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If you were planning on picking up an HTC EVO 4G LTE, or any other future device from HTC with expectations of getting your hands on the included Beats Audio headphones — let me stop you right there. The Taiwanese manufacturer has finally come their senses and apparently, will no longer bundle the (arguably over priced) headphones along with their devices. HTC’s product executive told Cnet today,
“An accessory like the headphone doesn’t factor in when someone is buying a smartphone. If they want a Beats headphone, they’ll buy it directly.”
But, when it comes to Beats Audio software, HTC will continue integrating the software into future devices, branding them with the famous “B” logo. Still, even with bassy software integration, that $300 million HTC paid to acquire a majority stake in Beats a few months ago sounds like a whole lot less of a value when actual hardware is no longer involved. If you listen carefully, you can hear Dr. Dre laughing his way to the bank.
there is a reasonable reason for this. Bottom line I have studied the specs of these headphones and they are no where near quality for the price they are asking for them
20-20,000Hz. is standard cheap freq and the human ear doesn’t hear much over 19,000Hz so the top end doesn’t matter. However, it’s the bottom end where you need to look for better then 20. You ideally would like to see 5-20,000Hz
JVC makes the marshmallow @ 8-20,000Hz for $15
the monster beats headphone are 20-20.000Hz for $299 HUGE ripoff!!!
fixed the thousands numbers
I have to say I concur about the beats. I went through three pairs of tours in two years. The flat cables would always crack and expose the copper wires and one side would eventually die out. So, I went for Westone 3, much better quality and longevity. I am currently contemplating on a pair of Westone UM3X, which are made here in the USA.
I too have a pair of Westone 3…they are amazing.
Grab a pair of Sony XB-500 for $50 or a pair of XB-700’s for around $100 and watch them put the Beats headphones to shame with bass, best low bass response and clarity and volume you can find for the price.
Its true my $10 headphones are better
I read the headline as “HTC Says Farewell to Beats”. Too bad it’s just the bundled headphones they’re saying buhbye to, instead of the beats EQ preset itself, because I refuse to buy anything with the overpriced “beats” gimmick infused into it. I understand they’re trying to differentiate, and that I don’t HAVE to use bassy beats headphones, but, yuck.
Yes! I agree, the whole beats software is way over rated also.
However I would buy a phone on carrier as we get the contract pricing and try and turn beats off or root.
The beats only works on the stock player anyways. There are several other music players that work much better anyways.
I don’t like that it compresses the track. I don’t really mind EQ, but the beats software isn’t just EQ. It’s compression, too. Which means non-compressed tracks are heavily compressed (sounds stupid) and originally compressed tracks are OVERLY compressed, even more so than the normal track compressed by beats. Either way, it sounds like garbage.
Unless you listen to rap, and only rap. Yeah, that’s not me.
You can’t hear below 20hz but you can feel the SPL from large subwoofers. Having headphones that produce audio below 20hz is pointless.
I can hear and feel a difference below 20
“The maximum range of human hearing includes
sound frequencies from about 15 to about 18,000
waves, or cycles, per second.”
“Ear”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CDROM. 2000.
”
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CDROM. 2000. ”
Whoa dude! Are you serious?
Specifically, humans have a maximum aural range that begins as low as 12 Hz under ideal laboratory conditions
Inaudible sound waves can be detected (felt) by humans through physical body vibration in the range of 4 to 16 Hz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearing_range
lol.
HTC is on a “sensible” streak.
Wonderful ! Samsung needs better competition.
Motorola. 95% of the public doesn’t care about the locked bootloaders, they just know Moto has top notch quality in build, specs, radios, etc.
I will never buy an $800 plastic device. If I’m paying premium I don’t want it to feel like a LEGO.
Different story when you drop the said “lego” vs a steel phone
i phone has glass on it . Breaks sooo easily if dropped without a case on. Just buy a case if u can spend $800 on a phone
Motorola flat out lied about when ICS would be available on the Droid Razr and also totally screwed Droid Razr customers with the release of the Razr Maxx immediately after. I like my Razr, but these things — and Motorola’s complete public silence on them — make it much harder to imagine buying another Motorola phone.
And let’s face it, Motorola phone hardware isn’t really any better than other top manufacturers.
Beats is to headphones as Dual is to car stereos. Overpriced junk.
I figured this would happen sooner or later. The headphones are overrated and over priced anyway. Maybe now they can lower the overall price of the phones.
my sony $40 extra bass beat those beats easily.
I’m a professional musician. All the audio engineers I know laugh at every idiot they see spending money on those headphones. They’re actually really bad headphones.
Lets be honest, they’re not bad; they’re just not as good as what they sell for
I’m being honest. They are not that good.
They actually are bad. Reviews I’ve seen have them ranked below some headphones that sell for $20-30.
99% of those who wear them aren’t professional musicians so they don’t know the difference…..
If you don’t know the difference, then why are you spending all that cash on headphones?
Great reading comprehension. I never said I bought them clearly I said earlier I like my skull candies better. Simple marketing, same reason iphone sells so well.
Beats are trash anyways. When I first threw on a pair of Beats and compared them to the BOSE they were sitting next to, BOSE blew those pieces of crap to hell. People purchase Beats because everyone else has them, not because they know they’re better than the competition, because they aren’t.
bose is about as shitty as beats FYI
thank you.
I have tried quite a few headphone when looking to purchase a pair and Bose did not do anything for me, so does that mean by the same margin above that Bose are crap? No, all about opinions
Like I said, when comparing them to the BOSE headphones, BOSE blew them to hell. I didn’t say BOSE were the best nor that I liked them by any means. BOSE probably are crap in comparison to other headphones in its price range. But we aren’t focusing on BOSE in this post, we’re talking Beats. By no means was my statement opinionated.
I agree with you, only you can judge what suits your ears and what you do or don’t like, not me or anyone else, also you are right,we are not talking about Bose as a general topic, we are talking about bundled Dr. Dre beats headset i.e. No additional price but supplied with phone.
Personally I wouldn’t say no to these & if people do not like them as they will have to do now, purchase their own, to their own individual tastes
Ummm, based on the beats tech boosting the audio of the new Evo 4G LTE, I’d say their investment is still paying off…
What headphones would you guys suggest? Something in the under $200 range please.
Sony XB-500 or a pair or Seinheisser HD203’s will give you great bass as well as clear highs and mids for $50, want ultra bass grab a pair of XB-700’s for around $100 and a Fiio headphone amp for about $20-$30, your head will explode from so much bass entering your cranium.
Headfi.org you will find everything you need to know there. Besides my Westone’s I own a pair of monster turbine pro gold, way better than any beats and with a lifetime guarantee. Headfi will help you find something within your price range. Unfortunately, Amazon is not being very generous with their sales of the turbine pro golds so these will set you back $278.
You’ll end up getting as many different responses as there are headphones
These guys know their stuff. Check out their recommendations, and you’ll be happy. They also have a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can return if you don’t like them.
If other manufacturers made a phone worth a damn, it may have swayed my interest, but since htc is the only quality brand shipped to the u.s., the headphones were just a bonus with my rezound :P
Oh come on, you’re just TRYING to start a flame war.
“An accessory like the headphone doesn’t factor in when someone is buying a smartphone. If they want a Beats headphone, they’ll buy it directly.”
Aw… Now I have to buy each headphone separately?
Win.
Wow belay my last, Sony jacked up their prices since the Beats heaphones got popular I guess, add another $30 to each of my prices, still well worth it!
Because they know ppl are crazy enough to pay for it.
My $25 pair of Skullcandy earbuds give me all the sound I need. You see, I want to hear music, not damage my ears.
i like my $29 iPhone headset. sleek, slim, durable, good sound, with microphone. it’s the only Apple product i’ve ever ever owned!
I’m not even sure it “doesn’t factor in”, really. I mean, PR works only so well – slap the logo on the packaging, in the ads, on the phone itself: generally, ppl WILL expect the Beats headphones. And don’t tell me you don’t read actual reviews praising a good headset or dissing sub-par ones (that PR’s gonna do its job there too on a certain level). With all the money HTC spent on it, not to mention the fuss they make about it…yeah, I think it really should factor in.
Whether Beats itself is good or bad, that’s an entirely different topic, imo.
They must be tired of sending out replacements, because one of the ear buds keeps going out. I hear it’s a big issue with the bundled beats headsets.
Oh well. Beats headphones are average at best sounding headhones anyways yet have a pricepoint of at/or beyond premium sounding headphones.
I’m happy with my Klipsch S4A’s
exactly…..what eargels are you using?
I know people clown on beats, but I recall david guetta and some other DJs wearing them at Ultra Music Fest in Miami. I guess it is also debatable if house/electronic music is really music…but whatever the opinion, a ton of people across the world believe david guetta makes great music. So I wonder if he was just wearing those for fashion/promotion or if he really loves his beats as opposed to other stuff? I have heard they are great for bass and what not, but I know nothing about music and sound in the technical sense. I just know I wanted a pair of decent headphones and one side is like get the beats! other side claims they are over rated.
You do realize that celebs get paid to do endorsements for products even if they suck right? It’s all about the money and selling out, Beats is the biggest sell out brand you can get as it’s called “Beats by Dr Dre” who is a rapper, They just talk over the top of music. It’s not like it was made by a company who specializes in audio with a linage of quality parts and tech. You do know that Monster Cable makes the Beats headphones right? The same ultra classy Monster Cable that makes $200 HDMI and gold plated Optical cables. Avoid Beats headphones unless you don’t value money. Also just Google up “Monster Cable controversies” for some fun reading.
Well yeah I mentioned the fact that he probably wore them for promotional reasons. I lost some respect for Dre when I learned he was selling headphones for so much money..especially knowing young people who should not be paying that much will. But i guess that is pretty much like every rapper, athlete and other celebrities. And yeah I know all about monster and how they are a fraud. Funny story about them…I actually have owned one of their HDMI cables that cost like 90 bucks. I got it for free…but out of all the cheap cables I have owned..the monster has been the only one to ever fail…
I hate when ppl say Dr. Dre is a rapper. He’s a PRODUCER. His main role was always the producer. He does rap but he uses ghostwriters to write his verses for him. He has a good delivery so he comes across as a good rapper, but he’s mainly a producer who makes tracks, mixes and engineers them alongside a team of other producers and engineers that he hand picks. He knows his stuff when it comes to sound.
Also I read somewhere that Beats and Monster are separating, probably because of the issues u stated about Monster.
Had a pair of theses headphones and took them back ,sound is crappy at most ,have a pair of Scosche ,now theses are headphones!!!
i yelled that this gimmick was a bad idea from the beginning. but Chou didn’t hear me.
Sound quality and the best headphones available is always subjective.
Personal choice is however more important.
I have a 3 pair of Sennheisers, an Etymotic, JVC, Shure headphones but I keep coming back to my Beats HD Solos and this is just purely on the choice of music I mostly listen too, Drum & Bass, Hip Hop etc, by all means not the best headphones out therer and I would never claim them to be, but for my needs IDEAL.
For HTC buyers it’s a shame I’m sure, especially when included at no extra cost as compared to the usual non branded headphones, a lot better.But then again IMO
So HTC finally realized what most of us have known all along – including overpriced branded headphones with their Android devices is just a worthless gimmick?
It would be hilarious if Samsung picked up a license with Klipsch and started pairing every Samsung phone with those headphones. That might hurt HTC a little. Granted I by a super phone, I look at performance first; however I do use it as a music player too so having high end headphones is a bigger selling point than HTC thinks. At least that’s my opinion.
What is with all these haters? I have the beats studio and am VERY happy with them. Most people who think they sound bad are probabbly listening to a low quality source. I use my Thunderbolt with MOG HQ and they sound incredible. I also use them for my PS3. bluray audio is just stunning and games sound great. My reciever has the mp3 software to repair to almost non compressed. Again I have some and love them.
For some reason in the in store displays for beats don’t seem to use as high a bit rate as the bose. They were running at least dvd quality or better on the bose.
I love the sound quality I get with the bundled beats headset that came with my rezound. It has spoiled me to the point that going forward, any future phone I purchase will have to have a comparable, dare I say superior audio component. Technology sufficiently advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic – just think what we’ll have in ten years. :-)
I didn’t know there were so many sound engineers on here -__-
(Yes, I’m being sarcastic.)
“An accessory like the headphone doesn’t factor in when someone is buying a smartphone. If they want a Beats headphone, they’ll buy it directly.”
Not true. It was definitely a factor when I bought them. But then again the Rezound is on Verizon, who was charging $299 for them when other carriers are only charging $199 for new phones on contract (I got mine through Amazon during the penny sale tho).
I don’t always use them for my phone because I have a pair of LG Tone Bluetooth headphones which are great but when they are charging I have my Beats for backup and they are also great for my computer at work. The only problem is the left side doesn’t fit as good as the right and both sides tend to slide out of my ears easily at times.