Many of the biggest names in the sport now walk to the starting blocks in headphones: Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps of the United States, Sun Yang of China and Park Tae-hwan of South Korea. Perhaps the most popular brand is Beats by Dr. Dre, which is from a company created by the rap star Dr. Dre, who was born Andre Young, and the music producer and entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine. The American Cullen Jones wears a hefty pair. Sun’s Beats are a China red, though, one Chinese reporter said, he wears them only because he is copying his idol, Park.
The visibility of Beats by Dr. Dre at the London Games was no accident. The makers of the headphones created customized Union Jack headphones that were provided to many of the British Olympic athletes and provided standard models to athletes from many other teams, ensuring that viewers of everything from swimming to tennis to gymnastics would get long, repeated looks at them on television.
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Premium headphones were 3 percent of the overall market in the United States, in units, in the second quarter of 2010; they were 8 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis for the NPD Group, a market research firm.
