Review: Beats by Dr Dre headphones

Monster Beats by Dr Dre Solo HD On-Ear Headphones (on Amazon)

I have never been much of a headphones junkie, I’ll admit. Prior to a few months ago, I used nothing but the standard ear buds that were packaged with the various electronics I use on a daily basis. They all sounded the same.

However, Hubz decided to go out on a limb last year and buy me the new(ish) Monster Beats headphones from Dr Dre for one of my Christmas gifts. It was a fun surprise and I was a quick convert. An earbud user I was no more.

I’ll say one more time, I am NOT a headphones expert nor a geek that cares much about them. But I do enjoy these from an I-know-nothing-about-headphones perspective, and here’s why:

– there’s just no comparison between in-ear and over-ear headphones. Over-ear have the ability to cancel out background noise (which these do pretty well) and give you far superior sound quality. Walk into Best Buy or any place that allows you to try out a couple pairs of over-ear headphones, crank up the volume on the available demo cds, and try it out for yourself.

– don’t laugh, but they’re cute! Color-wise and size-wise. I’m all about headphones that sound fantastic, but not if I look like I’m wearing giant bowling bowls on either side of my head. Embarrassing.

– the Beats fold down really easily, perfect for traveling, and come with their own semi-soft case. I can easily throw them in my bag at the airport, still fit in my 22 notebooks and 9 hardcovers, and not worry that they’re going to a) take up a ton of space, or b) get squished.

– if you’re a design lover, the packaging these babies arrive in? Yummy.

– the volume control is convenient and, unlike several other in-wire controls I’ve had over the years, functions one-hundred percent as expected and hasn’t broken.

– the quiet-ness and noise cancellation kind of goes both ways, if that makes sense. I can turn a movie on full blast, take them off, set them two feet away on the desk, and I can barely hear a thing. When actually on my head, practically no increase in volume will be noticed by a nearby spouse/canine/mouse. As someone who’s had to walk 25 yards across the library to shush! someone who’s not-so-politely providing a new soundtrack for the entire building through their headphones, that makes a big difference.

– from a comfort perspective, they get a so-so rating. The Beats are very easy to adjust and aren’t heavy on my head, but for some reason they hurt my ears if I’ve had them on for more than a couple hours. A quick, little shift of the ear pads, and I’m good to go for another hour. Maybe I have oddly sensitive ears or I’m wearing them wrong? Who knows, but that’s just about the only critique I can come up with.

All in all, I didn’t care one iota about the headphones world, and now I do. This decent-sound-quality stuff is kinda nice, I admit.

And these headphones? They mesh quite nicely with pearl stud earrings. And I know you were VERY worried about that. Ahem.

If you’re looking for an entry-level “fancy” HD headphone, I’d recommend the Beats. Happy listening!

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5) stars

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Monster Beats by Dr Dre Solo HD On-Ear Headphones (on Amazon)

(All links are Amazon affiliates, mmkay? But I think you got that. Over and out.)

Tagged as: review, technology