Beats Solo - full review

Soooo, not over enamoured then  :-)

No, not really. It started off as a base to compare the Noontec Zoro to, but I thought why not give them a proper review. So I spent the same time on this as I would any other headphones. Ultimately I think my overal tone comes off as pretty biased, not that it will shock anyone. I really did try to like them, to keep the review honest and fair, but this is how I felt. Of course it's still all opinion.

I was going to do the Zoro next, but it's now going to be another budget pair. I was asked to do the CA200 by RHA, which I think WHF has reviewed, but it's a cheaper headphone now. It will be interesting for it to follow the Solo as well.

Fortunately, this review captures the detailed essence of this item, which I'm sure is way too technical for the average soccer mom buying for the kids. But just in case a soccer mom (U.S. expression) should stumble across this, and having heard the Apple salesman tell her "Just turn up the volume and it will sound great", here's a note about what happens when you turn the volume up:

http://dalethorn.com/Headphone_Volume_Hearing_Damage.txt

Thanks Dale! Haha @ Soccer Moms - don't worry, we get it, we are fairly well emersed in American culture here . 

That is a shocking to hear that anyone would tell people that it's a solution for these headphones - ouch!

Nice and honest review....

I have the Studio model and it was my biggest regret to purchase it. Sound wise is acceptable but built quality was the worst. 2.5 years later I still have it locked away and cant even sell it at a decent price.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/headphones-etc/monster-beat-dr-dre-studio-headphones-dissapointment

As a marketeer myself (unaffiliated), one has to admire the marketing for these. They understood their target audience and delivered exactly what they wanted. In a way, I also think they've served a purpose in opening up the market - to non-audiophiles anything over £50-£100 was considered frivolous for headphones, but now people are prepared to pay more and as a result we're seeing better headphones in the Solo price range that regular consumers are willing to buy. 

Interestingly, I was down in New Zealand (birthplace) over Christmas / NY, and visited a good friend of mine who works in HiFi.  He had a number of headphone models in stock with pricing going well into NZD thousands.  Illustrating my surprise, I asked "who buys these" and he said, you'd be suprised at the number of people buying high end headphones.  He then went on to say that the best sales approach they have is to put on display a very expensive pair - with most people "settling" for the next model down.

Apologies for the ramble, but potentially interesting to some?