While Beats as a brand has diversified its line up significantly over the years, to anyone who has followed the brand from the beginning, the Beats over-ears will always feel like the head of the family - the design that started it all and single-handedly changed the headphone landscape as we know it.
However, it's been six years since the last pair from the brand - the Beats Studio 3 Wireless - launched, and in the world of technology, that feels like a lifetime. Enter the Beats Studio Pro, the brand's newest flagship over-ears, arriving with a refreshed spec sheet to apologise for the delay. Set to cost $349.99/£349.99 at launch, the Studio Pro launch on August 9th - I got my hands on them for a first look.
Beats Studio Pro
The iconic Beats over-ears are back after a six-year hiatus, bringing completely reworked internals to the now near-iconic design. Both Android and Apple users are served well here, and I'm looking to seeing how they perform in my full review.
Design
- Dimensions/weight: 181 x 178 x 78mm/260g
- Collapsible design
- Four colours: Black, Deep Brown, Navy, Sandstone
The design of the Beats over-ears has become somewhat iconic, so it makes sense that it has stayed largely the same over the years. That is true in the Beats Studio Pro too - with a few tweaks and refinements.
The design is still primarily plastic, which sits over a metal frame that you can slide to make the sizing bigger. There is also a rubberised padding under the headband and an engineered vegan leather for the new UltraPlush memory foam earcups. They suit their name - they are super soft and feel comfortable to wear, and I wouldn't notice a difference to the real stuff - in fact, I probably prefer it. Shying away from animal products is never a bad thing when it comes to making a product available to the broadest range of people, and as someone trying to be mindful of my impact on the environment, I'm glad it's something more brands are considering.
They still collapse inwards, something a lot of premium over-ears have moved away from, I'm assuming from a longevity perspective. However, I've never had any issues with these hinges failing over time in previous models, and the benefit you get is that they fold down nice and small for travel.
Beats worked with British designer Samuel Ross on the design language, keeping the colour palette quite neutral this time round, with a choice of Black, Deep Brown, Navy and Sandstone. I really like the Sandstone colour of my review sample, it's a sort of earthy greige that looks very nice indeed.
Connectivity and controls
- Bluetooth and USB-C (24-bit/48kHz)
- Enhanced connectivity with Apple and Android
- On-ear physical controls
One of the strong selling points for the Beats brand is their enhanced compatibility with both Apple and Android devices, something that remains a unique feature for them.
This means that both Apple and Android users can access an array of native features, such as One-touch pairing for iOS/Google Fast Pair and Find My/Find My Device, plus multi-point audio for Android users and integrated Siri support for Apple users.
The only difference is Apple users will get updates automatically over-the-air, whereas Android users will need to download an app to push these through manually instead.
Of course, you can connect to the Studio Pro via Bluetooth, but for the first time, the Beats Studio Pro also offer USB-C support with both uplink and downlink connectivity.
That means they can play back lossless audio at up to 24-bit/48kHz when wired (though Apple users will of course - and annoyingly - need an adapter), with three EQ-optimised sound profiles that can be cycled through using the multi-function button.
Alternatively, there is also a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable in the box too, for hooking these up to personal audio players and the like.
Finally, Beats has opted for physical controls for controlling the headphones once again, with a single clicky button positioned under the 'b' on the left earcup. This allows you to control your music and calls, plus volume by pressing on the outer edges.
A small multi-function button on the right earcup controls power, pairing and the ability to switch between listening modes - including those EQ settings when listening wired.
Features and battery life
- 24 hours (ANC on), 40 hours (ANC off)
- Support for Spatial Audio with Dynamic Head Tracking (Apple only)
One of the biggest additions here is the compatibility with Apple's Spatial Audio, meaning you can enjoy tracks rendered in Dolby Atmos for 360-degree sound. But not only that, it adds in support for dynamic head tracking, when paired with an iOS device.
Beats Studio Pro uses a built-in inertial measurement unit that consists of a gyroscope and accelerometer to understand where your head is positioned in relation to your iPhone or iPad. It then adjusts the positioning of sounds based on which way your head is facing, with the aim of more authentically immersing you in whatever you're watching.
Furthermore, the Beats Studio Pro can carry out a scan of your ears to create a personalised spatial audio profile, optimising the experience by better understanding the shape of your ear anatomy.
As you'd expect from a pair of premium over-ears these days, active noise cancelling is built in. Beats is promising an improved performance compared with the Studio 3 Wireless thanks to a significant upgrade to all six microphones, with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio and higher sensitivity.
There's a transparency mode this time round, enabling you to keep one ear on your surroundings, while playback correction aims ensure that any sonic artifacts introduced by the ANC or transparency processing can be pinpointed and snubbed out. This system checks the source audio 48,000 time per second to maintain the true fidelity of the music - I'll be sure to check out how well that holds up in my full review.
Battery life remains at 40 hours with ANC off and 24 hours with ANC on, plus a Fast Fuel recharge of 10 minutes for four hours of ANC-less playback. You'll need to put aside two hours for a full recharge from empty, and can check the five-LED array under the power button at any time to have a visual display of how much power you have left - a single press will illuminate the LEDs to give you an idea.
Performance
- New custom 40mm driver
- Improved microphones
I haven't had long enough with the Beats Studio Pro to truly assess the sound, but the news from the top is that the internals have been completely redesigned for a "significantly improved" sound compared with Beats Studio 3 Wireless.
In each earcup, there's a brand new custom 40mm driver aimed at pushing clarity across the frequency range. It features a two-layer polymer diaphragm, advanced micro-venting array for optimising airflow and improved magnet strength, promising next-to-no distortion - even when you push the volume a little higher than your doctor might advise (guilty).
In fact, Beats is putting some pretty impressive stats out there to back this up, stating an improvement of 80 per cent compared to the predecessor - less than .02 per cent total harmonic distortion - so that bodes very well indeed.
I've already mentioned the fact that Beats has upgraded the microphones across the board, but of course this has an impact on call quality. Promising to actively filter out more background noise to ensure better voice clarity, the Beats Studio Pro should sound 27 per cent better on calls than their predecessors.
Verdict
The Beats Studio Pro have been long anticipated, and so far seem to be delivering on the brief - an improved performance wrapped up in a refined design. I need to spend much more time with them before passing comment on how they hold their own in the market now, but for now, I'm very glad to see that the best of Beats is back.