Beats Tour

Beats Tour

Dr Dre and Monster have churned out some endearing, bass-heavy headphones in the last few years. The Beats Tour earphones are the latest on the chopping block — are they worth the $150 they’ll set you back?

Beats Tour Review

In terms of styling, the Tours are recognisably of the Beats stable. The distinctive red cable is broad and flat, like a ribbon, which in my experience cuts down on tangling. So if — like me — you tend to screw your earphones into a ball before stuffing them into your pockets, they won’t take so long to unwind once it’s time to put them out again. The cable feels quite sturdy, so hopefully that they’ll hold up to wear and tear in the long run.

Dangling partway down the cable for the right earbud, you’ll find a Beats our ControlTalk remote. Ignore the fancy name, this is the same kind of in-line remote we’ve seen on lots of other in-ear headphones, though we still appreciate it.

If you’re using an iPod, you can use the remote to control music playback, pausing or skipping track back and forth, and if you’re using the Tours with an iPhone you can use the remote’s built-in microphone to take calls.

The Beats Tour earbuds themselves boast a striking design, with the signature Beats lower-case ‘b’ against an aluminium circle, but these are some of the weirdest shaped ‘buds I’ve ever encountered. They’re extremely long, which means that once you’ve stuck them into your lugholes, you might struggle to keep them stable in your ear canal. I didn’t have too many issues keeping them in my ears.

Ace of Bass

Press ‘play’ and you’ll quickly identify the signature Beats sound — incredibly deep and powerful bass. The Beats Tour ladle oodles of low-end into your lugs, delivering a rich, thumping sound. Listening to some NWA we felt our brains turning to jelly with each powerful bass kick.

Unlike some Beats kit, the Tours are no one-trick pony, and there’s an impressive level of detail at the opposite end of the spectrum too and I noticed the cymbals sizzling quite clearly, and the subtle, high-pitched guitar sound wasn’t lost in the mix.

This is full, bassy sound. Audiophiles won’t be satisfied, but the Tours offer great, accessible sound that plays best with hip-hop and pop.

Beats Tour Conclusion

The Beats by Dr Dre Tours offer great sound quality for the price, and are definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of bassy sound. In many ways the design is excellent — the ribboned cable and remote are thoughtful additions, and aesthetically I’m a fan of the bold, bright style. Still, the curiously long earbuds take a little bit of getting use to.

Beats Tour.