[Amorgan]

Quote:

How about the noise genre?

These talk about preferences can be particularly sensitive to discuss depending on how attached and how much like/hate one has in the particular topic of discussion, as everyone as the right to like whatever they like.
Don't think anymore chemical energy is needed having the beats bashing as the main topic already, just stating.

 
True man, my bad. 

 

[juantendo8]

People hate it (justifiably so) because it is representative of our superficial society. It is a pay $200+ buy into an image club. People convince themselves that they sound the best so that they have no feelings of guilt and remorse to complicate their lives. In that regard, the Solos are actually the best value. Since the importance of image completely overpowers the need for function (fidelity in this case), it flies against the face of any individual pursuing high-quality audio reproduction (us). It doesn't matter if you are putting two literal turds in your ear, as long as it is the image that will give you acceptance in the (not so) exclusive club.
 
I see the situation improving in the future, however. Most well-established and upcoming audio companies will probably realize that real engineering is the only hope to get a real grip on the marketplace. The longer that the Beats stay in the limelight, the less exclusive the club becomes, and the less desirable it becomes. People will start looking for other options in a confused daze. This is when we will arrive to rescue them and say "Come, I will show you the light".
 
Melodrama aside, just wait until Beats are not cool anymore. It happened to the Backstreet Boys, it will happen to these. Hopefully something good can actually fill in the gap. Allowing others to experience good audio will pay dividends, and is the best defense against audio mediocrity. If nothing else, at least headphones are taken seriously now.

 

[lebomb]

Quote:

Melodrama aside, just wait until Beats are not cool anymore. It happened to the Backstreet Boys, it will happen to these. Hopefully something good can actually fill in the gap. Allowing others to experience good audio will pay dividends, and is the best defense against audio mediocrity. If nothing else, at least headphones are taken seriously now.

 
Unless they come out with a new style for the cans, and a revised sound signature. 

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

If you dont like em, dont buy em.  Its very simple IMHO.  I dont care for BMWs, guess what Im not gonna say they are overpriced and trash them.  I just wont buy one.  I seriously dont get all the hate.  Dre just did something noone else really thought about before....cater to the average listener and add some color and clean styling to a can.  That being said, I personally would never own a pair.  They dont sound bad to me, and they do look pretty good....but sadly they are overpriced like everyone knows.  BUT!!!  They are not pieces of ****, and they never, ever tried to hoodwink the public.  They are what they are.  Just had to throw my opinion out there on this overrun subject, because alot of people in HF seem like whiney, jealous little kids when it comes to Beats.  Lots of products are overpriced.... i-anything for example.  People still buy the product. 

OKAY we wont buy them!

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

The original post really comes off as an angsty teenager. They do infact straight up lie and hoodwink their customers and many people have already came here to tell you how you're wrong.

 
And their customers wouldn't even know it.

 

[dvw]

I see lots of complaint on price, sound quality and "lying". Let me first state some of the facts. Beat is not owned by Monster. They have a marketing agreement with Monster. The company is partially owned by HTC. They paid $300M for the privilage. The 2011 revenue is $350M. Now, most people on this board do not give a sh** about these numbers. I am pointing this out to show their immense success. For a company that comes out of nowhere and achieve these numbers. It is not to be ignored.
 
Putting sound quality aside, the product's marketing strategy works beautifully. They put a half way decent driver in a good looking package and charge an "affordable" elitist price. The price is not over priced because lots of people are buying them. If they only charged $20 for them, the Beat will lose the "status symbol" status. They might actually sell less cans. This business model is actually getting lots of attention. I see a lot of manufacturers are now introducing different color and styles to their product line and charging more for crappier product.
 
Now about lies. I do not find them to be offensive. I mean no marketing person is going to go out there to tell their customer; "we're second best", "you can go buy a better can from Monoprice". I don't think their ad line is how they sell their product. It's the celebrity endorsement. What I found offensive in marketing is real lie that people are making up story for. Example, a vinyl LP demagnetizer, cable lifter. If Beat go out and say our product is made from a special magnet tha tcame from an astroid. Now that's a lie.
 
Update: Beat last year has $500M in sales and has 25% of the $2B headphone market.

 

[streetdragon]

shouldn't these be straight out lies?
"Restores data lost in MP3"
"Used in EVERY major recording studio"

 

[dvw]

Yes they are lies. And only mildly offensive. Is "3 out of 4 dentists recommend this" a lie. To me they're just funny because the claim is so stupid. BTW, their claim is illegal. Unfortunately, they don't have a large competitor to keep them honest.
 
Now here's the obscene lies.
1. A digital clock that you can plug into the wall and clean up your power source.
2. A demagnetizer for your cable, CD and even your vinyl LP
 
These are so out of bound that they're not funny. And there are people that are actually convinced. In one case I would classify them as distorting the truth. And in the other case I think they're writing science fiction.

 

[mac336]

Quote:

If you dont like em, dont buy em.  Its very simple IMHO.  I dont care for BMWs, guess what Im not gonna say they are overpriced and trash them.  

 
 
 
 
Quote:

Lots of products are overpriced.... i-anything for example.  People still buy the product.

 
 
hypocrite
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Even if apple is "overpriced", atleast they make quality products.
 
unlike the beats

 

[Saoshyant]

/facepalm

This thread has served zero constructive purpose, all it has managed to achieve is get people pissy. Yes, we all know how both sides feel, but frankly I know I'm getting tired of the blatant hostility. You all have said your side of the argument, now let it rest. If you all have this much time to post, how about aiming towards helpfulness and give suggestions, and quit putting fuel on the bloody fire. Normally I'd try to stay out of it, but tiredness has hindered my better judgement. No good will come of any further continuation of this.

 

[SIDWULF]

Quote:

I see a lot of manufacturers are now introducing different color and styles to their product line and charging more for crappier product.

 
lol...

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

If you dont like em, dont buy em.  Its very simple IMHO.  I dont care for BMWs, guess what Im not gonna say they are overpriced and trash them.  I just wont buy one.  I seriously dont get all the hate.  Dre just did something noone else really thought about before....cater to the average listener and add some color and clean styling to a can.  That being said, I personally would never own a pair.  They dont sound bad to me, and they do look pretty good....but sadly they are overpriced like everyone knows.  BUT!!!  They are not pieces of ****, and they never, ever tried to hoodwink the public.  They are what they are.  Just had to throw my opinion out there on this overrun subject, because alot of people in HF seem like whiney, jealous little kids when it comes to Beats.  Lots of products are overpriced.... i-anything for example.  People still buy the product. 

 
 
I'm afraid I must disagree.  I've heard a few models of Beats, and IMHO they are indeed pieces of s**t.  And they most definitely did deliberately tried to hoodwink the public.  Anyone who says they didn't has no knowledge of the character of Jimmy Iovine.  He simply could not care less if the headphones are good or crap, so long as he gets paid.  Likewise Dre.
 
And I don't buy your analogy.  You may not care for BMWs, and you may never buy one, but there is no denying that they are meticulously designed, well built cars.  
 
Beats, on the other hand, are, as previously mentioned, pieces of s**t.  Their problem is not just that they're overpriced.  To use an analogy like that and make it work for this situation, you could maybe substitute "pieces of s**t" for "BMW".  Then it would make more sense.

 

[Lorspeaker]

the problem lies in the earpads they finally slapped on....totally overlooked by the engineers. 

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

 
Even if apple is "overpriced", atleast they make quality products.
 
unlike the beats

 
Must...resist....urge...to....post....fail rates.....

 

[dvw]

I just looked up some data. The top 5 headphones manufacturers are Monsters, Beats, Sony, Bose and Sennheiser. The "high end" market is really a "high priced" market. The traditional high end market is targeting older people with disposable income. Today's market is targeting the young hip pop generation. There is a cool factor involved. Every single phone is endorsed by celebrity. Even Simon Cowell (Sony X) and Bob Marley had headphone deals.This is almost like the shoe business. You have Michael Jordon shoes and Shaq shoes and they're all sold for a mint. Beat started their business in 2008 and is number one now. Their business model is not about sound quality but "coolness". I think Beat will be a case study for many years to come. Just like celebrity shoes, are celebrity phones better. Probably not, just more expensive.
 
The way I see it is that it's a waste of time to bash Beat. People did not buy Beat for the sound quality they bought it for looks. For $200-$300, they think they're getting quality. But how much do average people know about quality. I see people buying fake/homage Beat on Ebay for big bucks.
 
This is actually troubling. With high margin (Beat are cheap to make) and high profit, everyone is now trying to copy Beat's business model. I'm afraid quality is going to go down and price is going to go up.
 
Here's a partial list of Marketwatch's (a business web site ) hottest selling headphone list last Christmas :
 
Sony X $300
Monster Diamond tear $300
Skullcandy customizable starts at $179
Bose Quiet Comfort $300
Sennheiser RS180 $300
House of Marley (is Bob still alive?) $160
Soul by Ludcris $200
Ferrari $350 to $500
 
Where is the HD580, my favorite phones? Why is Sennheiser not making them any more? In a couple of years we might not be able to get a decent cheap phone any more.