I have a pair of Monster Audio Dr Dre Beats from an HTC Android earphones and they work fine with my N7, the music operation buttons don't work mind. I will try my Samsung earphones that came with my S2 when I get home in the morning (night shift), see if they are compatible.
I do remember having a similar problem with my previous Android phone, it was a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10i and some earphones/headphones just would not work with it so it would probably be the same the other way around.
I know this has been asked but what earphones are they?