Apple to buy Beats for $3.2 Billion

[TheDaddy]

How do they arrive at this figure, seems grossly over valued to me.

[Ben B]

Confirmed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27613243

[thenry]

Bose on Friday sued Beats for infringing on patents for its noise-canceling headphones.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101868243

[Uncle Peter]

Marketing specialists purporting to be manufacturers of premium audio equipment sue marketing specialists purporting to be manufacturers or premium audio equipment. Whatever next?

[qasdfdsaq]

At least Bose make products that receive professional acclaim and are rated highly irrespective of the label on them...

[Russ]

I'd had an Apple voucher for ages that I finally cashed in the other day and bought the standard iPhone/iPod earphones.

I'd been using these Sony earphones for ages as they had the full compatibility functional in-line remote and the sound was really good but any vibration or knocks against the cable (such as when I was out on a run) could be heard through the sound.

As the voucher was for 25 and the standard earphones are 24.99 I figured I had nothing to lose and to be honest I can't fault the sound. As I only tend to music from my iPhone when running I'm not all that interested in full frequency reach, just the ability to hear my tunes really well when I'm on the road and they do exactly that.

I can't see Apple widely supplying iPods and iPhones with anything other than these basic units and to be honest I don't see that as much of a bad thing. If people want upper or top-end can they can pay the extra for them - as I'm sure they'll have to when Apple officially launch Beats as their own.

[Uncle Peter]

Bah.. a while ago we had the misfortune of playing a gig through a Bose L1 system. It was utterly hopeless: so much distortion and mid-range nastiness (once you show it more than an acoustic guitar and an SM58) that I think the engineer left his calculator in the PA stage.

I had to disconnect my gear and run the single SRM450 I took along as a stage monitor.
3000 for a loud, not very good hi-fi system masquerading as a compact PA. iirc Bose tried to sue QSC for trying to produce something better for cheaper.

You cannae change the laws of physics.

..although the 901's are quite decent home speakers, unfortunately you can buy much better for far less which is the case imho with most of their consumer and pro gear. Add a dash of snake-oil and they'll charge what they want.

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

At least Bose make products that receive professional acclaim and are rated highly irrespective of the label on them...

Do they? I thought Bose were viewed as marketing over quality just as much as Beats.

Originally Posted by Damien

Do they? I thought Bose were viewed as marketing over quality just as much as Beats.

I used to think so, but had the opportunity to put Bose against other suppliers in a commercial tender (sound quality, cost, life-cycle value, etc.. ) - this was for 12 x 200 seat lecture theatre and 47x60 seat classrooms.

Bose won, much to my surprise.

I now have at home (paid list price for) Bose SoundDock (lounge/dining room), SoundLink mini (kitchen/garden), and QuietComfort3 Noise Cancelling headphones (rail/air travel).

I like the sound quality, and they will last for decades - value/cost equation.

[qasdfdsaq]

Originally Posted by Russ

As I only tend to music from my iPhone when running I'm not all that interested in full frequency reach, just the ability to hear my tunes really well when I'm on the road and they do exactly that. I can't see Apple widely supplying iPods and iPhones with anything other than these basic units and to be honest I don't see that as much of a bad thing.

Boy are you lucky. The current generation "basic" Apple headphones are massively improved over those of yesteryear. While they still have their faults, they are probably the first generation of Apple headsets where users like me (and many review sites) would actually consider using at a pinch, instead of throwing straight in the bin upon opening the box. The same can be said for many Android manufacturers as well incidentally. They've only recently evolved from this state of 'utter worthless trash' to 'actually reasonably for average, non-demanding users'

---------- Post added at 22:58 ---------- Previous post was at 22:57 ----------

Originally Posted by Damien

Do they? I thought Bose were viewed as marketing over quality just as much as Beats.

Can you count the number of professional studios, theaters, venues and stadiums using Beats sound systems?

---------- Post added at 23:01 ---------- Previous post was at 22:58 ----------

Originally Posted by Hugh

I used to think so, but had the opportunity to put Bose against other suppliers in a commercial tender (sound quality, cost, life-cycle value, etc.. ) - this was for 12 x 200 seat lecture theatre and 47x60 seat classrooms. Bose won, much to my surprise. I now have at home (paid list price for) Bose SoundDock (lounge/dining room), SoundLink mini (kitchen/garden), and QuietComfort3 Noise Cancelling headphones (rail/air travel). I like the sound quality, and they will last for decades - value/cost equation.

Good on you! I've never personally thought that of Bose but then again my first exposure to them wasn't through their consumer entertainment gear. That said the QuietComfort headphones are among the best noise cancelling headphones in the world

[Russ]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Boy are you lucky. The current generation "basic" Apple headphones are massively improved over those of yesteryear. While they still have their faults, they are probably the first generation of Apple headsets where users like me (and many review sites) would actually consider using at a pinch, instead of throwing straight in the bin upon opening the box.

Well yeah I know decent sound when I hear it, I worked in radio for several years. They may not be pro level but they do a pretty good job.