Monster Cable Beats Solo High-Definition On-Ear Headphones with Control Talk (Black)

by Monster

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 6.8 x 9.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003I84L24
• Item model number: MH BTS ON SOHD BK CT
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (214 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #56 in Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Audio & Video Accessories > Headphones

Product Description

Color: Black | Size: One Size

From the Manufacturer

High Definition Sound Anywhere You Want It Committed to giving music enthusiasts the best in sonic performance, Beats Solo HD gives you a high definition sound experience. Our advanced proprietary titanium coated driver technology provides ultra precise highs and mids, plus deep, distortion-free bass, so you hear every detail, the way the artist intended you to hear it. Light and Compact for Every Lifestyle At the gym, going for a run, frequent traveler, or just cruising down the street, Beats Solo HDs are the perfect light-weight headphone. Monster's compact tri-fold design makes it easy to store in bags, suitcases, and jackets. Plus, the Ultra Low Profile Right Angle Connector hugs your music player and is perfect for airplane seat jacks.ControlTalk: The Ultimate in iPod, iPad and iPhone Control and iPhone/Music Phone Hands-Free Calling With the built-in ControlTalk remote, you get on-cable control of your music, as well as easy, high quality hands-free calling.

Product Description

High Definition Sound Anywhere You Want It Committed to giving music enthusiasts the best in sonic performance, Beats Solo HD gives you a high definition sound experience. Our advanced proprietary titanium coated driver technology provides ultra precise highs and mids, plus deep, distortion-free bass, so you hear every detail, the way the artist intended you to hear it. Light and Compact for Every Lifestyle At the gym, going for a run, frequent traveler, or just cruising down the street, Beats Solo HDs are the perfect light-weight headphone. Monster's compact tri-fold design makes it easy to store in bags, suitcases, and jackets. Plus, the Ultra Low Profile Right Angle Connector hugs your music player and is perfect for airplane seat jacks.ControlTalk: The Ultimate in iPod, iPad and iPhone Control and iPhone/Music Phone Hands-Free Calling With the built-in ControlTalk remote, you get on-cable control of your music, as well as easy, high quality hands-free calling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bumpin Bass, Style, and Audio Quality, October 13, 2010

By 

Shane M. Peyton "shaneomac" (ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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.' Damn 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 169 at Buydig dot com with a 10 dollar coupon (BDRewards10) check it. Or Google them. All the music mentioned above can be purchased right here on Amazon.com.

81 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great bass but over priced for quality, August 10, 2010

By 

J. Gilliland "anmldr2b" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

The Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Solo HD headphones in my opinion are ok. I'm no audiophile but I do appreciate music and have a great ear for hearing slight differences. I recently purchased these after having my Bose on ear headphones for a few years (was very pleased with them) and decided to try the solo hd's because they are both on-ear models and was looking for a new pair. Having compared the two for a while now I will be returning the Solo HD's for a few reasons. This review is to compare the Bose on ear vs. the solo hd's

Style: give it to the monster beats, sleek design with gloss finish. You will definately be noticed with these headphones and not in a bad way.

Portability: monster wins with this again. Both come with carrying cases. While I do like the bose because the case seems more duable the collapse-able design of the beats is a bit smaller and has a small sleave to fit the cord into. Speaking of cords the monster cord that comes with the beats is much better than the bose. Just buy holding/looking at the cord it is way more durable, tangle free, and gold plated. Monster also makes a perfect length cable as well. The bose cord I found for me, got tangled easily, very thing, and doesn't seem half as durable.

Sound: This goes to the BOSE headphones. While the beats has a very good bass and it's not distorted it's lost when it comes to hearing highs and the treble seemed a little off. I listened everything from R&B to hip-hop and the beats was amazing. Then I listened to some classical, pop, and rock. The beats lost me when it came to those genre's and it was almost like a "muddy" sound, not as crisp. I listen to the same songs using the BOSE and it was a very clear difference as the mids/highs were much better in the BOSE. The BOSE bass can be a bit distorted though when it came to hip-hop/r&b songs. Drums/hi-hats/symbals/bass in the beats were very crisp and I heard a few drums sounds in songs I had never heard before but everything else, again felt muddy and not as good as the BOSE.

Comfort: I wear headphones a lot when traveling and even sitting at my desk listening to music. The BOSE win in this one as the padding on the ears are very comfortable and I can wear them for hours. The monster beats put too much pressure (and I have a small head... 6 1/2 hat size) on my ears and were uncomfortable after about an hour and a half.

Bottom line: If you're used to using come-with-mp3 player or cheap headphones this is a very good upgrade, and if you're looking for a fashionable headphone and have $180 to spare go for it. I recommended trying out the headphones for a bit (best buy you can return them within 30 days as long as there is no damage) and see if you like them and compare them to something similar. Personally I am still going to use my BOSE on ear and look for something different. On ear headphones...BOSE definately. I will be trying out the Monster Beats Studio to see if they are better than the Solo HD's.

55 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much improvement over the regular Solos, December 9, 2010

By 

Drew Huebner - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Monster Beats Solo High-Def On-Ear Headphones with ControlTalk (White) (Electronics)

I am in no way an audiophile, I haven't the money or the time to be, but I am knowledgeable in the area due to a lot of research and friends. I found it disheartening when I looked up reviews for the Beats Solo HD because most of them were 14 year old boys or simply people who have never upgraded beyond apple headphones. That's to be expected though from this product. For the price, yes you can buy cheaper headphones that sound better

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-Headphones/dp/B000065BPB

and are much cheaper. BUT the cord is spiraled and if you are trying to go out in public with this, they not only look awkward, but they feel awkward when trying to change songs even just walking around...with the cord bouncing everywhere. They aren't made for on the go.
THIS is the main reason I'm writing this review. Buy something else if you are going to be inside all day or working in a studio, I would not recommended the Solo HDs for sitting around the house or work solely based on the price.
If you do want to listen to music in public places aka public transportation, university campus, dog walks, ect...then I would have to go with this pair.
I think I have watched every youtube video review on this pair and some say they are bulky/flimsy, but in reality, they are pretty small and the "flimsy" feeling people complain about is the cups shaking around when they aren't stationed on your head. Let me be clear, they are plastic yes, and they make plastic click noises when you are waving them about yes...but the plastic is durable in the HD edition ( I know this guy looks like an idiot, but its a good example of the new chemical compound used to make the HD version [...] )
and isn't going to snap like the regular Solos. Also, the clicking is a necessity because the cups must move freely to be able to position themselves on a variety of heads.

The sound really is superb on these though. I know most people out there don't know about the upgraded sound in the HD edition...not sure why Monster hasn't been advertising that these sound much better...because after much reading around the web...it seems like almost everyone reads "Solos" and thinks "AHHH TOO MUCH BASS, ITS CRAP AND MUDDY". Seems like they would want to change that.
I can tell you, coming from someone who knows that Bose is a scam and has tricked the mass of consumers into thinking they provide "the best" sound available, that these don't compare at all. They should honestly be compared to real headphones, yet the audiophiles disregard them as "brand name" so oh well.
I dont listen to rap, or hip-hop. I listen to indie-rock, classical, folk, and the like, which no one who reviewed them seems to listen to, so for those out there who DO, these will drastically improve your music listening.

tl;dr
Get these if you want to listen to music in public, get something else if you mainly will use headphones at home.

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