beats

Most of the headphones I've tested over the years weren't designed to have a neutral balance of bass, midrange, and treble frequencies. Manufacturers are well aware that most people like bass, and that buyers tend to favor one headphone over another based on how much bass it produces. I think that's obvious, but a recent study cited in Brent Butterworth's blog countered that assumption. "The Relationship between Perception and Measurement of Headphone Sound Quality," a paper by Sean Olive and Todd Welti presented at last October's Audio Engineering Society convention found that a … Read more

- Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Cook reportedly discussed music-streaming service with Beats.

- Snoop Lion reverts to canine type in video game "Way of the Dogg."

- W controller for "Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style" ain't nothing to futz with.

- Guy with Netflix tattoo gets a free year of Netflix.

- Andrew WK is now the spokesperson for Playtex Fresh + Sexy wipes.

- Bathroom break video: "Iron Man 3" trailer, remade shot for shot.… Read more

Beats Electronics, the company founded by hip-hop producer Dr Dre and music mogul Jimmy Iovine, confirmed this evening it had raised $60 million in funding to spin off its forthcoming streaming music service into a separate entity later this year.

Codenamed "Daisy," the service was revealed in January by Iovine at the AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference. Iovine said he had 100 people working on a "curated" music subscription service he expected to launch this summer.

The funding round was led by Access Industries, an investment group founded by billionaire Len Blavatnik), Marc Rowan, James Packer … Read more

Tim Cook has held talks with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine about a potential partnership involving Beats' planned music service, Reuters reports.

The Apple chief met with music mogul Iovine in late February to discuss Beats' "Project Daisy," a music subscription service announced in mid-February, unidentified sources told the news agency. Iovine, who co-founded Beats with hip-hop producer Dr Dre, said at last month's AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference that he expects to launch a "curated" music subscription service this summer.

During their meeting, which sources described as "informational" and as including iTunes chief … Read more

DANA POINT, Calif.--Jimmy Iovine has worked as a producer with everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Gaga over his 40-year career, and is currently chairman of Interscope Geffen-A&M. As a second, or companion, act he cofounded the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphone company in 2006 because he thought the iPod earbuds were terrible.

"If Beats did anything, it got kids interested in audio again. We turned an entire generation on to sound," Iovine said in conversation with Walt Mossberg at the AllThingsD Dive Into Media conference here.

But his third act is even bolder … Read more

HTC's rumored M7 smartphone will usher in cutting-edge audio and photography features, if recent clues are an accurate indicator. A close look at an official HTC infographic teases a "new sound and camera experience" and provides hints of what to expect.

While the last line of the infographic might be the most fun to read, it is the lead-up that tells us where HTC is focused. HTC makes a point of saying that Apple did not change the image sensor size for the iPhone 4S in 2011.

What's more, the handset maker opines that it doesn'… Read more

Jimmy Iovine, a bigwig at Universal Music Group and co-founder of Beats Electronics, says he tried to sell Steve Jobs on a music-subscription service years ago but couldn't quite make it happen.

Speaking to All Things Digital in an interview posted yesterday, Iovine said he approached the late Apple co-founder in "2002, 2003" to pitch him on the idea of launching a music-subscription service. For three years, he tried to push Jobs into saying yes, but Apple's then-CEO didn't like the idea of paying record companies so much.

"And he wasn't keen on … Read more

LAS VEGAS--A monitor's picture quality is its most important attribute, and sound quality (if it actually does sport speakers) rarely factors into the overall rating. That however may change once I get my hands on the HP Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio.

With the Envy 27-inch IPS monitor with Beats Audio, HP not only breaks the record for longest monitor name ever (to be honest, I didn't confirm that), but according to HP, it also marks the first time a standalone monitor has used Beats Audio.

The monitor's built-in speakers are angled upward and according … Read more