Beats headphone teardown and price/material report

[kevm14]

Prepare to be amused or disappointed, depending on how you feel about Beats headphones.

http://consumerist.com/2015/06/19/teard ... -of-parts/

What’s really in a $200 pair of Beats headphones? According to a teardown by venture capital firm Bolt, about $16.89 worth of parts. They found a device mostly made out of injection-molded plastic, pieces of metal that serve no purpose other than to make the headphones feel heavier than they really are, and a whole lot of glue

https://medium.com/bolt-blog/how-it-s-m ... 4aae384b36

The amusing part is the link above did a teardown originally on a counterfeit set of headphones (which is its own topic of debate - the counterfeit issue). So then they compared that to genuine ones. The results are also amusing.

https://medium.com/bolt-blog/how-it-s-m ... 4cc6808d18

To play off of the BOSE motto, I have a suggestion:
"Beats: Better sound through marketing."

[Bob]

I always thought these were overpriced so I guess this doesn't surprise me.

[kevm14]

Best headphones for music listening that I know of: Sony MDR-V6.

Old school, literally. From the early 80s, still manufactured today because they are that good. You still see these, and their studio monitor cousins, in regular professional use.

Not only do they have a very good sound response and noise isolation, but they critically are very sensitive and can be driven just fine even with the typically wimpy preamps on many small devices now.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRV6-Studio ... B00001WRSJ

Apparently they are creeping up in price, perhaps due a resurgence of popularity recently.

[Adam]

Best headphones for music listening that I know of: Sony MDR-V6.

I agree.

I also have a set of Bose in-ear headphones that are a bit more portable that I am mostly happy with. My first set's silicon wire failed due to the silicon peeling off it, but it took 6 years of nearly daily use.
http://www.amazon.com/Bose-SoundTrue-In ... ref=sr_1_1