Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Execs
- Strong sound high quality
- Designed for iPhone and Android
- Respectable ANC
- Lossless audio by way of USB-C cable
- Spatial audio and head monitoring
Cons
- Not essentially the most snug
- Rivals sound higher at related value
- Plastic creaks and dirties quick
- No put on detection
- No auto Apple gadget switching
Our Verdict
The Beats Studio Professional provide a lot of the perform of Apple’s AirPods Max for cheaper, however sound and luxury are bettered by Sony and Bose on this aggressive value vary.
Value When Reviewed
$349.99
Greatest Costs Right now: Beats Studio Professional
$349.99
$349.99
$349.99
$349.99
It has taken Beats 4 years to replace its premium over-ear headphones, however the design division didn’t contribute a lot.
The Beats Studio Professional enhance upon 2019’s Beats Studio 3 Wi-fi in each identify, sound high quality, and options, however the look is similar to the Beats headphones which have adorned heads all over the world for greater than a decade.
Though Beats is owned by Apple lately, the Studio Professional are designed to enchantment to each iPhone and Android telephone customers with options that cater to each platforms.
It makes the Studio Professional a strong selection should you don’t wish to spend hundreds extra on the older AirPods Max as they’re $349.99/£349.99, however at this value the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort 45 are higher choices.
Design & construct
- Not fairly over-ear match
- Fairly tight on giant heads
- Plastic exhibits filth
- Acessories included
I’ve a tough time telling the Beats Studio Professional other than any earlier Beats headphones. They nonetheless look good, fortunately, however after so a few years, a design change wouldn’t go amiss.
That’s very true given these usually are not essentially the most snug over-ear headphones. First, they don’t seem to be fairly over-ear, because the ear cups are just a little too small to fully go across the exterior of my ears to sit down on my head because the design intends.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
As an alternative, the smooth cushioned materials hugs the perimeters of the highest and backside of my ears, that means I received sweaty ears fairly rapidly. After an hour or two I needed to take the Studio Professional off as these elements of my ears started to harm.
The ear cups on a number of the finest headphones corresponding to AirPods Max, Sony WH-1000XM5 and Bose QuietComfort 45 all fully envelope my ears and are extra snug for longer intervals of wear and tear.
Studio Professional are designed to enchantment to each iPhone and Android telephone customers with options that cater to each platforms
The Studio Professional’s plastic development has a pleasant matt end however does creak below bending. They’re not essentially the most premium feeling plastic cans. The darkish blue pair I reviewed confirmed fingerprints and oils remarkably quick and clearly. If you happen to don’t wish to see how gross you actually are, don’t purchase blue, black or brown – go for the sandstone color.
You may alter the headscarf on both facet, and the half that sits towards your head is a easy rubber. Each earcups are emblazoned with a Beats ‘b’ on both facet, and the left ‘b’ acts as a play/pause bodily button you have to click on. It additionally has quantity up and down above and beneath it on the round encompass.
On the best earcup is an on/off and noise cancelling toggle button together with a five-light battery indicator. You additionally get a 3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C port for charging and audio. It’s nice that you just additionally get each these cables within the field, together with a stunning smooth zip carry case the headphones fold down to suit into.
Sound high quality
- Effectively balanced sound
- Lossless audio over USB-C
- Spatial audio assist
Though Beats headphones are recognized for his or her bass-heavy sound I discovered the Studio Professional to have a properly balanced sound that enhances plenty of genres. Rock, pop, hip-hop and even classical sound nice via the 40mm drivers.
There’s not an excessive amount of in it between how these Apple-made headphones sound in comparison with 2020’s AirPods Max, however the latter do sound higher when streaming Apple Music due to clearer tuning and frequency separation. It’s not that the Beats sound muddy, they simply don’t sound fairly pretty much as good, and the audio has much less depth.
I not often felt upset within the sound high quality when utilizing the Studio Professional as my primary headphones for a number of weeks – not one thing I may have stated of earlier Beats, which all the time leant too arduous into the bass. These do too, however to not an overwhelming diploma. They’ve a bit extra zest and character than the Bose QC45, however the Bose sound fuller general.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
The Studio Professional deal with The Vendor by Nilüfer Yanya properly regardless of the busy combine, bringing the bass, guitar, and drums to the fore when wanted.
Duality by Slipknot hits you with the pressure the band supposed, although there may be the slightest trace of distortion, even at 75% quantity. These headphones can get very, very loud.
De La Soul’s Stakes Is Excessive sounds nice – in truth, if hip-hop is your jam then the Studio Professional are an excellent selection. The eye to the low finish actually pays off, equally heard on Nas’s N.Y. State of Thoughts the place the bass and piano samples are outstanding however the area within the combine is allowed to breathe.
I discovered the Studio Professional to have a properly balanced sound that enhances plenty of genres
If utilizing Apple Music, the Studio Professional can playback Spatial Audio tracks, and in addition assist head monitoring in apps corresponding to Apple TV+ and Netflix. They’re good to have options, however I nonetheless really feel tracks sound significantly better with out Spatial Audio, particularly on respectable headphones like this.
Apple Music helps lossless audio high quality, however can’t output it to headphones wirelessly, certainly one of Apple’s most annoying audio foibles. However the Studio Professional have a neat trick up their sleeve – they’ll play lossless recordsdata when related to an audio gadget by way of USB-C.
Blur’s ‘Barbaric’ performed over USB-C on Apple Music utilizing a Samsung telephone sounds fantastic with wonderful audio high quality. Plugging in on this means disables noise cancelling and transparency modes although, and it’s annoying Beats doesn’t present a USB-C to Lightning cable for iPhones.
It’s additionally annoying that plugging in to take heed to audio by way of USB-C fees the headphones, as this how they usually cost. You won’t wish to run your telephone down whereas listening to music, and the entire thing feels a bit clunky.
Noise cancelling & good options
- Respectable noise cancellation
- Glorious transparency mode
- EQ modes solely over USB-C
The perfect replace together with sound high quality right here over earlier generations is the wonderful energetic noise cancellation and transparency modes that carry the Studio Professional according to AirPods Max and the in-ear AirPods Professional.
ANC is nice, blocking out most exterior sounds thanks to 6 microphones listening for ambient noise and counteracting it. I had no bother listening to music and podcasts on the ever-noisy London Underground. The rationale the ANC isn’t pretty much as good as AirPods Max or Bose is due to the match right here, which isn’t fully over-ear.
Nevertheless, like all AirPods, you may’t management the extent of ANC.
Three of these mics type you out for the wonderful transparency mode, permitting you to listen to your environment or discuss to folks with out taking off the headphones (although you need to, after all, within the identify of politeness).
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
These mics have to be of excellent high quality as a result of callers additionally sound wonderful via these headphones, making them a sensible choice should you do plenty of hands-free calls or must plug in to an audio jack for video calls.
The Studio Professional, just like the Beats Studio Buds+, don’t have Apple’s H1 or H2 chip. As an alternative, they use the ‘Beats Proprietary Platform (gen 2)’. This implies the Studio Professional lose AirPods smarts corresponding to auto switching between Apple gadgets, however extra annoyingly, put on detection, so the headphones don’t routinely pause or play music once you take them off or put them on.
The perfect replace together with sound high quality right here over earlier generations is the wonderful energetic noise cancellation and transparency modes
It additionally implies that though there’s assist for Apple’s Discover My and Google’s Discover My Gadget community, the shortage of H chip means you’ll solely ever see the place the headphones have been final related to a tool, not the place they could have moved to.
The proprietary platform as a substitute caters to ease of iPhone and Android connections, working seamlessly with the latter’s Quick Pair software program to rapidly pair to Android telephones and others arrange with the identical Google account.
You additionally don’t get any wi-fi EQ controls, even these there are controls in iOS and the Beats companion app for Android. The one strategy to get a selection of EQ is plugged in by way of USB-C, and even then there are solely three presets you may toggle via with the on/off button in a way so undiscoverable I needed to look it up on Apple’s web site.
Arms-free Siri is helpful with iPhones, and Android voice assistants may be referred to as on by urgent holding the ‘b’ button.
… the Studio Professional lose AirPods smarts corresponding to auto switching between Apple gadgets, however extra annoyingly, on-ear detection
Battery life & charging
- 40 hours with out ANC/transparency
- 24 hours with ANC/transparency
- USB-C charging
Battery life on the Studio Professional is strong at 40 hours should you don’t use the ANC or transparency modes, however you need to and can, so it’s really 24. I discovered I didn’t should cost them a lot in any respect, however I’m a comparatively gentle consumer – a few hours right here and right here. I don’t sit utilizing headphones eight hours a day straight.
Charging is by way of the included USB-C cable, with a ten minute cost providing you with 4 hours of playback from 0%. You may see the battery life natively on iOS or by way of the Android Beats app battery widget.
As talked about earlier, they routinely cost when plugged right into a telephone by way of USB that means your handset will get drained once you in all probability don’t need it for use on protecting the headphones topped up.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Value & availability
The Beats Studio Professional price $349.99/£349.99, placing them on the premium finish of the patron over-ear headphones market.
You should buy them direct from Beats or Apple globally. They’re additionally on the market within the US from B&H, and within the UK from Currys.
The Studio Professional are in direct competitors with the $399/£379 Sony WH-1000XM5 and the $329.99/£319.95 Bose QuietComfort 45, although yow will discover the latter for about $249/£249 on the time of writing.
2020’s very good Sony WH-1000XM4 are additionally nonetheless a prime various when yow will discover them for below $200/£200.
And though the Apple AirPods Max got here out in 2020 and nonetheless price the unique value of $549/£549, they match and sound higher than the Studio Professional, have higher ANC, and play nicer with Apple gadgets.
Test our how we price the highest 10 finest headphones on this planet.
Verdict
The Beats Studio Professional are good headphones however undergo from poor match, low-cost feeling plastic development, and options like lossless audio and EQ over USB-C that Beats ought to have higher built-in for folks with iPhones.
As wi-fi over-ears, I’d advocate going for the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort 45 as a substitute for pure audio and noise cancellation efficiency.
However should you like the appear and feel of the Beats model and like a full, bassy sound and headphones you may plug in with a headphone jack or over USB-C that even have good options that cater for Apple and Android gadgets, the Studio Professional are value a glance – although possibly wait until they’re on sale.