Beats Executive New Review

09/10/2013 14:17

Simply because you happen to be sat within the boardroom battling to win the massive Henderson account does not mean you can't put on huge, boisterous headphones. The Beats Executive aim to please the jet-set company crowd with noise-cancellation tech, while sustaining the ostentatious style and sound which is produced the brand well-liked. At$270 they are the opposite of inexpensive nevertheless, so are they worth thinking about?
Fashion and features

The Executives are recognisably Beats cans, since the gigantic lowercase 'b' on the sides will testify. The building is weighty, sound, and involves dollops of aluminium and stainless steel. 'Classy' could be a bridge as well far, but they are some good-looking headphones that feel well put-together.

That's on the outdoors at the least. I noticed that I couldn't get the best sound amounts out of the best earcup except if I pressed the speaker toward my head for any minute. Carrying out so did correct the sound, but I had to do this a few occasions during my testing. That might be an isolated difficulty with my assessment unit, but doesn't make me truly feel immensely constructive regarding the build good quality of the Executives' insides.

There is a hinge above each earcup, which lets you fold the Executives as much as a a lot more transportable dimension. Atop the proper cup is really a power switch that turns around the noise-cancelling tech (a lot more on that below), even though the 'b' around the left side conceals a magnetically connected battery compartment. To power these metallic monsters you'll need two AAA batteries.
Beats Executive
Nifty hinges permit you to fold up these cans and slip them into your briefcase in between meetings.

In the event you press the 'b' on the correct earcup it kills the sound -- for so long as you hold the button depressed -- but isn't going to pause your music. Presumably this is a feature for listening in on train, plane or airport tannoy announcements to get a number of seconds at a time.

Within the box you receive two bright-red cables, one of which has a microphone-remote to regulate music playback or get calls in your iPhone. Android telephone owners may possibly discover their luck varies -- within the Nexus 4 by way of example I was in a position to use the built-in microphone and press the central button to play and pause music, but the volume keys didn't function.

You also obtain a three.5mm to six.3mm adaptor, and an airplane jack also -- a nod for the Executives' business-class ethos. A carry case completes the listing of in-the-box goodies.
Comfort

The Executives are comfy to dress in -- a pleasant shock considering the Beats Pro over-ear cans weren't whatsoever relaxed, crushing your ears in the way that rapidly turns into intolerable. By contrast these cans come to feel soft close to your lugs, while currently being secure ample that you'd must really shake your head to dislodge them. Every earcup can be extended by about two centimetres in the event you truly feel the need to adjust them.
Noise cancellation

Regrettably it is the Executives' headline attribute that lets them down, for two motives.

First of all, these headphones will not perform in any respect unless you've the noise cancellation turned on, which feels like a bizarre selection, as you won't usually be on a plane or inside a place where you really want these sound-suppression characteristics. Unless you have batteries installed along with the switch turned for the 'on' position, you will not get any sound via these cans, and if you accidentally leave them switched on to get a few days as I did, count on to find the batteries sucked dry.

That indicates if you run from batteries then you are out of luck, so in the event you do go for these headphones make sure you carry a few spares. The problem is compounded through the second dilemma with these monolithic noisemakers -- an audible hiss.
Beats By Dre Australia Executive
Snake! Snake! Oh no, it truly is just the Executives' noise-cancelling tech going haywire yet again.

If you've received the headphones switched on but no music taking part in, the hissing sound of white noise is incredibly evident, and really distracting. You may discover it most during song intros and fade-outs, when the music you were enjoying is slowly replaced by disorienting sound-cancelling buzz. Should you be listening to music at a reduced volume that hiss will stay audible under your tunes, like a snake lurking underneath your chair.

Inside the Executives' defence, they do a pretty good job of cancelling out noise, as well as with music at a minimal volume I struggled to produce out conversation among my nearby colleagues. Regrettably that prominent hiss also cancelled out any wish to pay$270 for these headphones.
Sound quality

Sound high quality is surprisingly excellent, even when these cans will not sound as modestly exact as rivals such as the Sennheiser Momentums of Bowers & Wilkins P5s.

Instead sound is boisterous with plenty of low-end kick, and works best with hip-hop and rock music. Public Enemy's Harder Than You Think comes by means of with a bassy punch, with the piercing horns still audible at the high-end on the sonic mix. Foo Fighters' All My Life meanwhile sounds suitably chaotic, though you won't lose track of minor details like cymbal hits, or the buzzing distortion subtly layered above the vocals.

You should often get care not to complete your ears a mischief when listening to loud music through headphones, but I cannot deny that the Executives' performance at large volumes is a redeeming factor, with even raucous tunes sounding quite balanced with the volume cranked up. In the event you do dial the noise amounts as well large you may uncover sound leaking out even so, potentially earning you an annoyed glance from colleagues or fellow commuters.
Conclusion

Choose some less-than-subtle music, and it truly is possible to have a great time rocking out with these noisy cans. That just makes it far more of a shame that the noise-cancelling function is non-optional -- ideally I'd like to bypass the sound suppression tech and its accompanying hiss, and enjoy these headphones in their raw state.

Should you can tolerate the ever-present hiss and the fact that you'll need to keep feeding them batteries, you may possibly learn to love the Executives' larger-than-life sound. Which is a big ask though, and for$270 you shouldn't need to compromise. You'd be better off taking a look at the Sennheiser Momentum, or shopping close to for noise-cancelling headphones with better sound-eliminating technology.

Great

Punchy bass
Balanced sound even at large volume
Desirable design

Undesirable

Audible, ever-present hiss
Sound-cancellation is non-optional
Very expensive