The beats flex review 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.
Though, it is worth noting that the inescapable low-level hiss is audible in wireless and ANC enabled . It is easily drowned out when the music gets going, but it creeps around in quieter passages. An indicator to show that the headphone battery power is low and will need to be replaced or recharged.
The Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless are a better wireless over-ear than the Beats Studio3 Wireless. The Sony have a better noise cancellation performance, which makes them a bit more suitable for commuting and travel than the Beats. They have a slightly more polished design that looks and feels more high-end than that of the Beats. The Beats have a more stylish-looking build quality that some will prefer over that of the Sony. They also have a faster charge time, a longer wireless range, and slightly better latency performance, especially on iOS devices. The Beats are also a bit more lightweight, comfortable, and stable for the gym.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop’s attack gets plenty of high-mid presence and retains its sharp attack, allowing it to cut through the several layers of the mix. Thus, those seeking out a mega-boosted bass sound will likely be disappointed with the balanced, crisp Studio3 beats studio3 Wireless. The vocals here benefit from the solid high-mid presence—perhaps things get a tad too sibilant here and there, but this is a clean sound, generally speaking. Apple W1 chip makes pairing with iOS devices even more simple. Before that, I was PCMag’s lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011.
Battery life has been improved, wireless performance is spotless, and the W1 chip makes these headphones remarkably functional. Noise cancellation is also better but still doesn’t come close to the best in class. Therefore, we were forced to remove the headphones to check the LED pairing indicator light that pulses when pairing is underway. This same button also controls the Active Noise Cancellation. A clearly positioned choir, well-balanced electric bass and finely-tuned upper mids are all clearly audible. The remastered version of the classic when played on the sounds pretty close to what it must have sounded like during the original recording.
They also have physical buttons, which can be easier to use for some. The Beats Studio3 Wireless have a decent noise isolation performance. However, they don’t perform as well as competing models like the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018, or the Microsoft Surface Wireless Headphones. While they barely reduce bass-range noise like bus or plane engines in the bass range, they do a better job of cutting down mid-range sounds like ambient chatter.
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.
I’m usually a little more lenient with Beats products because I know they’re going to sell anyway, but the Studio3 Wireless isn’t worth the original $350 USD. 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.
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.