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Well if there is a better choice, at a similar price - tell me.
I really like good quality sound - and want to know why people are beats bashing...... - if there are bad things about them, tell me before I splash out!
I had the same Beats by Dre Solo HDs that you're looking into at the start of August. I gave them a 14 day demo (sort of speak) with over 80 hours of experience. Long story short, I ended up returning these to BB. These headphones have a pathetic soundstage, cut a lot of frequencies out of music, and sounded as if I was listening my music through a bad filter. About 33% of the time, I preferred my six year old Creative Fatal1ty phones over the Beats with certain Hip Hop/Rap/Electro songs. Even with the intense head shaking bass, a lot of dubstep songs didn't sound that great due to the frequencies being ignored in the high range. A few bass heavy hip hop and electro songs sounded like complete crap with the Solo HDs. I also found out that with bass booster activated in iTunes, the Creatives had a similar muddy, head wrenching bass as the Solos, but had better soundstage and clarity than the Beats. To make it sad, the Creatives were $50 at the time... nowadays you can probably find them around $20.
Before I bought another pair of headphones, I demoed the HD25-1 ii, M50, and DT 770 Pro. The soundstage was massive with the HD25s compared to the Beats. For those of you who know about these Senns, that's saying a lot. The mids and highs were outstanding as well. But I couldn't really spot the bass unfortunately. I blame my ears being used to the Beats. When I played songs like Bass I Love You by Basstronics, Spaceship Remix by Benny Benassi, Litermeter by Flying Lotus, and Grove St. Party by Waka Flocka Flame, I just couldn't hear the bass much with the HD25s... granted that none of the demoed headphones were no where near burned in yet.
The M50s sounded very similar to the HD25s. However, it had a much wider soundstage and more bass present than the Senns. Overall, I would say that the HD25-1 ii would be a nicer choice than the M50s. I tested the same songs on these and noticed the same "bass issues." I guess I'm a bass head lol. I didn't really spot the mids being recessed a lot, but again, probably because my ears being so used to the Beats sound signature. A main concern with the M50s was that the jack would not fit on my iPhone with the clear Belkin case. That would be a problem if I ever want to take them on the go.
The last pair I heard was the DT 770 Pro 80. Although I was originally looking for a portable headphone to replace the Solos, these blew my mind. The soundstage is probably one of the largest for a closed can. These had everything that I was looking for. The bass was phenomenal... this is what bass should sound like. For bass heavy songs, the bass really shows. I can agree that the mids are recessed a bit, but the overall clarity, imo, is awesome, especially when your comparing these to the Beats. All the frequencies are there and can be used with any music genre. I ended up taking these home and I currently use the Creatives as my portables.
I hope that helped a little in your search. There are so many options for the same price that are better than the Beats. I know a lot of people don't have much first hand experience with the Solo HDs, but these accounts are all first hand experience. I also demoed the Skullcandy Aviators at BB when I returned the Beats. They were alright compared to the other three that I demoed, but better than the Beats when you take into account clarity and soundstage. But I don't think I'll pitch out $130 or w/e they cost for them.
