Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Black On-ear Headphones with ControlTalk

Bumpin Bass, Style, and Audio Quality

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical purchasing these headphones as the previous generation Dr. Dre Beats solos got some poor reviews in terms of an overpowering bass and poor build quality. ...Read complete review

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical purchasing these headphones as the previous generation Dr. Dre Beats solos got some poor reviews in terms of an overpowering bass and poor build quality. Considering this price point I assume a lot of consumers are looking for 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 categories. High Fidelity: I tested these headphones out in several genres since I listen to an eclectic mix. First 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 8 hours or so of heavy listening and these bad boys find their sweet spot. The first cd in the mix was Kings of Leon Only by the Night I put on 'Sex on Fire.' You get some nice high notes and kick drum beats in this song as well as some killer electric guitar. What impressed me was how sweet the vocals were in terms of clarity and vibrato while still letting the instrumentals shine through. I like my music loud 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 some Lil' Wayne I Am Not A Human Being. I put on the first track 'Gonorrhea.' Dang 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 rendering 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 tempo down with some acoustical guitar from my man Ray LaMontagne. So I will round out this fidelity review with his live performance of 'Empty' off his latest cd Gossip In The Grain. I figured if these headphones would fall short, no doubt it would be on a song like this. The breathy vocals and pedal steel guitar on this track gave the Solos HD some difficulty. I seriously doubt this would be noticeable 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 entirely on this performance I would still give them 4 stars. I also watched an episode of "Glee", yeah I said "Glee" Boss! It sounded excellent. Crisp dialogue and nice full body rendering of the song performances. Mercedes preformed a rendition of 'Rag Doll' from Tina Turners old release and it sounded phenomenal. Overall I found the sound quality to be excellent and all encompassing across the numerous genres of music and vocals. The build quality and style of these headphones was equally impressive. I know there were some previous issues with the head band snapping in the Solos, but they seem to have fixed that with a metal band that is hidden below the padded head rest. The band seem to has a lot of give and flexibility while still 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 extended the ear cups do not 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, almost too firm at first 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 extremely comfortable on the ears and I have a fairly large head. The 'Control Talk' cord is in one word, perfection! It is 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 safely 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 headphone jack pushing against my forearm on the side, a huge plus. The other end plugs into the head phones making this a detachable cord which is very nice as it can be replaced independently of the headphones. The 'Control' talk feature is awesome. You have a volume up and down function as well 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 backward. This will only work on certain devices though. If you have a mac it will also control your volume and playback features in itunes which rocks! It worked great on my macbook pro and my ipod touch 3rd generation. Though to get the song to skip I had to click twice with some 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 as well as the beats log on each side. I did not find fingerprints to be that much 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 even better quality sounding headphones. Check out Shure 440's or even some Koss PortaPros if your tight on cash and want good sound quality with less focus on style. However as far as Bass, Style, and Audio Quality goes, check these bad boys out! I highly recommend them! I got mine on the cheap for [$]at [...] with a 10 dollar coupon (BDRewards10) check it. Or Google them.