What a waste of 220 quid.

[peterpiper]

got back from the gym about 6pm , sure enough there was a guy in there wearing beats, never took notice before, metallic dark blue with red wires to match that red 'b' you pay good money for that red b you know

 

[unsleepable]

Actually, people buy Apple products because they just work.....

and conversely I've had 2 iphones brick themselves on me, and all of the new apple stuff is all glued in so you can't even touch it yourself and the list of problems that people had with ios7.... Also, how many threads have we seen on here to do with itunes, nas's, airport expresses? It doesn't always just work anymore.

I've had all the iPhone models since the iPhone 3G—that is, all except the very first one—, and I find it kind of meaningful that only the 5 and 5s, the latest two models, have had hardware issues. :O

 

[cheeseboy]

Cheeseboy, sort of in order;

I an not sure you realise how truly poor Beats 'phones are. Many 'stock' headphones are actually better than Beats in terms of overall SQ, in addition Beats are poorly made and break quite easily, which given their posturing as a 'street' product is a nonsense.

I guess that depends on which stock headphones we are talking about. I'm sat next to a guy with a pair of beats actually as I type this (he didn't buy them, he found them left in is hotel room ) and I'd say they are much better than the stock iphone ones personally.

Of course they are sold on the back of heavy marketing, they are a fashion product pure and simple. The iPod may be too, but it is also an integral part of an entire music playing system (iTunes etc), not really comparable.

Don't you think that's a little hypocritcal though, panning one thing for being all marketing and not being about the quality of the sound, then on the other hand defending something for the same thing? Regardless of the fact it's an entire music system, there are better alternatives out there if sound is the main concern. I know what you are saying, I just disagree that's all. To me it's similar when we talk about cables and marketing, people suddenly start saying "well i can hear the difference, so it must be worth the extra cash", and now all of sudden when people want to do it with the same with the beats stuff, it's suddenly different somehow and it's just a markup, even though cables probably have the biggest markup of all parts of hifi, and even audioquest admit they are a marketing company first :?

Not quite sure on your point about Sennheiser though, perhaps you could expand?

Sorry, I'm late to reply on this one, but I see somebody covered it. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other gems kicking around like this. I was pretty shocked myself as well, but hey ho, at least we all know how to get something better for cheaper now

To be honest, and comedy sketches not withstanding, I am perfectly happy for 'proper' hi-fi to sit slightly apart from mainstream audio. I know it is not fashionable but I want my hi-fi to actually have a degree of hi-fidelity about it and if that requires a more 'serious' type of dealer then I am all for that.

I agree, and just for the record, I don't think the beats headphones are any good either.

But on the one hand you can't say you want proper hifi to be a niche market, then complain when a marketing juggernaught takes it's sales away. It's a capitalist society and companies have to move with the times to survive, which is a shame as something has to give at some point

 

[davedotco]

All entirely sensible points Cheeseboy.

This is not really an issue that I think that much about really, this thread not withstanding. I have been in and around the industry for many years and am pretty cynical of how it works but occasionally issues, like the Beats 'thing' rather 'gets my goat'.

Sticking with the examples above, the Sennheiser issue shocked me not because of what was done but by who did it, I had always considered them to be a 'serious, reputable' company. That's not to say that they are not, but despite the explanations about drive unit impedence changes which kind of makes sense, this remains dubious practice.

However, unlike the Beats the HD555/595 remain a quality product which sits a little easier with me, similarly the success of the iPod is based on the whole 'download culture' started by Apple and iTunes which has seen Apple earn it's dominance by providing the whole infrastructure that makes it work. As it happens I rarely use iTunes for anything and only ever use an iPod in the gym but I think I understand it's appeal.

The separation of 'proper hifi' and mass market audio is probably a reflection of my teenage years, mass market hi-fi as we know it today barely existed, most people bought record players or maybe radio or stereograms ('a nice bit of furniture'), real component hi-fi, still mostly valve, was sold in a small dusty shop in a sidestreet in a quiet part of town.

No one tried to pretend that a stereogram was hi-fi and in the sticks, where I grew up, hi-fi was relatively unusual. We knew someone who had a 'good' setup but he would only allow classical records to be played and for a teenager just getting to grips with very early Rolling Stones this did not have much attraction.

The intrusion of mass market, marketing led product into the hi-fi industry is just the market at work, I understand that, though what I do find more difficult to come to terms with is the way that the mass market product, so clearly not remotely hi-fi, is accepted by uncritical consumers.

This is why I often find it necessary to make the distinction between the mass market carp that proliferates at the bottom end of the market and the relatively few products that actually attempt to make a decent stab at playing music.

Sorry to go on, but I have an interest in the whole music/music playback industry, so do tend to sound off on such matters.

 

[chebby]

Not quite sure on your point about Sennheiser though, perhaps you could expand?

http://mikebeauchamp.com/misc/sennheiser-hd-555-to-hd-595-mod/

Seriously strange. I'm pretty cynical about the behaviour of many manufacturers but that is stunning.......!

It might partly explain why - as I mentioned earlier in this thread - I found my old HD-555s too warm to use for more than short periods without discomfort. (It seems, from that article, that their vents were bunged up with foam that shouldn't have been there.)

 

[chebby]

It also begs the question of whether the same thing is going on with their HD 558 / HD 598 headphones.

 

[cheeseboy]

All entirely sensible points Cheeseboy.

This is not really an issue that I think that much about really, this thread not withstanding. I have been in and around the industry for many years and am pretty cynical of how it works but occasionally issues, like the Beats 'thing' rather 'gets my goat'.....

I truncated the quote so it didn't look too massive

Yep, and I do agree with you on most points. I guess it's hard to be in a position where you see things sold as hifi, when they are clearly not, yet trying to explain to people is just like pissing in the wind

 

[MrReaper182]

I totally uderstad the appeal of looks. One of the reasons I brought my 900 quid speakers I have now is because they looked gorgeous. Had they not souded as detailed as they did I would of never have brought them but they needed to look great as well as sound great before they came home with me. My next pair of headphones I buy need to look gorgeous and the Beats tick that box nicelly but they also need to sound very detailed and the Beats definitely do not tick that box. If a company like Sennheiser made there headphones look like the Beats headphones do but kept what makes their heaphones sound so great I think they would be on to a winner.