[GearMe]

   
Yeah I guess. It's good they actually stepped up to the plate for 2013, but the Studios cost $449. Wow. I still bet an Audio Technica ATH-M50 sounds better than a Studio, and it's $129.

 
Yeah, my M50s were $99 -- good value for me at the time.  Don't listen to them that much any more. When I do, it's mostly out of nostalgia.     
 
At that headphone level, I like my KNS-8400s, M80s, or SR60s more depending on what I'm listening to and portability needs. Hope my new Skullcandies earn their way into that rotation!  I enjoy them all for different reasons including sound signatures, comfort, how cool they look.     
 
That said, any Brand / Product offering like headphones, cars, etc. has differentiators (performance, quality, styling, etc.) that define it according to the market they're targeting.
 
For instance, the Volt, F-150, WRX, and 328ix are all $40K auto offerings serving different market segments. My guess is a variety of people buy these cars for their own reasons...and despite being 'The Ultimate Driving Machine', not everyone should buy a BMW.
 
Here's my question. How often do you see two car owners in a dialogue where one of them tells the other they are stupid/ignorant, their car purchase is totally wrong, and they should 'see the light' and buy a car just like theirs?  More accurately stated, buy any car other than that 'crappy' one -- if they want to be taken seriously.
 
Just don't understand BEATdown mentality some have on this forum.  Nor do I feel the need to 'convert' a Beats (or other Brand) user.
 
Seriously, I've seen Street Preachers that go about conversions with more tact than some folks here!
 
 
PS - you can get the new Studios for $269 on Amazon (not $449).  
 
Guess I'll have to set up a Price Watch for the Studios on CamelCamelCamel.  It'll be a competition between the Studios and my current Q701 Price Watch.  I'm thinking $175 for the AKGs and $225 for the Beats...have to factor in the looks ($50).
 
http://www.amazon.com/Beats-Studio-Over-Ear-Headphones-Black/dp/B00E9262IE

 

[Coq de Combat]

62Ohm, I wonder you think a poll would solve anything!?
 
It wouldn't tell me a lot, to be honest. I would think that many of those who would vote haven't even heard both, and out of those who have, they probably have heard the HD600 more than the beats (quite a lot would even own or have owned the HD600, while a lot probably have only tried beats at some store or at a parking lot for 5 minutes). Also, this isn't exactly a neutral climate as you can see, which would also skew the result a fair bit. It would probably be one sided, however, how much could you really take from it?
 
You are however correct, in my opinion, that this is a YMMV hobby. I've said it before that I think that this is such a YMMV hobby that other peoples opinions matter little to nothing to me. I just question how many would accept that beats in fact would be someone elses mileage, compared to how many would accept the HD 600 being it. Beats may not be mine, or yours, but accept and respect those who find it theirs. At the end of the day, it's just headphones.

 

[Primetime86]

YMMV, and you may find the HD600 to be boring. But it seems that this community really believes that the HD600 is a musical pair of cans instead of 'piece of professional equipment'. Again, YMMV but if you are really keen on finding out if the HD600 is boring or not, or if the Studios 2013 is better/worse than the HD600 a simple polling thread would solve this for you.

Why would anyone take advise from people on this forum about beats? They bash the product endlessly! And will assume that because some beats where bad they all are.

Luckily I use my ears to determine what a headphone sounds like and I stand by what I say. I also will never say anything about a product unless I've heard it personally so making a poll won't do anything.

 

[GearMe]

  I don't think hardly any high end headphone is worth the price tag to be honest. There are a few exceptions like the Sony MA900 which I picked up for £80.
 
The Studio 2013 are £250-£270 it's  expensive but it's no more overpriced than say the V-Moda M100 and Momentum. They certainly sound better than the entry phones like the M50, Shure 440 and Brainwavz HM5 and compete with other Mid-fi portable phones in it's category like the Momentum, UE9000, B&W P7 etc. 
 
I find the HD600 so boring that I want to go to sleep. It's balanced, but doesn't sound musical at all I would not recommend it as a musical headset there are far better headphones for that purpose above and below it's price range that do a better job in that regard. I find them quite accurate and detailed but that's about it, they are more of a piece of professional equipment more than something to listen to for me.
 
I think the Sony MA900 does a better job and more universal than the HD600 around the home and it's much cheaper.

 
Agree...headphones have a lot of margin in them!  For me the ability to find a deal is part of the fun...it's lot easier to listen to my M80s at $40 than it would be at $200!
 
If I'm following your posts here, you own the MA900, Q701, DT770 and have listened to the HD600s.  Have you owned/listened to the DT880s by chance?  Reason I ask is the statement you made that 'My Q701 are better than my DT770 yet I'd pick my DT770 anyday because they simply are more musical and fun' really strikes a chord with me.
 
Am considering 880, MA900, 600, or the Q701 to round out my mid-tier before I save for HE500s...beginning to think I should just focus on the HiFiMans unless I can pick up the MA900s for ~$125 or maybe some X1s for $150

 

[thisissomebs]

   
Yeah, my M50s were $99 -- good value for me at the time.  Don't listen to them that much any more. When I do, it's mostly out of nostalgia.     
 
At that headphone level, I like my KNS-8400s, M80s, or SR60s more depending on what I'm listening to and portability needs. Hope my new Skullcandies earn their way into that rotation!  I enjoy them all for different reasons including sound signatures, comfort, how cool they look.     
 
That said, any Brand / Product offering like headphones, cars, etc. has differentiators (performance, quality, styling, etc.) that define it according to the market they're targeting.
 
For instance, the Volt, F-150, WRX, and 328ix are all $40K auto offerings serving different market segments. My guess is a variety of people buy these cars for their own reasons...and despite being 'The Ultimate Driving Machine', not everyone should buy a BMW.
 
Here's my question. How often do you see two car owners in a dialogue where one of them tells the other they are stupid/ignorant, their car purchase is totally wrong, and they should 'see the light' and buy a car just like theirs?  More accurately stated, buy any car other than that 'crappy' one -- if they want to be taken seriously.
 
Just don't understand BEATdown mentality some have on this forum.  Nor do I feel the need to 'convert' a Beats (or other Brand) user.
 
Seriously, I've seen Street Preachers that go about conversions with more tact than some folks here!
 
 
PS - you can get the new Studios for $269 on Amazon (not $449).  
 
Guess I'll have to set up a Price Watch for the Studios on CamelCamelCamel.  It'll be a competition between the Studios and my current Q701 Price Watch.  I'm thinking $175 for the AKGs and $225 for the Beats...have to factor in the looks ($50).
 
http://www.amazon.com/Beats-Studio-Over-Ear-Headphones-Black/dp/B00E9262IE

 
You make some good points, however I think with the support of everyone at Head-Fi, we should all agree that headphones are meant for music and not fashion, not style, not distorted sound (cough cough). Music.
 
I think we all can agree on that.
 
And you just made a false analogy good sir, thank you 11th grade teacher Mr. Kadar. Comparing a car purchase to a headphone search is the false analogy.
 
People buying cars have many different factors for buying them, for example:
 
- Room for the whole family, so they need a van.
- Live in areas with bad weather, so they need something with 4x4.
- Have $$$ so they want an AMG from Mercedes.
- Are old and retired so they want to live out the days of their youth with a Corvette.
- Are college students on a budget with little money.
 
Cars buyers have a much greater set of influencing factors than people in the headphone market. I think we all can agree that people in the headphone market are interested in music and music only.
 
Sure, there are subfactors which may or may not influence their decision making process however I believe that 80% or more of their decision is geared towards the music.
 
Therefore, the Beats market should be shut down completely. Funny conclusion huh? I just hate good people being taken advantage of when there are MUCH better options out their for less money.
 
Dr. Dre hasn't made any music for over a decade and yet his name still rings true in the market. I only look at him as a lowlife scumbag who gave in to more of his greed. He conned millions of people with his headphone market, especially when they were first released (heard a pair personally) and yet people still look at him as a great producer. The dude can't even play any instruments beside banging his fingers on a Roland drum machine and telling other people what to do, and he's kept Hip Hop waiting with his Detox album for years. He's a failure and a lowlife, and I hate what he's become. **** Dr. Dre and his trashphone line.
 
Score 1 for me.
 
Oh yeah, you can call Audio Technica ATH-M50's an entry headphone but that is an opinion only justified by its price. I still bet they sound better than a Studio or a Pro.

 

[superlowfi]

I think people in general are underestimating how often people buy Sennheiser, Audeze, and Hifiman to be fashionable. They are fashionable, trendy headphones, especially in this community.
 
The fact is, if you ask a Sennheiser fan what headphone is best, they'll say a predictable answer. Same with Beats. It's no different then asking a Corvette fan what sports car he would recommend. People have different tastes, different preferences, and headphones are a very personal choice. People tend to gloss over that fact a little too much.

 

[Minarets]

Nope. People buy headphones to listen to music, not for fashion. And no offense but I've seen 99% of the people at conventions and you guys aren't really lookers yourselves to be even mildly concerned with the fashion industry.

It's music, it always is and always was.

I disagree. Headphone hobbyist aren't concerned with fashion...the ones that show up at headphone meet and greets and conventions, but "people" which included the larger population, the ones that make up a majority of the buyers..a lot of them do care. And the evidence is in the sales of those beats, skullcandy, monster dna's and so on. The headfi-ers, me included) are in the minority.

 

[DonutDeflector]

I disagree. Headphone hobbyist aren't concerned with fashion...the ones that show up at headphone meet and greets and conventions, but "people" which included the larger population, the ones that make up a majority of the buyers..a lot of them do care. And the evidence is in the sales of those beats, skullcandy, monster dna's and so on. The headfi-ers, me included) are in the minority.

I agree with you here.

 

[superlowfi]

I disagree. Headphone hobbyist aren't concerned with fashion...the ones that show up at headphone meet and greets and conventions, but "people" which included the larger population, the ones that make up a majority of the buyers..a lot of them do care. And the evidence is in the sales of those beats, skullcandy, monster dna's and so on. The headfi-ers, me included) are in the minority.

 
Fashion is simply something that is popular. Headphone hobbyiest aren't concerned with fashion in the sense of walking down the runway, but it's wrong to assume they aren't concerned with the opinions of their peers about fashionable headphones within their social group. The argument about "Fashion" goes both ways, both with Beats and with Sennheiser.

 

[thisissomebs]

   
Fashion is simply something that is popular. Headphone hobbyiest aren't concerned with fashion in the sense of walking down the runway, but it's wrong to assume they aren't concerned with the opinions of their peers about fashionable headphones within their social group. The argument about "Fashion" goes both ways, both with Beats and with Sennheiser.

 
No technically fashion is your style of clothes and what's "in."
 
Fashion:
 

 

[Primetime86]

Agree...headphones have a lot of margin in them!  For me the ability to find a deal is part of the fun...it's lot easier to listen to my M80s at $40 than it would be at $200!

If I'm following your posts here, you own the MA900, Q701, DT770 and have listened to the HD600s.  Have you owned/listened to the DT880s by chance?  Reason I ask is the statement you made that 'My Q701 are better than my DT770 yet I'd pick my DT770 anyday because they simply are more musical and fun' really strikes a chord with me.

Am considering 880, MA900, 600, or the Q701 to round out my mid-tier before I save for HE500s...beginning to think I should just focus on the HiFiMans unless I can pick up the MA900s for ~$125 or maybe some X1s for $150

I found the 880's ok. They still sound more on the sterile side to me though. I preferred the MA900 to them too. The MA900 are more open with a more fun liquid mid range and fuller bass imo

 

[vantt1]

   
No technically fashion is your style of clothes and what's "in."
 
Fashion:
 

Spoiler: http://i.imgur.com/wRbw4k1.jpg

 

That ain't fashion, that's swag!

 

[62ohm]

   
You make some good points, however I think with the support of everyone at Head-Fi, we should all agree that headphones are meant for music and not fashion, not style, not distorted sound (cough cough). Music.
 

 
I googled the total harmonic distortion of the Beats Studio right after you say distorted sound, and it turns out they have 1.5%. HD600 has 0.1%
 

  I think people in general are underestimating how often people buy Sennheiser, Audeze, and Hifiman to be fashionable. They are fashionable, trendy headphones, especially in this community.
 
The fact is, if you ask a Sennheiser fan what headphone is best, they'll say a predictable answer. Same with Beats. It's no different then asking a Corvette fan what sports car he would recommend. People have different tastes, different preferences, and headphones are a very personal choice. People tend to gloss over that fact a little too much.

 
Really? When I auditioned several TOTL phones, I think the K812 was the best looking, followed by the Audez'es and T1. Yet, I eventually went with HD800 because to me it has the best SQ of all. People in this community buys phones according to their sonic preferences, not for their looks.

 

[vantt1]

Beats align to some people's sonic preferences.
 
I'd prefer the Sony MDR-R10 over the HD800 any day.

 

[superlowfi]

 
Really? When I auditioned several TOTL phones, I think the K812 was the best looking, followed by the Audez'es and T1. Yet, I eventually went with HD800 because to me it has the best SQ of all. People in this community buys phones according to their sonic preferences, not for their looks.

 
I don't mean fashion as it pertains to looks, I mean fashion in the sense of the first sentence from wikipedia:
 
"Fashion is a general term for a popular style or practice"
 
There are popular preferences for sonic qualities, and popular brands that try to epitomize those qualities. In that sense, choosing a headphone such as Audeze can be considered a "Fashionable" choice, same with Sennheiser, Stax, or Beats. There is also the social factor that people in this community consider some headphones "the best of the best", and along those lines, some people buy a headphone to buy what the community considers "best". Both these purchase decisions involve a "fashionable" element.
 
It is again like asking a Corvette forum what is the best sports car. They have their preferences as a community. So does this one. That's all it comes down too, personal preferences.