[lilkoolaidman]

Quote:

dont forget the sms by 50 cent.
 

Oh my. At least they look good, in my opinion. The Soul's headband reminded me of an old quilt. They all look plastic fantastic of course. And the wireless "Sync" have 16 bit lossless sound!

 

[SolomonPierce]

Quote:

I think Sennheiser had the right idea with the Adidas HD-25s, HD220s, and CX 310s. I think if they got more stores like Best Buy to carry them, offer display kiosks (if that's the right term) to retailers, and marketed them rigorously, they would have worked out better.
 
And let me get this straight, Audioquest and Monster made the beats? And now they're splitting up? Personally, I hope it hurts the beats line, because I'm sick of seeing celebrity endorsed headphones. The Soul line by Ludacris is what really made me facepalm. I haven't heard them, but what a cheap rip-off of an already bad line of headphones. Personally, I would love to see Monster make some high-end full-sized headphones, because the Turbines let us know that they have that ability.

I agree that they did have the right idea.  My friend went out and bought a pair of the Adidas buds after hearing my 598s haha.  I was really surprised because he's not much of an audiophile by any means of the word.  He just went Sennheiser because he liked mine and Adidas because he's active I guess.  I didn't coax him or anything, something has to be working right there.  I agree they need more marketing especially in the US.  No one here knows quality brands of cans unless they actually seek them out.  They really need to become more household names, plenty of people love music.  Why not listen to it in the best way possible but still cheaper than speaker systems.
 
On a side note I love to see German companies working together.  Germany has plenty of reason to be proud, it's a shame they still feel the need to stay restrained in their patriotism because of WWII.  No one seems to remember that the Japanese were far more brutal to the Ally soldiers, you see Japanese brands everywhere, many German as well but not nearly as many.  I support them whenever I can because it's time to move on.  I just wish they would manufacture more (electronics / cars especially) in Germany.
 

 

[pauk]

Well Germany does have a big export in cars and electronics just not in the USA i guess. 
here i nthe netherlands i think the majority of my school wears sennheiser products (202 and those cheap earbuds) and opel, mercedes and volkswagen (audi minority) are big here aswell.sadly beats began to grow this year

 

[hipjazzop]

Should Germans manufacture more cars? Am I missing something? Volkswagen, BMW, Audi, Mercedez, Porsche, Opel... and the list goes on.
Quote:

I agree that they did have the right idea.  My friend went out and bought a pair of the Adidas buds after hearing my 598s haha.  I was really surprised because he's not much of an audiophile by any means of the word.  He just went Sennheiser because he liked mine and Adidas because he's active I guess.  I didn't coax him or anything, something has to be working right there.  I agree they need more marketing especially in the US.  No one here knows quality brands of cans unless they actually seek them out.  They really need to become more household names, plenty of people love music.  Why not listen to it in the best way possible but still cheaper than speaker systems.
 
On a side note I love to see German companies working together.  Germany has plenty of reason to be proud, it's a shame they still feel the need to stay restrained in their patriotism because of WWII.  No one seems to remember that the Japanese were far more brutal to the Ally soldiers, you see Japanese brands everywhere, many German as well but not nearly as many.  I support them whenever I can because it's time to move on.  I just wish they would manufacture more (electronics / cars especially) in Germany.
 

 

 

[Ultrazino]

 
Quote:

"He’s not particularly worried about the competition from other high-end headphone makers, such as Philips Electronics and Bose"
 
Do people really think those are "high-end" headphone makers? I knew that the high-end headphone market was relatively obscure, but not this bad.

 
1. He should be worried. He really should.
 
2. Philips is now officially high end. The Fidelio L1 is a dream come true to me and it is the best sounding headphone I have heard yet. Yes, I have heard headphones with higher resolution, but they all had some flaws the Philips doesn't have.
Don't be fooled by the price tag!
 
You can argue that HD598/HD650 are better, but I don't dig the focus on warm mids (plus, both open and not portable).
Maybe you prefer K701 (but I consider it a tool because I surely can't enjoy music through that lifeless thing).
If you need more bass, consider PRO 900 (but the artificial sound is no challenge for the well-balanced Philips).
I haven't heard the Z1000, but so far I've found two comparisons that say the two are very similar with L1 being the clear winner. (Philips costs half price)
If you like Denon, do yourself a favor and try the Philips and ask yourself why the Japanese product is sold for that price.
You might prefer Grado if Rock is all you listen to, but you better have no Electronica on your playlist.
DT 770 is simply owned by the L1 in every aspect, but I will need to compare it with DT 880 some time.
 
Anyway, just saying. Watch out for Philips. They are serious and I will be very surprised if the L1 won't be recommended in at least every fourth thread in one year from now on. It is our best hope to crush the really crappy Beats brand.

 

[DaftZomb]

Time for the Ludacris headphones to take over. I've actually heard those aren't too bad at least.

 

[clem24]

The bit about Bose and Phillips in the article is the musings of an ignorant reporter. Happens all the time. I'd take it with a grain of salt.
 
As for the Beats, don't be so quick to judge. They are *not* bad headphones. Overpriced, yes, but crap, NO. If you haven't heard or owned them before, then please do not bash them.
 
I hate most of Monster with a passion: they do have their share of really good products but most of it is absolute junk and all of it is overpriced if not severely discounted. But Beats and Monster did do a very positive thing for the headphone industry as a whole, IMHO. They brought mainstream people into high end audio gear (yes you may argue Beats are hardly high end). It also shows that with proper marketing, people *are* in fact willing to plunk down $300 on a pair of headphones, and no matter how you look at it, that's a huge plus for the high end headphone industry as a whole.
 
There's quite a bit of hypocrisy on head-fi when many of us are willing to plunk down $300 for a re-cable (and resulting subtle differences), yet scoff at the notion of spending $300 on a pair of Beats. Yes they're a little recessed in the mid range but they are a very fun pair of cans to listen to and the built in amplification should be implemented in more cans.

 

[christophrowley]

Quote:

The bit about Bose and Phillips in the article is the musings of an ignorant reporter. Happens all the time. I'd take it with a grain of salt.
 
As for the Beats, don't be so quick to judge. They are *not* bad headphones. Overpriced, yes, but crap, NO. If you haven't heard or owned them before, then please do not bash them.
 
I hate most of Monster with a passion: they do have their share of really good products but most of it is absolute junk and all of it is overpriced if not severely discounted. But Beats and Monster did do a very positive thing for the headphone industry as a whole, IMHO. They brought mainstream people into high end audio gear (yes you may argue Beats are hardly high end). It also shows that with proper marketing, people *are* in fact willing to plunk down $300 on a pair of headphones, and no matter how you look at it, that's a huge plus for the high end headphone industry as a whole.
 
There's quite a bit of hypocrisy on head-fi when many of us are willing to plunk down $300 for a re-cable (and resulting subtle differences), yet scoff at the notion of spending $300 on a pair of Beats. Yes they're a little recessed in the mid range but they are a very fun pair of cans to listen to and the built in amplification should be implemented in more cans.

I'll agree with you in that they did bring a significant number of people into a market for more expensive headphones. That is a good thing, yes, but what frustrates me is that their marketing assures purchasers that what they're buying is a "studio" or "professional" headphone when they're nothing of the sort. Monster has convinced a worrying number of people who don't know any better that the bass heavy sound signature produced by the Beats is normal and that anything less is a sign of a bad headphone. That doesn't do any favours for a lot of headphones head-fi consistently recommends. 
 

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

I wonder how this will impact Jimmy Iovine's presence on American Idol.  Given how X Factor plastered the XB-500 all over their show, I was fully expecting to see a pair of Beats wrapped around the neck of half of the contestants on AI this year. 

 

[lilkoolaidman]

Quote:

I wonder how this will impact Jimmy Iovine's presence on American Idol.  Given how X Factor plastered the XB-500 all over their show, I was fully expecting to see a pair of Beats wrapped around the neck of half of the contestants on AI this year. 

Huh, really? Not even the XB700 or 1000s? Those would be more reference than the 500s at least.

 

[driver 8]

Quote:

It is our best hope to crush the really crappy Beats brand.

Hood rich teenagers don't buy open-back headphones.

 

[scottie584]

Quote:

I'll agree with you in that they did bring a significant number of people into a market for more expensive headphones. That is a good thing, yes, but what frustrates me is that their marketing assures purchasers that what they're buying is a "studio" or "professional" headphone when they're nothing of the sort. Monster has convinced a worrying number of people who don't know any better that the bass heavy sound signature produced by the Beats is normal and that anything less is a sign of a bad headphone. That doesn't do any favours for a lot of headphones head-fi consistently recommends. 
 

I don't think Beats have been good to audiophilia in my opinion. People pay $200 for the Solos, being told it's super fantastic and one of the best, and they get, well, Solos. Now imagine if that was your standard for $200 headphones, having not heard any others at that price point. And so they think that $200 headphones are poor, and they stick to their $10 earbuds thinking they sound almost as good for a fraction of the price. Of course, I'm a pessimist so take that with a pinch of salt.

 

[Enter Darkness]

Quote:

I don't think Beats have been good to audiophilia in my opinion. People pay $200 for the Solos, being told it's super fantastic and one of the best, and they get, well, Solos. Now imagine if that was your standard for $200 headphones, having not heard any others at that price point. And so they think that $200 headphones are poor, and they stick to their $10 earbuds thinking they sound almost as good for a fraction of the price. Of course, I'm a pessimist so take that with a pinch of salt.

Beats advertising got me here.

 

[hipjazzop]

Quote:

Beats advertising got me here.

Same here. Without that advertising I would never have tried 350$ headphones. Now, thanks to them (because of them maybe) I'm spending even more money because I want quality music. I currently have the HD650 that I just bought a week ago. 

 

[LithoJazoSphere]

Quote:

Huh, really? Not even the XB700 or 1000s? Those would be more reference than the 500s at least.

Well, I suppose the ability to hang around contestants' necks while they're performing was a consideration, and the XB700s and XB1000s are just too big for that.  It's definitely a little perplexing for contestants who need to hear vocals up front and center that they'd even go with the XB-series.  But I suppose the fact that they pound out the beat for genres like hip-hop and R&B and go head-to-head with the Beats and such was a stronger consideration.