12 Days Of Christmas: Dime’s Holiday Gift Guide – Beats By Dr. Dre Executive Headphones & Pill

Okay, so maybe the timing isn’t perfect, but in light of the holiday season, we’ll be putting together an online gift guide for all of you last minute shoppers. Think clothes, gear, sneakers, music, video games and basketball products… basically everything we at Dime are really feeling at the moment. This is the ninth submission in Dime’s 12 Days Of Christmas…

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On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

9. BEATS BY DR. DRE EXECUTIVE HEADPHONES & PILL

8. CHRISTMAS COLORWAYS: LeBRON X, KOBE 8 SYSTEM, KD V

7. DRAFT PACKS “GREATEST TEAM EVER” PACK

6. CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 2

5. AIR JORDAN 11 RETRO (BRED)

4. ROCK ‘EM APPAREL’s “TACKY SWEATER” CUSTOM NIKE ELITE SOCKS

3. EASTWEST x MITCHELL & NESS “BLEACHED DENIM” SNAPBACK COLLECTION

2. REEBOK’s QUESTION MID IN BLACK/GOLD

1. NAS – ILLMATIC “GOLD EDITION” DELUXE BOX SET

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I’ve been rolling with the weak iPod headphones for way too long. Thankfully for me, the good people at Beats By Dr. Dre hooked me up with some of their latest products earlier this month: the Beats Executive Headphones, and the Beats By Dr. Dre Pill. Considering I spend the majority of my week writing in front of a laptop screen, with my music collection consistently open, I had ample opportunities to check them out, and in the end, they’ve definitely changed the way I listen to music.

The Beats Executive Headphones bring you the legendary Beats sound, but also make it easier than ever before to bring them on the road with you. They have airline adapters, and a hard shell carrying case that somehow manages to fit the monster headphones inside (the headphones can fold down flat). They’re designed for the traveling person, and during my time using them in flight, they literally drowned out the noise of the airplane through the Active Noise Cancellation and the custom EQ. Using them in a much quieter setting? You’ll feel like you’re in your own world.

While I initially went through a bunch of batteries for these – yes, you do need a battery to power them up, and I consistently forgot about the on/off switch – these are super easy to use, and provide the deep bass and clear highs that you’d expect. I did have somewhat of a problem with the fit – the comfort level at the top of my dome wasn’t always great – but on the ears, the soft leather is perfect.

Besides the carrying case, the headphones also come with an Apple remote microphone in-line cable, a Beats By Dr. Dre cleaning cloth, a 3.5mm audio cable and two AAA batteries.

To grab your pair for $299.95, get over to the online store.

Keep reading to read about the Beats By Dr. Dre Pill…

It’s been a while since I’ve used a stereo system. In college, that was all you needed, and I wore my speakers out so bad that they died on me within a few months of graduation. Since then, I’ve been hunting for something that’s easy to transport while still providing the clear, deep sound that I need. Enter the Beats By Dr. Dre Pill.

I anticipated the Pill would be small, but it exceeded expectations. It’s super small, and incredibly easy to transport should you be heading out to a party or get-together. It’s wireless and cord-free, and can sync to your Bluetooth-enabled devices while being able to change tracks from up to 30 feet away. I found that while changing tracks, the sound would sometimes skip initially, but never had problems with the Bluetooth connection outside of that. There’s also the Aux input for use with your iPod or laptop, and a line out feature that can connect the Pill to other speaker systems.

I live in an apartment complex, and honestly never pushed the Pill beyond certain levels because I wasn’t trying to wake up the whole building (the Pill is definitely powerful enough). Just know that this thing will go as loud as you need it to go, whether you’re by yourself cooking dinner and just want a little background music, or if you’re at a tailgate and need to get the party going. I found the sound wasn’t quite as full if I pushed it beyond the regular listening level, but that’s to be expected with most speaker systems; it’s still amazing how clear and full the sound comes in from something so small.

The Pill also comes with a 1.5 m audio cable, a USB 2.0 charge/data cable, a carry case with a carabiner and an AC power adapter.

To grab your pair for $199.95, head over to the online store.

What do you think?

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