T Mobile Beats Studio
Worth A Thousand Words.If you want to buy headphones based on who is promoting them, or because you’ve seen product placement for them in almost every recent music video then it’s too late for you.You’re going to over-spend on plastic-y garbage that defines ‘fashion over function’. You’ll blow your hard earned cash on Beats by Dre and that’s okay.Don’t Think, Just Buy!But the headphones I’m about to review are too good for you.I know that there are droves of people who buy brands like Beats and Bose, because their high price and marketing cause them to be perceived as a ‘nice’ brand. They do the most effective advertising, and consumers typically confuse high price with high quality.The question is whether you’re willing to fall into the same trap. Instead of buying for fashion, try something better, like a pair of headphones. The ones I’ll be reviewing today are the Grado in-ear headphones, which retail for $300.Grado GR8eLet’s quickly compare.
The Beats By Dre Pro cost a whopping $400! As you can see from their webpage, Beats claims that these are ‘the headphones used to mix in every major studio’. This is an absolute lie. I know people at several major studios and they would not use fashion headphones for mixing. One person who works in a major studio even told me that he bought a pair of these headphones and promptly returned them because the bass was so overpowered. It was causing pressure on his eardrums, even at low volumes.In contrast to that, you can get an ‘on-ear’ pair of headphones for as little as $80 ( pictured below) and I’m willing to bet that these will surpass the quality of even the $400-600 offering from Beats by Dre (and the $300-400 ‘top of the line’ offerings from Bose). For a second opinion, I spoke with a real music professional, i.e., some who makes music for a living and has a certified ear for quality.
The earphones he owns and uses daily for listening are the Bose Q20i in-ear headphones with noise cancellation (retail price: $299.99). We both did a quick A/B comparison using the same content on the same audio player for a fair comparison.Bose Q20iEven inside the industry, there’s only partial knowledge about headphone quality. Once my outside authority was wearing the Grados and the music was playing, he was very clearly impressed. He told me that the quality he got from the Grados was substantial enough for him to be able to work on the music he is making outside of his studio. He had never experienced the same feeling with any other in-ear headphones.This simple case study is the reason that Grado should be advertising. At least getting their product distributed through electronics retailers (right now, Grado distributes through direct sales and hi-fi specialty stores). Grados are at exactly the same price point as the Bose headphones, while offering so much more fidelity and warmth than Bose can provide.As part of this review, I’ve been spending the past couple of months bathing my ears with the smooth, rich and creamy sounds of the GR8e headphones.
I am loving every minute of it! The content I have been listening to vinyl archives stored in 24bit-192Khz lossless files, high resolution music from HDTracks, some 320kbps MP3s and some.flac rips of CDs I own. Mostly I was playing them through an AudioQuest Dragonfly (v1.2) DAC/headphone amp.
Beats Studio Costco
My software setup is Audirvana+ on OS X and USB Audio Player Pro on Android. The earphones come with three sizes of silicone tips, intended to fit most ears. I had a significant amount of noise caused by the cable brushing against me while walking and found the solution was to loop the cable around my ear and basically insert the earphones upside down.
Acknowledging that this was not ideal and caused me to look a damn fool, I found a new solution. I ordered a pair of foam tips that not only stay in place more securely, but also isolate the music better and block out more external noise.Foam EartipsI do have one complaint or shortcoming that I felt could be improved on the Grados. The rubber cable felt cheap and I think would be improved by having a fabric covered cable. Aside from this (extremely minor) issue, I genuinely enjoy every minute with these headphones.Grado GR8eGrado president John Chen recommended that I give them ample time to break in, although 100 hours may have been a bit more than required. But the sound definitely opened up as time went on. Maybe that’s part of the beauty of having a moving armature design instead of having three or more armatures jammed into a tiny package.Comparing these to other IEMs I have tested, Grado easily outshines anything I have heard. Even while attending the Newport Beach Home Audio Show and testing out IEMs with price tags well over $1,000.
Still I found nothing that could compare with the realistic sounds that were pumping through my Grado pair. They have great separation between instruments with powerful, booming and realistic bass tones. I could deeply appreciate the higher quality of HD Tracks’ re-release of the self titled Red Hot Chili Peppers, and appreciate the smoother strings with more powerful choruses in orchestral music like Philip Glass’s Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack. JasonMost of headphones today are completely overrated.
They look damn ugly, like if i was a flying a f plane. And those headphones make my ears sweat. And the “other ones” like the one youre reviewing are just plain stupid. Every time i try one of “those” i feel my fing.
Earwax going deeply to the bottom of my ear.I dear you motherfu. To review the best headphones i ever had in my life.and i keep buying them till this day (ebay, amazon).And those are. Sony MDR W014 or Sony MDR W08.best f. Headphones since like. Sony should bring back those headphones.
LeeIf you’re using fashion, sweat and earwax to determine why you should buy a pair of headphones, you shouldn’t even be reading this article, because you clearly have no idea about sound. You have a great pair of Sonys. This article is about sound quality and why Beats is an absolute lie, not whether or not you’re comfortable in the headphones you buy.Also if you’re continuing to buy the same headphones consistently, they either can’t be very good, or you don’t take care of your headphones. EpynonyousI love my beats headphones because they DON’T BREAK like my expensive Sony ones (MDR XB950BT) kept doing. I transport headphones to work with me every day and baby them, yet the Sony ones kept suffering from broken hangers (The y-shaped piece that keeps the cups close to your head) Yes the Sony ones sounded a lot better, yes the Sony ones were very comfortable, but what good are they if they have a mechanical design flaw that shortens their lives?
I would love to able to buy headphones based on best sound, but there are other factors. LesaI absolutely love my Beats Studio wireless headphones. I’m 48 and I’ve listened to a lot of music through all sorts of ear buds and head sets and I find Beats to be awesome. I actually know lots of people who love Beats as a top listening device.
I love clarity. Everyone has different areas of listening abilities.
I am a very loud and proud listener, always have been. So to each there own opinions.
I wouldn’t care if these were made by Walmart. I love the sound quality, and mine where only $200.00 and I would have paid more if I had too. That’s how great mine sound 🙂. NickI highly doubt the author makes Klipsch products or has any association directly with them. Bose and Beats are easy to pick on because their sound is about the quality of the lowest possible end you can get from Sennheiser/AKG/Denon/Beyerdynamic etc. If you THINK it’s good, well, it’s objectively not but you’re free to believe what you want. These garbage producers like Apple and Beats by Butt Sniffer love you.
You also get to have people like savage up there on your side, “I ain’t never no not heard of it so it must be crap and not my pea brained consumer habits.”. AnonymousSome people love extra bass and aren’t interested in accurate sound, I had the Audio Technica ATH-MX50’s and will take my Beats Pro’s any day, they lacked bass and had no punch and low volume. Specs aren’t the only thing to look at. I have tried senheissers over the years and they are not for me either. I had Sony MDR-1A’s and they were amazing. As far as build is concerned the Pro’s are not plastic lol, they are steel and heavy, one of the best constructed headphones I have ever seen so not sure what you are talking about.
I am not a Beats fanboy by any means, I do listen to techno/house/rap/trance/pop for the most part with some rock thrown in so for me they are awesome. And don’t get me started on Bose lol.
Sound quality is a preference not always a graph. AnonymousI just bought a pair of some beats from a few years ago for twenty bucks.
I got Sony studio monitor headphones for the studio and apple earbuds. Headphones are gonna be colored no matter what in my opinion if you want flat response you’re gonna need studio monitors. These things would be a joke in the studio but for listening to your favorite album when you’re stoned I think they sound awesome.
These things are for just listening and enjoying some tunes they sound better than earbuds. But yeah 300 is a scam these things just push the bass and probably have a mid scoop but that’s usually what makes stuff pump anyways. I’d say go for em if you find a deal but definitely not an accurate representation of the true mix. They kinda hide the ugly stuff in the mix which is probably why people like them. AsdfMost ear buds come stock with silicone tips. These create an uncomfortable suction of air and amplify all kinds of unwanted ambient noise, like breathing or chewing. I switched to Comply foam tips years ago and never looked back.
They’re great. More comfortable, no unwanted noise, and way better sound isolation etc.
I think it’s because the porous nature of the foam prevents the suction of air and doesn’t carry, and in fact absorbs, unwanted ambient noise. I can’t recommend foam tips enough. NoahI know what you mean, they are different in what they are going for.
But on paper, the sr60’s provide a lot more bang for the buck than any bose could just on a fidelity/price comparison. I also have the bose over the ear noise canceling headphones and they’re good for what they are but they also make other headphones that are not noise canceling and I would generally recommend something like Sennheiser for closed back.Also, I use the Grado open back’s while walking around in the traffic-y streets on my daily commute sometimes.
I use the RS1i’s and I feel that they can get loud enough to use comfortably outdoors as long as you are using a headphone amp. Ngi love grados. I think they are definitely the best for the money. The only problem with the “on-ear” grados is that they are not “enclosed” and thus not made for listening outside of the home and/or studio.i.e.
The subway, streets, etcbecause they are not enclosed, outside noise very easily gets in the way of/drowns out the music and you need to make them very loud (and sometime they don’t go loud enough in noisy places like the subway), and vice-versa, the music you are listening to leaks out of the phones to the person sitting next to you. NoahMaybe I’m a headphone snob but I’m really just trying to advocate for consumer rightsMarketing with an endless budget and placing misleading advertisements like Beats does (see the Web page from beats in the article) and telling them that they are producing studio standard quality for $400 per unit. The fact is that beats would never be used in major studios. Meanwhile, you CAN get a good quality starter set for studios from Grado for 80 bucks.This review is meant to inform consumers about getting more for their money, whether they are starting a studio or just like listening through quality headphones and save them hundreds of dollars.In fact, I think we have the same goal here. You mentioned, Moscato. Imagine paying hundreds of dollars for a bottle when they’re are good ones for 20 per bottle.
That’s an accurate comparison to how Beats is approaching pricing.Why not inform consumers about better products that cost less?Best,A headphone snob (I guess). JustinThere is a fundamental difference between a product like beer and products like headphones.The satisfaction one realizes from consuming a product like beer is derived from their tastes. While the quality of ingredients that go into a given batch of beer might vary, most people aren’t really concerned because ultimately what tastes good to them is what they will purchase. “There is no accounting for taste”, as they say.This doesn’t really apply to an item like headphones, where quantifiable evidence can be used to determine the quality of the product.
This quality typically dictates the price of the product, e.g. An all-wheel-drive Lexus with leather interior will cost more than a front-wheel-drive, no-options Kia because of the inclusion of technology and amount and quality of materials used. While one person might prefer a Kia over a Lexus, nobody can deny that the increased price tag of the Lexus is justified.Likewise, while one might like the way Beats headphones look, or perhaps even the way they sound, over any other studio-grade headphone, there is no arguing that the Beats headphone is of lesser quality (based on it’s use of technology or quality of materials) compared to the majority of other products in the Beats price range.So what does this mean for us as consumers? Essentially the same thing it does anytime a product of lesser quality is being marketed and sold for the same amount of money as a higher-quality product: you are being ripped off. Beats parent company is banking on the ignorance of the consumer in order to reap outstanding profits.It’s virtually impossible for the average consumer to have an expert-level knowledge about every product that exists. For that reason, it’s important for us to do as much research as we can in order that we feel confident that we haven’t wasted our hard-earned dollars on products that are of inferior quality compared to others in the same price range. The author of this article sought to inform us, as consumers, about this particular product.
I feel he has done a decent job of that, for which I commend him. WazzaNice Grado infomercial.Well, I’m a “professional” musician and mixer and:1- No one in the world uses in-ear headphones for mixing.2- No one uses Beats or Bose headphones either.
Those are consumer headphones, and that’s not a negative thing actually. Consumer headphones have a frequency curve that is often skewed in favor of a more “exciting” tone, where pro headphones tend to have as flat a frequency as possible ( wich sometimes makes them sound unexciting compared to the consumer ones )3- There isn’t any one headphone model that is standard in pro studio. There are several favorites from several brands.
Akg (K720/240), Senheiser (HD600/650/800), AudioTechnica ( Ath m50), BeyerDynamic (dt770 pro), Sony, Grado, Ultrasone, Focal, etc. Many of these models are over 400$ ( 1000$ for the outstanding Sennheiser HD-800 for example ).
Mojo Bone+Wazza; mostly correct. I have heard from a few mix engineers who use custom-molded in-ears, but it’s pretty rare. Beats imo, are a fashion product, not an audio product and as a consumer brand, they are designed to hide audio flaws and make everything sound good, NOT to accurately reproduce recorded music.
My work requires flat frequency response and accurate time-domain/phase response, and in my immodest opinion, the most expensive headphones that are actually worth the price are the $150 street Audio-Technica ATH M50s. They’re closed back and over the ear but comfortable enough for very long sessions and have field replaceable cables/earcups. Semi-open designs can be a smidge more accurate, but you can’t use them for tracking, cause they’ll bleed into any open microphones, meaning you can mix but don’t put them on the singer. You;re welcome to spend more, but past this point, you get diminishing returns on your investment,. RandyNoah, its one thing to give a positive review for Grado. And an obvious thing to state how poor Beats are.
But when you go as far and boast some challenge as if these Grado ear buds standup to any of the top brands (AKG for example has pro and studio headphones plus earbuds that leave the Grado in the dust) it makes it seem like you’ve never listened to any real headphones before. If you want to share your opinion on a brand you like go ahead. But acting as if you are any type of reliable source who did any type of research is a flat out sham and DMN should remove your article for it. (Unless this is now just a personal blog and not a news service, than I apologize and please proceed). Nathan GrannerI’ve seen the few articles that have popped up recently about Beetss being bad.
I just don’t agree. It’s not that I’m a tool; I’ve gone through a number of sets of headphones, sampling them. Mind, I’m only trying out headphones I can afford (low-end Beats for example) from non music-leading stores such as Behst Bughy and the like. I enjoy Beattz and think they have a nice sound regardless of how cheaply they’re made or what metal chunk is placed in them.Do I have a pair? They were still a little too much for me, so I got a pair of Marshalls from URobB(A)iNgmeblind Outfitters, which I like quite a bit.I don’t mix with them, I just listen to my music with them.I get the feeling though that there is a kind of zeitgeist that is all about the take-down of Appleh products now, as if they are evil.I have my complaints about the Cupertino products Apfel Muzik for example. I love the ramifications of what they are trying to do, connect artists, music and fans. That particular connect integration is buggy, but the thing is much better than whatever the craptastic thing they had before was.I’d much rather connect with my fans on my own sites, but it’s cool to be able to upload a song or vid directly to Itughnes.
I truly hope they get the coding worked out before the free subscription runs out because I’m still paying for the former Napster, which is for me a better option than Sporkifigh.This is my first post, so I cant’ wait to be called names and all of that fun stuff because I have a different opinion.regards, Naythun. RenonI never heard of Grado.
They look really cheaply made but could make nice tracking headphones. I imagine those foam pads will get hot after a while.As mentioned above, noone in the world uses in ear headphones for mixing. Not in the professional world, though this article is not geared towards that.
Still try leaving in ears in for hours, they start to get annoying. Even if the technology may be there.A better comparison would be something in the price range of Beats. Anything from Sennheiser in the $400 range is going to destroy Beats in sound and in looks. Try the HD-600 or Q701 if you want to spend $400 on headphones. IchneumonI’m pretty content with my Bower and Wilkins P5s for listening and actual music work. They’re not perfect hi-fi but they have a nice, warm, even frequency response and a solid soundstage that really conveys position and distance well. The only problem is when I’m walking the cord gets hooked on things, but that’s all meI do think you sound a bit infomercial-y with the Grados thing, but pretty much every musician and serious listener I know has said that, while Beats have improved since Apple bought them out, they’re really not worth even a third of their price point, with the older models being truly awful.
DoooI don’t understand why people hate on Beats so much? The consensus is that they sound like complete shit which is not true at all. I’ve recently purchased a pair of Solo3’s since I was looking for something wireless and they fit the bill perfectly. Good thumpy bass, great battery life, seemless integration within the Apple environment, and fast charging. When I listen to my music I prefer a nice bass kick.
Plus if you’re on the go I’d say these are the headphones to buy. I’ve owned and listened to other high end headphones like AKG, Grados, and Sennheisers. While they all sound great in their own respect I think it comes down to the type of music and environment you’re in. StanBeats are by no means non consumer headphones, and the main reason people have issues with them are because almost anyone with any knowledge of high quality sound or have tried out more than the just headphones on display will understand why beats are overpriced. Sure, Beats sound okay in store, and that’s because of clever marketing, and songs that are heavy in bass. Beats have ‘good’ bass because a lack of any treble accentuates the bass.
Nothing about Beats is worth the price save the fashion statement. ShizukesaNZThere seems to be a lot of Beats hate here. I have been listening to my Beats Pro detox edition headphones for a little over 4 years now. They are completely aluminium and pu leather and have absolutely gone the mile. They don’t have a balanced sound signature which I didn’t want when I bought them.
Instead they have a punchy base which is why I wanted them (not for any fashion statement in music videos which i don’t watch). Though I do like how they look as I also like the Grado style. They Have a closed back and good isolation so I can listen to them at work unlike the Grados that you suggest. They are over ears since I hate IEMs.
And overall the only complaint I have is that the ear cups are a bit small for my ears. Now that I’m looking for replacements I’m actually having a hard time finding a good replacement. I would really love to know what you would suggest for a more bass heavy, closed back and reasonably high end cans that work around the 32ohm area.
Don't tripYou guys are just hating on beats cause you can’t afford them?Get your money up bums!?They sound clean and clear to me. Highs are highs mids are mids and lows are lows. The bass is good no too powerful yet not too soft. Treble is good too! I hear things in songs that you normally don’t hear just listening to it off your phone or a speaker. Most times its just littke effects they add to their (the artists) songs and they leave me like ahhh ok i never heard that before.
Point being beats are some good headphones and so are other headphones/earphones so stop hating on headphones if the case if you can’t afford it. Uh Huh, lets call me. Not an idiotSo “a real music professional, i.e., some who makes music for a living and has a certified ear for quality” yeah, uh huh. My sister just certified my ear for quality, and she just bought my song I made for a dollar. Now I make music for a living and I have a certified ear for quality, therefore I am saying that Beats by Dre are trash and so are whatever other companies you’re suggestings. The only good headphones are 2007 apple earbuds released with the original iPods. Go write an article about that and cite your source please, I don’t want you taking credit for my work.
EmmettThe author doesn’t own Grado Headphones, Lets say headphones are like different brands of cars. Grado Headphones and Earbuds fill that bill. Let say for example The Beats are Cadilac Escalade the Grado are Ferrari 458 Italia. Both good head phones but the Grada are so good The averarage guy is not going to know why and he or she is not going to spend $300 on an obsecure name like Final. Then tell all his buddies he got a rocking pair of Final Earbuds for $300 and there like; Jack’s lost his mind why didn’t he buy a pair of Beats every one has them. Because Beat Suck 😂😂😂😂 Listen Honestly these headphones are fantastic and there are a pair on Amazon for $80 that are astonishing. Emmett Good Luck 🍀.
RemyYou’re right about beats. Its’ sounds are decent, but not enough to be justified to buy it for a couple of hundreds. The only great thing about beats is it looks and maybe okay over ears comfort. Otherwise, I suggest getting something else. However, I completely disagree about what you said about Bose. Unless you are just trashing on a specific Bose, then that’s a different story, but if you think the brand Bose is on the same level as Beats, that’s where you are so wrong. Beats, is without doubt, more or less, for fashion use.
Bose, however, is meant for practical use. When it comes to sounds alone, obviously, Bose won’t be the top competitor. Audio Technica would beat it. Sennheiser would beat it.
Hell, even some Sony would beat it. However, you got to know that Bose is known for it’s noise cancelling sound and the comfort over ears.
Because of these factors are in, that’s what makes them great and justifiable to get them. Look-wise, they look pretty plain. Built quality, it depends which type you’re getting.
Overall, Beats is nowhere as good as Bose, so I’m not sure why you bother comparing them just because the price high. Also, another thing I want to point out is Beats is good if you’re a bass listener. ZipadeedoodaAnyone who says “I rock” this, that or the other is an imbecile who knows nothing.I work at a live gig venue for the biggest “Live” entertainment company in the world.I have stood and watched Slash play a 30 minute set for the MTV awards in Scotland only 12 feet away and stood next to some of the worlds best touring sound engineers during sound checks.Nearly all of them wore Sennheiser’s.If you want headphones that are quality without compromise for daily music listening for the mere mortal then you’ll be wanting a pair of HD25’s or HD25 II’s.That’s it.
Whenever you hear or read the word “wireless,” it’s most often followed by the word “freedom.” Wireless freedom. That’s what we are promised by headphone makers, wireless charging evangelists, and even gaming mice specialists. The shedding of wires has always been a literal and symbolic liberation of the user from a layer of technological friction. Almost always.We’re now living in the sort of topsy turvy world where the latest wireless tech actually locks us in more than it frees us.
Say hello to the $350, the latest update to the Beats line to feature Apple’s as well as newly upgraded noise canceling. They work fantastically well with other Apple products — seamless syncing, stable Bluetooth connection, long battery life — but only with other Apple products.
Try using them with a Google Pixel, a Chromebook, or a Windows PC, as I did, and you’ll find most of their strengths diminished. As my colleague Nilay Patel wrote recently, the future of headphones is shaping up to be a realm.
The big challenge of assessing the Beats Studio 3 is that they’re two fundamentally different pairs of headphones depending on whether you have them hooked up to an iPhone or an Android device. But before I get to those performance matters, let’s look at the universal aspects of comfort and design.Whatever color of Beats headphones you choose, even the murdered-out black-on-black option, they’re still unmistakably Beats headphones.
This over-ear Beats Studio 3 model shares an obvious design affinity with the smaller and less expensive on-ear, though it classes things up a little with matte rather than glossy finishes. In terms of materials, plastic rules supreme, as it always has done with Beats headphones. But take note: not all plastic gadgets are terrible, and the old reputation of Beats headphones for being poorly constructed exercises in selling crap through branding are long gone. As with the Solo 3 I reviewed last year, the Studio 3 provide decent build quality that should stand up to a reasonable amount of abuse.The one major downside to the Studio 3 design is wind noise. Noise-canceling headphones are supposed to be all about ensuring tranquility and an escape from the world around you, but I found a consistent (and disruptive) wind noise coming in from the outside on windier days in London.
The only solution to overcome this is to turn your head sideways, which may or may not be a viable option.Close to the Studio 3’s $350 price are the $400 noise-canceling that I just reviewed and loved. The PX are vastly superior to these Beats cans when it comes to construction durability and quality of materials, but the Beats advantage is a collapsible design. You can fold the Studio 3s into themselves and tuck them into the nice, hard-wearing pouch that Beats provides. I find that setup a lot more portable and straightforward than the less flexible B&W alternative. But then Beats faces up to yet another formidable rival in the shape of the $350 Sony 1000XM2, the successor to the critically acclaimed.
The 1000XM2 also collapse down, and they have a more rigid case, and they have superior noise canceling. The Studio 3s have a cozy and comfortable feel and can be worn for extended listening sessions. Not everyone will love the way they make contact with the entire ear — the B&W PX, for instance, wrap snugly around the ear, making more contact with the head — but there’s a purpose behind this design choice. The Studio 3s have a ton of passive noise attenuation, which is to say that even when wearing them on your head without any tech being active, they do a good job muffling external sounds.
This close contact also means they function a lot like simple ear muffs — which is brilliant in cold winters and kind of a nightmare in the summer heat.If you’re comfortable with the greater intimacy of the Beats 3 design (and undaunted by visions of sweaty summer listening), there’s really very little to fault about these headphones’ fit. They don’t cause any uncomfortable hotspots of pressure at the top of the head, their headband is easily adjustable and doesn’t create unsightly divots in your hairstyle, and their weight of 260g (9oz) makes them effortlessly portable.
I’m also a fan of the simple control scheme on the left ear cup: it has just three buttons, two for volume adjustment and one for pausing and skipping between tracks. The W1 wireless chip is the hero and the villain of the Beats Studio 3 story. Without it, these headphones are at best a marginal upgrade over their predecessor. But with it, they join the ranks of wireless accessories that simply sing when plugged into the Apple ecosystem. Syncing with an iPhone? Syncing with an iMac?
Close to instant. Playing back music from iTunes? You can remotely control it with the Studio 3.
Because, of course, why wouldn’t things be so sweet and seamless?But if you’re not a total Apple acolyte what you get is a fresh compendium of unnecessary headaches. I’ve been testing the Beats Studio 3 with my usual set of gear, which presently consists of a Pixel 2, a Chromebook Pixel 2, and a selection of Windows PCs alongside my iMac. With each non-Apple device, I had a hell of a time getting the Studio 3 to just show up as available for pairing in the Bluetooth menu. And, you know it, the actual pairing process was only successful about half the time.The same iMac where iTunes operation is nice and straightforward with the Beats Studio 3 is also the stage of my great frustration when trying to listen to Spotify or Tidal. The Studio 3 controls default to iTunes, so more than once I’ve wanted to stop a Tidal track, pushed the button on the headphones, and launched iTunes instead. It’s like Apple is actively hostile to anyone not subscribing to its complete set of provided apps and services.My biggest quarrel with the Beats Studio 3, though, comes with respect to their Bluetooth performance. There’s a Class 1 Bluetooth radio inside these headphones, which is the sort that consumes more power to ensure a stronger connection, but that meant nothing when I was using them with the Pixel 2.
I had repeated and persistent dropouts while traveling with the Studio 3 on the London underground. I know for a fact the Pixel 2 is not the problem, because I used the same device with the Bowers & Wilkins PX, and I was impressed by just how far Google had advanced its Bluetooth performance over the original Pixel.
The problem is simply that Apple doesn’t care to support this usage scenario. It wants you hooking up to iPhones and iPads, where the Studio 3 wireless connection is flawless. Another downside for wireless enthusiasts: the Beats Studio 3 don’t support advanced codecs like Qualcomm’s AptX HD, which is supported by the Bowers & Wilkins and Sony rivals to these headphones.
It’s all Apple, and only Apple. Battery life follows a similar trajectory to the above. It’s supposed to hit a satisfying 22 hours when connected to iOS devices with noise canceling on, or as high as 40 hours with the noise canceling disabled.
I didn’t get anywhere near that with my Android devices, reaching probably 12 or 14 hours before needing to charge back up. Oh, and the joys of charging this Apple peripheral with a MicroUSB cable. Apple, the same company that the headphone jack obsolete on phones, persists in shipping Beats headphones with the decidedly retrograde MicroUSB port on them. Right now, I can use the same charger to refuel my MacBook Pro, Pixel 2, and Bowers & Wilkins PX, but if I actually went all in on Apple’s ecosystem, I’d need three different cables. To charge.iPhone: Lightning.MacBook Pro: USB-C.Beats headphones: MicroUSB.— Vlad Savov (@vladsavov)Sound quality is usually the all-important thing with headphones, but that’s not really the case with noise canceling sets. What you’re looking for with them is something that’s good enough, something that conveys and the emotion and the impact of the music without worrying too much about its purity or realism. Even the B&W PX, my current pick for best-sounding noise-canceling cans, feel quite harsh and less than optimal when listened to in a quiet environment.
Beats Studio Owners Manual
Within this context of low expectations, the Beats Studio 3 perform adequately.I’d characterize the Studio 3 sound as bottom-heavy and quite bloated. It’s like the mid-range has sagged down into the bass, and a lot of tracks lose the refinement of their recording in the process. I’m especially unimpressed with the quality of female vocals, such as in Halsey’s “Heaven in Hiding.” There’s a lack of fullness and finesse, it’s all rather clumsy and brutish. But here’s the thing about that: most of the finesse that I care about wouldn’t be meaningfully detectable in a noisy environment anyway, so you can’t criticize Beats too heavily for its choice of tuning.The thing I found pleasing about the Beats Studio 3 is that they still carried through the dynamism and emotive nature of the music. Listening to Kanye West’s Yeezus while commuting on the bus, I couldn’t help but feel like these headphones were designed specifically for that task. Hell, they probably were.
If you’re into hip hop and heaving electronic bass lines, if you don’t care much for high-end extension and sparkling highs, these headphones will serve you well. I still consider the Bowers & Wilkins PX a clear leader in terms of sound quality and musicality among noise-canceling sets, but these Studio 3 cans hold their own rather decently.
I actually find them more emotionally engaging than the Sony 1000XM2s, which may sound like sacrilege, because the Sonys have a more precise and composed tuning, but that’s just how I feel. (More on that in the Sony 1000XM2 review to come).As to the Beats noise canceling, it’s fine, but it doesn’t rise above that. When you don’t have anything playing, it’s a distractingly loud white noise, though when you do it obviously disappears along with most other things in your environment. I think Sony has hands down the best and most effective noise canceling tech at the moment, and the Beats Studio 3 don’t really rival it. I can hear a lot more of the train noise on the London underground with the Beats headphones than I can with the Sony alternative. Even so, drowning out the hubbub of an open-plan office or some other simple task shy of taking a long-haul flight is no problem for the Beats cans. The Beats Studio 3 are the most prominent example to date of a pair of headphones that is dependent on the ecosystem it’s in to perform at its best.
I don’t like it, but I think this trend will continue and deepen over time as smart assistant integrations become more common and worthwhile things to have.If all the gear in your life is made by Apple, these are an uncomplicated purchase decision. I’d buy the Studio 3 just for the W1 ease of wireless use, which really is the ultimate solution for the vast majority of our chronic Bluetooth connectivity problems.If you happen to use an Android phone or a bunch of Windows PCs, the proposition becomes much trickier. Beats wins on practically none of the major parameters of comfort, design, or performance. It’s decent in all, but without the W1 augmentation, it’s a master of none. I can’t recommend the Studio 3 to anyone outside the Apple ecosystem, and that’s as uncomplicated as my recommendation for those within it.