Review by Adel Gabot

Yeah, I took a chance that a pair of Monster Beats Tour by Dr. Dre (such an ungainly name, don’t you think?) earphones being sold by a Philmugger named Rioiphoneuser was the real thing. Apparently an entire sub-industry of selling fake Beats has sprung up since, and you have everyone and their nephew doing videos on YouTube teaching everyone how to tell if their Beats are fake. So I took a chance. It was selling for much less than the nearly P11k it was going for at authorized shops, which was why I thought they were (relatively expensive) fakes. Some of these honkers sold for P200 – P800 on the black market, and people actually bought them.

Rioiphoneuser had a couple of Monster Beats Tour by Dr. Dre earphones and was selling both at an attractive price on Philmug. They didn’t come with a box or anything (what’s a box and manuals anyway?), just the earphones, the earbuds and the storage case. After a couple of weeks of being on the site, the price had gone down from the retail by much more than half, which was certainly attractive to me. I had been on the lookout for a good pair for a while now, something in-ear and durable, and could be connected to my iPhone. (I had bought an expensive case for my iPhone that had a small opening for the earphone jack, so I couldn’t find any earphones that would fit other than the official Apple pair, which wasn’t, uh, top-notch.)

I wasn’t really counting on the Beats Tour fitting in the earphone opening of my Vapor4 Elements Case, and it was a pleasant surprise that it did fit. (The newer models of Beats Tour had switched to an L-angled jack which didn’t fit it anymore, so it was really great that the guy was selling the previous model.) Still, I was worried they were fakes, so I examined them really well, basing my exam on the YouTube videos I had been watching previously. Damned if I could tell; they certainly looked authentic.

The cable and their fittings on the earbuds were solid, and they fit well (hallmarks of fakes were their flimsy connection points). And the flat, ribbon-like cable itself was robust and professional-looking, just the right length, no more and no less, and they hung comfortably from my ears, all business, and didn’t get tangled up like spaghetti even if you cram them in your bag when you’re not using them. (The story behind the no-tangle technology was that it took Monster Cable 10 years to figure out the design. Yeah, really.)

The storage case looked authentic, and inside there was a small ziplock bag that contained extra earbud fittings, all different sizes to fit different ears. The logos looked spot-on and well-made, and the gold-plated jack looked like it could take abuse, which was good. (Over time, most earbuds mess up first with the jacks. Believe me, I was an FM radio DJ for the better part of my life.)

I connected them and listened, and was amazed at the quality of the sound. Of course the bass was strong and loud (which was what, I understand, Dr. Dre was known for – hell, I don’t know him from Adam, but I knew of him, and if Monster wanted to use Dr. Dre as an endorser, who was I to argue?), but the mids and highs were unaffected, and they sounded clear as a bell. So I bought the thing, boxlessness notwithstanding, and went home a happy camper.

Later I tried on some more music, and marveled at how the bass was enhanced and buttressed, but not at the expense of the highs and mids that you would think would suffer in comparison. The bass was being pumped out pure and strong, but when the vocals came in they sounded equally strong; it was as if there were several sets of speakers in there – the heavy bass thumpers, and then some excellent mid-ranges and tweeters – and apparently, there were. On classical music, the faint strings were evident, yet the rolling crescendoes were equally represented. On quiet acoustics you could hear a pin drop. There were parts of songs that I haven’t even realized were there that I heard on the Beats Tour. There was one piece, the title soundtrack from “Requiem From A Dream”, which had portions I hadn’t heard before from the other earbuds I’d previously used. Amazing. But the Beats Tour really excelled in newer electronic and digital hip-hop music, where the bass was king.

I tried the different-sized earbuds on as well, two pairs of flanged ones, and the three sets of rounded buds before eventually settling on the original pair that came on the ‘phones anyway, because they fit just right. By the way the earbuds are hard to mount on the earphones because they settle in tight; I just hope they stay that way and don’t loosen after a while like some other in-ears do. It’s just a pity the Beats Tour doesn’t come with the mic/remote, seen on the iPod/iPhone earbuds, that you can use to control your iPod or talk on the phone, although I understand other models of ear/headphones by Monster have that.

I’m glad I found a pair of earphones that can play music loud and proud, without any distortion at maximum levels, yet allow whisper-quiet passages to be heard as easily. I’m damned glad the plug fits in my demanding iPhone case. And, more than that, I’m glad these buds fit snugly in my ears and do not fall out with every step. Authentic or not, I’m very happy with my Beats Tour by Dr. Dre, and I think they’ll be with me for a long time.

Monster Beats Tour by Dr. Dre

PRICE: P10,999 Retail (if it’s real, of course)

PROS

• Great audio
• Wonderful noise isolation
• Tangle-free ribbon cable

CONS

• Kinda large, ostentatious design
• A bit expensive

Adel

Adel Gabot is a forty-something freelance writer, editor and award-winning fictionist. In his spare time he loves Macs, old Sean Connery 007 movies, Stephen King books, Green Tea ice cream and a good Merlot. His favorite noodles: Ma Mon Luk mami.

email: agabot@gmail.comwebsite: http://www.technoodling.net