Beats by Dr. Dre Executive

The Beats by Dr. Dre lineup of headphones continues to expand, and if the early models were targeted at athletes, pop stars in videos, and the people who love them, the latest addition, Beats Executive, is targeted at the traveling businessperson. At $299.95 (direct), the Executive's cool, metallic look is more serious than flashy. Its active noise cancellation is sufficient, but not stellar, and the pair suffers from some unfortunate deep bass distortion, but only at top volumes. Still, at moderate volumes, it delivers the typical Beats sound signature: big bass, lots of crisp treble. Bass lovers who want basic noise cancellation might enjoy these incredibly comfortable cans?and the impressive array of included accessories.

Design
The Beats Executive strays slightly from the typical Beats visual styling?yes, there's still the flat, red cable and the lowercase B logo on each ear, but the color scheme trades in glossy red, black, and white plastic for a more refined brushed metallic and black leather combination. The earpads and headband are plush and exceedingly comfortable, even during long listening sessions.?The circumaural (around-the-ear) design doesn't completely seal off the ears, but the gentle pressure of the pillow-like earpads does a good job of passively eliminating some ambient noise.

It's too bad that the Beats Executive runs on two AAA batteries (which are included) rather than a rechargeable option?both for convenience of the user and environmental reasons. The batteries fit into a compartment in the left earpiece, which closes shut with the aid of magnets?a nice design touch. A Power switch for the noise cancellation (and audio) is located on the right earpiece.

Beats rates the battery life for the Executive at roughly 25 hours before you'll need to get replacements, but this will also depend on what brand of batteries you buy and how you use the headphones.

One thing Beats always seems to get right is the accessories department. The Beats Executive folds down flat into a sturdy, thin, and easy-to-pack carrying case. Included with the headphones are two detachable audio cables?one with an inline microphone and remote for mobile devices, one without?which connect to the bottom of the left earpiece. The inclusion of these cables adds tremendous value to the expensive Executive, since cables are usually the most likely culprit in a malfunctioning pair of headphones?swapping out the cable is a lot cheaper than buying new headphones or sending them in for repair.

Beats also includes a cleaning shammy, airplane jack adapter, and a ?-inch headphone jack adapter.

Performance
On deep bass tracks, the Beats Executive runs into some trouble at high volumes, which is a bit surprising, since delivering subwoofer-like thunder is one of the defining characteristics of the Beats lineup. On the Knife's "Silent Shout," a track with intense sub-bass content, the Executive gets fuzzy and distorted at top volumes?it's not safe to listen at these levels, but it's a fair test of the headphone's drivers.

At more moderate levels, the distortion fades away and we're left with the heavy, thumping bass response and crisp, sculpted highs that Beats is known for. Bass lovers (who listen at reasonable volume levels) will be pleased; audiophiles and purists seeking a more natural, flat response should look elsewhere.

The Beats sound signature is designed with modern popular music mixes in mind, so it's not surprising that the Executive sounds best on hip hop, pop, rock, and R&B tracks. Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" has a kick drum loop that is delivered with a serious high-mid crunch, making the attack of the kick crisp and powerful?even the vinyl crackle in the background seems a little spiked. Underneath it all, the low frequency response is also strong?the bass synth hits in the loop are delivered with serious resonance, and the whole experience seems to more or less mimic a club's sound system.

The punchy edge of the high-mids and high frequencies gives Bill Callahan's unique baritone vocals on his most recent album, Apocalypse, some extra edge that helps them stand out even more against the back drop of some occasionally thunderous percussion work.

That same crisp edge gives the higher register strings and percussion on classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," some added presence?not that they really need it. The lower register strings and percussion can sound unnaturally powerful on some bass-heavy headphones, but the Executive manages to bring some added bass response to these sections without upsetting the overall balance of the mix.

As for noise cancellation performance, on a recent flight, I was impressed by how much the earpads quieted the roar of the airplane's engines. Ironically, switching the noise cancellation circuitry on seemed to add more hiss, which is a trademark of less-evolved, cheaper noise cancellation circuitry. However, the noise cancellation did eliminate a wide swath of low-to-mid frequency jet engine hum.

Unfortunately, you cannot use the Beats Executive in passive mode?it will only produce audio if the noise cancellation Power switch is in the on position. This is true of some industry-leading noise canceling pairs, like the Bose QuietComfort series. But the Beats Executive is a musical pair first, and the noise cancellation, which is not extraordinary, is merely an added bonus. This makes the inability to use the headphones passively more frustrating than it is on a more effective noise canceling pair.

The bass distortion is not necessarily a deal breaker if you plan on listening at moderate, safe listening levels, but it's nonetheless a bit of a disappointment in this high price range. If what you seek as a pair of headphones with serious bass, but no distortion, you may wish to consider the noise-canceling Logitech UE 6000 , which brings serious rumble without distortion issues, even at top volumes?and it can be used in passive mode, as well.

If noise cancellation is your primary concern, it's really hard to beat the original champs: Both the Bose QuietComfort 15 ?(a circumaural option) and the supra-aural (on-ear) QuietComfort 3 ?are excellent in terms of eliminating ambient noise without adding hiss. Our favorite current combination of excellent audio quality and solid noise cancellation, however, is the AKG K 490 NC
?it brings a level of audio performance that's often lacking in the noise cancellation realm. The Beats Executive is also a solid option, but it exists in a crowded field of similarly-priced overachievers.

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