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New Dr. Dre Headphones Due Out This Week

Dr. Dre's long-awaited new LP, err, headphones finally hit the market this week, as Apple, Best Buy, and beatsbydre.com start selling them for $349.95 on Friday. A project helmed by Dre, Interscope/Geffen/A&M chairman Jimmy Iovine, and the A/V accessories company Monster, "Beats by Dr. Dre" are cushy isolation headphones meant to capture the high-def experience of studio engineers.

“Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound, but people can’t really hear it with normal headphones," Dre said in a statement. "Most headphones can’t handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line: the music doesn’t move you. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear and listen to the music the way they should—the way I do."

Three years of research went into Beats, with Monster stepping onboard to add their well-known cable technology to a wide adjustable headband and soft plush hinged ear cups.

“Dre and I have been developing these headphones for a while," Iovine added, "and in Monster we found a partner that could work with us to crystallize his vision and develop them to the quality level he expects."

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
07.23.08