Apple didn't buy a headphone maker for expertise at making headphones that sound good. Apple Stores
sell headphones from any number of brands—including B&O—so there's nothing to gain by making their
own headphones more audiophile-friendly. They still make money off of other companies' audiophile-targeted headphones, without having to actually design and produce any.
Instead, Apple bought the headphone maker whose products make money through a combination of visually-distinct brand-recognition and a high level of "fit and finish"—the same way their own hardware does. Beats slots into Apple's product-design paradigm as naturally as if they had created the brand themselves.
