walking makes sound which is disrupting.
