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Bose or Beats
- Thread starter Solideliquid
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Walter White Walker
Member
I've been looking for new earbuds - just ordered the Sennheiser CX 300 II off Amazon.
I think both are very poor values and wouldn't recommend buying either unless they are heavily discounted. You can get much better for the price.
If you've never heard Beats before you should most definitely listen to them yourself, they have a distinct sound, and you can demo them pretty much anywhere these days.
If you've never heard Beats before you should most definitely listen to them yourself, they have a distinct sound, and you can demo them pretty much anywhere these days.
bennywhatever
Member
Came in here thinking this would be a "which is worse" thread. Glad to see I'm not alone.
Go with Senheisser, like everyone has said.
Go with Senheisser, like everyone has said.
blame space
Banned
not a serious question. a true audiophile owns both.
Get some Audio Technica headphones. Also, Sennheiser HD 558 on sale at Best Buy for $100. Don't waste money on Beats or Bose.
JaseMath
Member
I bought a pair of these for $96 from eBay OP. They're still my favorite overall headphones. Maybe a little bass-y, but overall very nice.
The fact he's looking at 2 wireless sets is being completely ignored..
I'd never buy a pair of wired beats, but in my research I found the wireless studios actually reviewed well.
Senn's have bad noise cancellation for some reason on their wireless sets for instance.
Beats studio both wired and wireless are considered decent headphones sound quality wise.. and overall their wireless headphones perform better than many, including the top audiophile brands.
At least according to the reviews I read.
I'd never buy a pair of wired beats, but in my research I found the wireless studios actually reviewed well.
Senn's have bad noise cancellation for some reason on their wireless sets for instance.
Beats studio both wired and wireless are considered decent headphones sound quality wise.. and overall their wireless headphones perform better than many, including the top audiophile brands.
At least according to the reviews I read.
As everyone already said, I wouldnt recommend Beats or Bose. Theres a lot of better alternatives that could give you the same amounts of Bass (if thats what you want, because Beats is all about the bass) with better sound quality at the same price. Beyerdynamic, Senheisser, Audio Technica all offer a big range of headphones that are better value than anything from Beats or Bose.
Im not sure about wireless headphones honestly, but no way the Studios have good sound quality compared to the same pricing offers from the brands already told.
Im not sure about wireless headphones honestly, but no way the Studios have good sound quality compared to the same pricing offers from the brands already told.
Ray Wonder
Founder of the Wounded Tagless Children
I've had Bose, Yamaha, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, and BeyerDynamics.
My favorite out of all of them are the Beyerdynamics DT 770. Incredible sound, and super comfy.
My favorite out of all of them are the Beyerdynamics DT 770. Incredible sound, and super comfy.
Woffls
Member
I thought this was a 'lesser of two evils' kinda situation.
[fake edit] Oh good, so did others.
+1 for Sen, but I'd go with RHA in that price bracket from what I've used. Managed to make my Shure SE215s last almost two years and counting, so I don't know what others sound like to be honest.
[fake edit] Oh good, so did others.
+1 for Sen, but I'd go with RHA in that price bracket from what I've used. Managed to make my Shure SE215s last almost two years and counting, so I don't know what others sound like to be honest.
Junior Mint
Member
If I had to pick one, I'd rather go Bose.
At least their noise canceling headphones are pretty good and comfy. The sound link is also a pretty good wireless speaker unlike the Beats one which is pure trash.
At least their noise canceling headphones are pretty good and comfy. The sound link is also a pretty good wireless speaker unlike the Beats one which is pure trash.
Memento_Mori15
Member
Gaf has a good headphones thread, you should check it out(http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417447). HiResDes will recommend you a better pair of headphones.
I have the UE-6000 and it's noise reduction with good quality sound for pretty cheap. Last time I checked, you could pick it up for $100. Still 1 year strong, almost 2. Definitely recommend it. The 9000 is wireless, but I don't know if it's as good.
If you want something better, can't go wrong with Audio-technica or Sennheiser.
I have the UE-6000 and it's noise reduction with good quality sound for pretty cheap. Last time I checked, you could pick it up for $100. Still 1 year strong, almost 2. Definitely recommend it. The 9000 is wireless, but I don't know if it's as good.
If you want something better, can't go wrong with Audio-technica or Sennheiser.
Alright, I'm going to go head and make some assumptions and give you some recommendations:
If comfort and noise-cancelling is the utmost concern with less of a regard for sound quality and a wireless feature set then go ahead and go with the Bose QC25.
However if you want a really good sounding bluetooth set and aren't really concerned with active noise cancelling check these out:
Sony MDR MK2
AKG K845BT
Sony MDR10BT
Stance S1
If you require both noise-cancelling, wireless connectivity, and good sound quality check these out:
Phiaton Chord MS 530
Parrot Zik
If comfort and noise-cancelling is the utmost concern with less of a regard for sound quality and a wireless feature set then go ahead and go with the Bose QC25.
However if you want a really good sounding bluetooth set and aren't really concerned with active noise cancelling check these out:
Sony MDR MK2
AKG K845BT
Sony MDR10BT
Stance S1
If you require both noise-cancelling, wireless connectivity, and good sound quality check these out:
Phiaton Chord MS 530
Parrot Zik
friskykillface
Banned
neither, these $10-$15 sony headphones i bought a few months ago are really good, can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on headphones
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WODP20/?tag=neogaf0e-20
:3
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WODP20/?tag=neogaf0e-20
:3
thesoapster
Member
Sennheiser 
01DragonFly
Member
Look at the Sennheiser Urbanite you might get more for your money and they also look good.
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Urbanite-On-Ear-Headphones-Nation/dp/B00M3NZYQM/ref=sr_1_23?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1412965658&sr=1-23&keywords=Sennheiser
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Urbanite-On-Ear-Headphones-Nation/dp/B00M3NZYQM/ref=sr_1_23?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1412965658&sr=1-23&keywords=Sennheiser
TarpitCarnivore
Member
A quick note on people crapping over Bose and Beats: the OP specifically mentions the Studios or QC25. Every single recommendation so far have not met these requirements. Suggesting a wired, non-active noise cancellation headphone isn't going to work here. The fact of the matter is price isn't the issue because any wireless active noise canceling headphone is going to be around $300-400 minimum.
Second, everyone hating on Beats should really go read some reviews on their revamped line up. They're doing very well amongst reviewers, including sites like Inner Fidelity and Sound+Mag. Are they still over priced for the performance? Yeah a bit. Will the ATH-M50 or Momentums or DT-770 sound that much better? Probably not.
Fudgepuppy
Banned
I can't recommend Beyerdynamic enough. Custom One Pro is fantastic and are pretty cheap nowadays.
I've also tried many headphone brands over the years. In general, in my experience, Audio-Technica has some QC issues, Sennheiser is a bit too restrained sounding, and Sony isn't accurate enough. My preferred headphones are Beyerdynamic (all made in Germany) and I have a number of them. Their sound signature sounds the most right to my ears, and they are very comfortable. I'm currently running a balanced pair of Beyerdynamic T1 at work, and stock T51p for portable use. For home/work use, if T1 is too expensive, the DT880 is at least about 90% as good in my experience. I would generally skip Bose and Beats and start at something better.
Afro Thunder
Member
This! (2)
ThatStupidLion
Member
bose.
had a pair of beats, they become uncomfortable after a bit. also they are very easily broken.
their ear buds arent bad though.
had a pair of beats, they become uncomfortable after a bit. also they are very easily broken.
their ear buds arent bad though.
A good list.. but I read the Zik's get really bad battery life with noise cancelling on, and sound bad with it off.
Haven't read anything about the Phiaton...
But reviewers rated the Beats Studio wireless above the Zik's fairly consistently. Not sure why someone should ignore them as an option?
Not really. Bose offerings do always have superb comfort and the QC25 are both highly comfortable and have really good noise-cancelling, though the sound quality is very meh. That's about all I have to say good about them.
Active noise-cancelling is a feature that one should avoid if at all possible honestly, sound quality always suffers a bit from the white noise generated to cover up adjacent sounds. The sound quality of something like the AKG or Sony MDR 1R MK2 is so much more detailed than every Beats and Bose entry I've tested. I think the Zik sound better than the Beats as well, but both are overpriced if I'm being honest.
FloppyDelux
Member
sennheiser
Good offerings if you can afford them, good sound, build quality, and comfort.
TarpitCarnivore
Member
I must have missed yours because I mostly saw lots of closed, over ear stuff that wasn't in the same playing field as what OP was asking for. I think I just immediately get annoyed with the ATH-M50 love fest.
But the Zik's reportedly sound bad with it OFF not ON.
It's the way they were designed. They aren't very sensitive in order to compensate for their amped mode in BT mode. They don't utilize the built-in amp in passive mode and thus benefit great from being amped by an outside source.
speculawyer
Member
Both are over-priced brands.
Yep, had a pair for three years and they're pretty much invulnerable. rainstorms, dropping them on the floor, getting run over, you name it. Incredible quality too.
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