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10 gorgeous pairs of grown-up headphones that make Beats look like Playskool

Thanks to the culmination of downloadable music, ubiquitous smartphones, and a major expansion of manufacturers spawned in part by Dr. Dre’s Beats, the headphone industry has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years. As such, we’ve been neck deep in earcups and headbands for a long time here at Digital Trends. But every once and awhile, scattered among the litter of plastic shells and collapsible metal hinges, we come across a pair of ‘phones that are so gorgeously crafted from top to bottom, we simply have to stop and drink them in.

Inspired by those solemn triumphs of man’s will to create works of both aural and visual beauty, we’ve put together this gallery of just some of the most dazzling headphones ever forged. All of our examples offer an aesthetic that would not only look good on the mantel, but would also likely class up the entire room in which said mantel resides. If we could manage it, we’d own them all. But since that’s unlikely in this lifetime, we’re content for now to simply gaze upon their glory. We hope you’ll enjoy staring at them as much as we do.

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Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
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A girl wearing the white version of the Beats Studio 3 wireless headphones.

If you're planning to take advantage of headphone deals but you don't know where to start, you might want to take a look at the Beats headphone deals that retailers are offering right now. There's no shortage of options from the Apple-owned Beats brand, but you should consider the Beats Studio 3 wireless headphones, which are currently on sale from Amazon with a $141 discount to their original price of $350, making them more affordable at just $209. That's their lowest price since Black Friday, so you shouldn't miss out on this offer.

The Beats Studio 3 are high-performance wireless headphones with pure adaptive noise cancellation, a feature that actively blocks external noise while also calibrating audio in real time to preserve the quality of what you're listening to. The headphones are also very comfortable to wear, with the soft, over-ear cushions offering advanced venting and ergonomic pivoting to enable a customized fit for anybody who wears them.

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Various colors of the Beats Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds.

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House of Marley Positive Vibration XL ANC Headphones

House of Marley a socially conscious audio outfit distinguished by its support for reforestation and ocean conservation, has released the Positive Vibration XL ANC headphones. These high-performance cans feature active noise cancellation (ANC) technology and memory foam ear cushions, with the goal of allowing you to tune out while you tune in.

The headphones can connect to any Bluetooth-capable device and House of Marley touts their ability to provide deep bass and premium clarity. A pair of 40mm high-definition drivers helps achieve the desired sonic balance and House of Marley claims these cans can blare forth for 35 hours of playing time with ANC off, and 26 with the feature turned on.

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