[redvving19]

While I agree that the amount of m50 posts are a bit annoying, its going to be hard to defend beats from being anything other than a marketing exercise. 
 
People buy them, its a fashion statement

 

[soviet911]

I have herd beats and my friend owns a pair, honestly alot of people who buy them do so based on the demo set in Best Buy wich is played through an amp with bass boost.. and they sound good to me, but not 350$ good. I remeber first thing my friend told me " carefulll dont snap them the headband is weak!" I always expect anything worth more then 100$ be fairly sturdy but the beats felt like they are easy to break, the sound when driven by my zune HD was good though but not worth 350$ in my eyes, I wounder how the HD25-1's will compare to them...once I get my set a quick comparison review will be in order >.> and I have you to try to drive the beats why my cmoy....
 
Flame suit on!

 

[Slaughter]

It's doesn't matter why the M50 is recommended, it surely should always be recommended over the beats. I prefer the bose around ear over the beats if we are talking mainstream phones. The mids and highs are just too compressed, recessed, whatever you want to call it. Like everything Monster, the attorney general and BBB should step in prevent them from stealing from people.

 

[baka1969]

I don't blanketly recommend anything. I wrote something on the top three suggested headphones a little while ago:


http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/503970/srh840-or-ath-m50-or-ah-d1001-it-all-depends-really-let-s-look



I've listened to the Beats and I will be kind and say the Shure SRH840 is a superior headphone IMHO. Even the M50 is much better. I found little to like about the Beats. BTW, I picked up the 840 for closer to $100 than $200. So not only did I get a better headphone, but I had all three of the above for about the price of the Beats. Can't beat that with a stick now can you? Pun intended.

 

[Palpatine]

Here we go again...

 

[mmayer167]

Just like the beats, my post will be better with a sweet color scheme! 
 
   Nothing against the marketing but it sucks we have to search for quality gear, I know searching is half the fun but really why should it be so hard to find a good sounding pair of hp's that maybe skimps on looks but sounds awesome? what has society been led to buy? the image or the function?  Admittedly i was once a believer in best buys best, then i ruined my life with h-fi.... maybe im the loser.
 
lame post i know but geographic thought procrastination is killing me!! (figuratively)
 
M

 

[wind016]

You're on head-fi and most members are biased. Also, noise canceling is hated on this forum.
 
However, I do agree that the Beats are not overpriced at it's current price ~$190.  Good price if it matches your NC needs and sound signature. However, lose the noise-canceling feature and you can find headphones such as the Audio Technica ES10, M50; Sennheiser HD25; various Ultrasones and AKGs; etc that have excellent bass response and impact for around the price range of a Monster Studio.
 
But sometimes, NC is a must for those on the subway, train, or plane a lot. I haven't personally heard an NC headphone that had the bass signature of Monsters yet. Denon seems like a brand that might, but I'm not positive

 

[maverickronin]

Except the NC on the Beats actually sucks.  I'd give them a pass if the NC actually did much of anything, but it doesn't...
 

 

[zero7525]

Here's a nice comparison review. Courtesy of headphonia.
http://www.headfonia.com/closed-cans-shootout-m-50-esw-9-t50p-hd25-1-beats-studio-srh-840-srh-750dj-k181dj-and-dj1pro/

 

[andtobis]

Quote:

Except the NC on the Beats actually sucks.  I'd give them a pass if the NC actually did much of anything, but it doesn't...
 

Have you heard the beats or are you just speculating on behalf of the graph?

 

[maverickronin]

No I haven't heard them.
 
Answer me this.  How is that graph "speculating"?  Its a rather simple procedure compared to any other measurement or test headroom does.

 

[lie495fc]

the graph says isolation, may i ask how to inteprete its readings?

 

[maverickronin]

Basically the lower the line the better.
 
More info here.

 

[andtobis]

I'm not trying to defend the beats.  I just know from experience that they do cancel a lot of noise.  They may not cancel as much noise as certain bose products, but they still cancel mostly everything.

 

[maverickronin]

Which is why I put the HD25-1s on there.  They aren't NC, but passively block pretty much as much noise as the Beats do actively, while being supraural.
 
The point is, the active NC on the Beats costs a lot of extra money and eats batteries, but doesn't actually work any better than a decently designed passively isolating 'phone.  If the reason they aren't supposed to be over priced is because they are NC, then shouldn't the NC at least be pretty good?  The NC isn't good enough to justify the expense.  It would isolate more if they just ditched the ANC and improved the pads and damped the cups more, and it would be cheaper as well.
 
The NC Bose 'phones do have very good isolation, which is why they are some of the few Bose products I can respect.  They may not sound the best, but they do the ANC very well.  Other NC 'phones might not be as good as the Bose, but their NC is still as good as or better than the Beats.  I don't know how the sound compares though.