[WGH]

What's old is new again.



Apple is just keeping relevant. Why try to compete when you can buy the competition?
Are white earbuds even cool anymore? That is what your Dad and Grampa use to listen to their old fart music.

So now kids are cool wearing these klunky headphones, actually they are being sucked into the Apple universe and don't even know it. With a big war chest Apple can keep buying the next cool thing, and the next, and the next until the end of time.

[wushuliu]

What's old is new again.



Apple is just keeping relevant. Why try to compete when you can buy the competition?
Are white earbuds even cool anymore? That is what your Dad and Grampa use to listen to their old fart music.

So now kids are cool wearing these klunky headphones, actually they are being sucked into the Apple universe and don't even know it.

don't even get me started on hipster glasses and the ridiculous neon or whatever sunglasses that look like there for 4 year olds some trends should stay in the past where they belong

[mfsoa]

I'd like to see the quality of headphone they could come up with for a measly 100 million dollars- One thirtieth of the coin they want to spend.

Heck they'd be the best on earth, no?   

[dB Cooper]

It's not about quality, despite what people tell themselves. Beats has gobbled up 60% of the over-$100 headphone market in a relatively short time, and did it with some of the crappiest cans ever made. The people at Sennheiser, AKG et al must be banging their heads on their boardroom tables.

[macrojack]

db Cooper is right again. It isn't about reality but perception. This is something audiophiles stubbornly refuse to accept. At the same time they are being taken to school by certain high profile manufacturers over and over, they insist on the purity of it all. The Absolute Sound. The pursuit of all that is holy and right. Meanwhile the likes of Bose and Beats and even Harmon International are making the money and buying up the idealists right and left.

Surely you've all seen the pattern. If you don't like it, stop supporting it.

[Wayner]

I wont buy any Apple product. I did need a new pair of headphones, my old pair was some Koss (now that dates me), so I ended up with some PSB M4U-1s in red. I am very happy with the fit, finish and sound of these cans. I also bought a nice 3 meter extension cord on sale at MD. It was an Audioquest cable, very nice.

They had the Beats phones at Best Buy, of course, starting at $200. Reviewers have stated that they are extremely bass heavy, but I'm sure that they were voiced to go with the music that the buyer of these phones would be listening to.

I do believe in the free market, so buy as you see fit, I did.

[wushuliu]

And again remember the integration. It's not just about headphones. It's about software that goes with the headphones and/or music streaming. If you have Beats streaming music, Beats equalization or whatever software, AND Beats headphones, boom you're done. I don't think the headphones themselves are the reason for any potential acquisition.

Imagine Beats on your Roku or Amazon Streaming Fire and wireless Beats headphones for home enjoyment or wireless Beats speakers. Total integration of audio and video through your television/streaming device as well as portable use. That's where things are headed.

EDIT: If Apple buys Beats then that means total integration with AppleTV not Roku or Amazon, putting Apple in a very competitive position against those two.

[WGH]

Beats has gobbled up 60% of the over-$100 headphone market in a relatively short time...

Now remember how Apple operates and here is one scenario:

Apple now owns 60% of the headphone market
Apple buys PONO
Apple and PONO both release their catalogs in a terrific sounding high-rez streaming format
High-Rez streaming will not work on the original Beats headphone
Apple sells really, really cool, must have new headphones to existing Beats customers.
Wash, rinse, repeat.

[macrojack]

Sounds easy!

The reports and comments I've read would seem to indicate that the Beats are all bass. My first thought was that Beats customers are the ones with the horribly annoying subwoofers in the Civic trunk disease. Probably sell along the lines of Air Jordans in another era. Product is all about some weird mix of prestige and fantasy.

So far that has not been Apples M.O. They seem more inclined to actually deliver a worthwhile product rather than a mythology. Beats is all image and little substance.

All along I've been assuming that is the reason that the acquisition is seen as odd.

[wushuliu]

Sounds easy!

The reports and comments I've read would seem to indicate that the Beats are all bass. My first thought was that Beats customers are the ones with the horribly annoying subwoofers in the Civic trunk disease. Probably sell along the lines of Air Jordans in another era. Product is all about some weird mix of prestige and fantasy.

So far that has not been Apples M.O. They seem more inclined to actually deliver a worthwhile product rather than a mythology. Beats is all image and little substance.

All along I've been assuming that is the reason that the acquisition is seen as odd.

I'd hardly call some of Apple's products 'worthwhile'. And Beats customers are across all the younger demographic, that's why they got so huge so quick. I've seen just as many skinny mop-headed hipster dudes and dudettes wearing them as anyone in the 'urban' market.

I don't get the image and substance comment. Apple is the biggest mythmaking company of all - they're geniuses at it. They sell creative freedom and individuality through devices that all look exactly the same, released with the same focus on limited usability with increased functionality only after each successive generation at $$$$$ for upgrade. And their die-hard customer base are in hook, line, and sinker every time. That's genius. Meanwhile poor troglodytes like me can root our Androids and do whatever the hell we want with them.

I think the two brands are a perfect fit. Even Beats' aesthetic matches Apple, so there won't be much to change there.

[toocool4]

The people at Sennheiser, AKG et al must be banging their heads on their boardroom tables.

They are not banging their heads, I spoke to one of the guys at Beyerdynamic when I bought my last headphones which are Beyerdynamic. He said the market is big enough for everyone, what Beats are doing does not impact them at all. The people that want to go with the celebrity brands / looks goes with Beats, Bose, Skullcandy etc and the people that want quality will seek out the quality brands.

The guys that want quality will often use their own ears and not just buy what everyone else is using.

Frankly I think who cares who buys what it’s their money, buy what they want good or bad life’s too short to care what other people are doing.   

[JackD201]

Let's not forget that Apple isn't just a tech company. It is a retailer with over 400 physical stores and this number is growing. They get a twofold benefit in getting the merchandise for less and using that merchandise to pull in non-apple users into the store. Maybe even convert a few. If I were Best Buy I'd be pretty bummed out by this development.

[launche]

Nice article on Beats music service.

"Instead of boring you with all the typical music streaming things Beats Music does, I’d like to focus on the interesting things that set it apart from the competition.

Better Quality Tracks..."

http://tidbits.com/article/14759

[metaldood]

Wonder what if the price will increase 

[skunark]

First this reminds me of the Intel buying McAfee..  doesn't add up, but at least this is more of a fit.   I think apple understands its not the hardware, OS or even office software that sells an eco-system, it's the movies, music, games and apps.  A luxury brand needs clout just as much as quality...maybe Beats adds to that... and I like apple....   Apple still hasn't embraced gaming, but if they did, it probably would shake market for the better, but Valve/Steambox is a great start.   For the Apple haters out there, there are ethically worse companies than them, but everyone draws their own line.   Samsung with it's mafia ties, Amazon with it's Walmart tactics and Google doing no evil, Apple in my eyes seems tame, but with tech history they will eventually fail.   (Osborne, IBM, DEC, SUN, HP, etc all failed and of course Microsoft failed with it's monopoly desires, Facebook failed on privacy)

For pono, i think the products will fail even before they are released, but the attempt will have a lasting effect as it might force Apple to release it's huge rumored library of high resolution files. 

Latest rumors hint that the Apple might back out of purchase because of the Dr. Dre's egotistical video. I am curious why this video is a bad thing, I assume there's a legal issue with the IRS or any financial watchdog.  From a marketing standpoint, Dr Dre's video is golden... rap finally is the king genre even with peddling sub-par headphones that match the likes of the horrific Grado in-ear headphones made overseas. 

It's interesting how teenagers and college students have more buying powers than us audiophiles in are own game.... 

Just a few random thoughts 

Jim

[wushuliu]

Nice article on Beats music service.

"Instead of boring you with all the typical music streaming things Beats Music does, I’d like to focus on the interesting things that set it apart from the competition.

Better Quality Tracks..."

http://tidbits.com/article/14759

Sounds like they are keeping MOG's 'algorithms' or whatever method MOG used to encode. This is very good news. MOG was the best streamer SQ wise hands down.

If Apple doesn't buy Beats someone else will. They're not some overhyped app software no one will remember a year from now.

[dB Cooper]

It's a done deal. As a friend pointed out on FB, "A member of N.W.A. is now part of Apple's exec team. Straight outta Cupertino."

Of course, the good Dr. will have as much to do with the executive side as with the design side.... different conversation.