Tech Review: Don’t buy Studio Beats headset

Beats by Dr Dre are inconsistent and poorly constructed. You almost think that they are made to intentionally break to force users to go out and buy another set at the over-priced price tag of $299. The sound is poor quality and they are just not worth it. They easily break

By Ray Hanania

A good headphone set is important. I prefer one with a cord that plugs into the laptop or the iPhone, although in hindsight, I probably should have purchased a wireless set that requires the laborious hassle of constantly charging them.

As it turns out, you have to constantly charge the wired Dr Dre Beats, too. It’s such a terrible hassle.

The cord that you plug in and out of the headset is constantly breaking. Worse, is the cords cost $20 each to replace and you can’t just order one without paying a high shipping charge from Amazon.com or other online stores. And, you have to wait a week or even longer to get them.

Dr Dre Beats headset, headphones. A great sound in a product that isn't made to last. You're just wasting your money buying them. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania — Dr Dre Beats headset, headphones. A great sound in a product that isn’t made to last. You’re just wasting your money buying them. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania

Most tech stores like Best Buy — which is really the “worst buy” — don’t carry the cords you need to plug into the headset. You need the cord with the microphone and it has to be stereo. And believe it or not, the stores prefer that instead of giving you a replacement cord for $20, they want you to get frustrated so you have to purchase a new headphone set.

Why wouldn’t they want that? The headset costs more than $300 with taxes.

The Dr Dre Beats are the most unreliable, although Bose also requires that you charge your wired headset in order to use them. And their cord also breaks easily. Worse with the Bose headsets is that the wire cord has two different plugs on the same wire. A large standard size plug that fits into an iPhone or a laptop at one end near the microphone, and a smaller male input that fits into the headset.

You think they did this on purpose to force consumers to purchase their specific cord, when they break?

The only guarantee that Dr Dre Beats has is that the cord will break. Easily. The end will bend and snap a wire inside the plastic cord. You can’t fix it. You have to purchase a new one.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could purchase a generic cord to fit on the headset for all of the headsets regardless of manufacturer?

Well, that would reduce the profiteering of the tech industry. Their goal isn’t to manufacture reliable, high quality products. Their goal is to make crap that falls apart, breaks down and requires another investment. The hope is that you get frustrated trying to track down a replacement cord and that you are forced to go out and buy another headset, and pay a fortune, making them wealthy.

Junk to wealth. It’s a robber baron’s formula for success.

My recommendation is to avoid Dr Dre Beats altogether. Find a generic headset that doesn’t cost much and offers the near same quality. They won’t break and you will save yourself a fortune in wasted money and in time trying to find a replacement part that Beats does not provide. Plus, replacement parts are easier to find and cheaper to purchase.

The Dr Dre Beats really suck. And I say that in high definition surround sound quality. Drop them. Find another product and save yourself the hassle.

I spend and waste my money identifying junk technology, so you don’t have too.

Click here to subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania's Columns

Author
Recent Posts

Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter