I bought a pair of Beats Solo2 headphones, in black. (Amazon.com, Amazon UK) The don’t suck as much as I expected. In fact, so far, I kind of like them.
The only problem is that the bass is exaggerated, but only on tracks where the bass is already strong. The mid-range and high-end sounds are fine, but if you have some music where the bass is pronounced, it’s a bit jarring.
I have to say, their PR is especially annoying. It sounds a bit like what audiophiles say about expensive cables:
“The Solo2 headphones have a more dynamic and wider range of sound, with a clarity that can bring you closer to what the artist intended you to hear. You’ll feel the higher fidelity audio no matter what type of music you play.”
I’m not sure if I’m going to keep them; I bought them from the Apple online store, and have a 30-day return window. But, so far, I do like them. They’re comfortable, they fold up quite compactly, and they have block out a lot of sounds.
If I do keep them, I’d probably want to set the EQ on my iPhone or with iTunes to Bass Reducer. I don’t like using EQ, but in some cases it’s useful.
As an aside, I tried the Sennheiser Momentum on-ear headphones, which are similar (and about the same price here). They sound flat and drab.
In any case, I’ll post a review of the Beats Solo2 headphones soon.