Beats Headphones Cost $14 to make, sell for $450+

D

Ducman69

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Crappy headphones sold at unbelievable premium pricing, proving that sheeple really fall for marketing hype:

http://allhiphop.com/2014/05/13/dr-dres-beats-by-dre-cost-an-estimated-14-to-make/

Who better than Apple to appreciate the power of marketing common commodity relatively inexpensive goods at huge profit margins, lol! Only Monster would have made more sense to have purchased Beats.

PS: I don't even think Dr Dre is a real doctor! ;)
 
LoL... "Sounds" about right.

Apple bought the beats marketing essentially. It surely wasn't the hardware, which undoubtedly Apple would know is garbage.

Or in accounting speak "high margin" product.
 
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Ducman69 said:
Crappy headphones sold at unbelievable premium pricing, proving that sheeple really fall for marketing hype:

http://allhiphop.com/2014/05/13/dr-dres-beats-by-dre-cost-an-estimated-14-to-make/

Who better than Apple to appreciate the power of marketing common commodity relatively inexpensive goods at huge profit margins, lol! Only Monster would have made more sense to have purchased Beats.

PS: I don't even think Dr Dre is a real doctor! ;)
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I believe the original beats by dre headphones were made in partnership with monster
 
Didn't Apple buy them from Monster? Monster Beats was their original name correct?
 
It doesn't surprise me, for sure. Though it does make me wonder; what's the build cost of other popular or well liked headphones? Sennheiser hd600/650s? ATH-m50/x? Beyer dt770s?

Or even the higher end stuff like Fostex's TH-900, Senn hd800, Audeze and Stax.
 
Well considering there is literally no savings in manufacturing the HD555 compared to the HD595, which if anything is slightly higher since they have to go through the extra step of "crippling" the product intended to capture a lower market price niche by adding a piece of foam to block the rear vents, I wouldn't be surprised if the market price and production price were huge gaps on their high end products.
 
ob1 said:
Didn't Apple buy them from Monster? Monster Beats was their original name correct?
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They left Monster and shortly after Apple bought them. Beats aren't amazing by any standards, but the newer ones are light years ahead of the trash that came when they were with Monster.
 
Obviously there's more to the cost of an item than the cost of parts or even manufacturing. Not to say the margins aren't sky-high but it's hard to say how high without knowing all the other costs associated with it. Take pharmaceuticals, the pills may cost $1 each to produce but R&D could be $100 million. They're still most likely ripping people off but as long as people continue to buy the stuff they will continue to sell it.
 
Oh please. What do you think is the bill of materials for any medium end headphone? Do you seriously think making a HD595 costs more than a pair of Beats?
 
Spoiler: you'd throw a fit if you knew how much ANY high-end cans actually cost to produce, let alone some damn Beats.
 
fss69 said:
Oh please. What do you think is the bill of materials for any medium end headphone? Do you seriously think making a HD595 costs more than a pair of Beats?
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IIRC, a replacement driver for Sennheiser HD600's is about $60.
 
John721 said:
It doesn't surprise me, for sure. Though it does make me wonder; what's the build cost of other popular or well liked headphones? Sennheiser hd600/650s? ATH-m50/x? Beyer dt770s?

Or even the higher end stuff like Fostex's TH-900, Senn hd800, Audeze and Stax.
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Im sure there is a huge markup on most headphones, but at least with the stuff you mentioned there you are actually getting good sound quality, beats you are just getting cheap headphones with lots of marketing... Like with apple you are probably spending a chunk of the price on their advertising costs.

Shure 1540 for the price of the more expensive beats you get MUCH better sound quality, far better materials and build quality and also 2 sets of pads a nice case and 2 cables. Fostex headphones seem overpriced to me as well, you don't get much for the money not even detachable cables.
 
From the article: "A pair of Beats by Dre can cost upwards of $450" means their highest end cans are around $450.

Your thread title: Beats Start at $450 and increase for higher models.

Amazon sells models starting at $50.

Not condoning the overpricing and overhyping of their mediocre headphones, just stating the huge inaccuracy of your title.
 
fss69 said:
Oh please. What do you think is the bill of materials for any medium end headphone? Do you seriously think making a HD595 costs more than a pair of Beats?
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I would say very few headphones cost more than $75 in materials to make. However, I would assume that the likes of Grado/AKG etc. may have actually spent some money on developing and tuning that particular model. R&D has to be recouped.

Like someone else said it wouldn't surprise me if the Beats are just a plain OEM China brand with a Beats logo slapped on the side. No R&D from Beats.

Beats probably spends more of packaging design that audio R&D.
 
fss69 said:
Is that what they charge you for the individual part or is that what it really costs them to produce?
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That's what they charged for the individual part. I can't imagine it costs all that much to make these things.

Also the mindless Beats bashing by headphone nerds isn't quite so justifiable anymore. It's been accepted by most that have tried the newest revisions that they at least semi-decent.

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/time-rethink-beats-solo2-excellent
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I distrust audio gear reviews as much as I distrust tech 'journalists.' Who do you think is paying the bills?
 
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I'd say I trust Tyll's reviews more than I trust random forum blowhards. ;) And there's even measurements.
 
Well, my Senn HD595 had a driver blow, guess how much for a new one... $24.. and yet i paid over $400 for the headphones new, so now i could just buy new drivers for a fraction of the price...
 
DeathFromBelow said:
I distrust audio gear reviews as much as I distrust tech 'journalists.' Who do you think is paying the bills?
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Do you have some kind of evidence that Tyll Hertsens would accept payouts from Beats (or any other company) for his reviews? He's always gone out of his way to provide accurate reviews, regardless of brand or product line stigma. If you have reason to believe his methods have changed, that's something you should post and link to. He's built his reputation on being an unbiased reviewer of high-end stuff. Proof that he's been accepting payouts would be completely damning to his reputation. It seems strange for you to imply this is going on without having some kind of evidence.
 
John721 said:
I'd say I trust Tyll's reviews more than I trust random forum blowhards. ;) And there's even measurements.
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Hey if a guy in a sharp suit handed me a pair of headphones and a cheque for $100000 I'd write whatever he wanted.;)

Got to build that pension pot somehow.
 
CEpeep said:
Do you have some kind of evidence that Tyll Hertsens would accept payouts from Beats (or any other company) for his reviews? He's always gone out of his way to provide accurate reviews, regardless of brand or product line stigma. If you have reason to believe his methods have changed, that's something you should post and link to. He's built his reputation on being an unbiased reviewer of high-end stuff. Proof that he's been accepting payouts would be completely damning to his reputation. It seems strange for you to imply this is going on without having some kind of evidence.
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Relax. I said I don't trust 'pro' audio gear reviews in general, just like I don't trust 'pro' hardware reviews. I don't have a problem with Tyll or anyone in particular, my point is that if you're getting free stuff I cannot be sure of your motivations. fss69 claimed that 'most' people liked the new headphones and pointed to a single pro review, that's what bothered me. Given the poor performance of older Beats gear and the fact that they're now owned by a tech company known for shrewd marketing I think some caution is warranted.
 
DeathFromBelow said:
Relax. I said I don't trust 'pro' audio gear reviews in general, just like I don't trust 'pro' hardware reviews. I don't have a problem with Tyll or anyone in particular, my point is that if you're getting free stuff I cannot be sure of your motivations. fss69 claimed that 'most' people liked the new headphones and pointed to a single pro review, that's what bothered me. Given the poor performance of older Beats gear and the fact that they're now owned by a tech company known for shrewd marketing I think some caution is warranted.
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Guess what also - follow the head-fi community of non-pros and you get a lot of sheep and people giving recommendations and opinions based on stuff they never listened to. And of course you get the hype train reviews and FOTM headphones. The knife cuts both ways. Were you expecting me to post a half dozen links or something?
 
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