Does anyone else feel that this deal tarnishes their perception of the Apple brand? I struggle to think of a brand of consumer electronics for which I have more contempt than Beats Electronics (and Monster Cable, who once manufactured all Beats products, between tricking the naive masses into buying hundred dollar HDMI cables…).

The cultural values of these two companies couldn't be much more different. While both are extremely image-conscious and fashionable, Apple has nevertheless built its reputation by delivering innovation and quality to its customers. Beats on the other hand has a built a reputation by selling very expensive headphones of highly questionable quality whose value, I would argue, is primarily superficial.