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Author Topic: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?  (Read 40641 times)

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Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #75 on: June 13, 2012, 02:21:58 PM »
If he designed them he most likely needs to get his hearing checked. 
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"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline jlykos

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #76 on: June 14, 2012, 11:18:08 AM »
I just ordered a set of the Monster iSport Immersion earphones for the gym.  This, after my FOURTH set of Westone earphones just broke.  The Westones are incredible, but really, really fragile.  The iSports are allegedly waterproof, have tangle-free cords, and are supposed to stay in your ear.  I'll post a complete report when I receive them.  I have no idea how they will sound; I just wanted something that wouldn't break when working out.
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"I have no views," Mickey Melchiondo, known as Dean Ween, said in a philosophical moment. "I am way too stupid. I have no strong feelings about anything. I'm really into television and the computer. I believe everything I see on TV and read on the Internet."

Offline hi and lo

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #77 on: June 14, 2012, 02:25:13 PM »
I just ordered a set of the Monster iSport Immersion earphones for the gym.  This, after my FOURTH set of Westone earphones just broke.  The Westones are incredible, but really, really fragile.  The iSports are allegedly waterproof, have tangle-free cords, and are supposed to stay in your ear.  I'll post a complete report when I receive them.  I have no idea how they will sound; I just wanted something that wouldn't break when working out.

It happens... they don't make these things very durable, probably so you keep buying new pairs.

I've been a Shure E4c (more recently call the SCL4) user since 2007 and have also had 4 pairs break. Great sound quality, but there is nothing more annoying than when they start to develop a short.

Offline acidjack

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #78 on: June 18, 2012, 11:37:48 AM »
I just ordered a set of the Monster iSport Immersion earphones for the gym.  This, after my FOURTH set of Westone earphones just broke.  The Westones are incredible, but really, really fragile.  The iSports are allegedly waterproof, have tangle-free cords, and are supposed to stay in your ear.  I'll post a complete report when I receive them.  I have no idea how they will sound; I just wanted something that wouldn't break when working out.

I'll be curious how those work for ya.  I don't run in headphones anymore generally, so I haven't had a pair break as recently, but yeah, all the small HQ IEMs seem somewhat fragile.  I would definitely not want to sweat on my Westone 3s.

When I do run with headphones I use the pretty inexpensive Sennheiser sport line.  These appear to be some newer Adidas-branded version, but I like my basic IEM ones. They have an extra stub on the top to hold them in your ear that really helps when running, and I have gotten them soaking wet with sweat with no issues.  http://www.sennheiserusa.com/sport-earphones-earbuds-headphones-sennheiser-adidas_504038
Mics: Schoeps MK4V, MK41V, MK5, MK22> CMC6, KCY 250/5, KC5, NBob; MBHO MBP603/KA200N, AT 3031, DPA 4061 w/ d:vice, Naiant X-X, AT 853c, shotgun, Nak300
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Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #79 on: June 18, 2012, 11:58:57 AM »
I just ordered a set of the Monster iSport Immersion earphones for the gym.  This, after my FOURTH set of Westone earphones just broke.  The Westones are incredible, but really, really fragile.  The iSports are allegedly waterproof, have tangle-free cords, and are supposed to stay in your ear.  I'll post a complete report when I receive them.  I have no idea how they will sound; I just wanted something that wouldn't break when working out.

It happens... they don't make these things very durable, probably so you keep buying new pairs.

I've been a Shure E4c (more recently call the SCL4) user since 2007 and have also had 4 pairs break. Great sound quality, but there is nothing more annoying than when they start to develop a short.

I know Shure fixed the breakage problem when they released their new modified line a couple of years ago.  I had four SE530's break on me and then got the newer 535's and I could not get a deep enough seal with them so I sold them off  :(   

I'm now using the imetal 590's and they sound good, but yeah, they feel fragile and I think they're developing a short in the left earpiece...probably from all the sweat when I run on the treadmill   :(
SP-CMC-4s (C, H, SC terminated to mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Countryman B3 (Omni, mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Audix 1200 series cable from Chris Church, pair of Audix M1280 card capsules

Listening: Oppo 980HD>Yamaha RXV667>Rega R1's + Rega RS VOX + Rega R5S's

"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline jlykos

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #80 on: June 20, 2012, 03:17:36 AM »
I've been listening to the Monster iSport Immersion earphones a lot since I received them and feel like I can make some impressions about their sound, comfort, and fit.  As suspected, the bass and (to a lesser extent, the) treble have been boosted, making the midrange sound more recessed than it actually is.  The thing with these earphones is that the midrange is there, it's just that the bass and treble are boosted so you have to play louder to hear the midrange clearly.  I listen to mostly heavy metal, hip hop, and jazz.  Metal doesn't sound too great on these; it's all guitar treble and bass drums, with the vocals kind of in the background.  Hip hop sounds like it should, just with the bass boosted.  Chopped and screwed music sounds great.  Jazz sounds surprisingly good with good definition of the upright bass and horns.  A problem is that the piano can sound muddy at the lower registers when it is combined with a kick drum.  Otherwise, it's OK.  The bass on these earphones isn't too boomy; it's more of an overabundance which can be distracting because it's so prominent.  It's like Monster could have created a really awesome earphone with good all-around sound, but instead decided to boost the bass and treble for marketing purposes so they could write things like "great bass!" and "awesome clarity!" on the outside of the box because consumers don't know any better.

The most significant issue with these earphones is getting a good fit and seal.  Getting a good seal is trickier with these earphones than any others that I have used and it can take a lot of adjusting to get them to fit properly in your ears.  They come with five sizes of ear tips and ear clips which makes things better, but even when things are sized appropriately, it can still take some work.  Once they are in your ears, they don't come out, but getting them in can be a challenge.  Comfort is so-so.  The ear clips press up against the top of a ridge in your ear so they are fine for an hour or so, but start to hurt after that.  I had them in for a long plane ride from Washington D.C. back to Kiev, Ukraine and the ridge of my ears was hurting when I landed.

Build quality is not the greatest.  They may be waterproof, but they look fragile to me.  I thought that these had the metal construction of other Monster models, but no, it's just metal-colored plastic.  I have no idea about their durability, but they don't look like they can withstand much abuse.  I'll see what happens.  The cord is flat which does a good job of reducing tangles and has a volume control / microphone on it for answering phone calls and such.  Microphonics are definitely present, but given that my past reference are Westones that have virtually no microphonics, I don't know if the Monsters are above or below average in this regard.

Bottom line, these look like they will be a good choice for the gym, but are too colored to serve as a reference and too uncomfortable to be an everyday earphone.  If I'm walking around town running errands, I'll reach for the Westones first.  If I get a couple years out of the Monsters in the gym, I'll be happy with them.

One final note is not to pay anywhere near full retail price for these.  Retail price is $180 for the set; I paid $130 at Amazon and that was the lowest price.  At $180, it's a total ripoff; at $130, it's still a ripoff, but I don't feel like giving Westone any more money for earphones that break quickly.
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"I have no views," Mickey Melchiondo, known as Dean Ween, said in a philosophical moment. "I am way too stupid. I have no strong feelings about anything. I'm really into television and the computer. I believe everything I see on TV and read on the Internet."

Offline acidjack

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #81 on: June 20, 2012, 10:23:26 AM »
^^ Thanks for the writeup.  Yes, it's pretty clear who Monster's core customer is, and it's hip-hop people.  I feel like it has always been sort of the "audiophile brand" for the masses, in a way.  Those sound intriguing as an option for less than Westone 3s or Shure 535s.

Is it just me, or is the Beats thing dying down a bit?  For awhile every thug on the subway had them on, and now I feel like it's tapered off a good bit. I don't know if (a) they broke them all (build looks pretty bad), (b) they got tired of getting mugged for them, (c) they realized they sounded like crap (unlikely) or (d) my imagination. Or maybe Dre not being involved hurt that marketing aspect of it. But I haven't really seen anything take their place; I just feel like they're less ubiquitous than 6-12 months ago.
Mics: Schoeps MK4V, MK41V, MK5, MK22> CMC6, KCY 250/5, KC5, NBob; MBHO MBP603/KA200N, AT 3031, DPA 4061 w/ d:vice, Naiant X-X, AT 853c, shotgun, Nak300
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Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #82 on: June 20, 2012, 11:16:59 AM »
Agreed!  Thanks for the nice write up!  Pretty much in line with what most people expect from them.

Acidjack, I continue to see them all the time, unfortunately.  They do stand out to be mugged, especially since they've gotten so much press.  I seriously doubt anyone would think the 535's would be as pricey as they are.

Ya know what I'd really like to see, an affordable ~$50 iem for runners to block out sweat and stay in your ears.  I just had a pair of iMetal Maximo 590's bite the dust while I was running on the treadmill last night.  Sucks too since they sounded pretty darn good.  I contacted Maximo for a warranty repair, if possible.
SP-CMC-4s (C, H, SC terminated to mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Countryman B3 (Omni, mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Audix 1200 series cable from Chris Church, pair of Audix M1280 card capsules

Listening: Oppo 980HD>Yamaha RXV667>Rega R1's + Rega RS VOX + Rega R5S's

"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline jlykos

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #83 on: June 27, 2012, 03:05:57 AM »
Update for the Monster iSport Immersion earphones.  I went jogging in them twice and the piece that has the volume control and pause button suffered water damage and does not work anymore.  Worse, it now controls my iPod whenever it is plugged in and sets it to voice control and pauses the music randomly around every 30 seconds.  This, for supposedly "waterproof" earphones.  I'm getting a refund through Amazon.  Pure garbage.
dpa 4061 > Church Audio 9200 > Sony PCM-D50 (Moon Audio Silver Dragon v3 interconnect)

"I have no views," Mickey Melchiondo, known as Dean Ween, said in a philosophical moment. "I am way too stupid. I have no strong feelings about anything. I'm really into television and the computer. I believe everything I see on TV and read on the Internet."

Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #84 on: June 27, 2012, 08:07:49 AM »
Thanks for the update.  Amusingly, my iMetal 590's started working again  8)

I would still love to find a solid iem for running that blocks out sweat and they stay in place.  Nothing is worse than having to pull out your iem's to dry them and then dry your ear canals while running on the treadmill...
SP-CMC-4s (C, H, SC terminated to mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Countryman B3 (Omni, mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Audix 1200 series cable from Chris Church, pair of Audix M1280 card capsules

Listening: Oppo 980HD>Yamaha RXV667>Rega R1's + Rega RS VOX + Rega R5S's

"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline jlykos

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #85 on: June 27, 2012, 09:02:15 AM »
Thanks for the update.  Amusingly, my iMetal 590's started working again  8)

I would still love to find a solid iem for running that blocks out sweat and they stay in place.  Nothing is worse than having to pull out your iem's to dry them and then dry your ear canals while running on the treadmill...

That's exactly what I am looking for as well and I can't find one anywhere.  I have heard mixed to poor reviews of the Sennheiser / Addidas 680 series which is why I went with Monster in the first place.  I used Koss KSC75 over-ear headphones but they started squeaking to a distracting amount and only lasted a few months before an earpiece would invariably cut out.  Westones can't handle the gym.  I have heard mixed things about Yurbuds and Meelectronics earphones.  Polk has a new line of sport headphones, but I don't feel like spending $100 to find out that they don't work.

I'm getting a set of my Westone UM1 fixed and I just bought an "earphone saver" case which is basically a big silica gel pad on the bottom of a film canister.  I'm going to try storing my UM1s in there to see if it sucks the moisture out of the earphones and can preserve them for a while.  Maybe it will work, maybe not, but it's all that I have to go on right now.
dpa 4061 > Church Audio 9200 > Sony PCM-D50 (Moon Audio Silver Dragon v3 interconnect)

"I have no views," Mickey Melchiondo, known as Dean Ween, said in a philosophical moment. "I am way too stupid. I have no strong feelings about anything. I'm really into television and the computer. I believe everything I see on TV and read on the Internet."

Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #86 on: June 27, 2012, 03:41:37 PM »

The Meelectronics...meh...I have the A151's.  They sound underwhelming for the most part. Running with them was HELL.  Lots of microphonics.

I was also looking at those Sennheiser/Adidas 680's and some of the reviews about them really being earbuds and not iem's turned me off immediately.  I took at them in their packaging at J&R and yeah, they certainly are earbuds.  It's beyond me why not a single IEM manufacturer has come out with something to fill in the void yet.   :(
SP-CMC-4s (C, H, SC terminated to mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Countryman B3 (Omni, mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Audix 1200 series cable from Chris Church, pair of Audix M1280 card capsules

Listening: Oppo 980HD>Yamaha RXV667>Rega R1's + Rega RS VOX + Rega R5S's

"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline jlykos

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #87 on: July 06, 2012, 05:16:50 AM »
Got tired of listening to the awful Ukrainian pop music that they play in the gym around here so went out and bought a pair of Koss Sportapro headphones that they sell locally (and I'm sure they do in the U.S. as well).  So far so good.  They are folding headphones and allegedly have the same drivers as the Koss Portapro headphones.  The main difference between the two is that the Portapros can be work behind the head and clamp down on your ears a bit more so they don't fall off.  The system is working so far.  I don't like wearing them behind my head because the pads clamp on the sides of my head too much, but they are working fine on top of my head and have never fallen off or even moved during a workout (treadmill run and weight lifting).

Sound is dark with an emphasized bass, recessed midrange, and not as much high end as I like.  If I had them for every day headphones, I would be kind of disappointed, but for something that will get beat up in the gym, I'm perfectly fine with them.  The best part is that they cost $20 and have a lifetime warranty so if something happens to them, I send them back to Koss and they send me a new set.

No, they don't sound as good as Westones or even Monsters, but at $80 less than Westones and $110 less than Monsters, they have lasted twice as long as either of them in the gym thus far (a week and a half) and sound perfectly acceptable when I'm working out.  And if they crap out, I send them in and I get a new set.  I don't have a problem with this system.
dpa 4061 > Church Audio 9200 > Sony PCM-D50 (Moon Audio Silver Dragon v3 interconnect)

"I have no views," Mickey Melchiondo, known as Dean Ween, said in a philosophical moment. "I am way too stupid. I have no strong feelings about anything. I'm really into television and the computer. I believe everything I see on TV and read on the Internet."

Offline George

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #88 on: July 18, 2012, 08:15:59 AM »
If only Koss would be able to emulate the sound of the KSC-75's into a sports iem model.  I would be drooling majorly.
SP-CMC-4s (C, H, SC terminated to mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Countryman B3 (Omni, mini xlr)>Tinybox>Sony M10/Tascam DR-2d
Audix 1200 series cable from Chris Church, pair of Audix M1280 card capsules

Listening: Oppo 980HD>Yamaha RXV667>Rega R1's + Rega RS VOX + Rega R5S's

"Every time I see a group of teenagers gathered around an iphone laughing at some youtube video, I walk up to them, slap the iphone out of their hand, get right up to them nose to nose, and scream at the top of my lungs:

TAKE A LOOK

IT'S IN A BOOK

READING FUCKING RAINBOW."

Offline Chrisedge

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Re: "Beats By Dr Dre" Headphones..?
« Reply #89 on: July 18, 2012, 01:20:17 PM »
I've been listening to the Monster iSport Immersion earphones a lot since I received them .... (CUT) ... One final note is not to pay anywhere near full retail price for these.  Retail price is $180 for the set; I paid $130 at Amazon and that was the lowest price.  At $180, it's a total ripoff; at $130, it's still a ripoff, but I don't feel like giving Westone any more money for earphones that break quickly.

Wow, I own two pairs of Beats (I work in the industry and got them for free) Studios and Pro line, but would never pay those prices nor the above for that quality.

No love for Etymotic IEM's? I have the HF3 model (List around $180 but discounted to $129 or so on Amazon) and they are fantasic.
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