Monster Beats by Dr Dre Tour

Whenever we see a gadget endorsed by a celebrity we get a sick feeling in the recesses of our gut. But these Monster Beats are one bit of celebritech that buck the trend.

Combining some serious design kudos with the kind of tip-top hip-hop sonic precision that a music producer requires, the Monster Beats by Dr Dre Tour in-ear headphones have a distinctive cable, reminiscent of a red tape worm. That may sound disgusting, but the design means that tangles are as dead as Jean Claude Van Damme’s acting career.

The cables also pump the smooth, sharp sonics produced by the ultra-responsive drivers straight to your head-balancers. Just don’t expect Mr Bass to show up. He seems to have gone AWOL from this particular party. Noise-isolation, meanwhile, at least makes an appearance, and it’s pretty decent.

Our only other problem with the Monster Beats is their size. Putting the inch-long buds in your ears is like jamming a blunt nail in your ear. Admittedly one that pumps awesome tunes to your brain. But our point is they’re not all that comfortable.

We’ve seen our fair share of celebrity-endorsed duds in our time, and we’re happy to say that the Monster Beats by Dr Dre Tour aren’t dead-Beats. Arf! They’re not without flaws, by any means, but neat touches like the flat, anti-tangle cable and great sonics, keep this the right side of our score card.