Beats By Dr. Dre is a brand of headphones and loudspeakers created by hip-hop/rap musician Dr. Dre, and Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records chairman Jimmy Iovine. There are six versions of the headphones and six versions of the earphones, which are manufactured and distributed under exclusive license by Monster Cable Products. The headphones often appear in music videos, as part of an apparent marketing strategy. The original are the "Studio" headphones released in 2008, which are an over-the-ear type headphone that incorporate a high-power digital amplifier and powered noise-cancelling requiring the use of 2 AAA batteries to operate.
The very latest headphones from the Beats family are the "Beats Solo HD," a high-definition on-ear headphone, which is available in red, black, or white. The red version is made specifically for Irish musician Bono's Product RED charity group. The red "Studio" headphones will be coming on May, 2011 to Best Buy. There is also the "Pro" model, an over-the-ear DJ headphone which is available in either black or white. The "Pro" is targeted towards the professional market. The "Beatbox" is a compact speaker with both an iPod dock and 3.5mm stereo jack.
