Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST experience with the Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra 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 Ultra Review, for those who are interested in reading more detailed thoughts about each headphone after. (Links open in a new tab.)
Key Takeaways
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra has superior comfort, noise cancelling performance, build quality, and audiophile-level sound quality (after EQ).
- Beats Studio Pro has Apple ecosystem connectivity, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos Support, and is a slightly better dollar-value due to being almost half the price.
- The Bose QC Ultra is typically around $100 to $150 more expensive than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, depending on sales.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Price Compared
Overall, the Beats Studio Pro is anywhere from $100 to $150 cheaper than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra 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 Ultra Prices
- Retail: $429.00
- New: $429
- Renewed: $329 (save up to $100!)
- Used: $340 (save up to $80!)
Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
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Comfort
On my scale, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra is 14.2 grams lighter than the Beats Studio Pro:
- Beats Studio Pro weight: 268.6 grams
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra weight: 254.4 grams
The Bose QC Ultra is quite a bit more comfortable than the Beats Studio Pro, due to being lighter and much plusher in the headband and earpads.
The Beats Studio Pro has the strongest clamping force in this class, which is its biggest flaw when it comes to comfort.
Also, the Beats’ headband could use more cushioning, but it’s wide band distributes the weight fairly nicely.
Beats Studio Pro Comfort: 3.5 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Comfort: 5 out of 5
Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling
Features
These are both modern headphones with roughly the same features such as built-in microphones for calls, Active Noise Cancelling, and Transparency Mode.
One standout feature that the Beats Studio Pro has over the Bose QuietComfort Ultra is true Dolby Atmos support with its Spatial Audio.
Bose instead features their own “Immersive Audio”, which is similar but not Dolby Atmos, the standard in Spatial Audio.
The Bose QC Ultra include a compact hardshell case, which it folds nicely into. The Beats Studio Pro also folds neatly into an even smaller footprint, but only includes a softshell case.
Build Quality
The Bose QC Ultra has better build quality than the cheaper-feeling Beats Studio Pro.
Both headphones actually feature similar materials, with plastic on the exterior, and metal for the headband and hinges.
The Beats feels flimsier and creakier than when handling the Bose QC Ultra, which is to be expected with their price difference.
Looks
The Bose Ultra looks more understated and a tad more generic/bland compared to the Beats Studio Pro.
They’re fairly sleek, but don’t stand out as a $400+ headphone.
The Beats Studio Pro carries over pretty much the same identical design from the previous Beats Studio 3 Wireless, and it’s a stylish headphone indeed, now with even trendier colors from their collaboration with Kim Kardashian.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Battery Life Compared
The Beats Studio Pro has up to 16 hours more battery life on a single charge.
- Beats Studio Pro Battery Life: Up to 40 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Battery Life: Up to 24 hours
In my testing, I found both of these manufacturer’s battery ratings to be accurate.
The BC Ultra is slightly above average, but the Beats Studio Pro is 2nd in the class just behind the class-leading Sennheiser Momentum 4 at 60 hours.
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Noise Cancelling: Which is better?
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra has superior active noise cancelling to the Beats Studio Pro, as is probably expected by many people.
In the Beats’ defense, the QC Ultra is currently the leader in this class, tied with the Sony XM5 and Sonos Ace.
The Beats Studio Pro has respectable active noise cancelling, but is probably 1-2 tiers below the Bose QC Ultra.
I’d say the Beats’ ANC is about on par with the Sennheiser Momentum 4, and maybe slightly behind the AirPods Max.
The QC Ultra has 11 levels of ANC and Transparency mode to choose from, including a new “Wind Block” feature for filtering out wind noise.
The Beats features 3 modes like the AirPods Max: Noise Cancelling, Transparency Mode, and OFF.
They both have decent transparency modes.
Beats Studio Pro Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.0 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 5 out of 5
Winner: Tie
Beats Studio Pro vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra Sound Quality Comparison
On the Stock Sound…
Comparing the sound quality of these two headphones completely stock, I might actually slightly prefer the Beats Studio Pro.
To be honest, this has more to do with the Bose QC Ultra’s underwhelming stock tuning, which is much less balanced than the Ace. The bass is overwhelming and drowns out the mids and treble.
Fortunately for the Bose, custom EQ makes a massive difference in unleashing its full sound quality potential.
The Beats Studio Pro doesn’t have a native customizable EQ, so it will be tested stock.
Best Equalizer Settings for Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Bass: -6
- Mid: +4
- Treble: +2
Result: Much more balanced, hyper-detailed, “neutral bright” sound. Bass is much more controlled yet still present and impactful. Treble is intentionally pushed forward to bring out all the micro-detail.
Comparing Sound Quality After EQ…
The Bose QC Ultra opens up very nicely with the help of EQ, and reveals a beautifully-detailed treble that showcases even the more nuanced details like ad libs and reverb tails.
Interestingly, the Beats Studio Pro is also particularly detailed for this class, although it doesn’t have the depth and “3D-like” soundstage and separation of the QC Ultra.
The Beats is quite treble-forward and thus pushes a lot of detail in your face. However, it’s a bit more artificial with less believable timbre compared to how the Bose translates vocals more transparently.
One of the big advantages that the Bose has over the Beats is in the bass region, with the QC Ultra having much stronger sub-bass response and slam compared to the relatively “bass-light” Studio Pro.
Listening to the two back-to-back, the Beats immediately has a “thin” sound that seems to be missing the low-end compared to the Bose.
The QC Ultra has a very clean and focused bass that is a clear advantage over the Beats, giving it a clear advantage for modern genres like Pop, Hip Hop, and EDM.
Overall, the Bose QC Ultra is in another tier firmly above the Beats Studio Pro, and is audiophile-worthy after EQ.
On the other hand, I can still enjoy listening to the Beats Studio Pro once I get used to their sound profile, but hearing them back-to-back is too big of a sound quality gap to ignore.
Beats Studio Pro Sound Quality: 8.1 out of 10
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Sound Quality: 8.9 out of 10 (after EQ)
Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Value
Value is one category where the Beats Studio Pro has an advantage over the more expensive Bose QC Ultra.
While the Bose has a $429 USD retail price tag, it can be found for as low as $349 brand new these days.
The Beats Studio Pro retails at $349.99, but at the time of this writing, has a market price brand new for as low as $169.99.
Although the QC Ultra beats the Studio Pro practically everywhere, if the Beats is half the price (or more) of the Bose, then that is hard to contend with.
Beats Studio Pro Value: 4.5 out of 5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra 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
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Overall Rating
- Audiophile-level sound quality (after EQ)
- Unrivaled noise cancelling performance
- Amazingly comfortable and lightweight
- Expensive
- Sound signature without EQ is disappointing
- Materials feel mediocre for price
Overall Winner: Bose QuietComfort Ultra
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra “beats” the Beats Studio Pro in this head-to-head comparison, due to its superior comfort, noise cancelling performance, and audiophile-level sound quality.
The Beats Studio Pro still presents a slightly better dollar value due to being the lowest-priced contender in this class. The Studio Pro pretty much matches the AirPods Max when it comes to features on paper: Active Noise Cancelling, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support, and Apple ecosystem connectivity.
Personally, I would happily pay the premium for the Bose QuietComfort Ultra over the Beats Studio Pro, mainly due to that massive difference in sound quality, but also once you factor in the better comfort and noise cancelling performance.
Some very Strong Alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Sennheiser Momentum 4
- Apple AirPods Max
- Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
- Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sony WH-1000XM4
- Bose QuietComfort (2023 model)
- Sonos Ace
Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:
- Beats Studio Pro vs Apple AirPods Max
- Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM5
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
- Sonos Ace vs AirPods Max
I highly recommend you check those out next!
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Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Want to save up to an additional $100?
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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
Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S2e Review
Bose QuietComfort Review (2023 Model)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Apple AirPods Max vs Sony WH-1000XM5
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Review
