Beats Headphones

About Beats

Beats headphones are one of the most noticeable headphones in the market today with their logo being instantly recognizable. Mostly due to being featured in numerous music videos and being used by a host of celebrities; both very good marketing strategies deployed by Beats. A brand developed by producer and rapper Dr. Dre in partnership with record producer Jimmy Iovine, which gave them the edge to work on good headphones as both have worked with music extensively.

Beats by Dre is currently owned by Apple, after a deal that was brokered in 2014. In the headphone arena Beats is a leader, research stated in 2014 they owned about 70% of the market! Which is staggering as Beats headphones had only existed for around 6 years at the time.

The different models

The headphones (not to be confused with earphones) section of Beats currently has 4 options, the models are Beats Studio3 Wireless, Beats Solo3 Wireless, Beats EP and Beats Pro. Beats Studio3 Wireless incorporate Pure Active Noise Canceling (Pure ANC) which blocks external sounds so you are immersed into the music. The Beats Studio3 Wireless also have Apple's W1 chip in them which makes the Bluetooth range better with lesser chances of it being choppy and also manages the battery power a lot more efficiently, with 40 hours of listening time if the Pure ANC mode is switched off. The fast fuel option lets you use them for 3 hours after a 10-minute charge. You can take calls, activate Siri and also change the music from the on-ear controls. Beats Solo3 Wireless give you multiday usage with 40 hours of battery and a fast fuel option of 3-hour usage after 5 minutes of charge! Also housing the Apple W1 chip for better Bluetooth and battery management. This pair allows one to take calls and control Siri with the multifunction on-ear controls. 

The Beats EP model is one that is tethered to a cable, the same cable allows you to take calls and control the music on your Apple devices. These are a slightly less bulky design as they do not need batteries to run, thus weighing lesser too. Beats Pro headphones are made with an aluminium gunmetal frame with a matte anodized finish in black and again a model that is not wireless. These can be used in the studio for mixing, recording and also the earcup's rotating ability makes these more functional for live DJ-ing too. The earcups also have an output port so others can hook-up their headphones to yours and listen to music with you. The design itself helps cancel out noise from surrounding sources so your music is not being disturbed by ambient sounds. The 3.5mm jack has an attached goldplated 1/4 adapter jack, meaning you won't forget it at gigs which tends to happen often.

Other features

The various models have different colour schemes, black of course being a common one. But some models have interesting patterns available. Comfort for headphones is a big plus too as they are over the head and it can get tiring wearing them for longer periods. Beats headphones have that covered with well-cushioned headbands and earcups that are soft, so the listener does not feel dogged after a while. Except for the Beats Pro, these headphones are for listeners but not for someone who would work on music production. They are tweaked to transform the music so it sounds good, with more kick for the listener to really enjoy that bass!

Beats are a high price point product.