Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Beats 360 review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT. I’ll also be comparing the Beats 360 vs AirPods Max 2, Beats Studio Pro, Bose QuietComfort 2, Bose QC Ultra 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, Sennheiser Momentum 5, and more!
I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I bought these headphones with my own money, and was NOT sponsored, paid, or received a free copy for review. All thoughts are my own.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNow YouTube channel with over 25,000+ subscribers and over 5 million views.
Let’s dive right in!
Beats 360 Headphones review in short
The Beats 360 exceeded my expectations and is worthy of its $350 price tag, as it is a legit AirPods Max 2 contender and a complete evolution over the mediocre previous-generation Beats Studio Pro. Competes with the Apple AirPods Max 2, Bose QuietComfort 2, Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, Sennheiser Momentum 5, Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sonos Ace, and Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3.
Watch this Full Review on YouTube!
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Pros and Cons
- Elite comfort
- Strong noise cancelling performance
- 32-hour battery life
- Apple and Android connectivity
- There’s better sound quality for the price
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Sound Quality
Full Sound Quality Test
The Beats 360 is a significant improvement in sound quality over the previous generation Beats Studio Pro.
There is no hi-res codec support like aptX Lossless or LDAC, but they sound pretty decent in AAC which was used in testing.
The stock sound profile is somewhat similar to the Beats Studio Pro and AirPods Max 2, fairly neutral-bright with recessed mids, and somewhat “thin” sounding as a whole.
The bass is a bit leaner than I would like, with noticeably less sub-bass quantity, slam, and impact than something like the Bose QuietComfort 2 or Sennheiser Momentum 5. At least it’s not boomy and fairly controlled.
The mids are also lacking a bit of body and warmth for my tastes, leading to slightly less realistic timbre for certain instruments, although fairly detailed in the treble.
For the positives, the treble is fairly detailed and there’s a nice soundstage width with good spacing.
One very important note: The sound quality noticeably improved by switching to the “Ultra Plush” cushion kit which is sold separately from the stock “Performance Knit” cushions that came on the headphones originally.
The “Ultra Plush” cushions have a better physical seal due to a more form-fitting material, resulting in stronger bass response and more details across the frequency range, adding sparkle and airiness to the treble.
I still enjoy the sound with the stock Performance Knit cushions, but it gets more competitive with the AirPods Max 2 with the Ultra Plush cushions, and is my preferred choice for sound quality and noise cancelling performance.
Sound Quality Comparisons
vs AirPods Max 2
The AirPods Max 2 is the more resolving and detailed headphone as a whole, but the Ultra Plush cushions does make the Beats 360 more competitive than the Performance Knit.
Both headphones have satisfyingly open soundstages, but the AirPods Max 2 has the clearer separation and layering.
Both sound profiles trend towards neutral-bright in general, but the AirPods Max 2 is more balanced in its tonality with more satisfying bass and mids response.
For pure technical sound quality, the AirPods Max 2 wins.
vs Beats Studio Pro
The Beats 360 is a significant sound quality improvement across the board over the Beats Studio Pro.
First, the Beats 360 has superior acoustics and a larger soundstage, while the Beats Studio Pro is more “flat” and compressed-sounding.
Second, the bass response is stronger and more authoritative, especially with the Ultra Plush cushions on the Beats 360.
Lastly, the Beats 360 is the more resolving and detailed headphone as a whole across the frequency range.
vs Bose QuietComfort 2
These two headphones are quite close in sound quality, but I give a slight edge to the Bose QuietComfort 2 which clearly has the superior bass response.
I find the bass too lean in the Beats 360, while the Bose QC2 is one of the most impactful and visceral bass responses we’ve tested.
Both headphones are excellent for the gym, but I think the added bass response of the Bose gives them an edge for preferred sound profile in a gym setting or modern music.
Aside from the bass, the Bose QuietComfort 2 is darker and smoother overall, while the Beats 360 is thinner-sounding and more treble-forward.
So this may boil down to your listening preference.
vs Sony WH-1000XM6
The Sony XM6 is another headphone that I put on a similar level or slightly above the Beats 360.
Out of the box, I actually lean towards the Beats 360’s sound profile versus the rather muddy-sounding XM6.
But after applying LDAC and the 10-band EQ to open up the Sony XM6, I slightly prefer the XM6 over the Beats 360.
This one is pretty close, and could go either way depending on listening preference and whether you plan to listen in LDAC and apply custom EQ.
Stock for stock, I’d go for the Beats 360 personally.
vs Sennheiser Momentum 5
The Sennheiser Momentum 5 is in a sound quality tier above the Beats 360, both stock and after applying EQ + listening in aptX Lossless for full sound quality.
Like the Bose QC2, the Momentum 5’s bass response is one of the most satisfying in the class, and directly exposes one of the weaknesses of the Beats 360’s sound profile and drivers.
If sound quality is your #1 priority, the Momentum 5 is easily the winner. Arguably at the cost of noise cancelling and comfort versus the Beats 360.
Sound Quality Score: 8.6 out of 10
Comfort
The Beats 360 is average in weight of the wireless over-ear headphones we’ve tested:
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model) – 236.1 grams
- Bose QuietComfort 2nd Gen – 237.3 grams
- Sony WH 1000XM5 – 245.9 grams
- Sony WH 1000XM4 – 251.6 grams
- Sony WH 1000XM6 – 252.8 grams
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st gen) – 254.4 grams
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) – 262.2 grams
- Beats Studio Pro – 268.6 grams
- Sennheiser Momentum 5 – 288.8 grams
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 292.9 grams
- Beats 360 – 293.8 grams
- Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION – 311.2 grams
- Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 – 312.0 grams
- Sennheiser HDB 630 – 313.4 grams
- Sonos Ace – 318.1 grams
- Bowers & Wilkins Px8 – 320.1 grams
- Bang & Olufsen H95 – 323 grams
- Focal Bathys – 350 grams
- Focal Bathys MG – 365.5 grams
- Bang & Olufsen H100 – 375.6 grams
- Dali IO-12 – 379.4 grams
- Apple AirPods Max 2 – 384.4 grams
Although heavier than the previous Beats Studio Pro, the Beats 360 is significantly more comfortable thanks to a much more relaxed clamping force, larger interior earcup space, and better headband padding.
The Beats 360 is average in weight for the class as a whole, but is thankfully 90 grams lighter than the AirPods Max 2.
The “Ultra Plush” cushions are slightly more comfortable due to more plushness and softer feel on the skin than the stock “Performance Knit” cushions, at the cost of being slightly warmer.
The Beats 360 is one of the best workout headphones to use in the gym, especially with the cooler Performance Knit cushions that also provide good grip due to a slightly rougher texture than the Ultra Plush and most leather-type cushions.
Comfort Score: 9.5 out of 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality
Features
The Beats 360 was released in September 2026 and has the typical modern wireless ANC headphone features:
- Native Apple and Android app support
- Interchangeable earpad and headband cushions
- IPX4 water resistance (sweat and light splashes of water)
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Multi-point connectivity
- Spatial Audio with Dynamic Head-Tracking
- Physical button controls
- Multiple built-in microphones for taking calls
- Active Noise Cancelling
- Transparency Mode
- Includes ripstop softshell case with magnetic clasp
Battery Life
The Beats 360 has 32 hours of battery life on a single charge.
- Marshall Monitor III – 70 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE – 60 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Audeze Maxwell – 80 hours (no ANC included)
- Sennheiser HDB 630 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 5 – 57 hours
- Dali IO-12 – 35 hours (ANC on)
- Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 – 34 hours (ANC on)
- Beats 360 – 32 hours (ANC on)
- Focal Bathys MG – “Over 30 hours” (ANC on)
- Sony WH-1000XM6 – 40 hours (ANC off), 30 hours (ANC on)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) – 30 hours
- Sony WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 – 30 hours
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 and Px8 – 30 hours
- Sonos Ace – 30 hours
- Bose QuietComfort 2nd Gen – 24 hours
- Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION – 24 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st Gen) – 24 hours
- Apple AirPods Max 2 – 20 hours
- Apple AirPods Max – 20 hours
In my testing, I found this figure to be accurate.
32 hours with ANC on is slightly above the class average of 30 hours, and is a nice benefit of the Beats 360.
It’s 12 hours more than the AirPods Max 2, along with being able to fully turn OFF which reduces battery drain even further in my experience.
Build Quality
The build quality of the Beats 360 is significantly improved over the cheaper-feeling and more plasticky Beats Studio Pro.
First, these feature the same stainless steel hinges as the more expensive AirPods Max 1 and 2.
The construction feels more solid and is covered in this rubber-like material, which likely helped it achieve its IPX4 water resistance rating, a very rare thing for an over-ear headphone.
(To my knowledge, I can’t name another over-ear headphone we’ve tested with IPX4 rating.)
Some people complain about the mesh headband of the AirPods Max sagging over time, and that will surely not be an issue with the Beats 360.
Overall, the Beats 360 has build quality well above the class average, and is worthy of its $350 price tag.
Practicality
The Beats 360 is a very practical daily driver due to its comfort, build quality, battery life, and noise cancelling performance.
However, it doesn’t collapse or come with a premium compact hardshell travel case like the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QuietComfort 2 and QuietComfort Ultra 2.
The footprint of the Beats 360 is a bit larger than the Bose and Sony for those who travel often or need to place them into a bag.
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality Score: 9.5 out of 10
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance
The marketing material for the Beats 360 claims “up to 1.75x better noise cancelling” than the previous Beats Studio Pro.
In my testing, I find this claim to be fairly accurate, as the noise cancelling improvement was immediately noticed.
As with sound quality, I found the “Ultra Plush” cushions to slightly improve the noise cancelling due to a stronger and more reliable physical seal.
The Beats 360 operates using custom Beats silicon as opposed to Apple’s H2 chip in the AirPods Max 2.
At first, I was thinking that they should’ve just “borrowed” the H2 chip like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, for example.
But the noise cancelling performance is impressive enough, and definitely a Top 10 contender in the class of 70+ headphones we’ve tested.
The transparency mode also works quite well, although I still lean towards the AirPods Max 2’s transparency mode which I find to be the best-in-class.
That said, I’m not quite ready to put it in the “Elite” tier of AirPods Max 2, Sony WH-1000XM6, and Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2.
It’s certainly above-average for the class as a whole, and has the potential to break into the Top 5 with a firmware update in the future.
Noise Cancelling Score: 9.0 out of 10
Value
The Beats 360 retails at $349.99 USD, and since it’s brand new, there are no discounts yet.
Let’s also factor in that the “Ultra Plush” cushions which maximizes the potential of the Beats 360 retails at $49.99, increasing the total to around $400 today.
The first immediate comparison is the AirPods Max 2 which retails at $549 USD, but now has a market price between $379 to $479.
(It dropped to $379 as its historical low during the most recent Prime Day sale.)
Head to head, the Beats 360 is the superior value over the AirPods Max 2, as its fairly competitive everywhere and even better in some ways.
Now under $400, there is some intense competition from the Bose QuietComfort 2 ($359), Sennheiser Momentum 5 ($399), and new Sony WH-1000XM4C ($299).
Even the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2 and Sony WH-1000XM6 flagships have dipped to below $400 on sale these days.
When I consider all of the above options, the Beats 360 is still very competitive and a solid pick, but it’s not some kind of crazy value.
I do think the Beats 360 is worthy of its $350 pricetag today, but it has room to become an incredible value if it can drop down to $250-$300 in the future.
Value Score: 8.5 out of 10
Is the Beats 360 Headphones Worth it?
The Beats 360 exceeded my expectations and is worthy of its $350 price tag, as it is a legit AirPods Max 2 contender and a complete evolution over the mediocre previous-generation Beats Studio Pro.
While I do think it can be a better value once discounted in the future, I’ve gotta say that I’d personally pay the $350 (plus the $49.99 for the Ultra Plush cushions) for this to be my daily driver.
Although the AirPods Max 2 still has the superior sound quality and noise cancelling, I’d argue the Beats 360 is the more practical overall headphone and dollar value.
The short list of strong direct contenders to the Beats 360 are the Bose QuietComfort 2 and Sony WH-1000XM4C.
Some very Strong Alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- AirPods Max 2
- Beats Studio Pro
- Bose QuietComfort 2
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen
- Sony WH-1000XM6
- Sennheiser Momentum 5
- Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Sennheiser HDB 630
- Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2
- Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3
- Sonos Ace
- Bose QuietComfort 1st Gen (2023)
- Apple AirPods Max
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Sound Quality (50% of score): 8.6 / 10
Comfort (10% of score): 9.5 / 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality (10% of score): 9.5 / 10
Noise Cancelling (20% of score): 9.0 / 10
Value (10% of score): 8.5 / 10
Overall: 8.85 / 10
Order the LATEST VERSION for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase almost all of the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment. Noise cancelling performance is tested in the real-world, primarily on airplane flights, coffee shops, and walking around large metropolitan city environments.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
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Bose QuietComfort 1st Gen (2023) Review
