[The Socialist Nerd]

What really bothers me is sportsman such as England's best current striker, Harry Kane, continue to enjoy huge sponsorship deals with Beats. They have zero individuality or personality. They drive blinged up Range Rovers and Bentley (née VW) Continentals, live in mock Tudor palaces and listen to rap and R&B on der Beats.

Even when they are given headphones like those HD25 addidas editions at the Olympics they would not be seen dead donning any thing but Beats.. sad

.. Rant over, sorry.

I appreciate the feedback. We all live in the era of brand mythology and hyper-capitalism which is a world caught up in human emotions being codified by a bunch of iPhone emojis. In fact, someone else said it better than I did here:

“I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals; I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.”
― Roland Barthes, Mythologies

 

[GearMe]

No?!? I'm still here and haven't changed my name again

Great Post though one I would have been proud of. Although I I actually think the build quality of Beats is not good enough to be considered a toy. A toddler would pretty much destroy them instantly.

I think they are ideally suited as a 'my first headphone' for fashionable (edit and impressionable) teens, especially in pink for young laydeez.

A kindred spirit...for sure!

 

[Whazzzup]

detox by dre beats are fine for my drum kit.

 

[SonyFan121]

For most people, Beats headphones are seen as an accessory item, or fashion statement. Most people who own them do not care so much about sound quality and wont even know of the existence of websites such as Head-Fi. Personally, I think people sticking with a certain manufacturer/brand is a good thing. From an audiophiles perspective (someone who cares about sound quality) I chose Sony because my research and experience has led me to conclude that Sony offer by far the best value for money in any price category, not just with headphones but also amplifiers, CD/SACD/Blu-ray players and speakers.When Beats was launched around a decade ago, headphone sales went through the roof, not just for Beats but other manufacturers/brands too. Headphone popularity can be accredited to Beats, I think.

 

[hifi80sman]

For most people, Beats headphones are seen as an accessory item, or fashion statement. Most people who own them do not care so much about sound quality and wont even know of the existence of websites such as Head-Fi.

Completely agree. Those of us on this forum are not "most people", the latter of which typically only know about products available while browsing their local big box store that have the Beats and Bose displays. They obviously sell A LOT of them and they fill a fairly large niche, in fact, that niche is likely larger than the niche audience here (audiophile types).

That being said, the Studio3 does leave a bit to be desired when it comes to build, but if you take care of them, they should be OK. I picked up a pair on clearance for $104 at Target and use them for the gym and so far, so good. For $104, I'm actually satisfied. I paid $199 or somewhere around there before, but ended up returning them because I just didn't feel I was getting enough for my money. At $104, I feel good. Most headphones in the $100 range (wireless with ANC) don't compare. However, at around $200, now you're getting into Sennheiser PXC 550 and Momentum Wireless territory (they've gone down in price), so the Studio3 aren't a compelling option, unless you want to sport , Beats, yo!

If you use Spotify on iOS, the EQ in app is pretty good and you can tune it to your preference. If you're using Apple Music, it'll send you to the system EQ, which sucks...hard.

 

[vantt1]

However, at around $200, now you're getting into Sennheiser PXC 550 and Momentum Wireless territory

If only Sennheiser had designed the on/off interface properly. They're very noisy in wired mode.

[...] there is no way of turning off the active circuitry in the latter (which turns on when the headphone is unfolded), short of running the battery completely flat. Major design flaw there. Also the sales rep lied about them being made in Germany but that’s on me.

Their cable design is also kinda trash, not only are they the slightly obscure 2.5 mm kind, the locking mechanism in the Momentum means you can't use the PXC 550's cable with it!

Spoiler: Big image

 

[ubs28]

I'm not a fan of Beats. They aren't terrible for the money, but they're about as good as bose.
If you have $300 max to spend on a pair of headphones, beats would be on my list to audition.

But I have more than $300 to spend, and beats don't sound very good compared to nicer headphones. Actually I bought a pair of PRYMA for 230 around Xmas. They sound much better than anything at the apple store I've heard.

Please, don’t even compare beats to Bose. The Bose QC 35 II is one of those headphones without flaws (and that is quite rare). Even a $6000 Susvara has a scoop in the mids somewhere while the Bose has none of those issues.

The Sony WH-1000 version 3 also doesn’t have an even frequency response and it is one of the headphones where my ears touch the drivers. Also the comfort is a tier below the Bose.

Despite the Bose QC 35 II being old, it is still the best wireless headphone on the market. And alot of high-end headphones can learn alot about the Bose about creating a headphone without flaws.

Why do you think Bose feels no pressure to release their Bose QC 45?

 

[nxnje]

.

Please, don’t even compare beats to Bose. The Bose QC 35 II is one of those headphones without flaws (and that is quite rare). Even a $6000 Susvara has a scoop in the mids somewhere while the Bose has none of those issues.

The Sony WH-1000 version 3 also doesn’t have an even frequency response and it is one of the headphones where my ears touch the drivers. Also the comfort is a tier below the Bose.

Despite the Bose QC 35 II being old, it is still the best wireless headphone on the market. And alot of high-end headphones can learn alot about the Bose about creating a headphone without flaws.

Why do you think Bose feels no pressure to release their Bose QC 45?

I really hope you're joking or trolling.
Sony WH1000xm3 are way better than Bose QC35 with no doubts. The only thing bose can do well with them is battery life and ANC which is great.
You're even comparing a pair of susvara with a crappy QC35?
Are we in Amazon reviews section or on Head-fi forums?

 

[The Socialist Nerd]

.


I really hope you're joking or trolling.
Sony WH1000xm3 are way better than Bose QC35 with no doubts. The only thing bose can do well with them is battery life and ANC which is great.
You're even comparing a pair of susvara with a crappy QC35?
Are we in Amazon reviews section or on Head-fi forums?

Any chance that we can get a scientific, curvy review of both headsets? At this point this is all speculation without something to back up with purely anecdotal evidence.

 

[ubs28]

.


I really hope you're joking or trolling.
Sony WH1000xm3 are way better than Bose QC35 with no doubts. The only thing bose can do well with them is battery life and ANC which is great.
You're even comparing a pair of susvara with a crappy QC35?
Are we in Amazon reviews section or on Head-fi forums?

No they are not. The Sony’s are one of the most overhyped headphone i have heard.

It is flawed from a frequency response perspective (while the Bose has an even frequency response), cannot connect to multiple sources and switches between them like the Bose (even Beats can do it also) and it is not that great in comfort. And the biggest dealbreaker of all, my ears are touching the drivers. So the Sony is not an upgrade at all.

Did you hear the Susvara? I have compared the Susvara against headphones like the Focal Utopia and LCD-4 and there is definetly a scoop in the mids (something that the Bose gets right also).

Sony sounding better .... you need some serious EQ work to make sound somewhat respectable.

 

[ubs28]

I do really miss Tyll in times like these. I didn’t know head-fi (i am not so active anymore on this site) is also hyping up the Sony’s.

 

[nxnje]

No they are not. The Sony’s are one of the most overhyped headphone i have heard.

It is flawed from a frequency response perspective (while the Bose has an even frequency response), cannot connect to multiple sources and switches between them like the Bose (even Beats can do it also) and it is not that great in comfort. And the biggest dealbreaker of all, my ears are touching the drivers. So the Sony is not an upgrade at all.

Did you hear the Susvara? I have compared the Susvara against headphones like the Focal Utopia and LCD-4 and there is definetly a scoop in the mids (something that the Bose gets right also).

Sony sounding better .... you need some serious EQ work to make sound somewhat respectable.

Said by someone who speaks well about the sound of Bose headphones..
QC35 are bloated in the lower region and aren't capable with imaging.
My QC35 were returned to amazon twice because i thought they were defective, but they're not.
They just don't sound good, at least to me.
If we speak about comfort and ANC, yes, Bose are better. But if we speak about sound, QC35 were just average as commercial product and i do not think they can suit me.

I've been speaking about the sound while you're hanging around comfort and so on
I do know that QC35 are way more comfy and advanced even in bluetooth technology, but this doesn't mean they sound better than the WH1000, i think the Sony WH1000xm3 sound way less congested and coherent.

Anyway, that's not about hyping.
I didn't even know someone in an audio forum would have been speaking well about how a pair of Bose headphones sounds.

 

[SonyFan121]

I didn’t know head-fi (i am not so active anymore on this site) is also hyping up the Sony’s.

What Sony's are being hyped? in the time i've been a member of Head-Fi (almost half a year now) i've noticed that Sony products are amongst the least hyped.
As for comparing the Bose QC 35 to a Hifiman headphone costing several thousand dollars..well, i'm not surprised..in my opinion that say's nothing about the Bose QC35 but speaks volumes of the Hifiman headphones and their true worth.

 

[god-bluff]

I am a Sony fan but I find some of their recent efforts more misses than hits. The MDR100ap were painfully dull and undynamic not to mention unbearably hot to wear. The MDR-1AM2 were quite fatiguing to listen to with metallic highs. If the WH1000X are anything like those then it's not difficult to imagine someone preferring a pair of Bose or even dare I say ... Beats?!?!

Sony are still capable of brilliance witness my simply astonishingly good WF-1000X totally wireless earphones and quite beautifully balanced and massively underrated almost unheard (of) MDR-10RC

 

[god-bluff]

Are Beats finished. They've released nothing new for a while.

Went to London a couple of weeks ago our capital city, (best in the world but a different planet to where I live up north) and saw very few Beats... far more Sony and Bose wireless headphones.

My faith in human nature and taste partially restored