Beats Studio Pro Wireless Bluetooth ANC Headphones (Open Box)

My earliest forays into a More expensive headphone was with the Beats Brand and the wired Beats Pro headphones. Then I graduated to the wireless Beats Studios, as well as the Executive headphones and those were my headphones for years. I don’t recall the noise cancelling being anything at all and of course there was no such thing as a transparency mode back then, but at the time I loved the look, the colors (especially metallic gold of the Beats Studios) and enjoyed the heavy bass sound they provided. As I grew more sophisticated and appreciated more sound quality, I moved on to other headphones (plus my last pair of Beats Studio the hinge broke on one side). I had tried the Beats Solo Pros and wanted to love them but they were, though improved, still an on-ear headphone and too uncomfortable for me. I had hoped then that an update for the Studios to Studio Pros was imminent but turned out it would be awhile before this did come to pass but I knew once it did I would have to buy them and try them out eventually. It didn’t take long as I saw they went on sale for $100 off only a month after release and I jumped on that deal! I am pleasantly impressed for the most part. They do a lot of the same things as the AirPods Max, if not as well. Sound quality is really good and has a more neutral sound than previous Beats Studios did. The Dolby Atmos with head tracking is fun. They are a little bright sounding and I sometimes have to either turn down the volume or use the eq on the iPhone Music App to lower the treble, or turn off the Spatial Stereo feature in the control center, (long press on the volume slider) but overall I find the sound pleasant and lively. There are no wear sensors, but I love the old school B buttons for pausing, volume and skipping and rewinding tracks very easy and intuitive after using Beats Studios for years so I don’t really miss it that much frankly. They are fairly comfortable, the cushioning on the ear pads and headband are plush but they do have a strong clamping force which might bother some but doesn’t bother me overly much, and I am fan of how stable they feel on my head. Noise canceling is quite good but as is expected not at AirPods Max level. I’ve always loved the 5 LED lights on the bottoms of the right ear cup which will show you the battery level when pressed. A double press of this button will switch between ANC and Transparency. Long press for Bluetooth pairing. No auto-switching between devices but once connected to a device in your iCloud, they automatically show up in other devices in the cloud and a press within the Bluetooth’s settings will switch it to the other device quickly and easily. The headphones will announce messages and you have the ability to use “Hey, Siri’ but I’ve noticed sometimes audio will stop with an announcement or Siri activation and may not continue playing music on its own, but a simple press of the “B” button will start play again. On the AirPods Max audio will reduce significantly but not stop, but with these the sound stops abruptly which can be jarring at first when the announcement is made. Of course you can turn off announcements in the control center if you want to avoid the interruption altogether. Build quality is plastic but still solid with metal sliders that have a jarring but somehow pleasing click as you slide them in or out. They are also very light, certainly lighter than the AirPods Max (which I also own). Also the case is nice with a spot for cables and even another pouch inside on the other side if you need it, but can’t really imagine adding much as with the headphones in, there really isn’t a lot of room. If you can get these on sale especially I would recommend then as a less pricey alternative to the more expensive headphones like the AirPods Max. I’m a fan of the sandstone color, I hear the dark colors, especially black, are finger smear magnets. These are a little bit like that, but with the light color it is much less of an issue. These are a classic revisited and I will always have a soft spot for the Beats Studio (now pros) headphones! I forgot to mention that you can use the usb c cable for lossless audio from your computer or iPad, which is awesome, although i have yet to try that out as I am all about wireless functionality, I don’t like being tied down to wires! Still great option, and one the AirPods Max cannot do (yet anyway). These are a great option for those not willing or able to spend more and still great a great headphone!