[FatmanSize48]

The Head-Fi community, in general, is extremely vocal in their complaints against Beats by Dre. However, most of the rest of the world has not yet seen the light, and I need your help in making a guide on how to educate the rest of the world. There are plenty of good arguments out there, but there are also many obstinate people who will not be turned by a short, one minute spiel.
I would love for people to leave their winning arguments on why people should avoid Beats. I am not trying to start a flame war, but a guide that we can use to educate our less educated peers, friends, and coworkers.

 

[Assimilator702]

The best argument I have without being brash is the price/performance ratio.
 
Kindly inform people that very high quality headphones can be obtained for less money that are capable of higher performance.
 
Possibly the only way to truly enlighten people is to allow them to hear a nice setup that costs less than the Beats.....but considerably outperforms them.
 
 

 

[TMRaven]

Just let them listen to a pair of sony XB500 and tell them they cost 50 bucks.  That's about the best you could do for an argument.  Usually they're too dense for anything else.

 

[nicholars]

I honestly dont think people who own beats really care....
 
They buy them as a fashion statement and to them that is as/more important as the sound
 
Imo they look ***** and I wouldnt buy them under any circumstances but some people think they are cool because they have been well marketed to appeal to "sheeple" lol.

 

[syNRG]

one of my friends owned a pair of sennheiser headphones (not sure of the model) and said that beats were far better. i couldn't believe it. any pair of sennheiser headphones can outperform beats, so i don't know what you can do. the best you can do is to really take them to a live performance and maybe buy the CD, and listen to it through the two. without a true basis to base an arguement on, people will keep believeing beats are the way to go. THat's the best way i can think of. 
it's like comparing TVs, look outisde at the nature you see, then compare the two. otherwise you will probs think the one with higher saturation looked better, but it doesn't have accurate colour reproduction

 

[nikp]

Quote:

one of my friends owned a pair of sennheiser headphones (not sure of the model) and said that beats were far better. i couldn't believe it. any pair of sennheiser headphones can outperform beats, so i don't know what you can do. the best you can do is to really take them to a live performance and maybe buy the CD, and listen to it through the two. without a true basis to base an arguement on, people will keep believeing beats are the way to go. THat's the best way i can think of. 
it's like comparing TVs, look outisde at the nature you see, then compare the two. otherwise you will probs think the one with higher saturation looked better, but it doesn't have accurate colour reproduction

 
Beats Pro is not bad at all! I'd say they're worth $180. I can see it beating some Sennheisers easily. Beats is just overpriced, that's all. There's in fact a lot of high end headphones that I thought was overpriced. Beats users value the design greatly while high end can users chase that little bit of improvement no matter the cost [Law of diminishing returns]. 
 
The thing I don't like beats users is that they boast that what they have is the absolute best (because the ad says so). I just said "well do your research, there's plenty of higher end and much more expensive cans out there." There's no point in debating which one's better because sound is subjective.

 

[nicholars]

mmmm IMO the lower end sennheisers arent that great...

 

[Lakson]

The visual design of the Beats and believing the add is one thing, but many people actually think that what they hear on those cans is good.
Strong, but not precise bass, flooding the rest of the sonic band and high volume level - because, as we all know it, those days what plays loud must be good.

When someone could show a decent pair of cans to a owner of Beats, he would probably not like it, not used to a flat frequency response and totally different approach to making music. (of course if we are speaking about one decent, neutral can).
For me personally it's no use in forcing somebody into different headphones. If the person chooses  Beats over some good AKG, Senns, or any other well regarded hifi brand that's their choice, their ears. If they prefer to believe Dr. Dre than someone that actually knows a thing about headphones, fine by me, i wish them luck!
 
Ps. Hello fellow headfiers, and forgive me the language mistakes.

 

[nicholars]

When I was about 15 I used to have a Sony 600w PMPO integrated hifi with massive speakers and I thought it was great.... As I have got older my taste in sound has matured and I have had mordaunt short speakers then PSB speakers then B&W speakers and now dynaudio speakers lol... So when you are you are young and new to it stuff like that seems good until your hear something better, if you dont have a reference point or know what to listen for then they might sound good to you.

 

[derbigpr]

Quote:

mmmm IMO the lower end sennheisers arent that great...

Thats why they are cheap.

 

[poikkeus]

 
 
Quote:

I honestly dont think people who own beats really care....
 
They buy them as a fashion statement and to them that is as/more important as the sound

Sad, but true. 

 
For many Dr Dre users, it's about making a statement, and few potential listeners have much experience with competing headphones (except their parents'). My reflex reaction is: let them waste their money. Considerable marketing muscle goes into Dr Dre, and there's no way for members of a audiophile forum to wise other users up. 

 

[nicholars]

It is a bit sad really... Who would a) buy headphones as a fasion statement b) want the same as everyone else c) put image over sound quality... I think it is a bit sad and says quite a lot about the people wearing them lol

 

[Koolpep]

Thats why they are cheap.

Hahaha, LOL

Indeed, if the lower priced ones were brilliant, how would you sell the expensive stuff?

Anyhow, I love my HD598 and also the HD448 (you can get this can for $60 and that's cheap).

If always recommend Ultrasone Pro750 or the Hifi range to potential beats customers. build quality and sound are far superior to the beats, for the same price.

Cheers,
K

 

[forsberg]

It's always the new members on head-fi who care so much about what other people do with their money.

 

[Magick Man]

I honestly dont think people who own beats really care....

They buy them as a fashion statement and to them that is as/more important as the sound

Imo they look ***** and I wouldnt buy them under any circumstances but some people think they are cool because they have been well marketed to appeal to "sheeple" lol.

This. 90% of them are wearing them as bling and they don't care how they sound, this is evidenced by the way they wear them OVER a hood or bandanna. They want their cans to be seen and not necessarily heard. I just shake my head when I see them, and think "there goes another tone deaf sucker who cares too much about what other people may think".