Rumor says that the SMS sounds pretty decent.
I've had an idea on the value of Beats headphones come up in my head today, and here's how it goes.
Image music as an uncooked chicken, and your headphones as the method of cooking and flavorings added. You can go to the best chef there is, and he can talk to you all day about how the 'natural' taste of chicken is the best, and that the only way to enjoy chicken is for the small flavors of the unaltered chicken to come out. Most consumers today aren't nearly as educated on music as cooks are to culinary arts. Your uncle can BBQ it to his preference, and you may think that it tastes amazing. Of course, the professional chef can rant on about how that's not how the chicken is supposed to taste, and that he's masking the true details of chicken by adding "colored" flavors. Beats are the coloring and spices, they are not true to the original file but the sound is quite attractive to most.
Of course, there's other headphones with a bass boost like Beats, and of course, everyone on Head-Fi knows how much better they are. But say the Beats are like Tyson chicken, the king of poultry that you see everywhere, it's a familiar sight. When you enter a store, would you buy the small-brand chicken that you know nothing about? The wrappings on it seems a lot less attractive, and the employees would be constantly pushing you towards the Tyson. What normal person would skip on the main brand, go home, and do real research regarding the other brand that he knew nothing about?
My point is, you really can't hate on Beats. People love free marketing, and Beats definitely have the upper hand there, blame Senn. for the lack of attractiveness.
