Beating the Beats

In the world of personal audio, style tends outweigh quality. With the popularity of Beats headphones, the case proves itsself often. The flashy colors and shiny exterior of the headphones mask sub-par interior electronics. But because of their looks and marketing strategy (they’re aimed at a particular age group, namely teenagers, and Dr. Dre endorses them), they become much, much more popular than similarly priced but higher quality headphones.
So, what are these aforementioned headphones? A prime example would be Audio-Technica’s ATH-M50 line of headphones. At $150, they aren’t cheap by any means, but they beat the Beats’ (no pun intended) $200 bottom line. And for a pair of headphones that prove themselves better than the Beats’ lines bottom model by leaps and bounds, they’re a steal.
For many normal consumers, the difference probably isn’t readily noticeable. Honestly, any headphones you pay $200 for are going to sound good; you just dropped $200 on them. However, when compared side to side, the Audio-Technicas simply have better sound quality, with a 15-28000 Hz frequency response range vs. the Beats’ top of the line model only registering at 20-20000 Hz. In layman’s terms, the Audio-Technica headphones can respond much more accurately to high quality sound files; they can produce more frequencies.
So, in all categories, the reasonably priced Audio-Technica ATH-M50’s are a much, much better buy than even the Beats’ Studio Edition headphones; their top of the line model, which retail for $300 or more. As a great buy in all aspects, for any individuals who are looking for new headphones, these may be the ones for you.

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