For quite some time now, the most popular brand of over-the-ear headphones has been Beats by Dre, a brand built mainly on the reputation of hip-hop legend Dr. Dre. They have been called the best headphones in the world. They have worn the tagline "Listen to music as the artist intended". However much like BOSE in the home speaker world, there have been many who have claimed that Beats are over hyped and severely over rated. I decided to put them to the test, so I compared them to headphones significantly cheaper but well rated in two different categories: Skullcandy Crushers, respected as great headphones by those who love strong bass; and V-Moda's crossfade LP2 Voice limited edition headphones, highly rated as among the most durable and best sounding headphones in the world. Both are more than $100 less than the Beats Studio Over-Ear Headphones I compared them to, with the V-Moda's coming in at $199.99 and the Skullcandy's coming in at just $99.99 compared to the Beats at $299.99.