Apple's Beats adds new silver, gold, and space gray Solo 2 headphones
Apple fans wishing they could color match their headphones with their iPhone or MacBook can now do so, as Apple's Beats by Dre subsidiary has updated its popular Solo2 lineup with new silver, gold, and space gray color options.
Beats announced the move on Twitter, coincidentally --?or not -- just hours after Apple opened pre-orders for the Watch and MacBook. Both devices are available in the same silver and space gray aluminum as the iPhone, while the MacBook has an additional gold color option.
Interestingly, the new colors can only be found on the wireless Solo2, with the original wired version retaining Beats's pre-Apple options.
Friday's announcement marks the second time Beats has released products designed to match Apple's color scheme. It previously updated the urBeats in-ear headphone line with a $100 "special edition" that was also available in silver, gold, or space gray.
Publicly, Apple has been hands-off with the Beats hardware division since acquiring the company, an intentional move by Apple chief Tim Cook.
"I want Beats to be true to who they are," Cook said in a recent interview. "I don't want to wave the wand over them in a day and say, 'You are now Apple.' Down the road, we'll see what happens."
The new silver, gold, and space gray Solo2 Wireless headphones are available now from Apple for $299.95.
Beats announced the move on Twitter, coincidentally --?or not -- just hours after Apple opened pre-orders for the Watch and MacBook. Both devices are available in the same silver and space gray aluminum as the iPhone, while the MacBook has an additional gold color option.
Interestingly, the new colors can only be found on the wireless Solo2, with the original wired version retaining Beats's pre-Apple options.
Friday's announcement marks the second time Beats has released products designed to match Apple's color scheme. It previously updated the urBeats in-ear headphone line with a $100 "special edition" that was also available in silver, gold, or space gray.
Publicly, Apple has been hands-off with the Beats hardware division since acquiring the company, an intentional move by Apple chief Tim Cook.
"I want Beats to be true to who they are," Cook said in a recent interview. "I don't want to wave the wand over them in a day and say, 'You are now Apple.' Down the road, we'll see what happens."
The new silver, gold, and space gray Solo2 Wireless headphones are available now from Apple for $299.95.
Comments
Of course they did ...
gold anodized ?Watch Sport by November anyone?
Bet they still sound bloody awful.
You mean Beats has been allowed operate independently or because Beats is branded with a separate identity? Or both?
I agree that either is unprecidented for an Apple acquisition. Everyone assumes they'll merge at some point when Jimmy Iovine won't raise a stink about it. As an aside, I wonder how they are meshing culturally. That's always a challenge.
Hope they sound better.
Now, if they could just make them any good. But I guess that's asking way too much. Kind of like how much Apple paid for the Beats name.
Bet they still sound bloody awful.
To you.
http://allhiphop.com/2014/05/13/dr-dres-beats-by-dre-cost-an-estimated-14-to-make/
But of course there's other costs involved too, with marketing/advertising/endorsements being the biggie and packaging surely not cheap either. Brownlee (an absolute great reviewer IMHO) does a very nice job explaining it.
[VIDEO]
street cred
you just sold me
Yes there are better sounding headphones for $200 but none of them look as good and carry as much street cred
Yes, thats about the only good reason to buy overpriced, crappy headphones: for the "street cred".
LOL at all the fools who were duped into spending hundreds on the crappy $15-to-make Beats gear.
Average mobile listeners are not looking for audiophile-level sound quality. They want lightweight, nice looking headphones with above-average sound. Amazon reviews for Solo2 headphones number in the hundreds and are approaching 5 stars on average. I'd say that speaks for their quality vs. trolls spreading lies.
So here's the thing with Beats: when my headphones of a hundred years finally got destroyed via one of my cats I had to do the unthinkable- find new headphones. I literally listened to hundreds. And yes I sampled Beats as well. In fact I listened to all of the different models of Beats and they were indeed pretty awful. But then I tested their STUDIO pro headphones. WOW! Not only did these sound leagues above all the other Beats headphones, but eventually I ended up getting them because seriously noting matched their accuracy. Remember I do this for a living and get paid very well to deliver audiophile sound to my clients.
After purchasing them I discovered purely by accident that I could actually do my main EQ-ing with these. We were the first record company to go 100% digital with our remixing back in 1985. We have always worked with digital whether it was recording, mixing, or remixing for the dance club. I have always had to do the final mastering (EQing) process in the studio, but after working with my Beats STUDIO I could actually do the final master EQ-ing sitting in my bed on a laptop!
About 6 months after getting the STUDIO over the ear headphones I decided to try their wireless earbuds. When I first put them on I thought "OMG these are terrible." But I kept them because they were great for listening to music and taking telephone calls. Finally I couldn't take it any more. They sounded so thin and nasty I decided to pack them up for a refund. While repacking them a little packet dropped on the floor. They were the different size ear pads. They ship with 5 sizes. They all sounded bad accept the last one. It was sort of oversized "suction" looking buds. I put them on and for a brief second I thought they sounded like my STUDIO headphones. But I couldn't get them both to sound that way. In fact messing with them suddenly they both sounded thin again. Then I discovered why. When you wear them you need to turn the headset to exact parallel so in your ear to someone looking at you they are perfectly level. To schedule that you rotate them till they're level. Completely level like aligning pictures on a wall. If you rotate them even if 5% you completely lose the bass. But if they are exactly parallel in your ear they sound EXACTLY like my STUDIO on the ear headphones.
Keep in mind Beats make two different versions of the headset. The one that's amazing is the POWERBEATS 2 wireless. They come in dental color combinations too. Take it from me (Razormaid) both the STUDIO and the POWER BEATS 2 are true audiophile but be forewarned: crap in is crap out. In other words if your music sounds crappy that's because your music sounds crappy. You can't polish a turd and neither can Audiofile headphones. Lol
Lipstick on a pig.
My best years were with Razormaid!
As for the difference between regular Beats and Pro, I didn't know there was a Pro. The ones I listened to in the store sucked, as well as the price and I had no desire to investigate further.
You have one chance to impress the consumer and Beats lost me. I'll stick with my studio Sony's.
Quote:
I run a record company and mastering facility. Our name is synonymous with the highest audio sound quality. I have made my living and won thousands of awards based on having a good ear. It's what I do for a living.
So here's the thing with Beats: when my headphones of a hundred years finally got destroyed via one of my cats I had to do the unthinkable- find new headphones. I literally listened to hundreds. And yes I samples Beats as well. I listened to all of the different models of Beats and they were indeed pretty awful. But then I tested their STUDIO pro headphones. WOW! Not only did these sound leagues above all the other Beats headphones, but eventually I ended up getting them because seriously noting matched their accuracy. Remember I do this for a living and get paid very well to deliver audiophile sound to my clients.
After purchasing them I discovered purely by accident that I could actually do my main EQ-ing with these. We were the first record company to go 100% digital with our remixing back in 1985. We have always worked with digital whether it was recording, mixing, or remixing for the dance club. I have always had to do the final mastering (EQing) process in the studio, but after working with my Beats STUDIO I could actually do the final master EQ-ing sitting in my bed on a laptop!
About 6 months after getting the STUDIO over the ear headphones I decided to try their wireless earbuds. When I furs put them in I thought "OMG these are terrible. But I kept them because they were great for listening to music and taking telephone calls. Finally I couldn't take it any more. They sounded so thin and nasty I decided to pack them up for a refund. While repacking them a little packet drop on the floor. They were the different size ear pads. They ship with 5 sizes. They all sounded bad accept the last one. They were sort of oversized "suction" buds. I put them in and for a brief second I thought they sounded like my STUDIO headphones. Then I discovered why. When you wear them you need to turn the headset to exact parallel. Completely level like aligning pictures on a wall. If you rotate them even if 5% you completely lose the bass. But if they are exactly parallel in your ear they sound EXACTLY like my STUDIO on the ear headphones.
Keep in mind Beats make two different versions of the headset. The one that's amazing is the POWERBEATS 2 wireless. They come in dental color combinations too. Take it from me (Razormaid) both the STUDIO and the POWER BEATS 2 are true audiophile but be forewarned: crap in is crap out. In other words if your music sounds crappy that's because your music sounds crappy. You can't polish a turd and neither can Audiofile headphones. Lol
And I totally agree with you I tested all their other models and they were thin, brittle and not worth the plastic they used to make them. But the STUDIO headsets are amazingly accurate. Our final proofing before we send off to the manufacturer are done on Tanoy professional studio monitoring speakers. We use those because unlike all the others Tanoy do no add "color" to the sound. Almost all speakers change the sound if you like that sort of thing great but our reputation is our sound - more so than the mixes actually. So we need exact no coloring speakers. That's what the STUDIO headphones sound like - over the ear Tanoy speakers for your head. In fact the STUDIO actually revealed (on more than one occasion) some inconsistency in the bass that the Tanoy did not reveal. Once the STUDIO exploited this THEN I could hear it on my Tanoy's so that's pretty impressive
Joseph
Bet they still sound bloody awful.
When you start with the Apple Earbuds, they do sound really good.
Get over it. Don't get all butthurt over how OTHER people spend THEIR money.
Sorry folks, you can buy a $50 pair of Sony or AKG headphones that sound just as good if not better that the Beats $200-300 headphones. You can convince yourself otherwise to justify spending the money and not feeling like a sucker, but the truth of the matter is that Dr. Dre and company did a masterful job of marketing these headphones to the masses. P.T. Barnum would be proud!