So why exactly are Beats by Dre so derided in our community?
I recently won a pair of Beats Pro through a DJ contest and was curious as to how they actually sounded, given the massive amount of criticism I have seen on DJ forums.
The main issue I had with them was that they felt incredibly bulky compared to my TMA-1’s. The Beats are heavier, but much more snug around the ears than the TMA-1’s are on the ears. The seal is pretty impressive. I, however, was not a fan of this, as I could easily imagine it becoming sweaty and gross inside the beats fairly quickly given a party environment. TMA-1’s definitely win in terms of comfort and not-being-gross-when-it-gets-sweaty category.
The bass in the Beats is pretty booming, but is that necessarily a bad thing? I personally prefer to have more distinct mids (and so I prefer the TMA-1’s).
However, the beats sounded… not that bad. I understand that they are super-overpriced (MSRP $400 for the pair that I won), but the quality seemed pretty decent.
So, why do haters hate so much on the beats?
EDIT: Dear future readers, this is the gist of what everyone thinks. And this is about the Beats Pro, not the studio ones or any other other iterations of Beats.
Pros:
-look cool (to some people)
-good for listening to music if you like to hear lots of bass
-Is sturdy, feels quality
-Very good isolation
-laymen will possibly think you are more legitimate as a DJ due to marketing
Cons:
-look idiotic (to some people)
-bad for djing - these headphones have almost as super bass as Nicki Minaj’s proverbial boytoy. The mids and highs get somewhat drowned out.
-Is heavy, unwieldy, and large. Those with short necks will look like they are wearing a cervical collar.
-The pads are large, and stick to the head well. This can get slippery/gross when you start sweating a lot in the middle of a long set.
-overpriced for what you get.
-The company that makes them has questionable business practices
-Has sharp edges when the band is expanded (which you have to do unless you have a tiny head)
-Customer service (in UK) is bad
-Internet “DJ’s” will say you must be a terrible DJ because of your choice of headphones
To be honest i dont mind them i had a pair for a while and thought they were quite good, the best isolating headphones i have used, but my senns sound a hell of alot clearer now
The main reason people hate is because they are overpriced and state they are super clear the way music was meant to sound when in fact they are not as they are super bassy (is that a word)
They are bulky, the bass drowns out other sounds that i want to hear. Yes they are pretty isolated but as soon as i moved my head the isolation seal would break so to speak.. I didn’t like that i couldn’t move them around my head quickly due to the size and weight.
They got quite uncomfortable for a bit and generally over priced for what they are! Give me my Sennheiser HD25’s and change from the cash back any day! And i also think the Sennheiser’s look better.
From where i’m from people who own beats are just a load of ‘look at me’ kids.
It actually makes me a tad angry at how often i have to tell people not to buy beats.
The reason i hate them isn’t just the fact they are showy and sound meh at best, it’s the fact their pricing isn’t just ridiculous it’s another part of their marketing ploy.
Also ive heard horror stories about their customer service (or complete lack of uk based customer service), for that price i want somebody to come polish them for me daily.
i like my beats by dre… and as they were a gift, i cant cant complain about the price (free is free) and granted they are a lil uncomfy at times and i have to make sure i have extra batteries in my bag, and they dont fit in my bag too well so i have their lil case clipped to my bag…i dont really mind em and cant really fault them all too much
Yea ok… because when I gig I need the absolute best studio quality headphones with the flatest response because in between songs I’m actually producing my own music on the side To be serious for a sec, if you want the best sounding headphones at the cheapest price possible then dont buy them, but if you need a good pair of DJ headphones and you like the look of them and you dont mind investing the extra cash in items because esthetics matters to you then I would def say go get a pair of Beats Pro. It’s the same as investing the extra money to have your regular headphones customized really.
i own a pair of beat solos, i got em as a gift, but my opinion on all of this is that beats shouldn’t be considered DJ headphones.They are very bass heavy, and drown out other sounds. They should be used just for listening to an iPod or something. Even a lot of guys at my school wear them around 24/7, just to look cool flashy. So, the only reason i would actually want to buy a pair (which are alot) is if I wanted to just listen to my iPod or something, because thats what i use my solos for. Personally for djing i prefer senns.
They are decent listening headphones if you have the money to spend. It’s why people wear expensive clothing with brand names, and women spend a ton of money on handbags/purses. There is no real “reason” you can put behind it, some people just want that name on them.
That being said, as I and many others of the community know, there are better quality headphones out there for the money. TMA-1’s, HD-25 1’s, HDJ-2000’s, DJ1 Pro’s, Xone 53’s. All of those I consider better sound quality, and they come in at a much lower price.
If you get them for free, I can’t really knock someone for using them. But if you pay for them yourself, or use money you could have used elsewhere, that’s when I have somewhat of an issue with it. Because frankly, there are better places to spend that amount of money in your setup. Headphones are important part of your setup, but quality over vanity will take the cake anytime in my book. And most of the really good DJing headphones? They look fucking sharp too, so it’s not much of an argument.
They advertise themselves as being HD audio, there is no such thing. Obviously one could say that WAV or FLAC would be HD audio but then again lets face it how many Beats owners even know what that is.
I think people buy them are so brainwashed (clearly the marketing department did their job). It’s like a person buying an HDTV and hooking it up to a VCR. No matter what tape they use it’s gonna look no better then a non HDTV.
To be serious for a sec, if you want the best sounding headphones at the cheapest price possible then dont buy them, but if you need a good pair of DJ headphones and you like the look of them and you dont mind investing the extra cash in items because esthetics matters to you then I would def say go get a pair of Beats Pro. It’s the same as investing the extra money to have your regular headphones customized really.