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It’s the pair of headphones that started it all for Beats. It’s also the pair of headphones that first delivered that ‘signature sound’ and set an immediate path for meteoritic sales success.
It’s been nearly six years since the last update to the Beats Studio headphone line. Launched in 2008 with the Monster Cable-built, wired-only first generation, Beats Studio benefitted from celebrity tie-ins and a monstrous association with Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine.
A second generation followed in 2013 boasting an updated design and wireless connectivity. That was also the first and only pair of over-ear Beats headphones I ever owned, and the last I’ve listened to.
Following Apple’s $3 billion acquisition of Beats in 2014, the third generation of Beats Studio arrived with another raft of colour options and updated internals. Fast-forward six years, and we have the latest iteration from the iconic headphone brand: Beats Studio Pro.
With a naming convention clearly inspired by the Beats parent company, and several features borrowed from Apple’s own range of noise-cancelling headphones – not to mention a confident list of updates – there’s a lot resting on the shoulders of Beats Studio Pro.
As someone who hasn’t touched a pair of over-ear Beats headphones for many years, I knew this was going to be a fascinating review.
Pricing and specs
Beats Studio Pro cost £349.99 in the UK and ships from 20th July. Although very similar looking to their predecessor, Beats Studio Pro comes with a raft of updates across the board.
There have been four primary areas of focus – sound quality, voice performance, comfort, and connectivity. I’ll cover each one in this review, but the spec list is definitely worth a sniff because there’s some very interesting stuff nestled within Beats Studio Pro.
On driver duties are 40mm custom units with two layers of different polymer materials and advanced micro venting arrays. There are also upgraded mics for fully adaptive noise cancellation and a brand-new transparency mode.
Powering the audio system is a proprietary Beats chip. That’s right – Beats Studio Pro do not use the Apple ‘W’ chip found in the likes of AirPods Max and AirPods Pro. When quizzed about the reason behind that decision on a press call, a Beats representative explained that it was to ensure full cross-device compatibility with iOS and Android. It’s a feat they’ve managed, marvellously; Beats Studio Pro can use the quick pairing feature on both platforms and appear within each respective ‘find my device’ network.
Connectivity is taken care of via a 3.5mm audio jack for the included headphone cable and USB-C for charging and audio. The latter enables Beats Studio Pro to play back lossless audio at up to 24bit/48kHz when connected to a compatible device.
We’re promised 40 hours of battery life with noise cancelling turned off, 24 hours with it turned on, and the ability to gain four hours of playback from a ten-minute charge. Beats Studio Pro are also smart enough to turn themselves off after a period of inactivity.
There are four new colours to choose from, and a relatively mild design refresh thanks in part to a collaboration with fashion consultant Samuel Ross.
But what you care about is how these things sound, right?
Beats Studio Pro: the iconic sound
Beats still refer to the sound delivered by its cans as ‘iconic’, and no one can deny that claim – for good or worse.
I sit among the crowd who was never overtly offended by the Beats headphone sound. It was bass-centric and tuned almost exclusively for hip-hop and electronic music. That is absolutely fine; every pair of consumer headphones has its own sound signature and target market, and no one can deny how successful Beats has been at nailing both of those facets.
Times change, though, and the impression I get from having watched the development of Beats from the sidelines since the Apple acquisition is that the iconic Beats sound is maturing somewhat.
Beats Studio Pro promise to continue this trend. Those new 40mm drivers have 25% stronger magnets for better efficiency and a dual-layer polymer diaphragm which, in theory, offers better power consumption and evens out the frequency response across the board. The Beats representative explained that this results in a flatter, more uniform sound compared to Beats Studio 3, and a reduction in distortion of up to 80%.
There are three preset EQ profiles on offer. Beats Signature is designed for music playback, Entertainment is tuned for watching movies and playing games, and Conversation is reserved for podcast and calling duties.
Beats Studio Pro also feature support for Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos content, “Hey Siri”, and have dynamic head tracking. They are, basically, AirPods Max with a cross-platform chip and plastic casing. They even have the personalised spatial audio capabilities found in the second-generation AirPods Pro 2.
Sound is super subjective – a caveat I always have to lay down at this stage of a headphone review. As always, I’ve put Beats Studio Pro through my usual raft of testing tracks, and, straight off the bat, the sound is completely different to what I experienced many years ago with the second-generation Beats Studio.
One of the first things you notice about Beats Studio Pro is how bright they sound. There is endless ‘sparkle’ which might be a bit too much for some, but which haven’t bothered me thus far. If anything, it’s a sound reminiscent, again, of AirPods Max.
Bottom-end frequencies are delivered in spades, as you’d expect, but not overpoweringly so. They were as forefront as they should be during Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy with that ever-present sub-bass kick drum, but didn’t drown out the rest of the mix. What impressed me was the way in which the bass became far more controlled during tracks such as Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer. This isn’t like the Beats of old – trust me.
Beats Studio Pro did an admirable job of coping with my headphone killer test track, Breathe Again by Pop Evil. The heavily compressed, maniacal production cut through clearly, although there was a little too much mid-range boost for my personal taste. However, that presence was far more welcome during Adele’s Easy On Me, where Beats Studio Pro gave centre stage to the vocals and mellow piano backing track.
Jack of Speed by Steely Dan features lots of space, precise instrumentation, and a wide sound stage, all of which were dealt with brilliantly by Beats Studio Pro. It was an impressive listen – possibly the most impressive of the testing session I undertook with these new cans.
The iconic Beats sound has matured. It may still be too bright and deliberately EQ’d for some, but I, for one, am impressed with this new era. I need longer with them, and will indeed report back after extended listening, but this was an impressive first experience.
Beats Studio Pro: noise cancelling
Beats Studio Pro can process 48,000 noise-cancelling calculations per second and rely on those new mics to help filter out the world around you.
They do a good job, but when compared against the current king of noise cancellation – Sony’s WH-1000xm5 – it’s clear that they’re not quite on par with the best. There’s still a degree of audible hiss on Beats Studio Pro and the world doesn’t disappear to quite the extent it does on Sony’s cans. Despite this, the new Beats offer noise cancelling that’s as good as most other headphones in this price range; Sony just somehow manages to remain a few steps ahead.
Transparency mode isn’t as good as AirPods Max, but, then, nothing is. This is doubtless in part due to the chip powering Beats Studio Pro which, as noted earlier, isn’t the same unit found in Apple’s headphones. It’s still perfectly adequate, though, and filters in just enough of the outside world to keep you aware of your surroundings and capable of monitoring yourself during calls.
When it comes to the calling capabilities of Beats Studio Pro, they work absolutely fine. If you know me, you know that I never get into the weeds with this element of over-ear headphones. In my opinion, they’re not the best tool for the task – earbuds make far more sense if you use Zoom and Teams consistently throughout the day. Despite this, Beats Studio Pro worked perfectly in terms of both myself and the person I was calling hearing each other. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Design, build, and comfort
As noted earlier, Beats partnered with renowned fashion and streetwear consultant, Samuel Ross, for the design process behind Beats Studio Pro.
The design update is very much iterative, with not a huge amount separating the look and feel of Beats Studio Pro from their predecessor. Smart brushed metal accents and refined branding and typography give Beats Studio Pro a smart appearance without disassociating them from their roots. There are four colours to choose from, all of which are, again, smart, although rather far removed from some of the more garish options we’ve seen in the past (they’ll arrive in due course, I’m sure).
A quick shout-out to whoever decided that Beats Studio Pro deserved physical buttons. There are no touch controls on these headphones at all, which makes them a joy to use – as does the woven mesh carry case, which is quite unlike any headphone case I’ve seen. Small, squat, and reminiscent of a miniature wash bag, it’s a design which benefits from the correct folding mechanism applied to Beats Studio Pro.
Living with these headphones is completely hassle-free. Plenty of cushioning ensures a secure, comfortable fit for extended periods of use, and multi-point switching on Android is as reliable as it should be. Unfortunately, we don’t get the same multi-device capability on Apple products at the moment; it’s a weird omission, but one that might be added later in a software update, according to Beats.
Battery life is as good as is now standard for noise-cancelling over-ear headphones, and the presence of USB-C charging nicely separates Beats Studio Pro from the continual Lightning-based frustrations of other Apple headphones.
Beats Studio Pro: conclusion
I’ve arrived at a pretty simple conclusion for Beats Studio Pro. If you’re currently considering AirPods Max, unless you really want that premium design, I would advise buying these new Beats cans instead.
The sound has evolved considerably to cope impressively with all music genres, the noise cancelling is on par with every other pair of headphones in the same price range (bar those Sonys), and the comfort and convenience offered by the design choices are top-notch. Oh, and, again, that case deserves special mention – the more I think about it, the more I realise it’s a huge win for Beats Studio Pro.
However, I’m conscious there is a massive amount of choice out there for noise-cancelling headphones – particularly at this price point. So, let me know below what you’d like me to compare the Beats Studio Pro against next time I check in, please!
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