[thatBeatsguy]

   
Correct on all counts. Cheapest you can find them is $700, they're usually more in the $800+ area, and with the exception of one place in California there's no one in the Western hemisphere that sells them. Absolutely STELLAR headphones. I've never heard a headphone where all ends of the spectrum somehow seem to be powerful without the overall sound being "clinical". The highs are sparkly, bass is powerful, mids full, but it's all incredibly alive and vibrant. I could gush about the things for days. I haven't heard the Alphas, but I know that I had a credit card in my hand and was ready to go for HE-500s (the HE-6 was great but didn't warrant its cost) or LCD2s and decided on these instead. 
 
EDIT: I see you're in China so there's a handful of Jabens out there that have 'em. Go check them out if any of them are nearby! http://final-audio-design.com/en/shops

Yes, apparently they do, but it'd take a (bullet) train ride to get to the nearest one (Nanjing). That, and I won't be able to go there since the family has to move out, and I don't feel so well today, so I'm staying home listening to my music. Then again, knowing stores throughout China, they probably have a store account on TaoBao, which has them to your doorstep in a few days without even getting out of the house (although one will need to break a bank prior to the purchase).
 
I recall ericp10 recently purchasing a pair and said that he absolutely loves them. He also said that the positives on those headphones were basically limitless, so I guess the praise shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. Pretending I have enough cash to splurge on one of these babies, how much amplification would they need? 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  Yes, apparently they do, but it'd take a (bullet) train ride to get to the nearest one (Nanjing). That, and I won't be able to go there since the family has to move out, and I don't feel so well today, so I'm staying home listening to my music. Then again, knowing stores throughout China, they probably have a store account on TaoBao, which has them to your doorstep in a few days without even getting out of the house (although one will need to break a bank prior to the purchase).
 
I recall ericp10 recently purchasing a pair and said that he absolutely loves them. He also said that the positives on those headphones were basically limitless, so I guess the praise shouldn't come as a surprise anymore. Pretending I have enough cash to splurge on one of these babies, how much amplification would they need? 

 
LOL well I'm not saying to run out today. Just that you happen to be in one of the few places that has them handy. 
 
Need? None. These things are absurdly easy to drive. They're 8(!!!) ohms and have a 105db sensitivity rating. I use the Verza just for its DAC capabilities, although I'm on the verge of trading it for an e18 just because I don't need all the bells and whistles like a battery and bass boost. 
 
EDIT: after spending a few minutes running it straight out of the Macbook Pro... I think you can get away with no amp/DAC whatsoever if you have a decent source. I'm gonna stick with not using the Verza for a while and see what happens. 

 

[doushikunlun]

I don't hate beats, never cared about it. But seems like hating beats is the cool thing to do

 

[White Lotus]

How many other cans have multiple drivers?
 
(Not including multi BA IEMs)

 

[wink]

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Yep...I bought a little, dual-driver (40mm / 13mm), Phiaton PS320 to try the multi-driver cans and was pleasantly surprised!  They have a great form factor, nice balanced sound, leather pads, $60 on Amazon.  

ClieOS calls them [COLOR=3B3B3B]the on-ear equivalent of Etymotic [/COLOR](more below) are spot on from my perspective.  Probably not a Beats fanboy's first choice...but they compliment my Vmoda M80s very well. Easy to drive, too!

http://www.head-fi.org/products/phiaton-ps-320/reviews/3843 
[COLOR=3B3B3B]"One of the strong points of PS320 is the relatively neutral FR that extends very far to both ends, no doubt the benefit of having two drivers instead of one. Bass, though is not in abundance, is very precise and well extends to almost 20Hz. It is what I’ll like to describe as ‘quality bass’. Mid, as I have mentioned, can be just a tad too dry without EQ. While it is comparatively a weak spot in the whole sound signature, it is not really a turn down by any means. Treble pretty much goes as far as my hearing limitation at around 17.5Hz (till I can’t tell whether it is still going up or not).  It is very clean and sparkly, quite forward, bright and full of micro detail. This is by far the most linear of any headphone I have ever heard. Soundstage is decent, though nothing spectacular."[/COLOR]

[COLOR=3B3B3B]Would recommend trying the EQing he suggests..."give PS320 a little mid-bass bump. It doesn’t take much either, just EQ +2~3dB in the 250Hz region and we are cooking!"  For me, the bump was small as well but more around 500hz.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=3B3B3B]Amazing little head phone for $60[/COLOR]

they look like little eggs lol... Pleather, expensive looking eggs... Actually, they remind me of European luxury cars.

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

How many other cans have multiple drivers?

(Not including multi BA IEMs)

LOL well I'm not saying to run out today. Just that you happen to be in one of the few places that has them handy. 

Need? None. These things are absurdly easy to drive. They're 8(!!!) ohms and have a 105db sensitivity rating. I use the Verza just for its DAC capabilities, although I'm on the verge of trading it for an e18 just because I don't need all the bells and whistles like a battery and bass boost. 

EDIT: after spending a few minutes running it straight out of the Macbook Pro... I think you can get away with no amp/DAC whatsoever if you have a decent source. I'm gonna stick with not using the Verza for a while and see what happens. 

the e18 has a better dac chip anyways lol. The verza has a cheap one with higher distortion and noise when I looked it up. The totl wolfson on the e18 is better... And, lotus... TOO MANY TO COUNT! Lol. I just go on random sites, and see many many many headphones with 2 or more drivers. I know of more than 10.

 

[White Lotus]

I haven't compared the DACs, I couldn't tell if they are better or not.. I'm a huge fan of the E18, however. It, too, has a battery, and a bass boost.. I'm not sure if trading in for lesser features is an option here 

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Well... The Wolfson is better on paper at least.

 

[GeneraI]

Buying stuff based on graphs and Impressions alone. Bad idea. 

 

[iPaintCode]

The product is all about marketing and mass appeal to hip-hop/rap/bass music crowd due to the way they're tuned, very bass heavy (I'd argue you could get more bass heavy headphones for 1/4 of the cost). Bose is sort of in the same market but I'd say at least Bose's tries to innovate (they do make some of the best NC headphones). The worst offender of Beats is their quality to price ratio, it's probably one of the worst we've seen in headphone history, the markup on those are incredible.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

  The product is all about marketing and mass appeal to hip-hop/rap/bass music crowd due to the way they're tuned, very bass heavy (I'd argue you could get more bass heavy headphones for 1/4 of the cost). Bose is sort of in the same market but I'd say at least Bose's tries to innovate (they do make some of the best NC headphones). The worst offender of Beats is their quality to price ratio, it's probably one of the worst we've seen in headphone history, the markup on those are incredible.

 
 
All consumer mass marketed products are.
 
Can you tell me some of the 1/4 priced cans with similar hits?
 
Bose as a sample?
 
Have you heard the Studio 1.0 v.s. the 2.0?

 

[vantt1]

  The product is all about marketing and mass appeal to hip-hop/rap/bass music crowd due to the way they're tuned, very bass heavy (I'd argue you could get more bass heavy headphones for 1/4 of the cost). Bose is sort of in the same market but I'd say at least Bose's tries to innovate (they do make some of the best NC headphones). The worst offender of Beats is their quality to price ratio, it's probably one of the worst we've seen in headphone history, the markup on those are incredible.

Have you heard of SOL Republic's $999 headphones for cats?

 

[cb3723]

The product is all about marketing and mass appeal to hip-hop/rap/bass music crowd due to the way they're tuned, very bass heavy (I'd argue you could get more bass heavy headphones for 1/4 of the cost). Bose is sort of in the same market but I'd say at least Bose's tries to innovate (they do make some of the best NC headphones). The worst offender of Beats is their quality to price ratio, it's probably one of the worst we've seen in headphone history, the markup on those are incredible.

Beats give a lot of joy to their owners, and significantly introduced headcans as a music delivery system to many - me included.

I cut my teeth with beats headcans, which in turn led me here and onto other brands and styles of cans including "audiophile" cans.

Beats will always have a place in my headcan collection for sure.

"Yes, I believe there are things we can experience that can't be measured objectively.
How many pounds of Joy did you experience yesterday?"
(Tyll Hertsens, Feb 18th 2012)

When I buy beats, I know what I'm buying into, and this "very heavy bass" tuning you mention is relevant on early beats cans, not so much the current crop.

If beats were even a fraction of the criticism that gets thrown their way, Apple wouldn't be offering them a cent, never mind 3.2 billion USD.

 

[cb3723]

Have you heard of SOL Republic's $999 headphones for cats?

Cool, but I'm waiting for the beats catz to be released for my kitty - they cost double the SOL's but you get a much cooler cat as a result.

And we all want cool cats - right?

Cool