[jac006]

Hey everyone, I'm jac006 (like jack and then the numbers 006, not jacob like some people may think), and I'm new, as you can probably tell. Anyways, I recently bought a pair of some great cans, the sennheiser 595's. I love them, and I think the $200 I spent on them was totally worth it. I spent a lot of research on the different types of headphones and the price of what was out there and came to the conclusion that these would be best type of headphone for me. I listen to a myriad of types of music, including but no limited to, rock, alternative, classical, etc. I'm a classical pianist, so I have a decent ear, with good pitch and what not. I'm not an exact audiophile, but I like my music accurate with a good balance in the mix in sounds.

Anyways, I recently saw this new headphone people seem to be exploding over: beats by dr. dre, which are retailing at $350. My question is this: is the $150 premium actually going to make a difference? I haven't actually had the chance to listen to the beats phones but I'm wondering if someone who has or someone with a lot of experience with headphones could tell me if the price is worth it. Would it be wise to sell my 595's for the beats? Any advice/comments would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[appophylite]

A lot of what you'd be paying for in terms of the price difference is the Name Branding (Monster + Dr. Dre), and the addition of a noise cancelling circuit. I personally have not had a chance to listen to these phones yet, but from what I've read in the older Beats threads, Jude had a chance to listen to them and posted that for what they are, they have good a good sound signature. I believe the end consensus from people who heard the phones out of their own equipment was that they sound good for active noise cancelling headphones, but not good enough to justify the price tag.

 

[jac006]

So do you think my Senn's are better than the beats?

 

[iakonafuji]

I've listened to the Beats and compared to my HD600's, I can honestly say that the Beats create "noice" whereas the Senns create "music". Everything on the Senns felt so much...warmer. The layering of music and instruments was music to my ears to say the least. The beats, if you are a young adolescent who enjoys driving your car with the windows rolled down and bass "thumpin", then these are for you. The bass is downright ridiculous and just simply, overpowered compared to everything else that comes out of these headphones.

 

[takkaki]

I went to the Apple store today to replace a defected iPod. During the wait, I was strolling around the store until I came upon the Beats. Usually, I would find sub-standard Bose headphones but those new cans intrigued me. I put them on and started listening to Greenday including some other misc tracks. The first thing I noticed was the noise cancellation. It blocked about 60-70% of the ambient noise around me. The following was the bass- it was punchy but not deep nor vibrant like the Sennheisers I own. Although the mids were impressive, the highs were really lacking compared to headphones that are at least $100 cheaper. I am no audiophile but I do own a pair of HD595s so I can tell the differences between to the two cans. For the price, I believe the Beats are expensive and not worth the investment. And for the comparison between the two headphones, I believe the Sennheisers HD 595s win in terms of better audio reproduction, and warm vibrant bass. The all-around winner HD 595s ^^

 

[dclancy]

Is there a bass boost on that thing, cus I agree with what Jude had said upon his initial react, that these aren't the bass monsters everyone thought they would be. In fact they sound quite nice. Not $350 nice, but then again, who really pays MSRP on audio? Unfortunately, like Bose, you have too because they control the cost tightly.
For $100 cheaper, they'd be a nice sounding, but goofy looking, NC headphone.

 

[iiTipZ]

I grew up as a son of biggest audiophile I know to date. I think I have good ears and own/owned some quality video/audio equipment. My little brother came to my house last week excited because his girl just got him the Beats by Dre. He wanted to show them off to me. My first impression they look sexy BUT in terms for sound I tested it, hooked it up to my Beyerdynamic A1 amp and put in Christina Aguilera- I turn to you and Rush live at Rio cd (Neil Pert's solo) after listening to them I took them off and ask my bro how much was this he said "I think around $300" after he said that I did not say anything back (took of the Beats of the A1 amp and it's the same wierd sound. So I went to my bedroom and took my HD595 and I hooked them up to my A1 amp and played the same songs and made my brother listen to them..........after he was done he went back to the store and returned them. LOL
 
HD595's soundstage,clarity,and seperation was on a diff level. It pains me to even compare them.
 
Like someone said here Beats are for young people and want to show off good looking cans in pubs but not for an audiophile people that enjoys to listen to music the way the artist made em'.
 
Here is what I think:
1. Bass was over powered
2. Noise cancelation was pretty good
3. They look sexy
4. It takes battery JUST to operate (when the battery dies the headset is DEAD) to me that is a BIG no no
5. 300-350 price range? To me that is NOT worth it. If I had that money I would invest on a HD595 and a FiiO7
300-350 price range your paying for an ok noise cacelation, good anesthetic shell, the Dr. Dre name, and the Monster name.
 
This is just my opinion

 

[MadWilly]

I tried during 8 hour the Beats By Dr. Dre studio and compare them whit my HD555 (Sennheiser) And if i had a chance to go whit Beats or stay whit my Senn, I'll stay whit my senn.



(sorry for bad english tho....I'm more french but good enough to understand most of the time engish ppl )

 

[Saturn]

I currently have the HD598 and my roommate owns a pair of Beats. In my opinion, the sound quality of the Beats do not justify the $350.00~ price tag. Whenever I put on my friend's beats, the first thing I notice is the bass (coming from the HD598). Simply, the bass was just too overpowering and bloated. It was too overpowered to the point where it interfered with the lower-mids, also making them 'muddy.' Although, the upper mids on the Beats were a touch above 'decent.' 
 
Whenever I place my HD598's on and play music right after listening to the Beats, it literally feels as if thick cotton balls came out of my ears! Funny, but that's just how I felt.
 
EDIT: Just thinking about 50 Cents new audio line gives me a headache.. "Introducing the new headphone line by 50 Cent, 9999x the bass of the Beats!"

 

[streetdragon]

I do not reccomend the Beats.....
For example, the Studio Beats at MYR 1699 (USD 534.78) is really not worth the price,(same goes with any Beats) we're paying mostly for branding and name.
I had the chance to test the Senheisser 595 (about MYR 700-800 which is about 250 USD sorry i forgot) against the Studio Beats at the shop, and.... it wasn't really a fair fight. The Senn's had crisp details and a wide surround feel, the bass feels natural too but not as strong as the Beats. The Beats however has very powerful bass but unfortunately because of it the rest is muddled, the trebles are blunt and the overall feel is cheep and cloudy. So much so until my pair of Sens hd 202 (MYR 169,USD about 40) put up a good fight against it. And with EQ fine tuning, it overtook the beats in terms of depth and clarity.

Note: I do not know how the prices are there in the States but im just using home currency as a reference I hope you don't mind...

 

[Dubstep Girl]

anyone realize this thread is almost 4 years old?

 

[streetdragon]

talk about slow replies, i think hes forgotten about this thread and already decided that his hd 595's are the right choice

 

[Detex]

Looks to me like he was trolling at the time anyway...

 

[mikkelmmk93]

I guess we can call this a necro thread

 

[DubMaster]

I do realize this is an old thread but the same question still gets asked today. And also new models came out since then.
 
I usually recommend people to check out Sennheiser before they go with Beats. I own the 595's and tried most of the Beats line. Not going to lie but Beats does have some stylish colors and looks now. But if it was purely on sound quality then the Sennheisers win.
 
I recently found this article which helps with the Beats and Sennheiser debate. This article is a side by side comparison between the two brands and their model line:
http://supremeskins.com/sennheiser-vs-beats/