The Studio Pro is a largely successful reboot of Beats’ full-size headphones. They’re quite comfortable with their soft, flexible ear cushions, although we’d say they’re best for smaller ears.
The design is more minimalistic than before and more structured than the heavily plastic feel of previous models, with physical buttons for playback, noise canceling and volume control, which we liked. There is no wear sensor, so the headphones do not automatically mute the sound when taken off.
Like the other Beats headphones on this list, both Android and iOS support “Find My,” which locates the last known location of the headphones: one-touch pairing on iOS and Google Fast Pair, and the ability to switch between devices within the respective ecosystem.
Bluetooth performance is significantly better than the Studio Buds Plus, and among the best headphones we’ve tested, with barely any signal interference. Call quality is solid, but we feel there is room for improvement. While background noise was effectively suppressed, we were told that our voice sounded robotic and muffled in busy areas.
Noise canceling is very powerful, although it comes with a few caveats. One is that the headphones are sensitive to wind noise, and the other is that noise seeps through when you turn your head. By the way, the Studio Pro did most of the sounds, including the crying children. An excellent choice for commuting trips.
The transparency mode sounds very natural, but our only other issue is that there’s no room to customize the noise canceling performance so that we hear what we want to hear.
Battery life is 24 hours, but we found that these headphones can stream even longer, at about 50%. The headphones don’t sound that great at this volume, but you get more than 24 hours from each charge.
Sound quality is neutral with plenty of detail and clarity. Some may feel that the Beats sound lacks character, but in our minds it serves to present the music as it is, without much refinement. The bass is strong and punchy; Midrange clarity is excellent, and while the highs aren’t as bright as we’d like, they’re clean and detailed.
Plug them into a wired USB-C connection and they sound even better and support 24-bit/96kHz files. In this mode, Studio Pro sounds more energetic, lively and dynamic.
With the Beats 360 rumored to be on the way, the Studio Pro could soon be replaced, so if you’re looking for a bargain, now’s the time to pounce.
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