Beats does branding better than most, and you immediately know what you're looking at. The headphones boast a shiny plastic band and "b" logo, combined with either white or black frames with grey and red highlights. The black, supra-aural (on-ear) earpads for the Beats Wireless are plush and comfortable, and though they sit on the ear, they are almost (but not quite) large enough to enclose it like a circumaural pair would.
Most headphone pairs with well-cushioned earcups also have well-padded headbands, but the interior of the Beats Wireless headband employs a thin, rubbery cushion that offers very little in the way of comfort. For short listening periods, you're unlikely to notice, but wear these for an hour or so, and it can start to feel like it's pressing on your skull a little too much.
No one will accuse Beats of not including enough controls on its Bluetooth headphones. The right earcup has a Power/Pairing button, a Play/Pause control, along with Track Forward and Backward buttons, and Volume controls. Though it can take a while to memorise the position of each, they are thoughtfully covered with Braille-like bumps so you can feel where to press.
Included with the headphones is a USB charging cable, a 3.5mm audio cable with phone controls, a cleaning cloth, and a padded zip-up carrying case that the headphones fold into. Both cables (and the cloth) are the trademark Beats red. The inclusion of the audio cable is a thoughtful move – one that manufacturers often skip. This allows you to use the headphones in passive mode, without depleting the battery (or when the battery has already been depleted).
If you were to take a quick visual survey of high-street headphone fashion, you’d notice two brands appearing again and again: Apple, with its trademark white earphones; and Beats, with models such as the Beats Executive we have here.
The company, co-founded by former N.W.A. rapper Dr Dre, has a solid track-record of producing desirable, stylish and punchy-sounding headphones, but the Executives mark its first move into the high-flyer market.
We mean that literally, too, for these are noise-cancelling cans – and are hoping to turf the Bose QuietComfort 15s right out of their seat in First Class.
The Beats Executives make a cracking first impression. Open the box and you’re presented with an attractive and sturdy carry-case, two 3.5mm leads (one with a one-button remote/mic unit), batteries, an aeroplane adapter, 6.3mm plug, a cleaning cloth, and the usual manuals and marketing materials.
Plus the headphones, of course. And what a pair of headphones they are. Flawlessly constructed from stainless steel and aluminium alloy, they drew admiring glances from all in the office – and equally enthusiastic ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ when people tried them on.
The magnetic battery-compartment cover on the left earcup is a particularly nice touch. Not only does it look nice and work well, it’ll probably last a fair bit longer than the usual plastic-catch mechanism you find on these things.
On the right earcup is the on/off switch and a mute button. Push the big ‘b’ logo and the Executives are muted (and the noise-cancelling disabled) for the duration of your press – handy for hearing that last-call-for-drinks announcement before landing. It doesn’t pause whatever you’re listening to, though…
Before running in, we check out the Beats’ noise-cancelling abilities. Which brings us on to our first two gripes: like many such designs, the Executives won’t work at all without being switched on (so if your batteries run out, that’s not only the end of your noise-cancellation, it’s the end of your music too); and when they are switched on, there’s an annoyingly constant hiss.
Audiophiles and purists tend to prefer headphones with flat responses or less exaggerated bass response, and are not likely to enjoy the Wireless Beats. These headphones have serious low-end, to the extent that classical music such as John Adams' "The Chairman Dances" can occasionally sound almost comical, with the already ominous, intense presence of lower register strings, brass, and percussion boosted to the point where they sound more like massive synthesisers rather than acoustic instruments, overpowering the rest of the mix with added rumble and resonance.
If the world were only for audio purists, though, what a boring world it would be. The Beats line works best, generally, with modern mixes for pop, rock, and hip hop, where deep, sub-bass frequencies are often par for the course. Not only can the Beats Wireless reproduce intense low end, like the electronic synth beat at the opening of the Knife's "Silent Shout" without a hint of distortion at maximum volume (on both the sound source and the headphones), but it sounds good doing so.
It may not be the most accurate reproduction of sound, but it can feel as if you're in a club or at a concert when playing Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" or Lower Dens' "Brains." If the intense thump of the kick drum or rumble of a bass line is what you're looking for, who cares what audiophiles say? The Beats Wireless delivers the rest of the frequency range with a reasonable enough level of integrity so that you can enjoy being a bass fiend without sacrificing too much clarity, though some mixes can lean towards the muddy end of the spectrum.
While this Beats by Dr Dre offering looks great and offers powerful audio, it is a tad pricey, and cost-wise it pushes into the realm of headphones that are usually more devoted to accurate audio reproduction. When you pay for Beats, you are paying for powerful audio, but also for looks and Dr Dre's implicit endorsement.
However, there’s no doubting that this is an excellent wireless choice for the target audience of bass lovers, with its distortion-free, thumping sound, not to mention passive/wired functionality. But I can't help feeling it would have been nice to see these headphones pitched a bit lower than the £200 mark, as opposed to over it.
Anyway, the show must go on. We give the Executives a short listen, pre-run in, to get a measure of their character.
These cans don’t shy away from giving low-frequencies their full attention – but they don’t have quite the same attack as other models in the company’s range. The treble is pretty sweet-sounding, though, and there’s nice detail to snare drums and cymbals.
After a good 24 hours (and a battery change), the sound settles down into itself. It’s more cohesive, but still lacks that punch and zing we were hoping for. The bass is as weighty as ever, but still isn’t tight enough to really help the music move along – and that’s a shame, because the midrange is quite pleasing.
There’s decent detail to percussion, the leading edges of snares and toms, and vocals have a nice, natural sound.
Crank them up and the treble hardens quite a lot, with hi-hats and crash cymbals becoming rather harsh and brittle. Listening to mellower recordings mitigates this, but the Beats really seem built for pop - so it’s wise to keep the volume under control.
Overall, though, it’s a slightly flat, tired-sounding performance – one that’s at odds with the rest of the Beats we’ve heard. We want more agility at this price; more pep, more attack and more in the way of dynamic range. There’s a lack of light and shade here, which masks some of these cans’ real skills. There’s such a thing as too easygoing, and that’s the case here.
We can forgive the Executives’ lack of neutrality, however.. They don't have the airiest or most natural sound compared with the Bose QuietComfort 15s. And neither do they stack up to the Logitechs or PSBs in the ‘fun’ stakes - both of these will have your toes tapping away with their more assured performances.
