With the EP model, Beats delivers a stylish headphone with cable connection and hands-free functionality that should please consumers seeking a balanced sound for playback on mobile devices. The design of these on-ears is also convincing and should strike a chord with the legions of Beats fans already looking to ensure their audio accessories are on trend. The workmanship and aesthetic design are right on point, as is the frequency response range, which hits a beautiful balance. However, the EP could sound a lot louder and more powerful, especially when on the go. At the same time, the manufacturer has failed to hit some basic levels of expectation when it comes to noise leakage from these wired on-ears.
The new Beats EP is a stylish choice of over-ear wired headphone that offers a balanced sound character and hands-free function functionality.
The Beats EP is available in a choice of black, blue, white and red. The lightweight build sits securely on the head, with size adjustments, a padded headband and rotating earpieces all adding to wearing comfort. Only the artificial leather coverings cause an issue, causing the skin to sweat underneath when worn for long periods of time.
The Beats EP can be attached to all common smartphones and mobile devices via mini-jack connection, with the extra-wide cable specially designed to prevent knots and tangles. A hands-free function is also integrated into the inner tech of these headphones, with a one-button remote control allowing for access to functions like call acceptance and playback control. It’s also Siri compatible. The only major gripe here is that you can’t jump forwards or backwards through titles for track selection.
Sound
The first impression of the EP is a rather reserved one, with the headphones failing to either deliver sound that’s either loud or powerful. After some getting used to this more muted sound, the device turns out to deliver a balanced audio character. There’s no pronounced overemphasis of bass at work here. Instead of say, a bass boost, these headphones deliver a more harmonious arrangement of low bass, midrange and high frequencies. There’s also no issue with hardness here, with the playback volume only serving to heighten listening pleasure when increased.
Spatial sound and stereo staging aren’t superficial additions here, but instead reproduce the true characteristics of the recording. The insulation against external noise is sufficient here, but the shielding of device volume is not as adequate. As such, expect the EP to earn you some annoyed looks by fellow passengers on the train or bus if you enjoy listening at high volumes during your morning commute. The speech quality of the hands-free microphone, unfortunately, fails to convince and should have been a lot better considering the price range. It’s also disappointing to see that the manufacturer does not provide much in the way of technical information. This is typical of Beats, but the question remains as to why the manufacturer continues to conceal such data from its enthusiastic consumers.
Technical specifications
- Ear couplingOn-ear
- Typeclosed
- Transducer principledynamic
- Impedance31,65 ohms
- Sound pressure level (SPL)102,4 dB
- Pressure averaged from big and small head417,5 g
- Weight with cable202 g
- Weight without cable192 g
- Cable length130 cm
What's in the box
- Carrying pouch
Special features
- available in black, blue, white and red
I bought my EP’s at a refurbished store for $35. They were like new but could tell they had been re-glued in the headband area. I guess a common failure point now that I have read several owners complain they fail early in that area. Yeah, for $130 they should be made much better and I would never pay that much. Audio quality is worthy of a wired $60 pair for sure. Can’t say yet if the refurbish process actually fixes the failures on these. But for $35 they seem to be worthy of a risk.
Having used them a few more months now. They get rather uncomfortable on the ears especially if you wear glasses like me. Beats did finally drop them as a model so wired is now dead with the Beats line.
@beatsbydre always wanted a pair of beats headphones, finally got some from my wife as a gift and the sound is not even close to what I was expecting from a $200 pair of headphones! I’m mean where’s the bass. Isn’t Dr Dre a rapper that put out beats with tons of bass!?!? These do not live up to his name at all. My dollar store headphones sound just as good if not better!!! What a disappointment and a waste of $200. I must have been mislead thinking Dr Dre’s beats would have amazing bass and sound quality. But after reading some reviews I found that I am not the only one that has had this negative experience with beats by Dr Dre
Your other half should’ve gotten you the Beats Mixr instead, which deliver perfectly in the bass range