The truth about Beats by Dre.

[DigitalHermit]

Honestly, I think Beats solos sound quite decent... (Yeah hate on me all you want.) It's just that there are a lot of better (and cheaper) options that sound similar or better for my tastes...

[Builder]

But by all means Builder, enjoy chewing on that blue pill.

It is mighty tasty.

[ShearMe]

[Deletive]

"So I got a message from Beats today.

I'm not in trouble, they just want to chat...

*locks windows*"

Mkbhd today on facebook  :lol: 
 

[CatCloud]

"So I got a message from Beats today.

I'm not in trouble, they just want to chat...

*locks windows*"

Mkbhd today on facebook :lol:

really? Lol...

[Deletive]

really? Lol...

yep

[GamerDude]

He doesn't really say anything new, we all knew that people buy Beats for the brand and not for the sound

Yes, but I think you forgot to add 'at grossly inflated price' between 'Beats' and 'for'.  I buy Shure, Sennheiser and AT when it comes to earbuds and headphones, even have a Klipsch Image One BT.....but I would NEVER, EVER consider a Beats. Even though the Image One BT has a somewhat exaggerated bass, it isn't muddied and doesn't drown out everything else. I find it sad that most would buy Beats simply because of advertising, and NOT based on sound. Heck, my old Sennie HD555 sounds better than ANY beats headphones....vocals is clear, highs that isn't ear piercing and so damn open sounding.

 

BTW, I agree that the vid guy isn't saying anything new, or anything we aren't aware of, but I do hope that his vid reaches the uninformed who have been bombarded with Beats ads so that they can, at least, make an informed decision. 

[SSL]

If it's crap, you return it. Big deal. How do you think you'd feel if you were previously satisfied with a purchase and then someone told you you were wrong to be satisfied and were essentially stupid? That's the aspect of this that I don't like.

 

That's the aspect of this that I relish.

[Builder]

That's the aspect of this that I relish.

So you're essentially an evil troll then?

[SSL]

So you're essentially an evil troll then?

 

I'm essentially sadistic.

[CatCloud]

If it's crap, you return it. Big deal. How do you think you'd feel if you were previously satisfied with a purchase and then someone told you you were wrong to be satisfied and were essentially stupid? That's the aspect of this that I don't like.

few retailers permits return if the Box is open, that's why reviews and opinions from people are important so one does not buy something bad.

[Builder]

I'm essentially sadistic.

Sexually?

 

few retailers permits return if the Box is open, that's why reviews and opinions from people are important so one does not buy something bad.

They do accept returns, generally just for store credit though. It's better they learn the lesson themselves to do the research next time.

[DigitalHermit]

few retailers permits return if the Box is open, that's why reviews and opinions from people are important so one does not buy something bad.

 

^THIS^

 

I've encountered way too many brick and mortar shops that do this...

Especially if the product comes in those hard blister packs (the ones that need a good sword to open)...

[GamerDude]

If it's crap, you return it. Big deal. How do you think you'd feel if you were previously satisfied with a purchase and then someone told you you were wrong to be satisfied and were essentially stupid? That's the aspect of this that I don't like.

Perhaps in your country, but in my neck of the woods, unless the product is faulty, you cannot return it and swap for another. If the product is faulty, you might get the exact product model as replacement. No way would the shops here allow you to swap it for another, like Sennheiser or Klipsch.....no bleeding way!

[CatCloud]

They do accept returns, generally just for store credit though. It's better they learn the lesson themselves to do the research next time.

few does and I disagree.

[Builder]

few does and I disagree.

You're mistaken. If you keep the packaging there are very few businesses that will not let you return an item that you bought in the last 30 days, have a receipt for, and have the original packaging.

[CatCloud]

You're mistaken. If you keep the packaging there are very few businesses that will not let you return an item that you bought in the last 30 days, have a receipt for, and have the original packaging.

as long as it's not open, it even says so on the recipe. it's 14days in Sweden if I remember correctly.

[Builder]

as long as it's not open, it even says so on the recipe. it's 14days in Sweden if I remember correctly.

Ah well perhaps it's different in Sweden.

 

In the US it's fairly common to have an open box return policy, though often only for store credit.

[mr moose]

In Australia a product has to be faulty in order to be able to return it.  Many will accept an un-opened product for credit, but not an open product.

[creatip123]

I think that guy is insightful and very good at expressing his thoughts. 

 

Personally, I'd look at this from the other side of perspective, from the company's side of view, in relation to the potential market demographic. When you're doing this (stand in their shoes), they're doing a helluva good job.

 

Beats were never ever ever intended to be sold to music enthusiasts, music critics, people looking for finesse in musics, or even people who know a bit about good stuffs. It's intended to be sold to people stumbling in the dark, wanting to buy something but don't know much in-depth about the thing they wanna buy (and perhaps too lazy to do something about it), so they'll grab whatever they've heard of the most. Fact is, these demographic target makes up most percentage out of overall potential buyers. Like said in the video, Beats takes up 64% of sales of headphones (in their price level, I assume). It's a very good marketing move, and being implemented by more and more companies. Going outside of their intended demographic population target, and making them their demographic target. 

 

Take Hifiman for example. With about the same price tag ($300), I'd take Hifiman's HE-400 over Beats anytime of the week. But how many of the overall population have heard of Hifiman? In audio forums, review sites, or the likes, of course. In overall world's population, not much, compared to Beats. I guarantee, at least in my country, if I were to conduct a random survey by asking random people on the streets, at most 1 out of 10 would have heard of Hifiman, but maybe 10 out of 10 would have heard of Beats.

 

Another example, outside of audio world, would be Nikon and Canon. Nowadays, those 2 are the biggest rivals, toe-to-toe with their amount of sales of DSLRs. But back then, waaayyyy back, Nikon stomps Canon for a fair distance. Back in the days (before 1950's), Canon didn't even have a lens factory, so they ordered their lenses from Nikon. But what made Canon accelerate so much that it's now the biggest rival of Nikon? Well, Nikon got a kind of old-fashioned mindset, that SLRs and DSLRs are 'mid-professional's toys'. Their demographic target for DSLRs are professionals and enthusiasts. For everyday's Janes and Joes, they push their pocket digicams. Canon got a different idea. Everyday's Janes and Joes make up the most potential demographic target. So Canon released their 'entry level DSLRs', with marketing campaigns aimed at everyday Janes and Joes. It worked, their 'entry level DSLRs' sales skyrocketed and Canon DSLRs' overall sales surpassed Nikon at some point. Naturally Nikon countered by releasing their own entry level DSLRs, to stay in competition.

 

So yeah, Beats may not do a good job at producing headphones (whatever factory they order their headphones from), but they does a very good job at selling/marketing them....

[BoredErica]

We've already hashed this out in a past thread. Anything I say would be a repost.

[GamerDude]

In Australia a product has to be faulty in order to be able to return it.  Many will accept an un-opened product for credit, but not an open product.

Exactly, many in the U.S. of A forget that what applies to them do NOT necessarily apply to those in, say Europe and Asia. The only way a retailer here would accept an open box item is if it's faulty, they can then return the faulty item to the distributor for a replacement. IF it's after one week, an open box item cannot be taken to the retailer, you'd then have to got to the distributor to get anything done.....worse case scenario, you get an exact model replacement....no different brand product! No store credit! Zip! Nada!

[PokémonTrainerFour]

Just bought some ATH M20X

Sound beautiful for $50 headphones

Late reply (and unrelated to topic), but would you recommend those and a ModMic over, say, the HyperX Cloud?

 

And maybe, if you guys think about it, that Beats sound good to somebody out there and that they're totally satisfied? Isn't that what matters in the end, that you're satisfied with what you bought?

They might be shit in your opinion, but someone finds them a godsend, and that's the only opinion that should matter after a buy. The end user's.

[BoredErica]

Late reply (and unrelated to topic), but would you recommend those and a ModMic over, say, the HyperX Cloud?

 

And maybe, if you guys think about it, that Beats sound good to somebody out there and that they're totally satisfied? Isn't that what matters in the end, that you're satisfied with what you bought?

They might be shit in your opinion, but someone finds them a godsend, and that's the only opinion that should matter after a buy. The end user's.

They are entitled to an informed opinion, not an opinion. If after sitting down and trying out other solutions, they find the Beats to be the best option, fine. But you can't just get Beats and then say "THEY ARE THE BEST I'VE EVER TRIED!!!" when they are the ONLY headphones you've ever tried. This applies to other headphones as well.

 

And some people will get Beats no matter how it sounds and like it. But if they ever recommend headphones to others they damned well better note their own criteria for selecting headphones...

[GamerDude]

Late reply (and unrelated to topic), but would you recommend those and a ModMic over, say, the HyperX Cloud?

 

And maybe, if you guys think about it, that Beats sound good to somebody out there and that they're totally satisfied? Isn't that what matters in the end, that you're satisfied with what you bought?

They might be shit in your opinion, but someone finds them a godsend, and that's the only opinion that should matter after a buy. The end user's.

Yes, if my niece had gotten a Beats, I ain't gonna beat her up over it......but I'd definitely give her the look of disapproval for sure!  As a tech forum, we are here to advise, if someone has already gotten a Beats, well, what can we say? But, if someone is asking whether he/she/they should buy a Beats, then it behooves us to at least point to less expensive and better alternatives......if we don't, what's the point of having a forum?

 

Seriously, the start of the video is how I feel about Beats, bass muddies everything else, mids and highs are muffled, vocals come out like someone singing thru padded foam (OK, an exaggeration....but ain't far from the truth either).....not my idea of what sounds good. Hence, if someone is asking whether a Beats would be a good buy, we owe it to the community as a whole to advise to the best of our knowledge/ability.