Using Apple’s W1 chip, connections are the easiest and most useful part of the Studio3 Wireless. Having said that, it’s almost sad that proximity pairing and connectivity is the only good thing about this pair of headphones. It’s also worth noting that newer products, like the aforementioned AirPods Pro, use an even faster chip to connect. The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are better headphones than the beats solo pro wireless Wireless.
If you have $350 USD to spare on a pair of headphones, I definitely recommend you get the Sony WH-1000XM4 over the Beats Studio3. Its active noise cancelling performance is one of the very best available, this offers Bluetooth multipoint among other features, and its sound signature is much more accurate than the Studio3. If you want to save a bit of cash, go for the older Sony WH-1000XM3. Beats claims a battery life of 22 hours with active noise cancelling turned on and 40 hours without. For reference, Bose claims about 20 hours of constant playback on their QC35 headphones. In our testing here we got 10 hours, 12 minutes on 100% volume with ANC turned on, so it isn’t hard to see how you could push these well beyond the 22 hours unless you want to blow out your eardrums.
Plus, the DJ’s practice sets always happen without any warning, so it’s hard to make a plan in advance. On the bottom of the ear cups you’ll find a microUSB charging port (not sure why microUSB is still being used in the current world of USB Type-C or Lightning) and an aux jack for wired use. Of course, the wire is a secondary option, which we always appreciate. The main course with this headphone is not only wireless capability but noise-cancellation. A detachable cable allows the headphones to be used for noise canceling without the cord being connected to a music or video player, or dangling from the headset.
Listening to the NC itself, with no music, the circuitry does produce a very slightly audible hiss, but this is typical, and you won’t notice the hiss with audio playing. The headphones also do a decent job of tamping down loud sounds and even quiet some speaking and chatter in the room. But this is not the best noise cancellation we’ve heard—Bose still takes top marks in that regard.
The Apple AirPods Max is even more expensive than the Beats Studio3 Wireless, but Apple’s debut ANC headphones come packed with advanced hardware and software. Each ear cup houses an H1 chip for maximum processing power, and the headset supports Spatial Audio, which is great for virtual media like movies and games. It isn’t perfect though, and you can read our in-depth review here.
Their ANC feature is also one of the best on the market and blocks noticeably more background noise than the Beats. On the other hand, the Beats will be slightly better-suited for bass-heavy genres, and they leak less than the Bose. They also have an in-line microphone for calls, which the Bose are lacking. The battery life of the Beats is about three hours longer than the Bose, but they don’t have a power-saving feature.
Then at the very bottom is a micro USB port, which isn’t a USB Type-C because, reasons. The Studio3 headphones are priced to be one of the best on the market. Unfortunately, though they are quite good, they fall well short of this mark. In more energetic/busy tracks, beats flex review the powerful bass can conflict with the lower mids, muddying the waters somewhat. The treble is competent but not a strong point of the Studio3. Its detail shines through at times, but other times it is pushed back by more powerful parts of the spectrum.