Hey guys, this is Austin.
So there are some new Beats By Dre headphones.
Now that might not sound exciting on it's own,
however take a look around back, you'll see
there's something a little different.
These are $130.
For headphones, that's still kind of expensive.
However, when you consider that most Beats
are two, three, four hundred dollars,
these guys are actually a little bit more affordable.
So if you guys remember, Apple actually bought
Beats By Dre a couple years ago
and these are some of the first headphones
that have actually come out that are made by Apple.
"Change the way you hear sound."
We'll see about that.
I'm a little bit skeptical.
So you guys probably know that Beats By Dre
have a reputation.
Typically they are a lot more bass-heavy
and maybe not the greatest value for the dollar.
Interesting carrying case,
and I guess it says Beats EP on it.
So they actually do come in a couple colors
so this is the blue model, which I actually
kind of think looks cool.
So even though Apple owns Beats By Dre now,
you're actually still getting a standard
3.5 millimeter headphone jack, because courage.
You know what, they feel pretty nice.
We're getting actual metal here,
everything is nicely padded.
The ear cups do look a little small.
And it just so happens that I have
my color matching Google Pixel phone here.
And I think it's only natural that we start with
a little bit of Dre.
Yeah, they sound like Beats.
(laughs)
There's definitely a lot of bass involved,
which is not really a surprise and honestly,
I think a lot of people do prefer some bass.
The mids are definitely subdued though.
That's definitely sort of a Beats characteristic
of the headphones, but I don't hate it.
Man, there's so much low-end though.
It does kind of overpower.
Okay, so these actually are a bit better than I expected,
but to actually properly compare them,
I have some of my other favorite pairs of headphones.
So first of all, I have the Grado SR80e.
These are actually probably
my favorite pair of headphones around.
So they're a little bit more of
a specialized pair of headphones.
First of all, I think they look awesome
with the retro styling.
But more importantly, they're a really nice sounding
open-back pair of headphones.
So the idea is, with an open-back headphone,
is that you're gonna get a little more of a wider sound.
You have that little bit more sound stage,
and typically it's a little bit more detail on the high end.
But the downside is pretty much everyone can hear
exactly what you're listening to.
That is where the Status Audio CB-1s come in.
So you guys have probably seen me talk about these
a couple of times in videos, however,
especially considering that they're close-back headphones,
they sound incredible.
Yeah, these CB-1s are no joke.
So this is a much more neutral sound.
So while they're a little bit more bassy than something
like the SR80e, they don't even come close to the Beats.
However, because it's a more neutral sound,
I actually really like using these
for things like video editing.
Sure, it's not a completely flat studio monitor,
but it's a really nice blend of,
pretty much anything sounds at least good on these.
So we've got a lot of headphones here.
We've got some phones.
This looks like a little bit of a disaster, right?
What I wanna know is really what are the strengths
and weaknesses of each one.
And more importantly, are the Beats,
which are slightly more expensive than these pairs,
actually worth it?
Okay, so after listening to all three of these pairs
of headphones for a little while,
I think that there's some really clear differences,
and reasons why you might want to pick up any of them.
So to start with, we have the CB-1s.
These are still some of my favorites.
And if I had to pick one pair of headphones
to listen to all of my music on, it would be these.
There's solid padding here, you can fold them up,
and while I'm not a huge fan of the gold color,
these are easily the most comfortable pair
of headphones here to listen to for a long time.
And the best part is,
these are actually the cheapest at $80.
On the other hand, we have the Grado SR80e.
Now, I will have no shame in admitting
that I am a huge fanboy for these headphones.
Not only do they look cool in my opinion,
and sure, they're not the most comfortable.
But the sound is just unique.
Where the SR80e really shine is in the high-end.
So it's incredibly clear, and honestly,
the music just sounds detailed.
There's very little muddiness,
which is definitely something you can find
especially on the Beats.
However, there's not a ton of bass,
and honestly, for some types of music such as hip-hop,
they're okay but they do fall flat.
And falling flat is something that the Beats do not do.
This is a very punchy, a very rich, a very warm sound.
Now, some people will not like this.
And of course, music is a thing that is very much
based on your own personal preference.
So for certain types of music, such as hip-hop,
which is kind of Beats By Dre, hip-hop, yeah, makes sense,
these sound good.
Compared to the Grados they are nowhere near as detailed,
and compared to the CB-1s, you're getting a much more
I'm not gonna say a muddy sound, but certain tracks
do not sound as clean as they do on the Status's.
Personally, I don't think these are going to pull me away
from the Grados and the Status's, however,
whether you like the look of them,
whether you like that warm sound, for $130,
the Beats EPs are not bad headphones.
But of course, music is all about personal preference.
So I'm curious.
Which one of these headphones would you go for?
Definitely be sure to let me know in the comments below
and I'll of course will have links
to all of these headphones in the description.
Anyway guys, thank you so much for watching,
and I will catch you in the next one.