The Entry Level

The Entry Level #37 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

Light Harmonic, LLC, 3050 Fite Circle, Suite 112, Sacramento, CA 95827. Tel: (888) 842-5988. Web: www.lightharmonic.com.

Urban Fidelity, Los Angeles, CA. Web: www.urbanfidelity.com.

ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Downforce's picture
Submitted by Downforce on December 27, 2013 - 10:32pm

"Beats excel in any area of headphone performance that doesn't involve sound" Funny quote by Gavin, can't blame him for going after that huge market. Ordered my Geek in green at $139, hopefully it will work well with JRiver software and sound at least as good as the revised Dragonfly.

Stephen Mejias's picture
Submitted by Stephen Mejias on December 28, 2013 - 6:45am

>"Beats excel in any area of headphone performance that doesn't involve sound"

Those are my words, not Gavin Fish's. I've made the point before, in my April 2013 review of the Beats Solo HD and elsewhere.

Downforce's picture
Submitted by Downforce on December 29, 2013 - 5:02am

looking forward to a complete test report.

dalethorn's picture
Submitted by dalethorn on December 29, 2013 - 8:40am

I published a review (Amazon etc.) on the Mixr showing it to have a near audiophile quality sound when bass reduction EQ is used. The older Beats headphones on display at the Apple store I wasn't able to rescue like that due mainly to having a thick, somewhat muffled sound. But some of the newer Beats may be at least EQ-able such as the Executive - not determined yet. However in my case I'm not inclined to spend $300 to $400 on a headphone that I know in advance is going to require a significant EQ to play with a more-or-less hi-fi sound. Probably near the edge of acceptability for me is the B&W P7, which has a loose somewhat boomy bass that also thickens up the midrange, but I've found that I can adjust to the sound and enjoy the music OK with the P7.

I probably wouldn't have purchased the Mixr except that I had a few tips urging me to try it. The price at the time was $250 and it didn't bother me much that I had to adjust the bass, but in the end the Mixr earpads and comfort level weren't good, and it didn't break in and get more comfortable after 50-100 hours either, so I wouldn't recommend it unless someone needed to be wearing that logo.

dalethorn's picture
Submitted by dalethorn on December 28, 2013 - 3:20pm

I'm still wondering if there's a precedent for Beats in the audio industry - a fashion or boutique component (major component) with a relatively high price against its nearest competition, yet a well known low performance.

I'm not aware of a turntable, pickup, speakers, amplifier, CD player, or other such item that became a fashion accessory outside of hi-fi, yet became a topic of much discussion within hi-fi.

If my speculation that this is a new and unique situation, then can anyone be sure it's good for the hi-fi business - raising awareness and all?

deckeda's picture
Submitted by deckeda on December 31, 2013 - 8:03pm

I recall the Bose 901 as being a fashionable thing to own for people with money, while not particularly well regarded outside of say, Stereo Review. It's unique design for being top of the line without being huge, and Bose's legendary (to this day) marketing acumen did a lot for "fancy speakers" in the public eye.

dalethorn's picture
Submitted by dalethorn on January 1, 2014 - 12:29pm

The first thing that got my attention regarding the 901 was the Bert Whyte review in Audio: "To hear a thunderous low 'C' organ pedal or the clean weighty impact of a bass drum...."

Now that kind of clean and extremely deep bass was very expensive in 1968, the original large Advent loudspeakers not having arrived yet. Then, if the showroom was set up properly for the 901 (rarely), the wall of sound and enormous soundstage it generated made it a no-brainer for most people who could afford it, even if it were used just to impress the family and friends.

John Atkinson's picture
Submitted by John Atkinson on January 2, 2014 - 7:23am

You can find J, Gordon Holt's review of the Bose 901 at www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/425/index.html.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

corrective_unconscious's picture
Submitted by corrective_unco... on December 29, 2013 - 4:12pm

Since there are already high quality examples of this exact product at that exact price point we know these kickstarter donors for the headphone/dac simply don't know what already exists or are swept up in a virtual Davy Crockett Hat fever.

 

So as far as the audio industry as a whole all this does is provide some small degree of public relations. It more helps this one company develop their one product in this category.

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