Phodg

Some interesting stuff in this article.

https://medium.com/bolt-blog/how-it-...e-154aae384b36

islandclaws

Not shocked at all to learn they're basically overpriced shit.

Dan

Not remotely surprising. There are some GREAT ~$300 headphones out there, but Beats are not them.

VHS?

Couple years ago I was buying 'knock off' Beats both earbuds and solo and while I knew they were fakes, when compared the real deals... I made out because they sounded the same in every way. They looked the same in every way. I paid $10 for earbuds and $60 for solo all with free shipping. Pretty sure they are still available on China sites.

islandclaws

Why even bother buying knockoffs then?

You wanted the "B", didn't you?

VHS?

They had the 'B' actually. Funny thing was they did not have the logo in the promo pictures on the site but when I received them it had the Beats logo. I found the actual real Beats sounded worse ... well not worse but much too loud compared the the knockoffs.

mndtrp

I think islandclaws is asking why you would buy knockoffs of an almost universally poorly reviewed set of headphones, if it wasn't for the distinctive "B". The same $60 could likely get you a set that sounded far better, depending on where you were.

dhmac

I remember reading a while back articles (like the one in the link below) on how the Beats headphones started due to the Monster Cable company initiating the concept, but they later were screwed over by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre in the deal.

Beat By Dre: The Exclusive Inside Story of How Monster Lost the World

Given that Monster was already well-known for severely overcharging for their audio products, I don't feel sorry for them at all. And Beats continuing that practice of overcharging doesn't surprise me one bit.

Shazam

God I fucking hate it when engineers prattle on about unit part cost, like that's the only fucking thing that matters.

Dan

Of course it's not the only thing that matters. There's also R&D; It costs a lot of money to pay engineers to build something for under $20 that can be sold for $300.

And Apple buying Beats, well...

JackBurton

I'll stick with my Grado SR80s for half the price.

EctoCooler

I'll stick with Sennheiser.

islandclaws

I'll stick with those Sony silicone earbuds I got off Amazon for $12.

VHS?

I initially bought the knockoff Beats earbuds simply because I wanted to see if they were just as good for a fraction of the price ($10) I then did the same for the Solo Beats. It wasn't to 'have' Beats, but to see how well of a knockoff they were. I also compared them to other brands.
Few weeks ago I used my Brother's Beats (Solo) and found my $8 Sentry over the ear headphones from BigLots sounded much better.

It was all simply comparing out of curiosity.

bluetoast

I just got me some Sony 7506s and am going through London Calling on them. Been years since I've had some good headphones. Interesting read about Beats though, but what did Monster expect to happen, given the way the contracts were written.

Mike86

I just have some Skull Candy headphones that I bought at Target for under $20 and they work fine for me. Almost bought into the hype and bought some Beats at first but glad I didn't.