I'm not clear why Beats are so popular actually. I find socially it sends the wrong message for me, functionally not as great as Bose or BW, and a bit too big + plastic for my taste.
Might be wrong for you or I, but it's a social signal for many other people. Similar to how people wear t-shirts around with giant logos on them. It says (partly) "I can afford to pay $60 for this t-shirt." Or "I am like you."
When Ralph Lauren introduced those Polo shirts with the 3-4" polo logo on them rather than the usual 1" logo, I thought it was some kind of experiment.
