Beats Studio 3 Review 2023: Should You Buy One or Not?

If you are in the market looking for a premium class of Noise Canceling wireless headphones, you have 3 major choices. Bose QC35, Sony WH-1000XM3, and Beats Studio 3. If you have chosen Beats Studio 3 by now, this Beats Studio 3 Headphone review might change your opinion.

Check the complete review and decide if you still want to buy them for a premium price range. If you are looking for audiophile headphones, check out our top recommendations for the best audiophile headphones for gaming.

Beats Studio3 Review: The First Impression

Leaving the documents, manual guides and stickers aside, in the box, you get Wireless Headphones packed in a soft-touch carrying case, a micro USB to micro USB cable for charging and updating the firmware, a 3.5mm Male to Male cable, if you want a high latency rate (will talk about it later in this review).

The build quality of headphones is completely plastic which looks good but doesn’t feel premium. The leather cushioning however feels premium and gives a comfortable experience but after a few months, that grey layer over the cushion started to fade away. It is suggested to not to use headphones in the gym or anything that leads to the accumulation of sweat around ear.

The headphone has a soft finish all over it that indeed feels premium but they are not lightweight. And if you lift them from one side, it bends a little and looks fragile. The adjustable headband has brushed metal that you can adjust according to the size of your head.

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The headphone controls are pretty easy. On the right, you will see a small Power button, just below that, there are 5 LED lights for battery indication. You will also see a Micro USB connector for charging the headphones. On the Right, there is a single LED light and earcups control that you can use to adjust Volume, Next, Previous, Google Assistant, or SIRI. And yes, there is a 3.5mm connector if you want to use it for high-latency work like playing MIDI Instruments, playing games, etc.

Connectivity

Connecting Beats Studio3 is a breeze. You can easily connect them with any Bluetooth-enabled device. Simply turn on the Bluetooth of your device and press the Power button on the headphones. You will see a white LED illumination at the bottom of headphones and they are now ready to get paired.

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On successful pairing, you will listen to Beats Signature connecting Sound. You can also connect it using a 3.5mm cable that comes in the box. The 3.5mm cable also includes a few controls including Volume and a button that responds to a few actions like accepting/rejecting calls, triggering SIRI, or Google Assistant. Keep in mind, that you need to keep your headphones charged even if you are using them via a 3.5mm headphone jack.

After Apple acquired Beats, Apple revamped The Beats Studio3 headphones and now it comes with Apple W1 Chip which is the same chip that comes in Apple AirPods. The inclusion of W1 Chip & Class 1 Bluetooth in Studio3 significantly improved the Bluetooth connectivity. The Bluetooth Connectivity of Studio3 is just amazing.

I personally tested and it worked even at 25ft. of distance from the source. I connected the headphones to my Macbook Pro via Bluetooth and went to the second floor of my place and it kept playing the music without any disturbance. The volume controls, pause/play, next/previous were working beautifully.




The only issue that I found on Studio3 Wireless Headphones is the latency rate. The headphones are good for Music, movies, and other streaming but if you want sound output in real-time, you better don’t use it via a Bluetooth connection. There is a microsecond delay in the sound.

If you are playing games on smartphones with headphones connected via Bluetooth, you will see a delay in the sound. You hit the bullet and you are listening to sound after a few microseconds. Things get worse when you are trying to use Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones via Bluetooth for playing MIDI instruments. You played a Piano note and you are listening to the sound after a microsecond. This is a nightmare.

The sound delay is pretty common in Bluetooth earphones/headphones but this is not acceptable from Premium Class of headphones and from a brand like Beats.

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In that situation, you have to switch to an Analog connection via a 3.5mm cable that comes in the box and if your phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack, the headphones are not for you. To use the headphones via a 3.5mm cable, you have to press the power button. That means headphones need battery backup even for a 3.5mm cable connection and that is weird to me. There is no other power source for Headphones other than the inbuilt battery.

The controls on the 3.5mm cable come with soft-touch buttons with tactile feedback. You can control Volume/next/previous and everything you could imagine.

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Sound & Active Noise Cancelation

I am an avid music listener and sometimes I also compose music to satisfy my craving as a hobby on FL Studio and Garageband. Meaning, that I can understand the sound and know what I need in sound. To be very honest, Beats Studio3 doesn’t sound anything like I expected from Beats. The sound is not that bad but it is not the best either.

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The Bass is good enough to process the Kick Drum sounds as well as the deep sub-bass. But mids and highs blend into each other. Now, this might be good for many people but I like to have layers in the music and separation in the sound. The headphones should process each and every instrument that is being played in the song.

The sound on Beats Studio3 doesn’t make you feel like you are listening to $350 premium headphones. To me, the sound is Okay where everything blends perfectly in a balanced sound. Nothing special, nothing fancy but nothing bad either.




Talking about Active Noise Canceling (ANC), it works brilliantly. You can turn on/off the ANC using the power button. Double click on Power Button will disable the ANC and the same process will activate Active Noise Cancelation. Activating ANC beautifully cuts off the ambient noise and gives you absolute silence & peace.

ANC works on both Wireless and 3.5mm cable connections which is a good thing and I didn’t expect that. But Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones surprised me here in a very impressive way. Kudos to Beats for their ANC tech.

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Beats Studio 3 Review: Comfort

Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones come with soft leatherette cushioning and soft fiber on drivers that look good to the eyes but the headphones are not comfortable for long durations. The headphones weigh 260gm and it feels heavy on the head when used for around ~45 minutes. The ear gets warm and it feels like you need a break.

These are not the headphones that you might be planning to get for your workout sessions. It accumulates a lot of heat inside the earcup and it gets worse if you don’t take it off after a while.

The material of the earcups is not breathable. Sweat and heat will make things worse for you. On continuous use, I also felt some sort of uncomfortableness in my ears. The headband is equipped with soft leatherette padding which looks premium and also gives you comfort to some extent.

In brief, the headphones are comfortable if you are using them in a lounge, sitting on your desk, or any other place where you are not doing any physical activity. These headphones are not suitable for workout sessions.

Another thing that bothers me is the rigid earcups. You really cannot rotate the earcups when you are not using them. While placing it around the neck, it felt like someone was holding our neck in-not-a a good manner. Although you can fold the headphones that only enhances the portability and makes space for placing them into the carrying case.

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Beats Studio 3 Review: Battery

Apple W1 Chip also helped the headphones in making them power efficient. On a full charge, you get a battery backup of ~20 hours. Battery backup depends on volume levels and type of connection. One more thing that is worth mentioning here, you need some level of battery for using the headphones via a 3.5mm jack. Don’t take a 3.5mm cable as a backup plan because you cannot use the headphones via a 3.5mm cable on 0% battery.

For charging the headphones, you can either use a USB wall adapter or you can simply use the USB port of your computer. With 10-15 minutes of charge, you will get a backup of around 1-2 hours which is good for those who charge their devices just before leaving for the airport.

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Beats Studio 3 Review: Pros & Cons

Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones Review: Should you buy it?

To be honest, Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones were never on my wishlist. I got the free pair with Macbook Pro that I purchased during Apple’s ‘Back to School Offer’ in 2019. That was the last time Apple was bundling Beats Studio3 headphones with Apple Devices. Now, Apple is offering Airpods in Back to School Offer.

Considering the price range, I would not recommend you to go for Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones. For anyone who wants better sound quality and a build with better features, go for Sony WH-1000XM3. If you are getting Studio3 Wireless Headphones in the sale, grab one. It totally worth it but less than $350.

If you are a Beats fanboy and want that ‘b’ in your collection or just wanted to buy Beats headphones because your favorite music artist is in the Beats Advertisement, you can definitely get one and they will not disappoint you in terms of Sound quality & ANC.

If you are someone who is looking for an affordable USB microphone for recording podcasts, voice-overs, singing etc, do check out Maono DM30 USB Condenser Microphone review.