[MICHAELSD]

Better yet. That’s even more premium by Apple standards. Wonder if they’ll bring stainless steel to the Solo series this year. If I’m being honest the Solo3 is my favorite overall headphone. It’s an excellent package. Other headphones I’ve tried do certain things better, but wireless that doesn’t sound compressed in the slightest is a huge achievement especially when the drivers are this high quality.

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

They've gotten better with each revision, but my biggest problem is the overall pricing vs styling/materials. Marketing is everything with these...they're literally the iPOD Nano of this decade where evybody has to have one and everybody has a loud color of their own. The marketing team behind Beats is very, very smart with what they've done.

But personally, there are just way too many options out there to bother with over Beats. The Studios don't hold a candle to other options which range in cheaper price ranges, and the Solo 3s just don't present a good value compared to the competition despite being alright. As for the EPs...well, I just recommended Fidelio M1 MKIIs for $50 to a student whom I teach...metal and leather construction with a much better sound profile for how much less? Now all my 9th graders want Fidelios...follow the leader; they all like how they fold flat.

Also...I don't like Beats as an all arounder. I really think they sound kind of bad with rock/metal/alt/indie/etc. They have a recessed presentation in frequencies that meed to be accentuated for these styles of music, and overall they can come across as being sluggish a lot of the time.

 

[vantt1]

Better yet. That’s even more premium by Apple standards. Wonder if they’ll bring stainless steel to the Solo series this year. If I’m being honest the Solo3 is my favorite overall headphone. It’s an excellent package. Other headphones I’ve tried do certain things better, but wireless that doesn’t sound compressed in the slightest is a huge achievement especially when the drivers are this high quality.

The sizers and hinges in the Solo2/3 are already stainless steel. What I'd like to see is an Apple-era Beats Pro. That'll be something.

When the Solo Wireless first came out I was surprised they were able to fit a battery and logic board in the same form factor as the wired version's, while maintaining nearly identical sound signatures. The Wireless versions do have additional acoustic vents behind the earcups, which might've helped.

 

[MICHAELSD]

You can definitely find better over-ears than the Studio, but Solo3 happens to be an excellent all-around headphone that also comes in a variety of colors. It’s the perfect consumer headphone IMO. Audiophiles can be snobby towards it but performance from imaging to distortion to naturalness of the sound that follows Harman curve quite decently to wireless that absolutely destroys the competition.

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

The sizers and hinges in the Solo2/3 are already stainless steel. What I'd like to see is an Apple-era Beats Pro. That'll be something.

When the Solo Wireless first came out I was surprised they were able to fit a battery and logic board in the same form factor as the wired version's, while maintaining nearly identical sound signatures. The Wireless versions do have additional acoustic vents behind the earcups, which might've helped.

They can literally be as good or mediocre as corporate headquarters wants them to be...they have so much money and so many resources at their hands that the sky is the limit. This is the other thing that gets me, as what we comment on as "improved and much better" could be full on great for just a tad bit more $$$ being fed into R&D. Just saying...but when you can get a winner for $15 in the Koss KSC75, amd a champ in the SHP9500 for $55, then what in the world could Beats do if they truly cared enough to make it happen? Scary thought...

 

[MICHAELSD]

Beats needs to continue taking that marketing money and investing in R&D for best-in-class sound that also has a linear bass boost. Then they can market headphones they’re proud of that are actually worth the cost of marketing. Solo3 - best-in-class. BeatsX I didn’t love as somebody who doesn’t like IEMs but at its sale price of $99 I’ve heard some flattering comparisons. It has a neutral sound and W1 so it’s not bad at $99.

They could release some truly wireless IEM’s this year and they could be formidable since they’d have the same technology as the AirPods. I just hope they create another excellent headphone like the Solo3. Studio3 was but not best-in-class. If Beats gets lazy like they did with the Studio3 then they’ll undo the expectations newer Beats headphones are setting.

 

[MICHAELSD]

They can literally be as good or mediocre as corporate headquarters wants them to be...they have so much money and so many resources at their hands that the sky is the limit. This is the other thing that gets me, as what we comment on as "improved and much better" could be full on great for just a tad bit more $$$ being fed into R&D. Just saying...but when you can get a winner for $15 in the Koss KSC75, amd a champ in the SHP9500 for $55, then what in the world could Beats do if they truly cared enough to make it happen? Scary thought...

We can’t hold Beats to offering excellent headphones at bargain bin prices like the examples you mentioned. No matter what you’ll pay more for the brand, but I think in some cases they do justify it plus they do run sales regularly that discount the products as much as 50% off MSRP.

Beats did take $$$ into R&D with the Solo2/3 and release a headphone that’s best-in-class in multiple ways. I also assume the Beats EP is very good for the price. I hope they do it again since as you said they are capable of releasing some of the best headphones on the market with the team and money they have behind them.

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

We can’t hold Beats to offering excellent headphones at bargain bin prices like the examples you mentioned. No matter what you’ll pay more for the brand, but I think in some cases they do justify it plus they do run sales regularly that discount the products as much as 50% off MSRP.

Beats did take $$$ into R&D with the Solo2/3 and release a headphone that’s best-in-class in multiple ways. I also assume the Beats EP is very good for the price. I hope they do it again since as you said they are capable of releasing some of the best headphones on the market with the team and money they have behind them.

I'm just going to stick with my iPOD Nano remark...companies like Cowon/iAudio made better and cheaper alternatives, but everybody had to have an iPOD Nano. They were pretty, colorful, and marketed briliantly...did they sound the best? No. Did they sound bad? No. But could you do better if you looked outside of Wal-Mart and Best Buy for a music player...yeah

...but if you wanted an iPOD, you had to have an iPOD. Marketing brilliance at it's finest in the new Millennium going unmatched. But will Beats care to pioneer headphones the way that Apple once did with their older products is the question.

 

[vantt1]

They've gotten better with each revision, but my biggest problem is the overall pricing vs styling/materials. Marketing is everything with these...they're literally the iPOD Nano of this decade where evybody has to have one and everybody has a loud color of their own. The marketing team behind Beats is very, very smart with what they've done.

But personally, there are just way too many options out there to bother with over Beats. The Studios don't hold a candle to other options which range in cheaper price ranges, and the Solo 3s just don't present a good value compared to the competition despite being alright. As for the EPs...well, I just recommended Fidelio M1 MKIIs for $50 to a student whom I teach...metal and leather construction with a much better sound profile for how much less? Now all my 9th graders want Fidelios...follow the leader; they all like how they fold flat.

Also...I don't like Beats as an all arounder. I really think they sound kind of bad with rock/metal/alt/indie/etc. They have a recessed presentation in frequencies that meed to be accentuated for these styles of music, and overall they can come across as being sluggish a lot of the time.

You can definitely find better over-ears than the Studio, but Solo3 happens to be an excellent all-around headphone that also comes in a variety of colors. It’s the perfect consumer headphone IMO. Audiophiles can be snobby towards it but performance from imaging to distortion to naturalness of the sound tht follows Harman curve quite decently to wireless that absolutely destroys the competition.

It goes without saying obviously that fashion is a big part of the Beats brand (not that I am fashionable myself, my fashion sense is as good as any audiophile), and plastic is the perfect material for uninterrupted glossy, matte or metallic color all the way around the headphone.

The Beats' slight bias towards the low end but sufficient detail otherwise is perfect for the degenerate music I listen to

 

[MICHAELSD]

You won’t find a wireless headphone, period, with better imaging or total harmonic distortion than the Solo3. Some may try to discredit the measurements but I can definitely hear this in practice. Raw FR is up there as well.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/beats/solo3-wireless

If it were the case that the Solo3 weren't so great and were just fashion items, I wouldn’t have kept them. But the fact I get excellent headphones in addition to a design and branding everyone wants is just icing on the cake and makes me love them that much more.

 

[SuperNovaGoesPop]

Wireless needs to be the arena that they push forward with...as long as they update with new forms of bluetooth and codecs like APTX HD, etc on a regular basis, then they should be able to "be the best". They have the money and the resources to be ahead of the game and really try to beat the competition out of the gate for major updates. They need to truly make "the wireless headphone that sounds as good as a wired headphone" and legit make it happen. Other companies by comparison make a nice wireless headphone which to me sounds better and competes in the moment, but then they drop off/discontinue further development without further revisions or updates...leaving a nice headphone line out of date and dead in the water.

I'm way more of a wired listener and would rather connect with a bluetooth dac/amp vs buy an actual wireless headphone.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Wireless needs to be the arena that they push forward with...as long as they update with new forms of bluetooth and codecs like APTX HD, etc on a regular basis, then they should be able to "be the best". They have the money and the resources to be ahead of the game and really try to beat the competition out of the gate for major updates. They need to truly make "the wireless headphone that sounds as good as a wired headphone" and legit make it happen. Other companies by comparison make a nice wireless headphone which to me sounds better and competes in the moment, but then they drop off/discontinue further development without further revisions or updates.

I'm way more of a wired listener and would rather connect with a bluetooth dac/amp vs buy an actual wired headphone.

They’ll do whatever makes them sound best with Apple devices. AAC just happens to be a flawless (not lossless) Bluetooth codec that makes Apple Music and iTunes sound as good as wired.

Personally I like wireless headphones because manufacturers can cherry-pick the DAC/amp that goes into them.

 

[vantt1]

Beats needs to continue taking that marketing money and investing in R&D for best-in-class sound that also has a linear bass boost. Then they can market headphones they’re proud of that are actually worth the cost of marketing. Solo3 - best-in-class. BeatsX I didn’t love as somebody who doesn’t like IEMs but at its sale price of $99 I’ve heard some flattering comparisons. It has a neutral sound and W1 so it’s not bad at $99.

They could release some truly wireless IEM’s this year and they could be formidable since they’d have the same technology as the AirPods. I just hope they create another excellent headphone like the Solo3. Studio3 was but not best-in-class. If Beats gets lazy like they did with the Studio3 then they’ll undo the expectations newer Beats headphones are setting.

That W1 chip is underrated in the context of Bluetooth headphones. It greatly simplifies the pairing process (if you're in the Apple ecosystem), has excellent connection range and stability as well as crazy long battery life (40 hours of wireless listening on the Solo3. What!!?). One other thing I learned the other day is that the battery reading is much more accurate too with the W1 chip, to 1%. Usually Bluetooth headphones only report the battery accurate to 10% (even then, it's not accurate).

I'm just going to stick with my iPOD Nano remark...companies like Cowon/iAudio made better and cheaper alternatives, but everybody had to have an iPOD Nano. They were pretty, colorful, and marketed briliantly...did they sound the best? No. Did they sound bad? No. But could you do better if you looked outside of Wal-Mart and Best Buy for a music player...yeah

...but if you wanted an iPOD, you had to have an iPOD. Marketing brilliance at it's finest in the new Millennium going unmatched. But will Beats care to pioneer headphones the way that Apple once did with their older products is the question.

Don't forget the fun factor. That click wheel is fun.

---

Better yet. That’s even more premium by Apple standards. Wonder if they’ll bring stainless steel to the Solo series this year. If I’m being honest the Solo3 is my favorite overall headphone. It’s an excellent package. Other headphones I’ve tried do certain things better, but wireless that doesn’t sound compressed in the slightest is a huge achievement especially when the drivers are this high quality.

I know next to nothing about driver acoustics, but this looks like dedication to sound quality.



Most consumer headphone speaker drivers don't have a vent in the middle like that. It's definitely a departure from Beats' post-Monster pre-Apple days

 

[lostinthesauce]

Some of the "Beats Hate" is on full display and people don't even realise it. For all the dyed in the wool Beats lovers, you do know that some of it is just winding you up (i.e. taking the piss)?

For me no headphone is perfect. Luckily I have enough disposable income to own what suits me and not have to try and justify my purchase to complete strangers.

Let me preface this by saying that Audio Technica's house sound suits me just fine. For portables I use the ESW-990h when I want to listen to strings or other such music and look super stylish with beautiful wooden cups whilst doing it. If I know that I'll want to have some headbanging good fun out and about the W1100 fulfill the bass itch and are still not muddy. A noisy environment that precludes a low end has me dragging along the ES88 for their awesome mid and polite highs as they can take a lot of power and are seemingly indestructible.

Don't like my choices? That's OK; don't buy them. Everyone having their preferences and buying from different manufacturers pumps money into the overall market causing the manufacturers to invest in new designs and technology that makes all headphones better.

 

[MICHAELSD]

That W1 chip is underrated in the context of Bluetooth headphones. It greatly simplifies the pairing process (if you're in the Apple ecosystem), has excellent connection range and stability as well as crazy long battery life (40 hours of wireless listening on the Solo3. What!!?). One other thing I learned the other day is that the battery reading is much more accurate too with the W1 chip, to 1%. Usually Bluetooth headphones only report the battery accurate to 10% (even then, it's not accurate).


Don't forget the fun factor. That click wheel is fun.

---

I know next to nothing about driver acoustics, but this looks like dedication to sound quality.



Most consumer headphone speaker drivers don't have a vent in the middle like that. It's definitely a departure from Beats' post-Monster pre-Apple days

Which Beats headphone is that?