Design & Construction

The Beats Studio 3 Wireless is everyone's long-awaited headphone following similar design cues of the old Studio 2.0 Wireless. The left earcup has the (From Top-Bottom): Vol+ button, Multi-function Button (Beats logo), Vol - button, LED status, Mic and 3.5 mm input, while under the right earcup, we have the power button, 5 LEDs to indicate the remaining battery life and Micro-USB port. The Beats logo on the left earcup allows: play/pause with a single press, skip forward/backward with a double press or triple press respectively. To bring up Google Assistant/Siri, hold down the Beats logo. Double tap the power button on the right earcup to turn on/off Pure Adaptive Noise-Cancelling and hold down to activate pairing mode. Pairing via Bluetooth should be simple and quick with both Apple and Android devices. The power button allows you to check for battery status by pressing once, however it will not speak the battery life, so to check the battery life, you may need to take off the headphones and look at the 5 LED indicators on the right earcup. To check if ANC is switched on, look out for the single LED under the left earcup. The headphones has thick and soft earpads which is however does not encase your ears. This means that they sit on the outer parts of your ears, which eventually causes wearing fatigue after several long hours for listening. The clamping force is just right and does not cause any noticable discomfort to users. On the other hand, the firm clamping force makes it the ideal headphone to use while working out. The headband bears the 'Beats' logo and is very light in weight. This does not cause any discomfort to those who wear spectacles. Under the headband, there is also a silicone headrest which provides a good amount of comfort but unfortunately picks up dust if you buy the dark models. The exterior of the earcups has a matte finish which resists fingerprint smudges very well, however the accents of gloss gold/silver/black at extention of the arms of the headband and the Beats logo on both earcups do pick up fingerprints easily. The earcups pivot only a little in all directions but conforms to your head shape rather well.

 

Sound Quality

The headphone gives us a new surprise. Apple, after owning Beats for a year now, changed the Beats sound signature. Apple focused on a fun and enjoyable sound setting that is good for all genres ranging from soothing jazz to extremely bass-heavy EDM music. The headphone drivers provide a very immersive experience even though the emphasis of bass has shifted from Sub-bass region to the Upper-bass region; depending on songs you will get a nice thump when upper-bass is emphasised. Tuning of the sound settings via presets like Pop, Rock, Bass Booster Etc, is only available for IOS devices but the sound can still be altered to your liking with a third-party app if you are on the Android platform. Based on user experience, the noise isolation is top-notch, I could not hear much of my surroundings when there was no music on and with Pure ANC off. Turning on ANC did help improve the isolation and I could only hear muffled noise when the ANC is turned up to the maximum. The ANC cannot be tuned to your preferred settting, but it adapts to different ambient noise around you and tuned it to filter out as much noise as possible. When the ANC is at its maximum, some users may feel slight air-cabin pressure feeling but it isn't something to write home about if you are going to use the ANC with music on. Call quality was fantastic, the caller manage hear me clearly on the other end but noticed that the normal volume I speak at was a little low so i had to talk slightly louder.

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Connectivity & Portability

The headphone operates both passively and wirelessly but from my test though, it was disappointing to know that the headphones can only operate with the battery turned on in wired mode. I noticed that sound quality was more articulate in wired mode. In wireless mode, I listened at about 50% volume which was already as loud as other headphones which I had to push the volume to 75% volume to achieve the same. The mic and playback controls worked in wired mode and users can charge the headphone and use it at the same time. Listening via the Micro-USB cable is not available. The battery life peaks at 22 hours with Bluetooth and Pure ANC on and 40 hours with Bluetooth and Pure ANC off. The Studio 3 Wireless also feature quick charging, 10 minutes for 3 hours of playback. Easily the fastest headphone to recharge on the market as of right now! The Bluetooth range I got was even further than that of headphones with Bluetooth Ver 4.2 and there wasn't any drop-out from my usage so far. The package also comes with a hardshell carrying case to protect the headphones rom drops and scratches and also a carabiner for you to hook the case to your bagpack.

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PROS

• Durable Construction

• Enjoyable Sound Signature

• Long Battery Life

• W1 Chip For Easy Pairing

• Controls For Music Playback & Calls

• Long Bluetooth Range

• Quick Charging

• Folds Up into a Smaller Profile

• Good Call Quality

• Hardshell Carrying Case

• A Range Of Colours

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CONS​

• Lack Of Passive Operation

• Lack Of Voice Prompts

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The Bottom Line

The Beats Studio 3 Wireless is a superior ANC headphone housing comfortable ear cushions with firm clamping force, Adaptive Noise-Cancelling and sound setting, long battery life and easy to use controls. However, the lack of voice prompts and passive operation may let some users down. It is highly recommended for gym workouts and daily commutes. A range of colours is available to fit users of different gender.