Topic: Beats by Dre

[6pairsofshoes]

So Apple is pushing these headphones.  For free with purchase of a computer or tablet.  You get to pay the sales tax (unless you live in Delaware or some other nice place where sales tax doesn't exist).  So the list price for the Beats 3 Studio noise cancelling headphones is 349.95 or something like that.  This means they charge you $35 for them.  I've not seen any very positive reviews.  They seem to possess the virtue of working well with Apple equipment, but the noise canceling features and the sound have not gotten much laudatory praise.

I'm on the fence.  I need a new desktop and have been thinking of getting an iMac.  It has to be a 27 inch because they don't allow for DIY RAM upgrades in the 21.5 inch ones.  If you get Apple to put in RAM, you pay double what the DIMMs cost if you installed them yourself.  So I was looking at the refurbished machines which are about $100-$200 cheaper, still come with warranty.  No phones.  If I get a new machine, I can get the phones and sell them on ebay for about a hundred buck profit.

Has anyone used these critters?  I have Sennheisers but no noise canceling ones.  All open ear versions.  I like my Sennheisers and I am deeply suspicious of headphones that are endorsed by a rapper who has no electrical or acoustical engineering background.  If Dre had gone to MIT and was lauded for his acoustical modeling and had made significant contributions to the field, I'd think twice about it.  But this is Apple.  Trendy, obsessively hip Apple.  I'd expect them to be pretty and sound like crap.

In fact, I was noticing how the fidelity of even youtube music suffers under the current spartan computer regimen I've been reduced to:  namely, one does not buy a MacBook Air expecting good sounding music to come out of the headphone jack.  Nope.  That's another reason I'd rather go back to the iMac.  At least the music sounded better.

But I digress.  If there is anyone out there who has experience with Beats and can offer advice, I'd appreciate it.  I do fly sometimes so noise canceling would be useful, although from what I've gathered, I should just shell out money for a set of BOSE headphones.

[8ullfrog]

Beats are more a fashion accessory than high-end headphones. I'd probably take them as a pack in accessory as you described,  but waiting for better noise cancelling headphones doesn't sound too bad an idea either.

I'm sorry your search for a new all-in-one is hitting the Apple tax hell.

[6pairsofshoes]

I expect that if I get them it will be for resale.  I never got the whole idea of Beats in the first place.  I mean I get it, but it seems to have little to do with headphones.  Otherwise they'd sound good and perform well.

[Alfonz]

I have a set of wired-over the ear beats, I was given them but I believe they were in the neighborhood of $250 IIRC. They sound very good, but honestly for an over the ear headphone I prefer my Bluedio bluetooth headphones. I love deep bass and these headphones deliver! Don't let the price fool you, these headphones are awesome.
https://www.amazon.com/Bluedio-T7-Bluetooth-Headphones-Canceling/dp/B07Q71VML6

I also have wired Sennheisers which I would also rate above Beats. Long story short, Beats are part of a culture rather than an ultra high quality audio device.

[6pairsofshoes]

Yep.
I'm not really into that culture.  I love my Sennheisers.  I must, as I have 4 pairs.  I would like a set of noise cancelling ones for travel, but right now the economics don't make sense. I guess I could try the Beats for $35 and sell them if they're as bad as everyone says they are.

[goldshirt*9]

have listened to beats and found them rather Base orientated.
As a oldie I do like to listen to music not just the boom. JBL make some good bluetooth headphones that are pretty good and decently priced.

Beats are more a fashion accessory

So agree.
******************************************
Found a pair of bose earbuds which sound very good but are so expensive

I own a set of Bayerdynamic in earbuds and over the ear, love them to death.
Have a set of Jays which are not too bad for the price.
Bluetooth i use iTeknic and for £20 which work whilst I run and cycle. Not too expensive if broken.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07N2P318B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Beyer and the Jays have are flat wire connections (not the normal round) which sound fantastic but if your moving around you can hear the wires slapping against your head / ears so a little off putting at times, so you need to be still for beat usage

[6pairsofshoes]

I caved and spent the c. $35 to get the Beats.  I figure if I hate them, I can sell them at a profit on ebay.  It seemed like I might as well, since I had to get the computer anyway.  It will be ready on 10/16.  I'm hoping it won't take too long to set up. I should be able to transfer the contents of the Time Machine onto it.  In the meantime, I'm using this Air.  It leaves a good deal to be desired.  But it's better than nothing.

I'm trying to find a cheap ipad mini as I read lots of ebooks and right now the choices are:  read them on my iphone 6, or my first generation ipad which is sort of heavy.  I am afraid to read too late at night lest I fall asleep and the heavy glass falls to the floor, shattering.  It's got practically no resale value but it still works, so I use it.  The used mini 4s are so expensive that I may just hold out until Black Friday and see if I can just get a new one.  After a point, it's not worth the small savings.  I'd be happy to get an older one except that many of them won't be supported.  The one I have can only run iOs 5.  That limits its functionality significantly.

[8ullfrog]

I'll mention again, relatively modern Samsung's have a blue light filter, might help with late night reading, doesn't seem to do a bless'ed thing for battery life.

While Beats do appear to be something of a confidence scam, I'd be interested in hearing your experience of them, but it seems you're somewhat between platforms for now.

I consider my 4gb blue iPod Nano (no video) my old standard for testing. Like I said, the Sennheiser HD 205's are a little flat, and I don't trust tech blogs anymore.

I remember there used to be absolutely brilliant head to head tests where they didn't care who made the products, and they'd have stars down the list.

Nowadays, it's all clearly sponsored content. Damn shame.

I don't know how you feel about the group, but Rage Against The Machine's 1992 self titled album is considered a good test album, apparently it was well produced.

So I like the tab line, and I believe they are far less expensive than apple. I'd say avoid the poo out of the ellipsis line, but you're unlikely to come across one.

I do miss my tab 3, which was killed by my own stupidity. Avoid that, if possible.

[dweez]

All the platforms newer OS versions have a "night mode" blue light filter feature now (Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, etc), you just have to find where it's at in the settings. In iOS it's called "Night Shift" and it's in Settings > Display & Brightness.

[8ullfrog]

Good deal, on my S5, the right side blues burned out, looked like a coffee stain. Wasn't why they replaced the phone, but I also did not mention it. If you say anything about dead pixels, they just void the service ticket.

Thankfully in my case, they were worried the phone was going to pop. That's on their dime. Been a fairly horrible nightmare. But I already made that thread.

I hope six likes the headphones. I still remember the expose where the guy revealed they were weighing the beats down to make them "feel" more expensive.

[smokester]

I paid an arm and a leg (and probably an ear) for 2 pairs of Beats for the kids 3 Christmases ago. One pair lasted just over a year and the other just over 2 years. I am pretty shocked that they didn't last longer as you'd have thought that part of their heavyweight price would be to do with durability.

[6pairsofshoes]

I did not opt for Apple Care for the Beats but I guess I could buy it within a given period of time if I decided to keep them.  They're selling for $175 and up on craigslist around here, so the profit from selling them would nearly pay for another couple DIMMs of RAM. 

[8ullfrog]

no shame in flipping them, but if you decide to keep them please jot a review down.

[6pairsofshoes]

so.  I get the Beats.  Nice packaging.  I spent a good deal of time attempting to get them to work w/the new iMac.  Nothing I did worked, nor was anyone at Apple support able to effect a connection.  They paired with my phone and didn't sound particularly impressive although I didn't give them much of an airing.

The determination?  They were faulty.  I was advised to take them back and get another pair.   So, in addition to the fact that they were kind of uncomfortable, didn't work, etc., I noticed one other thing about them that was pretty objectionable.  They stank.  The plastic that they chose to manufacture the case and the ear cushions had a weird almost perfumey plastic off gassing odor that was so persistent that I had to put them in a sealed plastic bag to avoid having them stink up the entire house.  Gak.  I wonder if that's why they were pushing them.

So I check my receipt from the store and it appears that the way they made them "free" was to charge me $350 less for the iMac and full price for the headphones.  When I get to the store, the guy at the counter offers two things:  refund my money for the entire amount or give me a gift card.  This was nearly $400 including sales tax.  Remember, other than the $28 bucks in sales tax for them, I really hadn't paid any extra for them. 

So I wanted an ipad mini -- I've got a 1st gen ipad that weighs about a ton, and have been scouring craigslist for used ipad mini 4s as I read lots of ebooks.  This was so much better. 

I had to wait for about a half hour just to buy the thing. This was a weekday in the middle of the afternoon and the store was still mobbed.  Go figure.  Weeknights, weekends, doesn't matter. This place is selling tons of products from the minute they open until they lock the doors at night.  I really didn't want the Beats in the first place, but I figured, what the hell, I can always just sell them for about $150 on craigslist.  This made the entire thing unnecessary.  I'm shaking my head at my good fortune.  It's like buy an imac to replace your dead one and we'll throw in that ipad mini you had your eyes on for the price of sales tax and apple care.  If I spring for a pencil I can doodle on it, too.  So to say I'm happy about this is an understatement.

[6pairsofshoes]

I used to draw quite a bit, and still enjoy doodling.  So playing with the pencil in the store was big fun.  I think it took me an hour from the time I got there until I got out of there with the new item.  My husband reminded me that it was a holiday, so my big plan to avoid crowds wasn't particularly well thought out.