Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST experience with the Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM4 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 Sony WH-1000XM4 Review, for those who are interested in reading more detailed thoughts about each headphone after. (Links open in a new tab.)
Key Takeaways
- Sony WH-1000XM4 has better comfort, build quality, and active noise cancelling performance.
- Beats Studio Pro has pretty much all the same features as the AirPods Max at a fraction of the price.
- The Sony XM4 is typically $50-70 more expensive than the Beats Studio Pro, depending on sales.
Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM4 Price Compared
Overall, the Beats Studio Pro is anywhere from $50 to $70 cheaper than the Sony WH-1000XM4 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!)
Sony WH-1000XM4 Prices
- Retail: $348.00
- New: $250
- Renewed: $160 (save up to $90!)
- Used: $180 (save up to $70!)
Order Here for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
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Comfort
On my scale, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is 17 grams lighter than Beats Studio Pro:
- Beats Studio Pro weight: 268.6 grams
- Sony WH-1000XM4 weight: 251.6 grams
Wearing these back-to-back, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is clearly the more comfortable headphone over the Beats Studio Pro.
The Beats Studio Pro’s biggest issue is its clamping force, which is stronger than any headphones in this class.
Both headphones have very little interior space inside the earcups, which is snug and can feel claustrophobic.
But the XM4 has better cushioning and less clamping force, not to mention is a bit lighter overall.
Beats Studio Pro Comfort: 3.5 out of 5
Sony WH-1000XM4 Comfort: 4.5 out of 5
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM4
Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling
Features
Both headphones feature your typical modern features like built-in microphones for calls, Active Noise Cancelling, and Transparency Mode.
The Beats Studio Pro has Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos support, while the Sony XM4 doesn’t have any Spatial Audio like the newer XM5’s “360 Audio”.
The Beats has better Apple ecosystem connectivity as it’s really an Apple product under the hood.
Both the Beats Studio Pro and Sony XM4 fold and collapse inside their respective cases, saving space. The Studio Pro has a smaller soft shell case, while the XM4 features a fairly compact hardshell case.
Build Quality
For build quality, the Sony XM4 feels much sturdier and durable than the Beats Studio Pro.
It has a similar design to Bose’s long-standing QuietComfort series, with very sturdy swivel hinges.
The Beats feels pretty cheap, as its mostly plastic, but seems to use some metal underneath the plastic exterior.
Between the two, I’d expect the Sony XM4 to last longer and experience less wear-and-tear.
Looks
The Beats Studio Pro is quite fashionable in its own right, with collaborations with Kim Kardashian introducing some svelte skin-tone colorways.
I love the variety of colors that the Beats Studio Pro is offered in, and it has a very sleek silhouette when worn on the head.
The Sony XM4 is not offensive in styling, and is more proportional than the newer XM5. But it is rather bulky.
Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM4 Battery Life Compared
The Beats Studio Pro has 10 more hours of battery life on a single charge compared to the Sony WH-1000XM4:
- Beats Studio Pro Battery Life: Up to 40 hours
- Sony WH-1000XM4 Battery Life: Up to 30 hours
In my testing, I found both of these manufacturer’s battery ratings to be accurate.
Both of these battery figures are above average, with the Beats being particularly long and just under the class-leading 60 hours of the Sennheiser Momentum 4.
Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Performance: Which is better?
I was surprised by the effectiveness of the Sony XM4’s noise cancelling performance compared to the newer XM5. It seems to be almost on par, and even includes a “Noise Cancelling Optimizer” feature in the app that is no longer present in the newer XM5 for some reason.
The Beats Studio Pro is definitely 1 tier below the performance of the Sony XM4, and closer in performance to the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and Apple AirPods Max.
I would say the Beats Studio Pro’s ANC isn’t bad and can work in most everyday situations, but wouldn’t be my preferred choice on flights.
Beats Studio Pro Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.0 out of 5
Sony WH-1000XM4 Features / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 4.5 out of 5
Winner: Sony WH-1000XM4
Beats Studio Pro vs Sony WH-1000XM4 Sound Quality Comparison
Stock sound compared…
Out of the box, it’s fairly even on sound quality between the Beats Studio Pro and Sony XM4.
Both are enjoyable stock, with some minor flaws.
For the Studio Pro, it has an extremely detailed, but thin sound lacking bass.
For the Sony XM4, it has a pleasing warm sound, with some sibilance and harshness in the treble, but better bass response.
That said, the custom EQ with Sony’s companion app helps to make a slight improvement for the XM4, so I’ll be comparing the sound quality with these settings shared below.
(Beats Studio Pro doesn’t have a native built-in EQ, so will be tested as-is stock.)
Best Equalizer Settings for Sony WH-1000XM4
- 400: -3
- 1k: +2
- 2.5k: +3
- 6.3k: -5
- 16k: +1
- Clear Bass: 0
Result: Much less muddiness, more clarity and detail in the mids, less sibilance. Overall more balanced, with the mids much more present.
Comparing sound quality AFTER EQ…
I think the Beats Studio Pro will surprise a lot of people who may be turned off by the “Beats” brand on first impressions.
The Studio Pro is one of the most detailed and treble-forward headphones in this category of ANC headphones, right out of the box without EQ.
However, its biggest weakness is an overall thin sound, lacking in the bass region.
The Sony XM4, on the other hand, has better bass slam and quantity, while also being fairly detailed after EQ.
Overall, the XM4 does a much better job of representing the entire frequency range, while the Beats Studio Pro focuses only on the mids and treble exclusively.
What I like most about the XM4 is that it has a warm sound signature that is pleasing to listen to and “comfy”.
However, it does have a bit of a fatal flaw in a peaky treble in the sibilance region.
I am able to EQ a good chunk of it out with my settings, but this limits the overall upside of the XM4 when it comes to clarity and detail.
Overall, I actually find both of these headphones to be equally enjoyable to listen to in their own ways.
Somewhat ironically, I would prefer the Beats Studio Pro for genres like Classical and Jazz, and the Sony XM4 for more modern genres like Pop and Hip Hop, due to the Sony’s added bass response.
Beats Studio Pro Sound Quality: 7.9 out of 10
Sony WH-1000XM4 Sound Quality: 7.9 out of 10 (after EQ)
Winner: Tie
Value
The Beats Studio Pro retails at a whopping $349.99, a price that I would personally never pay for these headphones.
But where things get exciting, is that the market price of the Beats can typically be found under $200, and sometimes $180 on sale.
Despite its flaws, $180 for a full-featured wireless ANC headphone makes the Studio Pro worth a serious look for value.
On the other hand, the Sony WH-1000XM4 retails at $348 but can be found brand new for about $248 these days.
The XM4 can get down to $200 Renewed or so, making it an even better value.
Both of these headphones are pretty solid values today compared to the newer flagship models like the Sony XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and AirPods Max.
Beats Studio Pro Value: 4.5 out of 5
Sony WH-1000XM4 Value: 4.5 out of 5
Winner: Tie
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
Sony WH-1000XM4 Overall Rating
- Excellent noise cancelling performance
- Very comfortable
- Good sound quality
- 30 hours battery life
- Great value due to being older model
- Slightly muddy upper bass & lower mids
- Needs more sub-bass extension
- Veiled treble, lacks sparkle and airiness
- Intimate soundstage lacks width and depth
Overall Winner: Sony WH-1000XM4
Despite the Beats Studio Pro being a fairly decent value on sale, the Sony WH-1000XM4 wins this comparison on account of it being a stronger overall package.
With the XM4, you’re getting better comfort, stronger build quality, and slightly better noise cancelling performance.
The Beats Studio Pro still has some redeeming qualities, like Apple ecosystem connectivity, about the same sound quality, and slightly higher battery life.
Personally, I would probably spend the extra $40-60 and go for the XM4 at $248 due to that better comfort and noise cancelling performance, or even better, the Bose QuietComfort (2023 model) at $249 on sale.
Some extremely strong alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are the Sennheiser Momentum 4, Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Apple AirPods Max. 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.
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.
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