Monster Goes Gaga for Heartbeats Earbuds

Monster's new Heartbeats earbuds weren't just "style-checked" by Lady Gaga: she created the design. And they do look painful.

Almost a year ago big-ticket audio gear maker Monster threw down Beats by Dr. Dre, a line of Dre-endorsed headphones and earbuds designed to pummel user’s hearing across a wide variety of devices and environments. Now Monster has expanded out the Beats line to include Heartbeats, a new collaboration with pop star Lady Gaga. And Monster is quick to boast that the pop diva didn’t just put her stamp of approval on a product: she helped design the earbuds so they’d look like nothing else on the market.

The in-ear Heartbeats earbuds are available in silver, red, and black chrome, and feature multiple eartips for solid fits and come with a plush travel case so, even if you aren’t comfortable on the road, you earbuds can move in style. The earbuds feature tangle-resistant flat cables from Monster, and Monster claims the earbuds offer superior audio fidelity…although they have yet to publish any specs to back up the assertion. The Dr. Dre Beats line has generally been lauded for decent performance, although few would claim they offer transparent sound reproduction.

The Heartbeats earbuds are available for pre-order now for $99.95; lady gag has also been giving away one pair per day on her official Web site…although that deal ends October 6.