Customer Reviews

iBeats Headphones with ControlTalk From Monster® - In-Ear Noise Isolation - Black

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(30)
1 star:		(40)

 

 

First off, I own several pairs of headphones, both in ear and over ear, and the iBeats are above and beyond anything I've used. The first step was finding the right fit (of the 7 tips included, I found 2 that fit perfectly, one regular mold, and the other the "Airlock" style). The standard tips are a snug fit, and allow the bass to hit fairly hard. I have a pair of Koss in ear headphones, and the Bass does hit harder, but the iBeats bass is much cleaner. The "Airlock" style tips fit snug as well, and I found that while in my ears, they were comfortable, but after long periods of wear, after removing them there was some slight pain. I also own a pair of Skullcandy Hesh over ears, and the iBeats again sound better than the Skullcandies. While I would recommend the Hesh to anyone on a budget looking for good sound for your money, I would recommend iBeats as well to anyone that can afford them. The ControlTalk feature is nice for the iBeats as well, and I've had no complaints from anyone on the other end of my phone. If I had one complaint it would have to be that the ControlTalk on cable volume and music control feature does not work on the iPhone 3G, but I recently upgraded to the iPhone 4 and cannot complain about that now. The thing I can't give enough praise about is the noise cancellation. iBeats block out almost all outside sound, and you dont have to jack the volume up extremely high to do it. Simply put, it is excellent. All in all, these are the best sounding ear buds I've ever heard, and I would not hesitate to recommend them to friend or family.

***UPDATE*** 3-11-2012

While I still rate these at a 5, the pair I reviewed in my original review are no longer fully functional. A year of heavy, heavy use, including:
Use during work at a wood shop on a daily basis for 7 or more hour stretches at close to full volume, 5 days a week.
Use as ear plugs (with music) during shooting high caliber rifles (AK-47, AR-15, 30-06, Win .308) pistols (.45, .40, .380, 9mm, .22) and shotguns (shooting birdshot, buckshot and slugs)
General combined use for the above for literally almost every single day for a little over a year.
I would say I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did, given the conditions I used them and the abuse I put them through. The first thing to happen was the mic going out. After a long period of almost non use, I took them out today and the left bud is receiving interference causing the volume to be significantly lower in only that side. For the money I paid for these, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase, and if I had used them in not so extreme conditions, they most definitely would have lasted twice as long, if not longer. Lastly, I don't know what other buds are out now, or if anything has come out in this price range that compares to these, but I can guarantee whatever I get will be put through the paces of rigorous and stressful use. If I don't buy a second pair of these that is...

I really want to like this product. They have a nice feel to them, the sound quality is crisp, the cords are thick, and resist tangling unlike some competing products. My first concern was the lack of bass. They just don't seem to have any kick. That concern was quickly eclipsed though, with a more pressing concern as they are quickly becoming unusable due to ControlTalk issues. I'm very gentle with these headphones, but for whatever reason, they seem to randomly activate either voice control, song pause, skip, etc... I thought I must have bumped the controls at first, but then discovered that just shifting the cable caused some sort of short in the switch to cause all sorts of mayhem- from fast forwarding through tracks, changing tracks, activating voice control repeatedly, etc... Did I get a lemon, or is it an across the board defect? I don't know...

These headphones were my first high quality headphone purchase - but I did do A LOT of comparing to other products before deciding on these. The sound was amazing and despite listening to more expensive headphones, over the ear and in ear, I still liked these better. With previous headphones I found myself constantly turning the bass up (using itunes etc) as much as I could, and these I tend to actually turn bass down...which I love. I listen to rock, drum and bass and a variety of things and they sound great for everything (usually turning down the bass on rock and even so they still have excellent sound quality, crip). I would say the sound quality of these are very close to the Bose in ear headphones within the same price range, but these have more bass. These headphones have no irritated "popping" noise from not being able to handle bass...which is something that really irritated me with other headphones. I have also yet to listen to a song that these headphones drop any notes due to them being too high or low - i find myself hearing more details in music than ever before.

IT IS ESSENTIAL to find the right ear buds. I have a friend who tried mine and says they sounded terrible b/c he just used my ear buds and claimed they had no bass. Once I convinced him to try some other buds he did find some that fit and agreed that the sound quality was amazing.

I was hesitate to purchase these after reading about them breaking a lot (especially on the review about these same headphones w/o control talk), so when I purchased them I also got an inexpensive extended warranty. I've owned them about a month and have had absolutely no problems with them yet - with that said I am very careful with them and always replace them in the nicely made small bag that comes with them.

Control talk itself is good for iPod touch - you can play/pause and control volume. I can't comment on iphone as i don't own one. The price of these are the same as the ones without control talk so i figured, why not? I will add that I own a motorolla droid and while listening to pandora on it i hit a button on the control talk and it freaked out switching between play and pause repeatedly. Easy fix - just unplug and replug the headphones - but it's still irritating that it bugs like that. I didn't mark the headphones down based on this simply because it was an extra feature that I was neutral about to begin with - i purchased them for the sound quality and nothing more.

Overall I'm in love with these headphones! If the negative comments about them breaking scares you just buy the warranty for them to relieve your worries - the product is definitely worth the price!

I will be sure to update this review if I have any problems with durability, hopefully those who have are a small few.

Update:: As of 2/16/2012 the headphones still work wonderfully! I'm pretty careful with them and I'm not sure how they'd do with abuse, but they still work great for me!

I really like these iBeats. Coming from the Apple in-ear headphones, the sound quality is night and day. Listen to the instructions, and start with the smallest earbuds, then work your way up. I started with the largest of the normal earbuds and the sound quality was horrible. I knew something had to be wrong, day by day, I went to smaller earbuds, and eventually settled on the 2nd to the smallest, which gave me great sound and excellent noise cancellation.
That being said, the reason I say don't buy them from Amazon is that you will be extremely upset when they break, and they will break. The ControlTalk remote and mic have stopped working for me twice in a month. Build quality of the earphones are excellent. Build quality of the remote is awful. The remote is loose, flimsy plastic. One remote broke on me the day after I purchased them. Now a month later, the remote on the 2nd pair won't respond to button presses and the mic doesn't work.
So where should you buy them to keep your iBeats fresh? Purchase your iBeats from Best Buy WITH the exchange anytime warranty. The 1st pair of iBeats that broke I walked into a Best Buy and walked out with a new pair in 10 minutes. I expect the same fast exchange tomorrow and the next time (and the next, next time) these iBeats break until Monster and Dre get they act together. Redesign the ControlTalk Remote! It plain sucks, but I don't want to have to go back to my inferior sounding Apple in-ear headphones that I'd be forced to make reservations with the Genius Bar to exchange them when they break (which is rare, but has happened twice in 2 years). iBeats and Best Buy warranty is a match made in heaven. ControlTalk and Dre? Not so much.

Being That These earbuds cost $100 I made sure to take proper care of
them. After about two weeks of use the right side earbud stopped
working completely.
The earbuds have a severe lack of bass other than that sounds great &
I loved how the wire never tangled up.

Poorly made. I went through 2 pair in 8 months. Both pair had internal connectivity problems at the point where the the cord connects to the 1/8" plug after only a few months of careful use. Spend your hard earned money on a product that will hold up, not these poorly made things.

Really a waste of money!, sound was good but the three button control broke the same day I got them. Right out of the box I wore them to the gym and when I got home I noticed the control would not adjust the volume, but the pause and play button still worked. if I paid 10 bucks I wouldn't care but for a hundred im sending them back and going with the proven Bose....

Wires frayed after just a few months. Customer service only answers the phone weekdays from 8:00 - 4:00.

Warranty website (www.headphonewarranty.com) was down.

After waiting on hold forever, sent them back for replacement, been waiting for over a month for the replacements.

Monster should spend some of its marketing money on better quality components and customer service.

Reading through these reviews is one of the most painful things I have ever done. They are riddled with inaccuracies, which I imagine are mostly caused by misuse.

I am a sound engineer for one of the largest, nationally recognized studios on the east coast. I bought these to listen to my recordings on my iPod and Android phone, to better understand what most people would hear while they are listening. To my surprise, I heard intricacies in my own recordings that I didnt hear coming from my $2500 studio monitors. At first, Thought it was a fluke... but then I listened to other recordings I have heard a million times and heard little nuances that I never heard before. Causing me to go back and listen to all of the music I used to listen to in my youth, just to hear what I missed then. Very accurate and telling for engineers. They give a true representation of what everyone will hear, no matter what they are listening to your songs through.

So much so, that I now use them in studio.

As far as them breaking, I have used mine for over a year and have had no issues. They are delicate, but not to the point most reviews would lead you to believe. Just like any piece of electronic equipment, it is all in how you take care of them. These arent going to take everyday wear and tear well, if you are constantly plugging them and unplugging them, tossing them in your pocket, etc... The cord is thick, but not thick enough to take a lot of pulling and abuse. As far as those complaining about bass... I would say... Check your source, or push tem a little further into your ears. The bass is perfect with these, without being overbearing.

I would say, if you are going to buy these, know that they are incredible sounding. They have more than sufficient bass, with almost zero coloring... but they should be used with care. I use mine daily and love them. They have added more truth to my recordings and others, than I could have ever imagined. Makes me want to go back and listen to every song Ive ever loved, over again, to hear exactly what the artist and producer imagined.

Bought these for my younger brother as a Christmas gift in 2010 at our local Best-Buy. Two and a half months later (mid March 2011) the left ear bud stopped working. The headphones received no abuse and were only lightly used one hour a day. It's a shame they broke, because the sound quality and aesthetics of the product were great. Hopefully you read the reviews before buying the product. All in all, avoid like the plague.