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So im trying to fix my active collection head set right now, issue being part avalibility. I can only find solo 3 parts, in which for the headband i am fine with, and infact think it would look rather cool to have a different collar headband. But i also need a hinge replacement and cannot find solo2 hinges, once again i am fine with this as they are made with plastic, but need to know if the solo 3 hinges will work with the solo 2's. If a picture helps: (everything currently on the headset is fine: ie the metal part of the hinge the plastic parts broke) i dont particularly care much for the rubber piece as the cushion is in perfect condition, same with the battery and speakers, all fine, only issue is headband and plastic part of hinges. If anyone needs clarifcation then i can record what i mean, i suck at writing. Thank you in advance

Had a pair of Beats Studio 3. I was taking them off, and the plastic head piece snapped above the hinge. I took it to Apple, and they wanted to charge me more than the headphones are worth (by the way, this was a clear manufacturing defect, and the headphones are still in the warranty period) for a $20 repair! This is absolutely absurd. Has anyone else had a similar experience with Apple refusing to honor the 1 year limited warranty? Let me know, and does anyone know a good way to go about getting them repaired? Thanks!

So... This is a pretty good blind social experiment Definitely post your rants down below...

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nfl-bans-players-from-wearing-beats-by-dre-headphones-during-interviews-171611924.html The NFL has struck a new deal with Bose and will no longer allow players to wear the incredibly popular headphones during interviews. Fines will be issued if this rule is breached.

Background In case some of you are unaware, these are a very popular pair of headphones on the internet. Ever since late 2009 I’ve seen rave reviews pop up all around the internet. 4chan /g/ headphone posters declared it “the official headphone of /g/” (it is now currently either the Sony MDRv6 or HiFiman HE-500 depending on who you listen to). It’s been given such accolades as “Beats Killer” and “the best pair of headphones at any price”. This headphone has had more hype surrounding it than any other headphone on the internet besides the infamous Beats by Dr. Dre. Beats fanboys have lined up on YouTube and professed their changing of allegiance to this headphone, and Cadillac commercials have featured them. So is it really worth all that hype? Build and Comfort If nothing else, this is one nice looking headphone. The cups prominently feature the Audio-Technia logo surrounded by a silver metal ring. They come in black, but there is also a special edition silver version, a white version, and most notably a fire-engine red version. Very flashy. However, this headphone is not simply designed to serve as a headnecklace to fashion conscious teenagers. This is a professional DJ monitor, featuring high isolation and the ability to monitor with one side of the headphone only while not having to hold them in any special way. This leads to a very complex headband featuring 3 different degrees of freedom. The cups can be bent back and forth, rotate 180 degrees, and the entire cup can be folded back against the headband with a pair of headband hinges. Since this headphone has a single cable lead, the wire connecting to the right cup has to worm its way through this complex mess of joints to get to the other side. While it’s proven to hold up pretty well, I’ve heard of numerous accounts of the right cup going silent, so it’s worth noting to treat these with care if you want them to last and not force the cups into any strange gymnastic feats. I personally find that the rotation of the cups can make getting these on your head unruly at times. Once you get them straight, however, they are quite comfortable. One of the major complaints about the comfort of this headphone is that it exerts excessive clamping force on its wearer. I’m sorry, I’m just not feeling it. If it really bothers you, you can just stretch the headband out a bit until the headphone wears in. My only complaint is the earpads are completely unbreathable and cause your ears to get quite sweaty over a long period of time. I usually wouldn’t even mention the cable termination, but it’s quite fancy in this case. The screw on ¼” jack is gold plated and the entire jack is metal. There is a spring on the first portion of the cable to keep you from pulling on the cables leading to the connector when you tug it out of a jack. My cable is straight as this is the ATH M50s specifically, but the normal version has a coiled cable if you take issue with those. Sound Quality The cups on the Audio-Technica ATH M50s are closed and as you would expect there is a major low frequency compliment to these headphones. When I first plugged these in, I thought I was listening to a very cheap headphone indeed. The bass was bloated and uncontrolled and the highs were non-existent, much like the Beats Solo I’d tried in a store about a year back. Disappointed, I trucked through listening to some YouTube videos with them. Even voices sounded off and distant. I tried re-screwing on the ¼” jack a few times thinking it was a connection issue. Nope. I put them away in their bag for about a day, and then on a whim pulled them out for a couple more hours of listening. By the time I’d reached that second hour, the perceived signature of these headphones had completely changed. The high frequency response rose about 5 dB, and the low frequency response weakened and became much more controlled. Mind you, even now it’s still a pretty bassy headphone, but nowhere near as bass-heavy as my old Beyerdynamic DT990pros. The detail is excellent, and I find them very enjoyable to listen to. Sounds are more distant and laid back and sound more like a pair of good speakers and a subwoofer, much like my Custom One Pros in position 2. In fact, both these headphones are neck and neck in audio quality, with the Beyers being slightly more laid back and having a bit more bass bloom, and the Audio-Technicas being a bit louder in the mid-range. Isolation is similar to the Custom One Pro as well. They really are very similar headphones if you don’t look at them. Conclusion If you don't believe me, do you believe Dr. Dre? I think I can now say this with a great bit of confidence that these are indeed worth the hype, but probably not so much at the $150 price point. Compared to already overpriced headphones these are definitely much more worth it even at $200, but I think there are overall better options once you hit the $150 mark. Lots of very nice headphone are at and BELOW this price point that have lots of detail and are also built with better materials. However, this is an excellent choice even at $150 in a couple situations. If you lack special amplification, these are incredibly easy to drive off desktop onboard, portable media players, and smartphones. Also if you like the look of the Beats by Dre, but don’t want to pay $300 for a pair, this is an excellent alternative that looks, in my opinion, and just as pretty, especially in red. As such it’s prominently featured on my image in the FAQ as a tried and tested headphone, but I’d wait for a good sale around the $100 price point before I picked up a pair. At that price point, it may certainly be one of the best values I’ve encountered yet.