Beats Solo 2: Is the Head-Fi community willing to give these a fair chance?

[p4s2p0]

We cannot compare headphones with iems.

I don't see why not. I actually prefer the sound of IEM's to over the heads

 

[p4s2p0]

   
as regards Solo 2, i checked them yesterday in shop vs. B&O beo 2 headphones, want to tell Solo 2 surprised me pleasantly. Solo 2 offers huge element of fun to young people and bass heads, mids and trebles are slightly recessed for more accurate layering, bass is well controlled. Solo 2 are a nightmare for hardcore audiophile because they break so many rules we have... but for young people willing to have fun and listening all modern boombast music they should be good.
 

I'm almost 40 and listen to more than just modern music with my beats. Bass level preference has nothing to do with age given beats market position.
 
Rules are meant to be broken anyway when audio engineers created EQ's which most people use

 

[SparkOnShore]

I don't see why not. I actually prefer the sound of IEM's to over the heads

Because we cannot compare also apples and oranges...They are just different with different tech and different ways of audio presentation. But for sure you can prefer one over the other...I just mentioned earlier that Shure SE215 are closer to the actual presentation of speakers or live music which to me is the absolute optimal. But others may say that they prefer the analyzed-clinical-in your head presentation of some BA based iems. To each his own...

The Solo2 are also presenting a thick but also detailed sound similar to a live concert output, which I like a lot. Very good headphone indeed!

 

[SparkOnShore]

glad we agree, Shure is good name in music gear and legendary for their "old school" microphones i also used long in the past

you must start saving pennies for se846, i heard many good things about them

I don't know but to tell you the truth, as good as they may be, I cannot justify a cost higher even than the actual iPhone 6s+ from which they are gonna get the sound and which is offering me many many more than SE846 will ever offer me... It's irrational I believe... Iems and headphones should be much much cheaper and still sound very good...

 

[Gintaras]

  I'm almost 40 and listen to more than just modern music with my beats. Bass level preference has nothing to do with age given beats market position.
 
Rules are meant to be broken anyway when audio engineers created EQ's which most people use

 
agree, Solo 2 is very well implemented product compared to past attempts of Dr Dre to do smth similar.

 

[Gintaras]

I don't know but to tell you the truth, as good as they may be, I cannot justify a cost higher even than the actual iPhone 6s+ from which they are gonna get the sound and which is offering me many many more than SE846 will ever offer me... It's irrational I believe... Iems and headphones should be much much cheaper and still sound very good...

 
no problem, can see your point well

 

[stuck limo]

So I just got a pair of these for s#*t$ and giggles tonight for 80 dollars at Best Buy. I bought these to directly compare them with V-Moda XS and the M-100 arriving in the mail on Wednesday. My friend was over at my house and we A/B'd these extensively. [side note: got the white color, and they are sleeeeek. I like their finish a lot.]
 
So far, I don't think these pair well with my Geek Out V2 DAC. I compare it with my XS and the XS sounds more alive, detailed, less muffled, and exciting. The extra attention to midrange/treble in the XS really helps it shine. The Beats just sounds boring and kind of limp.
 
However, I pair the Beats with my Samsung S7 and the issue gets largely fixed. Sounds really good. The bass gets tamed a bit, the phones start working the vocals more, and it's a really nice and relaxing listen. The detail seems to jump out more from the phone.
 
For 80 bucks these DEFINITELY aren't bad, but I feel you could get a lot better for a tiny bit more on the used market. My friend bought a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50x tonight (retailing for about 100 or so on the used market, 120 on the new market) and they absolutely slaughtered the Beats. (and that was just on my phone...didn't get to try a laptop, as my friend was hogging the 50s testing them out)
 
Of course, if you're looking for portability, then the Beats or XS win (XS moreso). (Build quality --- XS beats them all)
 
Comfort wise, the Beats does beat the XS...but then again, Beats has always had great wearability as a factor.

 

[Tom22]

while i enjoyed the solo2 immensely, i can't deny comfort and form factor of the Studio 2013!
 
its pretty compact for a full size headphone and the sunflower colour looks smashing! 
 

 

[vantt1]

  while i enjoyed the solo2 immensely, i can't deny comfort and form factor of the Studio 2013!
 
its pretty compact for a full size headphone and the sunflower colour looks smashing! 
 

I didn't know there was a sunflower color, but it sure looks sharp!