beats by dr. dre - Monster headphones

Short version:
I love my new headphones, Studio - beats by dr. dre (from Monster)

Long Version:
OK, I don't usually post product reviews, although my friends are always telling me that I should because I'm so anal about comparing features of different products and tracking the latest innovations.  I guess to the extent that I do the research, I should be sharing that knowledge.
In any event, this review is not so much that result of thorough research as much as it is pure reaction and enthusiasm.  OK, before I start on these particular headphones, let me give a little background.
If you work in the music industry, you are familiar with the terms "studio monitors" or "reference monitors" -- if you don't work in the industry, you'd just call them speakers. So, what's the difference?  Well, ask 5 audio experts and you'll get 6 different answers :-)

Having said that, basically, studio monitors are intended to play back music exactly as it was recorded, so that someone who is recording or mixing music can hear exactly what is going on. Whereas speakers are sometimes designed to emphasize the bass or the treble depending on the type of music that the buyer is likely to listen to.
 More recently, most studio monitors are "powered", that is they have their own built-in amplifer.  That way, the sound of the music you play on them will not depend on the amplifier to which they are connected--it will vary only based on the input signal, i.e., the music (rather than the music + the amplifier).

So, now you know about studio monitors v. speakers -- let's talk about beats by dr. dre, the high-end studio monitors of the headphone world.  This is a set of headphones, called Studio, that is made by Monster Cable.  What is different about them?  Well, a number of things, but the most prominent is: they are powered, just like studio monitors.  And I would suggest that being "powered" is even more important and makes even more of a difference with headphones.

Why?

Well, many of the devices that people listen to these days are not big devices powered by a wall outlet, such as a cassette deck (remember those), or even a CD player, but rather a mobile phone or an MP3 player.  These are small portable devices that don't have a lot of power and are typically connected to some cheesy, cheap earbud headphones (which can distort and damage your ears--I may need to write another blog post on this topic).  So, even if you wanted to hook them up to some decent headphones, the devices wouldn't have the power to drive a good set of headphones very long.

Enter "beats by dr. dre".  These headphones not only have high-quality components and  great noise isolation, they also take two AAA batteries to power their speakers.  This has a dramatic effect for a couple of reasons.

First, because the headphones provide the power, the quality of sound does not depend on the amp built into whatever device is the source of the music.  Instead, if you provide the "Studio" headphones with the music input, they will amplify it clearly and and across the spectrum.  I immediately noticed the quality of the bass, which normally is not very good whenever I listen to portable devices, and much of the music I love (music of the African Diaspora) is bass heavy, such as Reggae, Soca, and Funk.

Second, because the headphones are powering the speakers, you avoid the distortion that you sometimes get with cheaper mobile devices when you increase their signal output.

The design the Studio headphones is sleek and smart -- they look great and sound great.  I was a little skeptical at first--I thought that they might be more of a gimmick associated with a big name (Dr. Dre).  But when I tried them, they sounded great, and the concept made total sense--powered headphones!

Moreover, they use normal batteries.  I have to confess, I'm so tired of devices with built in rechargeable batteries.  It might seem like a nice idea, but in reality, if I'm out on a long hike or unicycle ride (yeah, that's what I do), and my MP3 player goes dead, I'm not going to have a laptop strapped to my back that I can use to recharge my MP3 player via USB.  Just give me something that takes AAA or AA batteries.  I buy rechargeables, and then I carry extras with me.  Let's get Green people!

So, beats by dr. dre uses two AAA batteries -- just bring some extras with you -- very cool.

Now, I'll be honest, I probably won't use these headphones to DJ.  I could, but the quality would be lost on me in that situation.  These headphones are about listening to music just about everywhere else, and really being able to hear it!

And there is one more feature that I haven't checked out personally, but if it works as advertised, will be off the hook.  You can hook these headphones to a phone that plays music (e.g. an iPhone, BlackBerry, etc) and with a special cable that comes with them, be able to press a button which pauses the music and allows you to answer the phone (built in mic!).  Thus, you can have the phone/music functionality without being limited to the lame, eardrum destroying stock earbuds that come with your phone.  I'll report on this later--once I get my new phone :-)