Beats Solo HD user reviews (Black)

Pros I like the way the headphones look, thats it!!!

Cons Feel tight on your head after a while

Summary It's all about the SOUND!!! If i'm going to pay the amount of money I paid for these headphones, I want the SOUND that Monster says they have. It's too bass heavy and the treble is too low. I prefer a full, clean sound that you can hear EVERYTHING EQUALLY!!! I heard the other Monster beats headphones and I was blown away, but the Solo headphones aren't even close to that kind of sound. i'm gonna take these back and get something better as soon as possible. You would think that headphones with Dr.Dre's endorsement would be better, I am truly, utterly disappointed.

Pros The overall output is as strong as the Skullcandy Hesh (which I would recommend to bassheads who can't afford the Solo). Recommend to those of us who grew up appreciating the bass in all music genres.

Cons The bass is LOUD and STRONG compared to the rest of the frequency range. This is intentional, but some folks don't like bass. I would limit these to playback only, I can't use these for audio or video productions.

Summary You can probably enhance the treble/high frequencies with your source unit's tone control, but I'm reviewing the headphones and not your sound source so that suggestion is not applicable here.
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The Solo is closed-back, on-ear (Supra-aural) design but so powerful there can be some sound leakage. On-ear headphones can be uncomfortable if the pads aren't soft enough and can leak sound to the outside world or slip off easily if they're too soft. The overall output is as strong as the Skullcandy Hesh (which, at 1/3 the price, I would recommend to bassheads who can't afford the Solo). The user may need to turn down the bass on the sound source to tame these Solo headphones.
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Very strong bass frequency range, and strong lower midrange. Definitely for bassheads, I would not recommend these for mixing music or video. The bass is so strong you could easily compensate too much and leave too much bottom out of your mix. The opposite is true for your music library - these things bring out the BOTTOM! The frequency curve seems to start rising just above 110Hz and stay up throughout the bass range. Kick drums kick in the center of your head; not just the drum's thump and bloom, but the actual hit of the foot pedal, which is usually centered in the lower midrange. Try before you buy, as these are on-ear and you need to know what that feels like if you have never owned cans of this design.
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Back in the day Dr. Dre had a cut titled "Keep Their Heads Ringing." This is the set of headphones I wish I had back then just for this track. Bass has just as strong an effect on your eardrums as high frequencies do, and can be just as damaging. I started to feel that after just a few minutes of auditioning the Solos because I was caught up in the heavy bass. The left side of my head started to "ring" and I had to take them off and sit in quiet for a few minutes. You have been warned.
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Would not recommend for: Soft rock, 70s and 80s pop rock, jazz featuring acoustic, upright bass, classical, most country. Most recordings in these styles mix the bass to support the overall sound and to outline chord changes. These headphones may be disturbing to users who believe bass should be limited to that role. Prince's "Guitar," from the album Planet Earth starts off with a 4-bar chord run on guitar before the bass kicks in; with the Solo this track sounds like it's a "bass" track with guitar and drums supporting it. With other headphones it's the opposite, it's a driving guitar track with some guitar-string striking and cymbal sizzle in the mix. When I tried "He Reigns" from the Newsboys' Adoration album I could easily hear the sibilance from the lead singer's voice, but the sizzle from the drum kit's (two!) high hats and cymbals was subdued and the guitar string strikes were tame. The tambourine that comes in at the 3-minute mark was clear and not harsh, a pleasant surprise - tambourines can destroy a track. "Fantasy Girl" from .38 Special's Wild-Eyed Southern Boys album sounded like it was playing in a luxury car equipped with a very good sound system and subwoofer - in other headphones this track sounds like a guitar workout, my preference for this track.
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Would recommend for: Urban Gospel (Yes!), hip-hop, metal (don't tell your guitarist this), "smooth" jazz, and funk. Some rock tracks will sound good through these as well, if you lean toward bands or musicians that favor their bass players in the mix. Earth Wind and Fire's "Mighty Mighty" is a nice model of the above examples; Al McKay's guitar remains prominent in the right track, the keyboards fill the left track, the horns are still prominent in the mix, the vocals are up front and proud and Verdine White's bass is awesome! I love everything by Fred Hammond through these headphones. Listening to Wes Montgomery's "Four on Six" reminded me of listening to a vinyl track through a tube stereo - we had one when I was growing up. The guitar's natural distortion in certain sections of this track is not as obvious through the Solo as it is through the Skullcandy Hesh, indicating the Solo's bass/low midrange boost starts lower on the scale than the boost built into the Hesh.
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My headphones include: Sony MDR-7506; Shure SRH440; Carvin H44M; JVC HA-X570; Skullcandy Skullcrushers; Skullcandy Hesh; Skullcandy Lowriders; and, Grado SR80. I would not buy the Solo as my sole [pun] set of headphones, but they are keepers!

Pros Style! They look amazing and feel solid**

Cons Expensive.
Terrible build quality
Too much base that drowns the rest of the music

Summary I work at a location with retailers that sell these headphones country (USA) wide and we have an ongoing issue with the fact that they keep breaking. My store now is on their 8th pair in 3 months! I know other stores are on their 13th pair already. Yes they look great but in my opinion do not sound that great for the price. I am sorry, I really want to lik them based on looks and feel, but sadly I am greatly disappointed.

Pros Look sorta cool

Cons to hear the highs you have to hold the rocker on +

Summary Disapointed. had too many other options for this much money.