Beats studio & beats pro headphones by dr dre, which is better?
beats pro headphones vs beats studio headphones by dr dre
November 04, 2012 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
CNET Rating: 4 out of 5The Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones deliver the trifecta of sleek, comfortable design, useful features, and top-notch sound quality. If you can afford them, they're a worthy investment toward an improved listening experience.
4 out of 5
The Beats Pro by Dr. Dre from Monster Headphones deliver a sturdy design and top-notch sound quality for those who enjoy skull-shattering bass. If you're a casual listener and can afford them, they're a worthy investment, but if you're an audio purist then you may want to comparison shop.
Features:
The low-end response of the Beats, however, puts them in a category of their own. Bass fiends: Your high-end headphones have arrived. The comfortable, circumaural (with cups that seal off the ear) headphones are mostly black, with a red lowercase "b" on a white background for each ear. They fold up into a sturdy but large black carrying case, which also houses the two included cables-a red cable for standard audio sources and a black cable with an in-line microphone and answer button for cell phones.
Two AAA batteries are included, along with a red cleaning cloth and a quarter-inch gold adapter for sources with larger headphone jacks. The headphones have a power switch that needs to be activated to listen to music; there's no passive mode. When powered up, the set offers acceptable noise cancellation, eliminating much of the lower ambient sounds but creating a bit of a high-end hiss commonly heard in cheaper noise-canceling pairs.
The "b" logo on the right ear cup acts as a mute button if you want to hear something without taking the headphones off-just hold it down to silence music and disable noise cancellation. The Beats' true asset, however, is its audio performance. The headphones offer intense low end. We placed them through deep-bass boot camp, and they passed with flying colors with thumping drum machines and resonant synth done justice. More bass doesn't mean a better pair of headphones, but for those who crave an extra helping of low-end, the Beats serve it up gracefully.
Sound:
Logically, as Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Studio has the Noise Reduction fuction, its sound quality couldn't have been better than those products without that fuction. Our test results show that, however, this is not quite applicable in Monster headphones. The overall performance of Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Studio is much better than Monster SOLO HD. Specifically, Beats by Dr. Dre Studio performances pretty good in low frequency, as well as bass strength and flexibility. Of course, it also performances relatively good in high frequency, at least a class above the SOLO HD. This is our approval of its performance of sound quality. And certainly Beats by Dr. Dre Studio has some little defectiveness too, for example, thickness and low noise during central frequency would take off points from the whole listening process. But we say as a product based solely on fashion, it isn't worth quibbling over such little weakness. In noise reduction effect matters, Beats by Dr. Dre Studio does not mark the specific noise reduction value, and we cannot say its noise reduction rating. However, we classify Beats by Dr. Dre Studio noise reduction level to above average.
Pros: Intense low-end boom. Solid noise cancellation. Comfortable and cool-looking. Comes with two cables, one traditional and one with an in-line microphone and answer button for use with cell phones.
Cons: Expensive. Runs on AAA batteries, rather than rechargeable cells.
Bottomline: Legendary hip-hop icon Dr. Dre, along with Monster Cable, brings the bass with these pricey noise-canceling headphones that excel at hip-hop, electronic, and louder rock music.
Price:
Official Price: US$349.95 to 599
beatsofdre.net: US$169 to $219
http://www.beatsofdre.net
The Beats Pro by Dr. Dre – Review:
Attention sound engineers, DJs, musicians, and hard core music lovers:Beats Pro is the reference headphone designed by audio professionals for audio professionals. Particularly, those who prefer a balanced yet forceful sound across the spectrum.
Constructed from strong yet lightweight aluminum, Beats Pro resists vibrations, so you never hear unwanted artifacts, just pure, clear sound. And knowing just how crazy music life can get, we built Beats Pro tough for heavy duty use amid rough treatment.
If you've ever wanted to share a mix without removing your headphones, now you can. Dual input/output cable ports let you share mixes by daisy-chaining headphones, so others can you hear it in their cans. Plus, convenient flip-up ear cups let you monitor the room with Beats Pro still on your head.
Construction (Durability):
Unlike the Beats Studio, the Beats Pro are made for Club DJ use and therefore are built to withstand the type of abuse a mobile DJ would put them through. The frame of the headphones are made of solid aluminum that in no way bends or flexes. Unlike some other headphones I have used, the Beat Pro still feels strong when the earcups are extended or flipped up. This is because even the extender piece is made of solid metal. Only time will tell if the electronics hold up but I can say with complete certainty that the frames of the Beats Pro is practically indestructible.
Features:
The Monster Beats Pros come with a number of features targeted for the DJs. I was most impressed by the ability to connect the included red patrially-coiled audio cable to either the right or left side of the headphones. This may sound trivial, but I found it very useful because I personally have my Traktor X1 on the left of my turntable and therefore was able to keep the cord on my right out of my way. The dual inputs can also be used for daisy chaining (you can attach another set of headphones to the Beats Pro and a friend can listen to your music) or even listening to 2 inputs at once (can't think of any reason why you would need this). Also the inputs have the ability to lock the audio cord into them so they don't fall out if they get pulled. Lastly, each earcup can be flipped up so that you can listen to the output while you mix in a new track.
It's been three years since the world was first introduced to the Beats by Dr. Dre headphone line, and it's definitely grown to become a Monster of a business (pun intended). From earbuds to portable speakers to iPod docks to laptops, Dr. Dre and Monster have hit every market imaginable.
This time around their sights are set on the DJs and producers of the world, with a bigger and badder (and pricier) pair of headphones—the Beats Pro by Dr. Dre from Monster Headphones. At $450 (you can find it for a bit less at retailers), you're not paying solely for the performance of the headphones but more for the combination of durability, build, style, and name.
The first impression is of the sheer size and heft of the headphones. They feel quite heavy on the head, and may not be ideal for the casual user. The oversize look will certainly turn a few heads, and note that indulging in too much head-bopping will give the Pros enough momentum to slide off your ears.
The build quality is solid—these will stand up to a few knocks and tosses on the couch, or on the floor, and they feel extremely durable. The large padded headband attaches to adjustable brushed aluminum sides, ending with full-size earcups that rotate upward for storage. Each earcup is rounded and padded in a leather like material that is exceptionally cushy, and each includes an input/output port. The ear cushions can be removed for washing.
The Beats Pro uses a single red audio-cord cable with a secured connector that locks into place on the bottom of each earcup and can be swapped to either side of the earcups. The unused port then becomes a second output for hooking up another set of headphones and "daisy-chaining" the sound from the Pros to the second set of headphones for communal listening. We found daisy-chaining other headphones to the Beats Pro decreased the sound level quite a bit on the Pros themselves, but not to the point of dramatically hindering performance. Two sound sources besides headphones can also be plugged into the Pros—one into each earcup—if, for whatever reason, the need to listen to two songs simultaneously comes up. The possibility for amateur mixing may fit somewhere in there, but most DJs use mixers with cue channels for this.
The cable cord is thick and rubberized with a coiled section, giving some extra extension if you need to be an extra foot, or two, away from your music source for a moment. It does take some conditioning to get the headphones to stretch further out, without stopping short, when you first get them out of the box, as the cable is initially coiled very tightly.
Even with an adjustable headband, the Beats Pro are a tight fit on the ears and can cause some discomfort after an hour or so of continuous use. It may not be the same for everyone, but it was a problem for us at the time.
Sound:
In our review of the Beats Studio we mentioned that they delivered a very crisp sound that emphasized the high end of the music. On the other hand we found that Beats Pro puts extreme emphasis on the low end of the sound spectrum. When it comes to booming base, the Pros cannot be beat. However the emphasis on the low end means that on some songs you will find that the mids and highs get drowned out and dont sound as clear or crisp as they do on the Beats Studios or other DJ headphones. Luckily snares and kicks come through strong, which is a must when beat matching. I was able to turn my mixer up to the maximum listenable volume without the Beats Pro showing any signs of sound degradation.
We have heard that some smaller MP3 players are unable to properly power the Pro's, since they do not require batteries, unlike the Studios. We tested the Pro's on an iPhone as well as an older iRiver model and in both cases the sound quality was good. It is possible that an iPod nano or shuffle could not be able to provide the proper juice to the Pros and as a result the sound quality could suffer.
Pros:
Cons:
The bottom line: The Beats Pro by Dr. Dre from beatsofdre.net deliver a sturdy design and top-notch sound quality for those who enjoy skull-shattering bass. If you're a casual listener and can afford them, they're a worthy investment, but if you're an audio purist then you may want to comparison shop.