Beats Studio Buds Review: WORTH IT in 2024?

Odi Productions Jul 28, 2024

2268 People Read

Holding Beats Studio Buds wireless earbud in hand

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links, which can provide compensation to me at no cost to you if you decide to purchase.

In this article, I'm going to share my HONEST Beats Studio Buds review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT in 2024. These are a very compelling Apple AirPods alternative for the money. So I'll also be comparing them vs AirPods Pro 2nd generation, and the regular AirPods 3rd generation, both of which I have owned and thoroughly tested.

I'll be sharing my critical opinion as an audiophile and professional music producer.

Let's dive right in!

Beats Studio Buds review in short

Holding Beats Studio Buds USB C charging case

I find the Beats Studio Buds to be an appealing wireless earbud alternative that falls somewhere between the Apple AirPods 3rd generation and AirPods Pro 2nd generation. Similar to the AirPods Pro line, these have adaptive noise cancelling and transparency modes, unlike the regular AirPods. For the money, especially on sale, these are probably one of the best values for wireless earbuds today.

Beats Studio Buds Price

At the time of this writing, the Beats Studio Buds are priced at $149.95 retail, but available on Amazon below for as low as $99.

Want to save up to an additional $70? Order the Renewed Version below which is currently around $79.

Order the Beats Studio Buds for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

OR Save up to $70 with Renewed:

Disclosure: These links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to run the website 🙂

Beats Studio Buds Pros and Cons

Holding Beats Studio Buds wireless earbuds inside charging case

Pros

Adaptive Noise Cancelling + Transparency Mode
IPX4 sweat and water resistant
Extremely comfortable
8 Hour single-charge battery life

Cons

AirPods Pro 2 have better sound quality
No Spatial Audio

Comfort

Beats Studio Buds included eartips and charging cable

The Beats Studio Buds are an in-ear wireless earbud, similar to the AirPods Pro line. This means that the eartip has to be inserted into your ear canal.

Usually I prefer to NOT insert things into my ear canal, like the regular AirPods 3rd gen or full-sized headphones, but I have to admit that the Beats Studio Buds are impressively comfortable.

Similar to the AirPods Pro 2, the Studio Buds come with 3 different sizes of eartip replacements, so you can find the perfect fit for your ears.

I could wear these for hours without much issue, and in some ways I find them even more comfortable than the AirPods Pro 2, due to the smaller size of the earbud not pressing against my ears.

Are Beats Studio Buds good for working out in the gym and running?

I tested the Beats Studio Buds while working out in the gym and they performed great. They are officially IPX4-rated, which simply means they are both sweat and water resistant.

The Beats Studio Buds seem to be designed and marketed for fitness enthusiasts and activity in mind, and I find them to be very comfortable yet secure.

If you need even more security, the more expensive Beats Fit Pro earbuds come with wingtips to further secure the earbuds to your ears while doing more rapid movements like running and jumping.

On top of the comfort, the Adaptive Noise Cancelling feature is useful in a noisy gym environment, to really lock in and focus on your workout.

Comfort: 5 / 5

Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling

Beats Studio Buds next to charging case in black on desk

Features

The Beats Studio Buds are pretty feature-packed for the money. Starting with the Adaptive Noise Cancelling and Transparency Modes, which is not found in the regular line of AirPods, including the latest 3rd generation.

To get noise cancelling in AirPods, you'd have to spend closer to $200 for the AirPods Pro line.

One of the latest features that is missing from the Studio Buds is Spatial Audio, which is offered on both the regular AirPods and AirPods Pro.

Personally, noise cancelling is a more important feature to me than Spatial Audio, but it is very fun to turn on head-tracking and emulate listening to a surround-sound speaker system.

The IPX4-rated sweat and water resistance is also a very useful feature for those who plan to workout with these on.

Lastly, another huge advantage of the Beats Studio Buds being an Apple product at heart, is the seamless connectivity and switching between Apple devices. Apple ecosystem users rejoice!

Please note that they still work flawlessly with Android and Windows devices, but the iOS and MacOS devices can switch automatically, as well as display more detailed info about your pair.

Looks

As with most Beats products, the Studio Buds are a sleek and stylish little earbud that comes in a variety of vibrant colors.

One interesting thing about these earbuds is how small they really are, since they don't have a stem like the AirPods lineup.

Overall, these are very unassuming when worn.

Unless you opt for a more vibrant color like Red, of course.

Beats Studio Buds Battery Life

The Beats Studio Buds actually have 33% longer battery life on a single charge compared to Apple AirPods 3rd gen and AirPods Pro 2nd gen.

The Studio Buds are rated at an impressive 8 hours on a single charge compared to the AirPods' 6 hours.

When factoring in the multiple charges, the Beats Studio Buds' 24 hours with charging case is about 25% less than the 30 hours of battery life total for the AirPods.

If you ask me, I'd rather have the longer battery life on a single charge than with the case factored in.

Beats Studio Buds Noise Cancelling Performance

One of the biggest advantages of the Beats Studio Buds over the regular AirPods line is the Adaptive Noise Cancelling feature.

So, just how good is the noise cancelling actually?

After testing several wireless earbuds and headphones like the AirPods Pro 2nd gen, I'd say the Beats' noise cancelling performance ranks below most of what I've tested.

It's not bad by any means, it just isn't as good as the AirPods Pro 2, and definitely a step below full-sized over-ear noise cancelling headphones from Sony and Bose.

Still, having any noise cancelling at all is infinitely better than none, so if you are frequently in noisy environments for travel or work, then this is a clear advantage over the regular AirPods.

Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.0 / 5

Beats Studio Buds Sound Quality

So far, the Beats Studio Buds have scored quite strong in all categories, but how good is the sound quality?

I would say relative to the other categories, sound quality would be the weakest aspect of the Studio Buds, although it is not bad by any means.

Personally, I highly prefer the sound signatures of both the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 3rd gen, despite those being two entirely different sounds.

The AirPods Pro 2's sound quality is on another level with a much more balanced, natural representation, and very wide soundstage for earbuds.

I'd say most people would enjoy the consumer-friendly sound signature of the Studio Buds, but it is a little vanilla if I'm being critical.

What I mean specifically is that they aren't necessarily bass-heavy or as "fun" as the regular AirPods 3rd gen. I'd say these two have much more similar sound signatures versus the AirPods Pro 2.

Considering the fancy-schmancy audiophile technicalities, the Studio Buds lack soundstage and have a rather narrow and flat sound. The AirPods Pro 2 is in another level here when it comes to soundstage.

The treble is slightly forward and has detailed vocals, but a little artificial-sounding in timbre.

Overall, if sound quality is your top priority and you're willing to spend more, I'd upgrade to the AirPods Pro 2. I actually even prefer the AirPods 3rd gen for music listening as well, but it's much closer and boils down to preference.

Sound Quality: 7.0 / 10

Is the Beats Studio Buds worth it?

Holding Beats Studio Buds earbud in hand

At the time of this writing, the Beats Studio Buds can be found at market price of about $99 brand new, and even down to $79 on sale.

Compared to the newest AirPods which can easily cost between $149 to $199, the Beats Studio Buds are a very compelling value, and just a steal when on sale.

But it's important to note that the Beats Studio Buds was fully-priced at $149 not long ago. For that full retail price, the value goes down significantly.

As an overall package, the Beats Studio Buds score very highly in every category aside from Sound Quality, but even that is close to the AirPods 3rd gen.

If you're looking for a more affordable AirPods alternative, it's pretty hard to beat the bang-for-the-buck of the Beats Studio Buds when on sale. When not on sale, it is still a pretty good value considering the total package.

Value: 4.0 / 5

Scoring Breakdown

Comfort: 5 / 5

Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.0 / 5

Sound Quality: 7.0 / 10

Value: 4.0 / 5

Total: 20 / 25

Our Rating: 8.0 / 10

At the time of this writing, the Beats Studio Buds are priced at $149.95 retail, but available on Amazon below for as low as $99.

Want to save up to an additional $70? Order the Renewed Version below which is currently around $79.

Order the Beats Studio Buds for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

OR save up to $70 with Renewed below:

Disclosure: These links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to run the website 🙂

Beats Studio Buds Frequently Asked Questions

Are Beats Studio Buds good for noise cancelling?

Although the Beats Studio Buds have Adaptive Noise Cancelling unlike the regular AirPods, the performance is not the most impressive, especially compared to full-sized headphones like Bose and Sony. The AirPods Pro 2 also has superior noise cancelling when comparing wireless earbuds.

Can Beats Studio Buds answer phone calls?

Yes, the Beats Studio Buds can answer phone calls as they a built-in microphone that can pickup your voice. However, the mic quality is not great, as with most other wireless earbuds including AirPods.

Are Beats Studio Buds good for iPhone users?

Yes, since the Beats brand is owned and manufactured by Apple, the Beats Studio Buds work best with iPhones and other Apple devices. They work mostly as well as any comparable AirPods product.

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 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.

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.