[wilky61]

This is so true (for me, at least).
 
Luckily, Head-Fi is the first hit on Google if one types in "audiophile headphone reviews," which I think is how I first stumbled upon this website. I've been perusing this site (and other related sites) for less than three months, so I still remember what it was like to be new here... It was honestly pretty jarring at first because every name-brand of which I'd ever heard, minus Sennheiser/Sony, is shunned (e.g., Bose, Beats, Skullcandy, etc.), yet all of these unfamiliar companies are featured (e.g., AKG, Ultrasone, Beyerdynamic, Shure, Grado, HifiMan, Matrix, Schiit, etc.).
 
I just don't understand why there's such a divide between the audiophile niche and the mainstream audio-loving consumer public. Why can't the true audiophile brand names get the word out about themselves?
 
Quote:

I'm pro-beats because of what they accomplished. The beats have brought hundreds, if not thousands of people to Head-Fi in the last few years. The beats brought mainstream attention to our wonderful niche.

 

[purrin]

Quote:

The M50's definitely are better. I was just messing around with them and I noticed that it brings out the mids when they're positioned further back on the ear. I actually prefer the SR80's because they're open (and of course bec they sound amazing!). I only listen to closed cans when I get in the mood for some really punchy loud music. Are there any grados with the 3.5mm plug that have even more bass than the SR80's? The SR80i's look like they would have more bass due to the increased housing.
 

 
I was going to say you can wrap electrical tape around the circumference around the bowls until I realized the SR80s don't come with the bowls anymore. You can try using TTVJ Flat Pads.

 

[LittleLebowski]

I actually use the bowls. Mine came with them. They're a few years old. I also have the 414 pads for them too, which are more comfortable, but I feel they take away from the sound. I will quarter mod them one day to see how they sound.
 

 

[RokBoks]

Gonna go with glitched the solos especially sound horrible...and for 179is etc I just can't believe people could get scammed so bad... Honestly $6 in ear JVC's sound equal or better than i'll dare say the studios. The solos where the single most horrible piece of audio i've ever heard... I don't think it's as bad here in UCSD as UCLA seeing as I've seen some M50's some HD25-1 II's some skull candy aviators and lots of portapros even some PX200-ii's! Nonetheless beats of all kinds are everywhere...

 

[LittleLebowski]

I actually was expecting more bass from the beats. I thought they would be completely horrible sounding. I was surprised at the fact that there was some of the rest of the spectrum there too. The highs did seem rolled off and the mids weren't too forward, but the bass was decently emphasized. It was exaggerated but it wasn't as muddy as I'd expected. The M50's have waay more bass impact and volume. It could be because they're circumaural, they're hard to "beat" by an on ear headphone Let's beat on the beats!!!
 

 

[LittleLebowski]

Just reversed the bowls on the SR80's and they sound freaking amazing!!
 

 

[Yeahitsamuffin]

This is a funny story:
My friend came over one day with his solos around his neck, and I asked him to try out my headphones, and to close his eyes and guess how much they cost. These were the denon d2000's. He had a fiio e6 surprisingly, so I hooked it up to that and put it through my cd player (an old pioneer that cost me £400 15 years ago.) The look on his face said it all. When I asked him how much he thought they were he guessed £1000. Seriously. I then told him that they could be found new, for £40 more than his solos. Anyway, now that's one person who now knows that the beats are a rip off. If any of you guys here on head-fi have a friend who will only stand by his beats, let him try out yours, the looks on their face are priceless Together we can stop this beats plague once and for all! (yeah like that's gonna happen)

 

[Syrk]

There are a ton of those stories. Fellow head-fiers around the world are doing their part to convert beats users.

 

[jerg]

Beats are 90% personal statement about conformity to trends, and 10% listening to music. Ain't nothing wrong about that, if people value trends and norms more than being keen in the hobby of audio then let them be.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

A few days back i was asked a question by a friend: Hey! My dad is offering me 2 choices, The Beats Solo, or the Sennheiser HD800, which one should i get? The Solo's sound better right? the Sennheiser's look like ****. 
 

 still busy tying to convince him that the HD800 is better than the Beats Solo, and he is now trying to tell me that Sennheiser is bribing me and audiophiles to bash beats and reccomend Sennheisers

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

I actually was expecting more bass from the beats. I thought they would be completely horrible sounding. I was surprised at the fact that there was some of the rest of the spectrum there too. The highs did seem rolled off and the mids weren't too forward, but the bass was decently emphasized. It was exaggerated but it wasn't as muddy as I'd expected. The M50's have waay more bass impact and volume. It could be because they're circumaural, they're hard to "beat" by an on ear headphone Let's beat on the beats!!!
 

 
Like all things Monster run, the problem with Beats isn't that it's actually a bad product.  Monster, even though they're just the manufacturing partner, doesn't really make bad products, all their stuff is generally good quality.  The problem is that they're bad for the money.  They have about the same performance-per-dollar (diminishing returns) ratio as LCD-3's with an ALO cable

 
For the same money you can get something substantially superior.  For 1/4 the money they'd be excellent values.  Like Monster XP cable.  It's not that it's bad cable, it's that it's 16AWG vanilla speaker wire you can get for $.40 a foot from any other brand in a pretty pink jacket with a 4x price difference.
Quote:

This is a funny story:
My friend came over one day with his solos around his neck,

Headphones that fit around your neck without the massive velour pads choking you?  I think I read about that in a book once....

 

[purrin]

Quote:

  They have about the same performance-per-dollar (diminishing returns) ratio as LCD-3's with an ALO cable

 
You're just envious of those awesome looking garden hose LCD3 cables at The Village meet.

 

[MetaLicca]

I used to own a pair of Solo Beats HD, and I used them for around 8 months, so here are my thoughts on them; 
 
- The bass is exactly what you'd expect, loud, thumping, and definitely overpowering everything else. 
- The price was definitely too steep for the quality of the headphones
- They did fairly well for rap and electronic music, because of the heavy emphasis on bass, however, for genres like heavy metal they were awful. 
- I found them to actually be fairly durable, used them for 8 months, no real special care, shoving them in and out of a backpack for the most part. 
 
 
Personally, I don't like the Beats, but that's just my personal opinion, and really, that's what this whole debate comes down to. If you're looking for a clear, balanced, well priced headphone, then this is obviously not the one for you. If you're looking for a bassy, stylish looking headphone, then you're probably going to be willing to spend the extra cash on these. For most people, the Beats sound is exactly what they want, so I see no real reason to look down on people for using them. Listening to music is supposed to be enjoyable, and for them, the Beats make it more enjoyable. 
 
On a side note, I think that overall, the rise in popularity of the Beats has been a good thing for the headphone community, as it's proven to be a starting point into the world of high end audio for a lot of people, myself included. 

 

[eskimoo]

nice thread there named "constructive Anti Beats headphone discussion" . At least people on street think you are a rapper from few metres distances. That kind of aura really costs $$$$ money.

 

[IEMCrazy]

Quote:

 
You're just envious of those awesome looking garden hose LCD3 cables at The Village meet.

 
LOL, you got me.   I've been wondering where one buys those power cables they use at carnivals from the generator trailer to the Ferris Wheel.  You know the big black 3.5" diameter cables probably running 3 conductor 4AWG solid wires?  I'm thinking if I could mod them and attach them to some HD700's I could have better bass than Beats, nevermind that the cable diameter is bigger than the entire earcup!

 
Quote:

Personally, I don't like the Beats, but that's just my personal opinion, and really, that's what this whole debate comes down to. If you're looking for a clear, balanced, well priced headphone, then this is obviously not the one for you. If you're looking for a bassy, stylish looking headphone, then you're probably going to be willing to spend the extra cash on these. For most people, the Beats sound is exactly what they want, so I see no real reason to look down on people for using them. Listening to music is supposed to be enjoyable, and for them, the Beats make it more enjoyable. 
 
On a side note, I think that overall, the rise in popularity of the Beats has been a good thing for the headphone community, as it's proven to be a starting point into the world of high end audio for a lot of people, myself included. 

 
Justifying "Beats giving people what they want" is little different than justifying the double, triple, quadruple jumps in "flagship" headphone prices in a few years because "it gives people what they want" or the seedier cable vendors and folks that sell sorbithane feet to "improve the bass response" of SS amps because it "gives people what they want."  Nothing wrong with choosing the item based on the informed decision of knowing what you're getting and still wanting it.   But the chance to be informed to make said decision is the important part.  I doubt many people (post high-school) would willingly say "I'd like the bloated bass, fashionable headphone for 40% more money, please!" when they get the the store, once properly armed with the facts.  Some may, good on them, at least they know what they want.  Most won't. I think the common Head-Fi anti-beats flareups are mostly about people who get annoyed when watching people get hoodwinked by flashy marketing designed to make them believe they're buying something other than what they're buying.  And it works.  Lots of people still buy beats, but how many people that are looking for "the best" headphone for their price range google it, stumble into threads like this, and read up on other headphones and buy something that suits their needs better.  And that's what we're all about!

 
When I think back to the dark days of my headphile origins....long before HD6xx was a known phrase that is, and long before $500 was an acceptable price for a headphone, let alone $1000, $1500, and $2000 I could easily have believed something like Beats was king of the hill found this site and learned otherwise.  In fact that effectively happened....only instead of Beats, it was MDR-V6 and MDR-V600.  And at that time I learned of HD600.  And the rest is history