Beats by Dr Dre headphones - how much???!

[theladylovescupcakes]

DS (11) has announced he'd like some new headphones, as his old ones aren't working properly. Had a quick google - they're about £150!! What's so special about them? Are there any deals going about or is he going to have to save hard?

A few years ago it was £80 Nike trainers. Dr Dre headphones are today's must-have for style concious boys. With girls it's clothes from Hollister, Jack Wills, and friends.

Part of the attraction is thati the above is expensive so few kids will have them. Whether you want to buy into that culture is another matter.

Since my DD has a room full of Hollister tops and Jack Wills pencils and notebooks I won't be rushing to criticise anyone :)

As for whether it's worth it, if you plug them into an expensive hi fi system then you can probably hear what you are paying for. But an Apple Touch or standard phone ........ A special (expensive) mix petrol isn't going to make your Ford Focus go any faster.

He's going to have to save hard ! At 150 they're a bargain - some Dr Dre 'phones are over 250 quid (and they're not alone, others can be found near 400 quid).

I've sometimes seen them bundled with mobile phones (Sony Xperia) so there might from time to time be some unused new ones on Ebay or Gumtree.

No idea whether they're worth the money - I certainly wouldn't be spending that much, but that's because I have tinnitus (high frequency whistle in my case) in one ear, perhaps caused by loud music via headphones when I was a teenager wandering the streets of Brighton...

PS I'd probably put a limit of 30 to 40 quid on headphones - whether sports or over-ear (and remember if there is any exposed metalwork it can rust, as there's no guarantee with UK weather).

Also runs risk of loss of attention to traffic safety (though can enhance it - I did listen to radio/music for 15 years when doing the 9 to 5 on the way to/from work, and was only in a 'near miss' situation once in that time, 'cos driver was looking to his right to see if there was a gap on roundabout traffic and not looking in front of him, where I was crossing... as he accelerated, I did need to jump from his path and he went white when he saw how he could so easily have killed me if I had not avoided it).

Thanks for replies. They are v expensive, but he uses them only plugged into an iPad and usually in house or car. My head says a big fat no, due to cost alone. Will have to have a chat with him, I think!

They do some beats copies which probably look like them but won't sound as good. If its image he wants buy a pair of copies going round for a tenner !!

I'd suggest going for some Sennheiser or similar, for perhaps 50...

Or, since he uses them in car, some noise cancelling headphones, from JVC, Sony or Sennheiser (a big hole in 90 quid) though he may claim not to hear anything you say to him then!

I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's the Beats Solo headphones you are looking at (based on the price you mentioned). The reviews on these are not great. Build quality and 'street cred' are apparently fantastic although I do think people walking around town with full over ear headphones look like tits but the sound quality is allegedly very poor for the price. So ultimately, you are just paying premium money for a head accessory.

It's premium money for a 'name' - I'm afraid it's all too common - whether it is for shoes, trainers, a car, suit, designer clothing... some brand of mobile phone (whether it's Blackberry, iPhone... )

If he's going to spend that sort of cash he'd be better off with some B&W P3's

Loads of people have these on the Tube. I don't think they can be very good as whenever I can hear someone's music they are always wearing these headphones (either in ear or over ear). Bose seem to make headphones that keep the music in, rather than sharing it with those around you and they are a similar price.