Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST comparison review with the Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) and tell you which is better, after personally owning both products. I have thoroughly tested each of these headphones for hundreds of hours, and aim to offer a critical opinion from the perspective of an audiophile and professional music producer.
I’ll be comparing these two head to head on categories like price, comfort, features, battery life, noise cancelling performance, and sound quality.
Then at the end, I’ll share which is the best overall value for the money, and my overall recommendation on which you should buy. I’ve also conducted a separate in-depth Beats Studio Pro Review and Bose QuietComfort 45 Review for those who are interested in reading more detailed thoughts about each headphone after. (Links open in a new tab.)
Key Takeaways
- The older Bose QC45 has better comfort, noise cancelling performance, build quality, and slightly better sound quality than Beats Studio Pro (after EQ).
- Beats Studio Pro has slightly better stock sound quality, Apple ecosystem connectivity, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support, and a better value with today’s prices brand new.
- Because the older QC45 is now discontinued, brand new pairs are harder to find, so pricing is not much of an advantage unless shopping Renewed.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Price Compared
Overall, the Beats Studio Pro is about $100 cheaper than the Bose QC45 at current market prices for brand new. They can be much closer in price depending on current sales, and whether you’re buying new, renewed, or used.
Beats Studio Pro Prices
- Retail: $349.99
- New: $199
- Renewed: $160 (save up to $100!)
- Used: $165 (save up to $100!)
Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Prices
- Retail: $329.00
- New: $329
- Renewed: $163 (save up to $90!)
- Used: $190 (save up to $70!)
Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Want to save up to an additional $100?
Want to save up to an additional $150?
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 🙂
Comfort
On my scale, the QC45 is 33.2 grams lighter than the Beats Studio Pro:
- Beats Studio Pro weight: 268.6 grams
- Bose QC45 weight: 235.4 grams
Off the bat, the Bose QuietComfort 45 is easily the more comfortable headphone between the two.
Aside from being over 30 grams lighter, the QC45 simply has a much more relaxed clamping force and better cushioning.
The Beats Studio Pro’s biggest weakness is having a very strong clamping force from the factory, probably the strongest in this class, and it’s immediately apparent.
Beats Studio Pro Comfort: 3.5 out of 5
Bose QC45 Comfort: 4.5 out of 5
Winner: Tie
Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling
Features
Both headphones share the same modern features like multiple microphones for taking calls, Active Noise Cancelling, and Transparency modes.
The Beats Studio Pro has the feature advantage over the QC45 when it comes to Apple ecosystem connectivity and Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support.
On paper, the Beats Studio Pro has the same features as the much more expensive AirPods Max.
Both headphones fold and collapse nicely to save space, but the Bose QC45 has a nicer hardshell case compared to the Beats’ soft shell case.
User Experience, Buttons, and Controls
Both headphones feature physical buttons and controls, which I highly prefer over the “touch controls” on some of these other premium wireless headphones.
From a user experience perspective, it doesn’t get much better than having a physical On/Off switch, and the tactile buttons to control your music or turn the volume up/down.
Build Quality
From a feel perspective, the older Bose QC45 has slightly superior build quality to the Beats Studio Pro.
The Beats feels a little cheaper and flimsier, but they do feature some metal in the headband and can last with some care.
Looks
Both headphones are pretty stylish when it comes to looks, and I think they’re aimed at being more fashionable with having more colorful options available.
For example, this Bose QC 2023 in Cypress Green is gorgeous in real life, understated yet a bold splash of color that instills some personality.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Battery Life Compared
The Beats Studio Pro has 16 hours more battery life on a single charge compared to the QC45:
- Beats Studio Pro Battery Life: Up to 40 hours
- Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Battery Life: Up to 24 hours
In my testing, I found both of these manufacturer’s battery ratings to be accurate.
The Beats Studio Pro is well above average in this class, pretty much second only to the Sennheiser Momentum 4’s 60-hour rating.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Noise Cancelling: Which is better?
The older Bose QC45 has superior active noise cancelling performance compared to the newer Beats Studio Pro.
In fact, the QC45 surprised me with its ANC, even compared to the newer QuietComfort 2023 and Bose QC Ultra. It seemed fairly competitive and even uses the same Bose app with the same settings.
Inside of the Bose app for the QC45, you can choose between 11 levels of noise cancelling mixed with “ambient” transparency modes.
You can make presets for your favorite settings, and easily switch between them depending on the setting.
The Beats Studio Pro is much simpler with just 3 modes: Noise Cancelling, Transparency Mode, and OFF.
Beats Studio Pro Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.0 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 5 out of 5
Winner: Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45)
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Sound Quality Comparison
On the stock sound…
Comparing these two headphones stock, I prefer the Beats Studio Pro over the QC45.
The QC45 has a lot of sibilance in its treble, it’s almost piercing on certain modern tracks with a lot of treble energy.
That said, I found that creating custom equalizer settings inside of the official Bose app for the QC45 can elevate its sound quality.
So I’ll be testing the QC45 with the EQ settings shared below, in order to bring out their best sound quality potential possible. The Beats Studio Pro doesn’t feature a native customizable EQ, so it will be tested stock.
Best Equalizer Settings for Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45)
- Bass: -1
- Mid: +2
- Treble: -6
Result: As you can see from the extreme Treble rolloff, my main focus was reducing the sibilance. It’s not entirely gone, but it’s much improved versus stock. Unfortunately this comes at the expense of less detail and airiness, but the overall sound is now much more balanced and way smoother to listen to.
Comparing Sound Quality AFTER EQ…
Overall, the Bose QC45 has a fuller sound than the Beats Studio Pro due to a pretty large bass response.
Listening back to back, the Beats Studio Pro has a “thin” sound due to lacking in the sub-bass, both in bass quantity and slam.
The QC45 has the opposite issue to the Beats, in that, it has plenty of bass, but a harsh sibilance in the treble.
EQ helps to smoothen out this sharpness, but it never fully goes away, limiting the ceiling on the QC45’s sound quality.
Overall, the Bose QC45’s sound profile is a very fun, bass and treble-forward, consumer-friendly sound signature.
One standout for the QC45 is a marvelous bass response, with plenty of slam and bass quantity.
Bass notes linger and extend, with a visceral physicality to the impact.
In contrast, the Beats Studio Pro is actually a very detailed, and more balanced sound signature to the QC45, just with a fairly light bass response.
Because of this, the Beats ironically doesn’t perform as well for modern genres like Pop and Hip Hop, but can be enjoyable for more acoustic and live instrumentation music like Classical and Jazz.
Both of these headphones are still in the same tier below the higher-end Bose QC Ultra and others.
They’re decently fun to listen to, but fall short on the more audiophile technicalities like separation and layering.
I slightly prefer the QC45 overall due to its great bass response, but that harsh treble is a noticeable flaw for my ears. The Beats is less offensive, but a little less exciting as well.
Beats Studio Pro Sound Quality: 7.9 out of 10
QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Sound Quality: 8.0 out of 10 (after EQ)
Winner: Bose QC45
Value
At the time of this writing, the QC45 is currently in a bit of an awkward phase in its product lifecycle, as it seems to be discontinued now in favor of the QuietComfort 2023.
Due to this, prices are a bit strange with the newer Beats Studio Pro sometimes being $100+ cheaper than the older QC45 on Amazon.
Regardless, many Renewed (Like New) pairs can be found for the QC45 at around $163, while the newer Beats Studio Pro can be found Brand New for as low as $179, or Used for under $160.
This strange pricing makes the Beats Studio Pro a much better value, unless we’re compared Renewed, in which I’d argue the QC45 is a better package for the money.
Beats Studio Pro Value: 4.5 out of 5
QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Value Value: 4.0 out of 5
Winner: Beats Studio Pro
Beats Studio Pro Overall Rating
- Surprisingly detailed sound
- Good noise cancelling
- 40 hour battery life
- Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos
- Bass response is lacking
- Clamping force discomfort
- Noise cancelling is average
- Cheap build quality
QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Overall Rating
- Fun sound quality (after EQ)
- Great noise cancelling performance
- Insanely comfortable and lightweight
- Good value due to being older model
- Piercing treble without EQ
- QuietComfort 2023 is simply better overall
Overall Winner: Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45)
In a somewhat surprising finish, the older Bose QuietComfort 45 wins today’s head-to-head comparison over the newer Beats Studio Pro.
On paper, the QC45 is more comfortable, with better noise cancelling performance, build quality, and slightly better sound quality (with EQ).
I’d say the QC45 holds its own even by today’s standards, due to being a strong overall package as a whole.
The Beats Studio Pro still redeems itself for having a better stock sound, Apple ecosystem connectivity, Dolby Atmos support, and being a better dollar value brand new due to the QC45 being discontinued and new pairs being increasingly scarce to find.
If you’re willing to look at Renewed, I think the QC45 presents a fantastic value for the money, if you’re okay with not having the best available sound quality today.
Some very Strong Alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Bose QuietComfort (2023)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Apple AirPods Max
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Beats Studio Pro
Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Bose QuietComfort vs QuietComfort 45 (QC45)
- Bose QuietComfort 45 vs Ultra
- Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort
- Bose QuietComfort vs QuietComfort Ultra
- Bose QuietComfort 45 vs Ultra
- Beats Studio Pro vs AirPods Max
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
I highly recommend you check those out next!
Lastly, if you’d like to save some money and keep supporting RecordingNOW.com’s 100% independent, unbiased reviews, do consider using some of our affiliate links below to shop and even just compare prices. We purchase all products we review with our own money to maintain the highest level of integrity, and your support goes into that plus a continuously improving site experience.
Beats Studio Pro Prices
- Retail: $349.99
- New: $199
- Renewed: $160 (save up to $100!)
- Used: $165 (save up to $100!)
Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Prices
- Retail: $329.00
- New: $329
- Renewed: $163 (save up to $90!)
- Used: $190 (save up to $70!)
Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Want to save up to an additional $100?
Want to save up to an additional $150?
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 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, audio engineer, musician, tech journalist, and audiophile.
Read Next
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Review
Bose QuietComfort vs QuietComfort Ultra
Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Apple AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
Bose QuietComfort 45 (QC45) Review
