Is Beats by Dr. Dre really overpriced (mainly for music and movies)

I was thinking about gettin the solo hd version. I've tried it, has a decent quality but is it worth the money? It's about 190 € here (in Vienna)
I'm gonna use it with my iPod and with my Acer laptop for movies.

Can you guys maybe feedback some other brands. I've seen AKG, Bose and some Audio-Technika in here.

 

I didn't really like the Solo HD. It's kind of muddy when properly fitted, and the long-term comfort left a huge amount to be desired. The look is cool and I liked the ControlTalk.

I'd personally make a choice between:

- Bose Triport Around-Ear (Very comfy, very lightweight, a tad fragile, quite isolating, looks fine on the head, average sound)
- Shure SRH840 (Pretty comfy, fairly heavy, pretty well made, more isolating, dork central, excellent+ sound)
- Sennheiser HD25-1 (Uncomfortable, lightweight, pretty much near bombproof as headphones get, very isolating, retro but OK on head, excellent sound)

if you're after a pair of closed phones for travelling use.

Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 and Denon AH-D2000 offers no worthwhile isolation IMO.

 

Yes, very overpriced and a complete ripoff just like all other Monster Cable products.

 

There are much better items to get.

Audio Technica M50
Ultrasone hfi 580

Just to name a couple.

Monster is notorious for being overpriced (so much so they had a lawsuit against them at once point for price gouging) and now add a famous persons name to a product for endorsement and that is bound to raise the price even more (compared to what its worth)

 

Yes, overpriced. Anything sold by Monster or Bose is going to be overpriced for the performance that you get.

 

I second the Shure headphones, amazing amazing quality, and a company you can always trust love all shure products

 

Very amazingly over priced.... My headphones of choice would have to be
Sennheiser 280 pros.... they sound flat without any eq... perfect for sound mixing... or if you want to game or listen to music edit your eq and they will sound PERFECT!!!!! imo

Newegg.com - Sennheiser - Professional DJ styled - Noise Canceling, Closed Headphones (HD 280 PRO)

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I've tried a BOSE also and it has pretty decent quality. I don't know the model but it has soft cushons it's not AE, couldn't find the model at the web. Shure also looks good but i know they're also pricey and don't know if I'm able to find it in here.
I think I saw "Audio Technica M50", gonna check that again.
There's a big sale at Media Markt here i'm gonna check it

 

+1 vote

ATH-M50 or SRH-840 or even 440 if you plan to use it straight off your laptop.

 

This is the headphone that I've talking about:

Bose® On-Ear Headphones - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

I have two suggestions for you:

1) Never buy Bose or Monster. Ever. I can go into lots of reasons why. But the short version is that both companies sell overpriced/underperforming products, and use marketing and a high price point to make it look like they are top-end audio products. They are not. You would do much better buying ANY $180 set of headphones from Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Grado, AKG, or Beyerdynamic.

2) Don't buy things from the Apple store, unless you can't buy that item anywhere else. You can often find those items cheaper somewhere else on the net.

 

Yeah you can be right I've just tried it today it was pretty good, with the cushions i can feel the bass very clearly. I'll check the Shure (don't think I can find it here though) and Audio Technica. Btw I found it from Apple I would never buy anything from their store except iPods

 

I have those lying around here somwhere, don't use them anymore.
The sound is good but certainly not worth the high price(wouldn't buy them again). Noise cancellation is very weak I was really dissapointed on that.
Also they're not very handy I think. I used them for 2 years and everytime I took them to go outside I sighed because they're not comfortable to use and wear.
You can get MUCH better for that high price

 

Suchergebnisse - Seite 1 - Thomann Österreich

 

i wouldn't get the Bose On Ear Headphones or Bose Around Ear Headphones, the sound is muddled and the quality is pretty bad (you can find 50 dollars headphones that have better construction and material than these).

Even a Sennheiser MX300 earphone's sound quality are better than these Bose Headphones. The only benefit of the Bose Around Ear Headphone is the amount of noise it can block passively, i use it when there is lot of ambient noises around.

 

Bose & Monster are just for the uneducated or perhaps brand conscious like those who would buy an apple product just because its an apple product or a designer shirt that cost 5x more than the same shirt without the brand on it.

I have heard some pretty good bose speakers but for the price they were total fail, never have listened to there headphones but I am sure it follows the same trend.

Lucky for you and all of us these great foreign countries products are now easy to get online and have become popular.

I remember when I got Audio Technica before almost anybody knew about it and had to order from a Japanese website. I got it simply because I have a Japanese product fetish, I didnt know that they were going to end up being one of the best mid-fi products out there and become so popular.

 

Ah, thanks Vicious, I knew I wasn't crazy... All my friends are bragging about their Bose and Dr.Dre 250$ headphones, but I find my good ol' sennheiser earbuds much better.
It's crazy what one would do just to have a product that will make him look rich and cool..
These people have no clue how good high-quality headphones really sound. But anyway since they are all using 'em with their amp-less Ipod touch, it's pretty much a loss of money..!

 

Why is an amp relevant?

*innocent face*

Name a couple that weighs anywhere near the same, is closed, and offers a real level of isolation. I'm curious.

 

ATH-M50 probably fits the bill.

 

Note that they brag about their Bose (brand) and Dr. Dre (brand) $250 (price) headphones. Someone who actually cared about audio quality would talk about clarity, detail, soundstage, high / mid / low frequencies, etc.

 

Id like to hear a pair of M50's sometime to see how they compare to the A700's.

IEM's are top notch for isolation though esp with comfy tips. When I put the triple.fi's in even before playing music the rest of the world is pretty much on mute.

 

300g. Did you read my post?

Triport A-E is 132g. Even a fairly heavyweight portable like the Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 is 170g.

 

Can't think of any headphone more overpriced than Beats, they don't even sound good. It's muffled with flabby bass. What do you expect from a company who's only reputation is overpricing copper wire and suing anyone who uses the word Monster in their product name or marketing?

Best value I'd go with ATH-M50 for closed, then the Shure SRH-440, both around $100. Any headphone from Audio Technica, Sennheiser and AKG I would trust, everything else, not much. I know Beyerdynamic are good, but they just don't go with my preference in sound. Ultrasone is the same, treble a little sharp, too much bass and their surround system is odd. And lastly Grado, the most overpriced junk ever made in audio industry.

But go with whatever sounds good to you, but really Beats are only beaten by Grado for being overpriced. And neither sound particularly any good either.

 

Beats/Monster basically overloads your ears with bass (not even good bass... just loud) at the expense of all the other frequencies and calls it quality. For some people, it works, since all they want is obscene amounts of bass, but its still not worth the money since with real headphones and an eq you can get bass AND the rest of the range. In case everybody else didn't make it clear... don't waste your money on Beats headphones.

 

Edit: Nevermind, thought we were talking about the speakers.

 

I'm pretty sure AMPs help getting a better sound especially when you are listening to your Ipod/portable media player.
That's what I was told anyway
Actually fun fact, I'll be working in my local best buy for the holiday season, and the best way to make quick and easy money is to sell as much Monsters and apple products as possible, since they are the one that gives you the bigger commission.. Am I the only one who is not surprised?
Besides; I've heard good things about Grado what are you guys' thought?

 

Considering how overpriced they are, its no wonder they're the higher commission items.

Sound is a very fickle thing really. You've got to hear it yourself in order to really judge the quality. Some people have different preferences to some sound signatures so it's mostly about your preference.

Grado is a good brand for audio generally speaking though if that's what you wanna know ^^

 

Sorry guys but I couldn't find ATH-M50, got some other models but. I'm student here and I can't buy online from my current credit card I guess I'll stick with some other AT model

 

The one that I like the most at the Saturn store isn't here but which one would you choose from these options?:

Audio-Technica - Microphones, headphones, wireless microphone systems, noise-cancelling headphones & more : ATH-ES3A : Portable Headphones
Audio-Technica - Microphones, headphones, wireless microphone systems, noise-cancelling headphones & more : ATH-FC700A : Portable Headphones
Audio-Technica - Microphones, headphones, wireless microphone systems, noise-cancelling headphones & more : ATH-WM5 : Portable Retractable Headphones

 

monster makes decent iems though, or so i have heard.

 

There's nothing wrong with the items themselves, the problems are the exhorbitant prices and deceitful marketing.

 

Not necessary, but it does make a difference. I'm obviously an uneducated and brand conscious shopper but here's what I know about the Bose AE's...

TriPort AE's sound MUCH better when amped. They're not nearly as muddy with a powered amp.

 

no, IEMs. 10char

 

My answer to this is always:
"Buy two phones, match volume from source(s) and re-test. Then say 'Ah...'"

 

the bose over the ear headphone is light, because of the cheap plastics and wire it uses (it doesn't convey the sort of quality i have come to expect of Bose product). I am already on my second pair after 6 weeks of getting it.

 

Depends on how you use something that is really obviously built of lightweight plastics to be lightweight. Mine's past 3 years old, and it's gotten used every winter instead of my IEM's. I was going to use it this year as well, but it has finally been retired. Not even a crack on mine.

 

I just got some Ultrasone Hfi 2400's cant wait due in on Monday.

 

I've been very happy with my Bose headphones. As far as audio quality, I can say my friends Audio Technicas (can't remember what model exactly, it from the studio line) are slightly better, especially regarding bass. However, the Bose headphone I have are extremely comfortable and have proven to be extremely durable. There have been instances where I have fallen asleep with them on, and woken up with them underneath me, and there has been no damage whatsoever. I do agree on the lower end Bose over ear headphone being less durable though.

Bose headphones are overpriced, but they are still very good products for reasons other than audio quality. If I was buying something new now, it would likely be an Audio Technica model, but don't foresee the need with how well my current Bose ones have held up.

 

Horses for courses. Some people like looks over substance, where the Beats (and the B&W's and Boses to differening degrees) excel IMO - I really like the way they look on the head, despite their rather rattly nature when off the head (and their tendency to be worn by people who look like tragic fashion victims). Soundwise I'm not a big fan of the Solos, but the Studio's are pretty decent - although I'm not a fan of noise-cancelling phones for practicality reasons.

As I've said before, the Bose around-ears are a good compromise for acceptable sound, excellent comfort and good portability. Obviously as one of the lightest circumaural phones you can buy, it's not going to be the most robust - some people seem to be unable to grasp this very simple fact. It's taken me three years to find a better compromise for me, and that compromise is ten times the price (and twice as heavy). Despite having the Edition 8's as my new earmuff portables I think I'm going to give the new Around-Ear 2's a try. The over-ears are more robust despite being almost as light, but I think the sound veers too much towards the bass.

Personally, from what I've had - and it's a damned long list - my choices for different compromises for closed headphones ~$200 street and under extend to what I write in my first post in this thread. The Audio-Technica ATH-ES series fail on isolation (severe lack of), even for those who want to look good.

 

Bose® Around-Ear Headphones - Apple Store (Australia)

many questions the build quality. I mean it is not too hard for Bose to have used a higher quality polymer or just bit more polymer for the cup hinge area.

 

I would really have to recommend the Sennheiser HD595's if you are in a quiet area.

I would firmly recommend against buying any Bose or Monster products just for the sheer fact that purchasing their products only encourages them further.

 

I really like my SRH-840's, for the price. to answer the OP's question (again), resounding "yes".

 

Friend of mine gave his ATH-PRO500. It's kind a big but I'm gonna give it a try

 

<3

I love mine.
Also really enjoyed the ATH700... whichever one is the closed headphones. My friend likes the open ones though.

 

Between the A700 & M50 witch one do you think is better? I have the A700 (and AD700 the open ones) but never got the M50 it didnt exists yet when I got my A700 a long time ago.

 

The M50 is closed. I love mine too!