Beats by Dr. Dre Tour ControlTalk

I Purchased these less than a year ago they where pretty expensive at £129.99 for in-ear headphones but I thought why not not as I listen to music every day and I intended to use the control talk feature for hands free driving whilst the sound on these is really good the build quality is not the first pair I purchased broke within ten minutes of leaving the shop they started crackling so I returned them and got a replacement this pair was fine until 3 weeks later when I noticed the cable splitting near the volume control and upon further inspection there was more splitting around the jack socket the shop I purchased them from (comet)didn't want to know said I have to send back to the manufacturer at my own expense and cost then whilst I was showing them to the shop I bought them from one of the ear cones came apart and will not go back together all in all these headphones are trash for what I paid for these I could of got at least 2 pairs of the competitors high end in ear headphones that have far superior build quality please do not wast your money on these as they are not up to everyday use

I have purchased and used a lot of different headphones over the last few years, and they get serious use due to the fact I generally commute around 1.5 hours each way to work, and have done since around 2007. I have used Sennheiser, Sony, Skullkandy and most recently, the premium apple in ear headphones, which sadly fell apart way to quickly.

So, for Christmas, when I was asked what I wanted, I had been mooching around the Beats by Dre website for a few weeks, and decided that a pair of the Control Talk Tour would be great, as they feature the in-line iphone control and mic, allowing phone call control, voice dialling and ipod audio voice control (something I always look for with new headphones)

Christmas day arrived and I tore open my presents with hast, hoping Santa bought me my coveted treat, and there they were!

First impressions where of the packaging, this is superbly presented. In times of recycling and environmental concerns, I am often impressed by minimal packaging and recyclable materials, but this was a very stylish product, and the box now resides on the shelf, it wont be put in the bin. Sliding the box out of the outer packaging immediately shows the quality of the product, a striking red box the opens sideways to reveal the ear pieces headphones laid out in a soft presentation area, with the remaining cable curled up. You receive a small logo embossed case to store the headphones which is sturdy, solid and will protect them nicely when not in use, very pleased about this. The manual and general paperwork all conveys the same level of quality as the packaging. Although you will probably never need it, its all part of the joy of the complete package

inside the case is a selection of ear-buds of differing sizes, and also shapes. there are the traditional single bud, but also a triple bud version. I tried them all to ensure a perfect fit, and settled on the single medium buds. You also get a metal ear clip to connect to the headphones, should you want extra support, this would be handy if running.

The sound quality is superb. The once things that is apparent is the delivery of the different frequency ranges, and the bass response is excellent, I am hearing stuff I never heard before on previous headphones. The volume feels effortlessly powered, it doesn't feel like it strains to produce a high volume, unlike some alternatives.

The actual build quality is very good, the flat cable really does seem to prevent tangling, a very frustrating occurrence no matter how hard you try to prevent it. I love the flat mount jack connector, its sits flush with the top of my iphone and stops it getting caught when removing from a pocket, brilliant! I have only had these a few weeks, so I cant comment on the durability, I am not convinced they wont deteriorate over time and use, but we will see.

Overall, very happy as I didn't pay for them, but I am aware of the price and they are not cheap. I believe they were £130 on the Beats website, but they were on Amazon for around £90, so shop around. Overall, I am very pleased :)