The acoustic architecture of Beats Studio Pro has been completely revamped, featuring new custom acoustic components and support for lossless audio over USB‑C. And the noise canceling and spatial audio experience have also been completely upgraded.
Beats Studio Pro specs and features:
- 3-type of connection modes
- 40mm dynamic driver
- 24 – 40 hours playback of per charge (ANC on/off)
- IPX4 waterproof rating (rain and sweat resistant)
- Comes with carrying case, USB-C cable, 3.5mm cable
- $349 – Check latest price on Amazon US or Amazon Germany, other Amazon countries
Appearance Design and Comfort
The main part of Beats Studio Pro is made of matte material. The right headphone is equipped with a power button (system button), and the bottom is a USB-C interface. The b Logo on the outside of the left headphone is the button control area, and the bottom is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Beats Studio Pro features newly upgraded UltraPlush padded earmuffs with leather covers. The contact part of the head-beam and the top of the head is made of soft skin-like material, which feels very good to the touch. The head-beam and earmuffs are connected by metal rails, and the length of the head beam can be adjusted according to individual needs.
Beats Studio Pro can be folded inward, does not support flipping out – no way to lay the headphones flat on a table.
The total weight of the headphone is 260g, which is at the mainstream level among over-ear headphones. The soft skin-like material on the inside of the head-beam distributes the weight well across the top of the head. It will not feel too heavy when worn, and it is much more comfortable than AirPods Max.
The inner filling of the UltraPlush leather earmuffs are very soft to the touch, similar to the “memory foam” material, which can provide good rebound and sound insulation performance. At the same time, the size and inner depth of the earmuffs are moderate, and even users with large ears can be completely wrapped by the earmuffs without the problem of squeezing and compressing the ears.
However, the leather earmuffs are slightly less breathable in addition to being snug and comfortable. If you have used mesh earmuff headphones before, you may feel your ears are a bit stuffy, especially in summer.
Connectivity, App and Control
Beats Studio Pro support 3 connection modes – bluetooth connection, USB-C connection (for lossless transmission) and 3.5mm wired connection.
Because the Beats Studio Pro does not use the Apple W2 chip, but uses the “Beats dedicated chip”, most of the functions can also be experienced on non-iPhone platforms. Just download the Beats App, and the Android phone can also control various functions of Beats Studio Pro. Even take advantage of Google Fast Pair for quick matching, account sync and Find My.
If you want to use it with the computer, Beats Studio Pro also supports 3.5mm and USB-C connection modes. There are also three different EQ modes with the USB-C mode.
- Beats Signature Sound: The most balanced sound for listening to songs
- Entertainment Sound: Strengthen the space sense , suitable for watching videos and playing games
- Conversation Sound: Optimize the frequency of speech by eliminating bass, suitable for calls or listening to podcasts
Press the system button twice to switch between them. Considering that connecting headphones via USB-C mode is usually for entertainment or conference calls – this feature is very useful.
In bluetooth connection mode, the headphone can be controlled through the control center, or through the control buttons on the outside of the headphone.
The “b” logo on the left headphone has three buttons – Volume+, Volume- and the b button. The middle button enables answering calls and play/pause/switch music. The system button of the right headphone can realize the noise canceling mode switching function.
Noise Canceling, Transparency Mode, and Battery Life
Similar to the Beats Studio Buds+ I’ve experienced before, the Beats Studio Pro offers adaptive active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and spatial audio. iCloud account quick matching, Find My and other functions are also available. As far as my short experience is concerned, the performance of ANC and transparency mode is remarkable.
Under the new microphone matrix, the performance of the transparency mode is very natural. Except for the unavoidable pressure of headphones, there is almost no difference from not wearing headphones. Although the noise canceling ability of the ANC mode is not as good as the two flagship noise-canceling headphones at the same price, it is far ahead of most TWS noise-canceling earbuds. And because Beats Studio Pro adds a headphone filter with feedback microphone adjustment in the playback link, there is almost no difference in sound quality in different modes.
After turning on ANC or transparency mode, the single battery life can last up to 24 hours. Up to 40 hours of battery life with ANC turned off. Also, Beats Studio Pro support fast charging (Fast Fuel) – 10 minutes of charging, 4 hours of listening to music.
Beats Studio Pro Sound Quality Review
With the music library of Apple Music, the bass of Beats Studio Pro has some extension, but the overall level is relatively restrained. The improved 40mm double-layer diaphragm design balances rigidity and elasticity, and both low-frequency and high-frequency have certain ductility.
However, the mids and highs are still a little loose. Taking Flower Duet as an example, the feeling of high-frequency cutoff is quite obvious. But for most common pop songs, even metal-style tracks – Beats Studio Pro can handle it well. Taking Cheery Pie as an example, even without using Apple spatial audio technology, Studio Pro can still provide a certain PAN positioning, with complex elements but not messy.
In other words, Beats Studio Pro is an over-ear headphones with good overall quality and still with Beats’ iconic sound dyeing. But if you want to experience the full performance of Beats Studio Pro – tracks from OneRepublic, Blitzkid or AC/DC will be the better choice.
The regret behind the excellence
After talking about the advantages of Beats Studio Pro, it is time to talk about what I am not satisfied with Beats Studio Pro, or what I think can be improved. The first is the connection mode of Beats Studio Pro:
As mentioned above, Beats Studio Pro supports Bluetooth, USB-C and 3.5mm connection modes. But in USB-C mode, Studio Pro can only choose between “Beats Signature Sound”, “Entertainment Sound” and “Conversation Sound”. That is to say, there are only three modes of “Balanced”, “Bass Boost” and “Vocal Boost” – the noise canceling function cannot be used.
Indeed, if I want to use the noise canceling mode on the computer, I can use the 3.5mm AUX to connect to the computer. But if I want to turn on the LDAC codec and reduce the sound delay – then sorry, Beats Studio Pro does not provide noise canceling. Granted, USB-C mode bypasses noise canceling, the feature that’s pretty common in the industry, but Beats could definitely do better.
Wearing Comfort: The Beats Studio Pro has made a lot of improvements to the head-beem and earmuffs – the integrated leather-wrapped flexible memory foam earmuffs are really soft and comfortable. However, limited by the integrated head-beam design, the distance between the earmuffs and the height of the earmuffs are still “linked adjustment” – which means that for users with large head circumferences, Studio Pro still has the problem of clip-head.
In addition, the folding storage structure of Beats Studio Pro also has room for improvement in my opinion. Beats has equipped it with a well-crafted carrying case, but it cannot be “flat” – meaning that the Studio Pro cannot be easily put into the storage bag behind the plane or train seat.
Beats Studio Pro does not include wearing sensors or folding recognition contacts on the earmuffs or hinges, which means that the headphones cannot automatically pause playback after taken off. If Studio Pro is a headphone priced under 250 dollars, these shortcomings are actually tolerable in the face of excellent sound performance and dual-platform support.
Conclusion
Beats Studio Pro performs well in sound, and also has its own unique competitiveness in software functions. But in terms of the user experience that is closely related to users, Beats Studio Pro does have a lot of deductions. Even after a simple experience, I prefer to use the Beats Studio Buds+. At least the Buds+ won’t automatically switch the iPhone’s audio signal to the headphones just because they’re squeezed in the bag.
It is undeniable that Studio Pro is indeed a good headphones in the Beats product line, and even has its own uniqueness in the noise-cancelling headphones. But we also need to admit that if we want to use Beats Studio Pro to attract more new users, or even reshape everyone’s perception of the Beats brand, there is still a long way to go in the future.
Check Beats Studio Pro price:
- Check latest price on Amazon US
- Check latest price on Amazon Germany
- Check latest price on other Amazon countries