Are Beats headphones worth the money?

[MongGrel]

Yup...I'm still rocking an X-fi from 2005, and there is a NIGHT AND DAY difference between the Xfi's quality and the onboard "hi-fi" soundcards.

I still use my old Auzentech Prelude X-Fi, even bought a PCI to PCIe adapter for it in here as I have no PCI slots anymore.

Not for headphones for the DTS etc even if my on board can do it I notice a difference myself in many things.

Even if people repeatedly say there isn't.

 

[natto fire]

You poor are awesome folks.

Thanks buddy, it really helps me subsist day to day to know that rich folk like yourself are thriving and spamming internet forums with PPD that equate to not thinking before you speak, or shit loads of free time.

 

[alkemyst]

Thanks buddy, it really helps me subsist day to day to know that rich folk like yourself are thriving and spamming internet forums with PPD that equate to not thinking before you speak, or shit loads of free time.

I am on PTO for another week. I earn a lot of it.

You attacked me first. Now you are butt hurt.

I am sure you are a member of tons of forums.

 

[natto fire]

I am on PTO for another week. I earn a lot of it.

You attacked me first. Now you are butt hurt.

I am sure you are a member of tons of forums.

Pretty sure I did not, but I am not going to look through 13 years of posts to make sure.

I don't really care about your earnings, matter of fact, I don't give a shit what anyone here earns.

You display attitudes of "that guy" and expect to not be called out, or to get banned people who call you out.

I did die a bit when **** was turned over.

 

[natto fire]

Apparently even tee eff enn enn is still censored, which is a good thing considering that great place was under a LONG time ago

 

[dr150]

Speak of the devil.

One of the most universally recommended/acclaimed "priced right" headphones on the market just went on sale on Massdrop. Fantastic headphones!

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ath-m50?mode=guest_open&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Massdrop%20-%20Master&utm_campaign=Product%20Announcement%202014-05-02&utm_content=C

 

[mnewsham]

Speak of the devil.

One of the most universally recommended/acclaimed "priced right" headphones on the market just went on sale on Massdrop. Fantastic headphones!

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ath-m50?mode=guest_open&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Massdrop%20-%20Master&utm_campaign=Product%20Announcement%202014-05-02&utm_content=C

About as cheap as you will find them. They go for $120-140 regularly on amazon. Only problem with massdrop is you're gonna wait about a week or two for them to ship them out.

 

[HeXen]

Except, I never claimed that Nike's were the best of the best. Nor will I say that one will elevate your game in any sport. Or that I could tell the difference in a blind test. I stand by the statement that anyone who buys http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Ter.../dp/B000J36XR2 is a moron.

What you claim is irrelevant. Anyone can claim any product is the best of the best....if you're so gullible as to believe everything you read on the internet. However the fact I stated about why people will pay a ton for something of little manufacturing value was and still is the entire point. If you purchased $100 shoes made in China that is comparable to $10 Walmart shoes from the same plant in China even, then how would you be any different in the tech arena? Value is an individual meaning and some people want to own something others can't afford even if they are not actually better in performance or physically. We are surrounded everyday with brand examples that are way overpriced. I don't think you understand the concept that people have of being distinguished or affording a particular product that others cannot...then again, if you ever owned say Nike brand for example then perhaps you do and are just a hypocrite.

And then you linked a discontinued, pure silver cables that are several thousand dollars higher than MSRP from some guy selling them used with 1 star rating....lol. So what? You're either distinguished or sheeple, most people are both depending on product.

 

[ThinClient]

I see Dre Beats headphones selling for $300-400 for over-the-ear models. Are they much better than similar headphones from other manufacturers like Bose?

Is this a serious question?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Let's not go into L&R topics here bro.

You will be embarrASSed.

The steroids are wrecking your memory bro.

We were all out together and in the neighborhood he wasn't the oldest by far.

Some of the adults offer cocktails and other adult beverages to the parents walking.

I'd keep L&R to L&R though bro. It'd suck to let that leak out here.

Like, literally the exact topic and conversation just a few months ago. You ought to get that checked out.

 

[natto fire]

As if I needed another reason to not recommend beats headphones, now they are Alky approved? Thinly veiled brolific attribution and all?

 

[SlitheryDee]

They're probably pretty good or they wouldn't have gained the traction they have. As with all such products, I'm sure there are better and cheaper options out there though.

It's the Bose argument all over again. If you've ever heard a Bose home system, you'd admit that it sounds pretty damn good. It doesn't sound good enough to justify the price tag, and it probably lacks some measure of "accuracy" that is all important to true audiophiles, but it isn't the garbage those same audiophiles would have you believe it is either. Now that beats is as popular as it is, I'm sure it is starting to receive similar kinds of attacks as Bose always has.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

They're probably pretty good or they wouldn't have gained the traction they have. As with all such products, I'm sure there are better and cheaper options out there though.

It's the Bose argument all over again. If you've ever heard a Bose home system, you'd admit that it sounds pretty damn good. It doesn't sound good enough to justify the price tag, and it probably lacks some measure of "accuracy" that is all important to true audiophiles, but it isn't the garbage those same audiophiles would have you believe it is either. Now that beats is as popular as it is, I'm sure it is starting to receive similar kinds of attacks as Bose always has.

I wouldn't even wear a Bose t-shirt if it was given to me. :biggrin:

 

[SlitheryDee]

I wouldn't even wear a Bose t-shirt if it was given to me. :biggrin:

My grandparents have a Bose system, and I'm telling you it sounds great. From all the trash I'd heard about Bose before they got it I thought it was going to sound worse than a $30 Wal-mart boom box. It really surprised me how much I ended up liking it. It has a warm and pleasing tone that's unlike anything else I've heard.

 

[uhohs]

They're probably pretty good or they wouldn't have gained the traction they have. As with all such products, I'm sure there are better and cheaper options out there though.

No they aren't, the original models were pretty terrible. They gained traction because they made sure celebrities and people with influence over the herds had them.

Their marketing effort/strategy was what was pretty good.

 

[Ichinisan]

Speak of the devil.

One of the most universally recommended/acclaimed "priced right" headphones on the market just went on sale on Massdrop. Fantastic headphones!

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ath-m50?mode=guest_open&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Massdrop%20-%20Master&utm_campaign=Product%20Announcement%202014-05-02&utm_content=C

I don't know much about headphones, but I do like the way those look.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

My grandparents have a Bose system, and I'm telling you it sounds great. From all the trash I'd heard about Bose before they got it I thought it was going to sound worse than a $30 Wal-mart boom box. It really surprised me how much I ended up liking it. It has a warm and pleasing tone that's unlike anything else I've heard.

There you have it. Once you listen to proper gear that produces a proper freq range, you realize how bad Bose is. They are all marketing. I will put my system up against Bose any day of the week, for WAY less money.

 

[spacejamz]

Both Bose and Beats are shitty headphones.

That's funny...

There is a thread in the A/V forum about which noise cancelling headphones are the best for traveling and the Bose QC15's seems to be the most highly recommended ones, even from the Bose haters....

 

[QueBert]

Strongly dislike Beats Headphones, with the exception of the Bluetooth ones. I own 3 semi high end sets of BT cans and the beats ones are by far my favorite. The regular beats are overpriced and pretty meh, I have 3 BT cans and both of the others were $100+ over the Beats. So for good BT headphones they're not a horrible deal.

And to anyone who brings up how BT sucks for audio quality blah blah blah. It isn't 2005 anymore, Bluetooth audio has came A LONG way.

 

[rockyct]

My grandparents have a Bose system, and I'm telling you it sounds great. From all the trash I'd heard about Bose before they got it I thought it was going to sound worse than a $30 Wal-mart boom box. It really surprised me how much I ended up liking it. It has a warm and pleasing tone that's unlike anything else I've heard.

Bose isn't really shitty. It's speakers sound better than probably 80% of what people have in their living room, which is basically the built in tv speakers or a sound bar. The problem is that they are so overpriced that they can't come close in sound quality to another system even half in price. If you notice, they never have their speakers in a demo setting where they can go head to head with other speakers. It's always in the aisle by itself or even in a Bose only showroom.

Basically, people buy into the Bose marketing so when they want to get some good speakers, they go to a store and listen to some Bose speakers. They sound great compared to the crap they had before (which they do) and will had over the wad of cash without listening to anything else.

 

[mnewsham]

That's funny...

There is a thread in the A/V forum about which noise cancelling headphones are the best for traveling and the Bose QC15's seems to be the most highly recommended ones, even from the Bose haters....

Seriously? No real audiophile would use active noise cancelling headphones in the first places as they are generally regarded as fucking with the real sound of what you should be listening to.

Most companies don't bother making active noise cancelling headphones because they know it isn't useful for anyone who needs reference quality sound. Which is why bose is happy to churn them out for mega bucks, because they are relatively cheap to make, and the active noise cancelling bit isn't all that expensive anymore either.

If you notice, most companies who make higher end audio equipment don't do high end headphones with active noise cancelling at all, because it sucks for high end audio applications.

Sennhieser makes travel series of noise cancelling headphones, but the higher end models are bluetooth which is just an added gimick to warrant the stupid price point active noise canceling headphones are given. But if you notice, all of the "good" sennhiesers are wired connections, large open diaphragm, and have zero noise canceling.

So if you want to tout Bose as "best" in any headphone category, sure, they probably have the "best" active noise canceling headphones in the world. But that doesn't really mean much to most people buying $400+ headphones in the first place as they wont be touching active noise canceling headphones save for the frequent fliers who don't want passive sound dampening from sealed headphones.

 

[mnewsham]

Basically, people buy into the Bose marketing so when they want to get some good speakers, they go to a store and listen to some Bose speakers. They sound great compared to the crap they had before (which they do) and will had over the wad of cash without listening to anything else.

yup, do a bose speaker teardown, compare them to other models in their price range and you will laugh your ass off at the shitty bose quality.

 

[HeXen]

yup, do a bose speaker teardown, compare them to other models in their price range and you will laugh your ass off at the shitty bose quality.

That's made in America for you.^_^ But again that's part of what you pay for manufacturing cost wise, that and they spend 100 million a year on research which some is used to make their Electro motors used in biodynamic test systems and fatigue test systems...etc.

They also make cardiovascular instruments, software, dental instruments and other medical devices.

Audiowise, their technology is not in their speakers. Speakers are very old tech, little has changed outside of computer models to alter methods for varying uses. In fact the vast majority of speaker makers out there don't vary much at all, for example the type of cone it is doesn't make much difference between each other but it's for reliability or adverse conditions or marketing (see hemp speaker cones). Neodymium motors...everyone has them in some speaker models, coil air vent, every high powered speaker that needs one, has one yet their are tons of patents for them that do the same thing. Spiders..again the design is about the power used but they all achieve the same results for intended use.
So you break down Bose speakers and they appear like any other except they handle more power than most typical ones their size and the thinner wood/ABS non resonant construction would seem to cause high resonance however they do use computer designs to minimize that so that they can use cheaper building materials.

Their technology is mostly in software, how they are able to use small speakers in more efficient ways, to cut certain frequencies that can be created from placement and reflection from a wall for example is used to save the speaker the hardship of needing to provide it. The new methods of Transmission lines is used in specialized computer designed ports to recreate the accuracy that a huge T line box would need....things like that.

They are small speakers, what do you expect? You can't just buy some TangBand 3" speakers and achieve all the frequencies that a properly setup Bose can do nor mimic their EQ and other technologies without a lot of equipment to break it all down and computer models to rebuild it as it's their trade secret. You can however use many 3" speakers in larger arrays to achieve the same result more easily or use larger speakers to get better results. But size and appearance is what people are after from a Bose system, the fact that for their size they sound better than what they are used to also factors in regardless of how much audio science they know.

Again, this ultimately comes down to what I was talking about before, having a Bose type brand...something well known to be expensive is going to have it's prestige over a more expensive yet lesser known brand in others eyes. It's called "Brand power". Being educated will not make a difference in someone's choice if that type of prestige is what they want.

BTW, my aunt used to work at Bose. Much of the hate comes form the fact that they have a higher marketing budget than most and they do the "metrosexual" type marketing that Apple did. Adding higher quality parts does not always equal higher performance...just email AudioPipe about that one ^_^

 

[brianmanahan]

Yup...I'm still rocking an X-fi from 2005, and there is a NIGHT AND DAY difference between the Xfi's quality and the onboard "hi-fi" soundcards.

same here, i have an SB x-fi xtrememusic from the early 2000's

question about yours x-fi - does it occasionally mess up? mine messes up like every week and the only way i can get it work again is uninstall the driver and reboot. after that the driver reinstalls and its ok

 

[rockyct]

That's made in America for you.^_^ But again that's part of what you pay for manufacturing cost wise, that and they spend 100 million a year on research which some is used to make their Electro motors used in biodynamic test systems and fatigue test systems...etc.

They also make cardiovascular instruments, software, dental instruments and other medical devices.

Audiowise, their technology is not in their speakers. Speakers are very old tech, little has changed outside of computer models to alter methods for varying uses. In fact the vast majority of speaker makers out there don't vary much at all, for example the type of cone it is doesn't make much difference between each other but it's for reliability or adverse conditions or marketing (see hemp speaker cones). Neodymium motors...everyone has them in some speaker models, coil air vent, every high powered speaker that needs one, has one yet their are tons of patents for them that do the same thing. Spiders..again the design is about the power used but they all achieve the same results for intended use.
So you break down Bose speakers and they appear like any other except they handle more power than most typical ones their size and the thinner wood/ABS non resonant construction would seem to cause high resonance however they do use computer designs to minimize that so that they can use cheaper building materials.

Their technology is mostly in software, how they are able to use small speakers in more efficient ways, to cut certain frequencies that can be created from placement and reflection from a wall for example is used to save the speaker the hardship of needing to provide it. The new methods of Transmission lines is used in specialized computer designed ports to recreate the accuracy that a huge T line box would need....things like that.

They are small speakers, what do you expect? You can't just buy some TangBand 3" speakers and achieve all the frequencies that a properly setup Bose can do nor mimic their EQ and other technologies without a lot of equipment to break it all down and computer models to rebuild it as it's their trade secret. You can however use many 3" speakers in larger arrays to achieve the same result more easily or use larger speakers to get better results. But size and appearance is what people are after from a Bose system, the fact that for their size they sound better than what they are used to also factors in regardless of how much audio science they know.

Again, this ultimately comes down to what I was talking about before, having a Bose type brand...something well known to be expensive is going to have it's prestige over a more expensive yet lesser known brand in others eyes. It's called "Brand power". Being educated will not make a difference in someone's choice if that type of prestige is what they want.

BTW, my aunt used to work at Bose. Much of the hate comes form the fact that they have a higher marketing budget than most and they do the "metrosexual" type marketing that Apple did. Adding higher quality parts does not always equal higher performance...just email AudioPipe about that one ^_^

If their quality is so good, why don't they allow them to be put up against other speakers? If they were close enough in quality to other speakers, people would still buy them because of the "brand power" and the subjectiveness of audio. Their marketing has allowed their speakers to command a premium that their quality doesn't back up. Like I said, they do not make shitty products. They just should be sold at half of their price to make them competitive (barely) to other speakers.

I'm a PC guy but I know if you want the best quality laptop, buy a MacBook. They are much more expensive than PCs but it's hard to buy a similar quality PC for less money. If you buy a cheap PC, you are giving up quality. If you buy Bose, you aren't getting value or the best quality. If someone asks me for speaker recommendations I tell them to go to Frys and listen to what they like best for their budget. If they press for a brand, I usually tell them Polk. They are better speakers out there for the money, but they are common and you can't go too wrong with them.