Comment by chihuahua

The weights are an impedance match to your wallet

They bought them for the streaming service that came with it. Not for fake weights in headphones.

> And then guess who bought Beats for their exquisite metal weight technology? That's right, it was Apple.

It's self-evidently extremely disingenuous to claim that Apple bought Beats for their "exquisite metal weight technology", so I thought I'd double check your claim that there are "metal weights" inside Beats headphones.

All of this appears to stem from two blog posts, written by the same VC.[^1] The first time they accidentally tore down counterfeit Beats, and when they managed to repeat the process, they "stuck by [their] claim" that:

> "…these metal parts are there to add a bit of weight and increase perceived quality with a nice look."

The BOM estimate they provide lists the following metal parts:

* Inner cast metal separator

* Springs

* Torx screw

* Self tapping screw

* Cast metal supports

* Stamped metal ear cup

None of these are extraneous weights not serving a purpose. The claim of the author might be better presented as:

"Beats headphones use heavier metal components instead of plastic ones, and I think it's because they add weight."

There are a lot of very good reasons to use materials that dampen unwanted interference like parasitic vibrations. Stiffer materials such as metal parts typically flex less, and have fewer (but usually more pronounced) resonances than plastic parts, which have intrinsic damping but might distort.

A good example of this is that the driver in your headphones is moving. Therefore the housing it is placed in must consider sprung/unsprung mass. Adding metal components increases the mechanical impedance.

So:

1. It is entirely possible that your claim about the weights is correct, and Beats chose to use metal components rather than plastic purely to add weight to the product.

2. There are a great many other possible explanations for using metal rather than plastic, and I don't think that you're likely to be party to them. For example: maybe they had the parts in-chain already and didn't want to have to tie up hardware engineering or supplier quality engineering for a new plastic part.

[1]: https://beneinstein.com/how-it-s-made-series-yup-our-beats-w... (the one where they tear down real Beats)

Oh is that why my wife’s cheapo crappy Beats earbuds have a special UI for pairing with my iphone…