Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+ when you purchase Apple products. It’s your one stop for tech support, hardware coverage and software support. Six months after unveiling a special edition of the Beats Studio3 Wireless in partnership with Samuel Ross, Beats is releasing a starry Beats Studio3 Wireless headphone. If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Rolling Stone may receive an affiliate commission. If all the gear in your life is made by Apple, these are an uncomplicated purchase decision. I’d buy the Studio 3 just for the W1 ease of wireless use, which really is the ultimate solution for the vast majority of our chronic Bluetooth connectivity problems.
We’re now living in the sort of topsy turvy world where the latest wireless tech actually locks us in more than it frees us. Say hello to the $350 Beats Studio 3 Wireless, the latest update to the Beats line to feature Apple’s superb W1 wireless chip as well as newly upgraded noise canceling. They work fantastically well with other Apple products — seamless syncing, stable Bluetooth connection, long battery life — but only with other Apple products. Try using them with a Google Pixel, a Chromebook, or a Windows PC, as I did, and you’ll find most of their strengths diminished. As my colleague Nilay Patel wrote recently, the future of headphones is shaping up to be a realm divided by the wireless tech that was once our liberator.
This might be the first time in TMS history, that we had to go to a retail store, track down a pair of headphones, and retest them to make sure we weren’t losing our minds – or our hearing. We tested two other pairs of Studio3 Wireless, and one other pair of Solo3 Wireless, just to double check that we weren’t missing something. And, without one shred of a doubt, we can say that our conclusion was the same. These are the worst pair of headphones we have ever tested in this price-range. Anyone who says otherwise, please feel free to fight us in the comments.
The Wireless are slightly better headphones than the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC. The Beats are noticeably more comfortable, slightly better-built, and have a more premium feel than the Sennheiser. They also have a better-balanced sound profile, but our unit had significant phase mismatch and performed differently on various users. The ANC feature of the Beats is quite good, but the self-noise is pretty high and can be heard when no audio is being played through the headphones. The Sennheiser can connect to two devices simultaneously and can be used passively, which you can’t do with the Beats. Beats Studio3 Wireless instantly syncs to your devices for best-in-class performance, allowing you to roam around, listen to music, and stay productive all day.
There isn’t much extra mixing or particular compression technologies going on here. Beats is just trying to play the file as it was recorded and is streamed from your device to the Studio3s. Fold-flat gripes aside, this was and still is a comfortable, durable headphone that’s enjoyable to listen to and worked reliably with rock-solid Bluetooth performance. Beats has taken a good wireless noise-canceling headphone and significantly increased its performance.
You can also use their 1/8″ TRRS cable to connect to PCs via their AUX port with full mic and audio compatibility. These headphones come with a sturdy and compact hard case that can protect the headphones against scratches, mild water damage, and falls. The beats solo pro wireless only connect wirelessly via Bluetooth and therefore aren’t compatible with PlayStation or Xbox consoles. They’re compatible with Bluetooth-enabled PCs or mobile devices, but their latency is likely too high for competitive gaming. Headphones store-bought and tested, supported by you via insider access, and when you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. We purchase our own headphones and put them under the same test bench, so that you can compare the results easily.
On promotion, for less than $200 USD is a different story. This headset becomes a fairly priced option at that point but the “studio” moniker doesn’t make this a real set of studio headphones. The Apple W1 headphone chip brings seamless setup and switching for your Apple devices§, so you can easily move about, keep the music going, and stay productive all day.
Curacao ranks among the top 100 Electronics and Appliance Retailers in the U.S. Through its proprietary financing models, Curacao has opened the door to the world of credit for millions of people. All of this has allowed Curacao to build a unique relationship with its customers and their communities. For a limited time, you can scoop up a pair of these top-rated headphones for $169.95, which is a full 51% off.
I threw a variety of genres at the Studio3s, ranging from the Beatles to Ed Sheeran and back to Bruce Springsteen to Christina Perri. While there was a noticeable emphasis on bass, I found that it worked for many tracks and wasn’t that overpowering. Furthermore, high and mid tones like guitars, piano, vocal and electronic notes came through clear. This was true for tracks off studio albums as well as live editions. If anything, a live version of “Born to Run” makes you feel like you’re in the arena.