Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones Review

Conclusion

We are all used to what happens when a celebrity sticks their name on a product in the hopes it will sell like hotcakes. In some cases the products end up being ten kinds of suck while in others you pay mega bucks for something that is a solid middle-of-the-pack contender. That all changes with the Beats since these are the real deal. These headphones do not feel like just another generic set where the company bought off a well known artist for face appeal and slapped his name all over the box. After spending a considerable amount of time with them, the sonic signature and overall product construction give the impression that much time and care was put into their crafting. Every time they are used I am impressed with the clarity, bass detail and sonic imaging they present and that impression hasn't lessened over the weeks I have had them in my possession. Every time I play movies or music or even try my hand at gaming, the Beats wowed me again and again; let me tell you, that is a tough thing to do these days.

Indeed, if you roll your eyes at the thought of spending $400 on a pair of headphones, these are not for you. However, for those out there that have an appreciation for quality sound, regardless of how light your wallet is, the Beats should be high on your list. Sound quality wise, they compete with the Sennheisers and Grados of this world while looking oh so cool which is a trait not many other $400 headphones can claim ownership of.

The sound quality is incredibly musical, imparting new sounds and detail previously unheard in most of the test tracks. The Beats managed to breath new sonic life into well known music and made all test tracks much more enjoyable.The added noise reduction / cancellation circuitry feels like an integrated feature instead of a tacked on effect which says a lot about the R&D that went into their design. This circuitry is incredibly quiet when enabled and unlike other (failed) examples of it, you cannot hear any hiss or hum at all, just dead silence until the Beats come to life with your favorite tracks.

The only real complaint we had with them is a bit of bleed-through when the headphones are on higher volumes and the 3.5 mm cable can be a bit short for PC use. I should be noted however that the cable is perfect length for portable audio player.

To tell you the truth, the only major problem with the Beats is that they make audio you thought was perfectly adequate feel suddenly lackluster. Instead of using that 128kbps bitrate which sounded good before, you will find yourself striving to find space for those 256kbps MP3s which eat up 4GB audio players like a pack of ravenous wolves. It is a well known fact that headphones can only be as good as the source they are connected to. Without a doubt, you would be doing the Beats a huge injustice by using them to play low bitrate MP3s. Granted, they can make even low-quality audio sound quite good, but where these headphones really come into their own is when they are plugged into a high quality DAC or when you are listening to high bitrate MP3s.

It is for these reasons and so many more that the Beats by Dr. Dre get our Dam Good Award.



Pros
- High Quality Sound
- Tough Build Quality
- Good Bundle
- Amazing design

Cons
- Some sound leaks at loud volumes
- Short 3.5mm cord for PC use