Color: Black  Size: One Size

112 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Bumpin Bass, Style, and Audio Quality, October 13, 2010
By Shane M. Peyton “shaneomac” (ohio) See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) I have to admit I was a bit cynical buying these headphones as the last generation Dr. Dre Beats solos got many poor reviews by an overpowering bass and poor build quality. Considering this price point I assume many of buyers need the same things I was in a pair of headphones: high fidelity sound, great build quality, and style. Upfront these new HD Solo headphones represent in all there groups.

High Fidelity:
I tested these headphones out in some number of genres since I listen to an eclectic mix. 1st thoughts was I found the sound a little too tight and not broad enough. There needs to be an initial burning in period to get the full sound quality, lets say eight hours or so of heavy listening and these bad boys find their sweet spot.

The 1st cd in the mix Keds of Leon Only by the Night I put on ‘Sex on Fire.’ You get many nice high notes and kick drum beats in this song also as many killer electric guitar. What impressed me was how sweet the vocals were by clearness and vibrato while letting the instrumentals shine through. I like my music deafening and clear, and these delivered.The kick drum literally vibrates your head with every beat while keeping the mids and highs spot on!

The next cd up was many Lil’ Wayne I’m Not A Human Being. I put on the 1st track ‘Gonorrhea.’ Damn boys and girls this is where the Solo Beats HD shine, pow pow, like bass so far gone you wonder is there an earthquake in my head. Followed up by a great generating of the electrical beats and smooth bellowing vocal licks and you know these headphones just busted out a five star review hands down.

I wanted to slow this rate down with many acoustical guitar from my man Ray LaMontagne. So I’ll round out this fidelity review with his live performance of ‘Empty’ off his new cd Gossip In The Grain. I figured if these headphones could fall short, no doubt it could be on a song like this. The breathy vocals and pedal steel guitar on this track gave the Solos HD many difficulty. I seriously doubt this could be obvious to most listeners. I found the instrumentals to be a bit spacey on the low registers with the speakers focusing more shine on the highs. If I were to judge the solos completely on this performance I could still give them four stars.

I also watched an episode of “Glee”, yeah I said “Glee” Boss! It sounded excellent. Crisp dialogue and nice full body generating of the song performances. Mercedes preformed a rendition of ‘Rag Doll’ from Tina Turners old release and it sounded phenomenal. In general I found the sound quality to be excellent and all encompassing across the many genres of music and vocals.

The build quality and style of these headphones was equally remarkable.

I know there were many last issues with the head band snapping in the Solos, but they seem to fixed that with a metal band that’s hidden below the padded head rest. The band seem to has many of give and flexibility while feeling firm. I was most impressed with the tightly fitted hinges where the ear pieces fold out and the thick metal used to extend the ear cups. When expanded the ear cups don’t fold but firmly remain in their locked position. The padding around the ear is the softest synthetic vinyl I have ever felt and could pass for calf skin leather. The headphones feel soft and supple around the ear. On the head they feel firm, nearly too firm at 1st but do loosen up like a good pair of shoes over time while stile keeping their rigidity . I think this is a true sign of build quality. After breaking them in they feel very comfy on the ears and I have a pretty big head.

The ‘Control Talk’ cord is in one word, perfection! it’s long but not too long, red in color and has a thick rubber skin. The 3.5mm L shape adapter on the end is idea for plugging into a music player or laptop as it bends inward and carefully stays out of the way. I cant count the number of headphones I have had that fray or break off because of jutting out and being pulled, bent, or rubbed to death. I like how I can lay back in bed and type on my laptop with out my headset jack pushing against my forearm on the side, a big plus. The other end plugs into the head phones making this a removable cord which is nice as it may be replaced independently of the headphones. The ‘Control’ talk feature is awesome. You have a volume up and down function also as a small steel(not plastic but steel) button in the center that you click once to pause or answer a call, twice to skip forward, three times to skip rearward. This can only work on certain devices though. If you have a mac it’ll also control your volume and playback features in itunes which rocks! It worked great on my macbook pro and my ipod touch third generation. Though to get the song to skip I had to click twice with many quickness, but it did work.

The finish is done in the same shiny black on these as the Studio by Dr. Dre beats. Simply put these look cool as all get out. The brushed aluminum trim work on the ear cups is a nice touch also as the beats log on each side. I didn’t find fingerprints to be that most of an issue on the gloss finish at all. They do include a red microfiber cleaning cloth. In summation, yeah sure for cheaper you could get equal or better quality sounding headphones. Check out Shure 440′s or many Koss PortaPros if your tight on cash and want good sound quality with less concentrate on style. But as far as Bass, Style, and Audio Quality goes, check these bad boys out! I greatly recommend them! I got mine on the cheap for 169 at Buydig dot com with a ten dollar coupon (BDRewards10) check it. Or Google them. All the music mentioned above may be bought right here on Amazon.Com.

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71 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of five stars Great bass but over priced for quality, August 10, 2010
By J. Gilliland “anmldr2b” See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) The Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Solo HD headphones I believe are ok. I am no audiophile but I do appreciate music and have a great ear for hearing slight differences. I newly bought these after having my Bose on ear headphones for some years (was happy with them) and decided to attempt the solo hd’s because they’re both on ear models and looked for a new pair. Having compared the two for a while now I’ll be returning the Solo HD’s for some reasons. This review is to compare the Bose on ear and the solo hd’s

Style: give it to the monster beats, sleek design with gloss finish. You’ll definately be noticed with the headphones and not in a bad way.

Portability: monster wins with this again. Both come with carrying cases. While I do like the bose because the case looks more duable the collapse able design of the beats is a bit smaller and has a small sleave to fit the cord into. Speaking of cords the monster cord that comes with the beats is much better than the bose. Just purchase holding/looking at the cord it’s way more lasting, tangle free, and gold plated. Monster also makes a perfect length cable also. The bose cord I found for me, got tangled easily, thing, and does not seem half as lasting.

Sound: This goes to the BOSE headphones. While the beats has a good bass and it is not distorted it is lost when it comes to hearing highs and the treble seemed a little off. I listened everything from R&B to hip hop and the beats amazed. Then I listened to many classical, pop, and rock. The beats lost me when it came to those genre’s and it was nearly like a “muddy” sound, not as crisp. I listen to the same songs using the BOSE and it was a clear difference as the mids/highs were much better in the BOSE. The BOSE bass may be a bit distorted though when it came to hip hop/r&b songs. Drums/hi hats/symbals/bass in the beats were crisp and I heard some drums sounds in songs I had never heard before but everything else, again felt muddy and not as good as the BOSE.

Comfort: I wear headphones many when traveling and sitting at my desk listening to music. The BOSE win in this one as the padding on the ears are comfy and I can wear them for hours. The monster beats put too much pressure (and I have a small head. Six 1/2 hat size) on my ears and were uneasy after about an hour and a half.

Bottom line: If you are used to using come with mp3 player or cheap headphones this is a good upgrade, and if you are looking for a fashionable headset and have $180 to spare go for it. I suggested trying out the headphones for a bit (best purchase you may be able to return them inside 30 days as long as there’s no damage) and see if you like them and compare them to something alike. Personally I’m still going to use my BOSE on ear and look for something different. On ear headphones.BOSE definately. I’ll be trying out the Monster Beats Studio to see if they’re better than the Solo HD’s.

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51 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of five stars Much improvement over the regular Solos, December 9, 2010
By Drew Huebner See all my reviews () This review is from: Monster Beats Solo High Def On Ear Headphones with ControlTalk (White) (Electronics) I’m in no way an audiophile, I have not the money or the time to be, but I’m knowledgeable in the neighborhood caused by many of research and friends. I found it disheartening when I looked up reviews for the Beats Solo HD because most of them were 14 year old boys or simply people who have never upgraded beyond apple headphones. That is to be projected though from this product. For the price, yes you may be able to purchase cheaper headphones that sound better

Amazon.Com/Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones/dp/B000065BPB

And are much cheaper. BUT the cord is spiraled and if you’re trying to go out in public with this, they not only look uncomfortable, but they feel uncomfortable when trying to change songs just walking around.With the cord bouncing everywhere. They are not made for on the go.
THIS is the major reason I am writing this review. Purchase something else if you’re going to be inside all day or working in a studio, I could not suggested the Solo HDs for sitting around the house or work Exclusively depending on the price.
If you do want to listen to music in public places aka public transportation, university campus, dog walks, ect.Then I could have to go with this pair.
I think I watched every youtube video review on this pair and many say they’re bulky/flimsy, but in reality, they’re pretty small and the “flimsy” feeling people complain about is the cups shaking around when they are not stationed on your head. Let me be clear, they’re plastic yes, and they make plastic click noises when you’re waving them about yes.But the plastic is lasting in the HD edition ( I know this man seems an idiot, but its a good example of the new chemical compound used to make the HD variant . )
And is not going to snap like the regular Solos. As well, the clicking is a need because the cups must move freely to be able to position themselves on a range of heads.

The sound really is superb on these though. I know majority of people out there do not know about the upgraded sound in the HD edition.Not sure why Monster has not been marketing that these sound much better.Because after much reading around the web.It looks like nearly everyone reads “Solos” and thinks “AHHH TOO MUCH BASS, ITS CRAP AND MUDDY”. Looks like they could want to change that.
I can tell you, coming from someone who knows that Bose is a scam and tricked the mass of buyers into thinking they supply “the best” sound available, that these do not compare at all. They should honestly be in comparison to real headphones, still the audiophiles disregard them as “brand name” so oh well.
I dont listen to rap, or hip hop. I listen to indie rock, classical, folk, and the like, which nobody who reviewed them looks to listen to, so for those out there who DO, these will significantly improve your music listening.

Tl;dr
Get these if you want to listen to music in public, get something else if you primarily will use headphones at home.

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