Haters be quiet - Beats Studio Buds Plus

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Adam has been a long-time defender of Beats' headphones, and with the new Beats Studio Buds Plus, he might finally convince people that Apple's influence has been good for their products. Does the sound quality match the flashy transparent design or are these wireless earbuds just a good-looking dud?
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Give Beats a chance
0:45 Taking a look at the box
1:46 Unboxing
2:29 Design impressions
4:14 Sponsor - Vessi
4:42 Adam makes a mess
4:50 Quick pairing and misc. features
7:50 Listening, Transparency mode, and Spatial Audio impressions
10:43 Labs' testing results
12:11 Microphone test and misc. specs
12:52 Pricing and overall thoughts
13:42 Outro

[@jan_vennegoor_of_hesselink_69]

Man I really hope we’re going to start seeing more translucent/transparent casing on tech again

[@Litruv]

​@@jpf1978 thankfully for your tastes. There's options. Thankfully for the rest of us. They're clear 😊

[@Luka_H]

@@Litruvgoodluck with the yellowing over the years

[@danielaniq]

@@Luka_H i mean, my white airpod pro is yellowing too

[@Litruv]

@@Luka_H tbf it's a wireless battery device. you're going to be replacing that shit before it yellows.

[@ROFLWAFFLELAWL4]

Its everywhere in the IEM space

[@NoobSniper]

The mic quality when speaking was quite clear, not muddy-sounding, and surprisingly crisp! Of course, it has 6 mics and should sound good but for being solely in-ear earbuds (ie, no stem), they sound great.

[@Mormielo]

Yeah, I think it was surprisingly good.

[@GansoGG]

Actually 3

[@Thunderkiss655]

Yeah I was surprised by the quality of the mics.

[@Petrixxxxxxx]

@@GansoGG actually 3 on each side. 2 sides. 3 x 2 = 6

[@fayenotfaye]

@@Petrixxxxxxxmore like two, only two microphones are used at once for calls.

[@Neoxon619]

Honestly, the Beats look like a solid contender to the AirPods. Ironic that this is also from Apple, but still. Plus this one got USB-C before the AirPods did.

[@Crackmonkey809]

Apple having competition internally is great

[@nathan.d.c]

a contender against themselves, yeah. but I have the Beats Fit Pro. honestly the sound quality is pretty good and the battery lasts a good amount of time for me. wish the case battery lasted longer though.

[@RemixerUltimate]

@Alucard Hellsing neither are AirPods, that’s not what they’re for. Nobody buys earbuds for their audiophile capability

[@Whomecouldntb3]

​@Alucard Hellsing this was a pointless comment considering no audiophile is gonna buy these looking to be blown away.

[@kareemellebany3559]

Well it makes no sense for the Airpods to get USB-C before the iPhone. Better to use 1 cable for your iPhone and Airpods. I guess they should be getting USB-C when the iPhone does.

[@chrisbarnden9177]

Please note - while it’s a choice and at the loss of noise control/voice assistant - you can set the buds to control volume with one press up/down - left or right. Your choice. You can also ‘scrub’ through tracks - double press and hold or triple press and hold - I thank you.

[@The4valanche]

Thanks, this was an important point for me, glad you stepped in and helped, friend.

[@chrisbarnden9177]

My pleasure

[@Blade_88]

Thank you!

[@ArchusKanzaki]

Damn, the transparent case looks so cool. I’m honestly will be swayed…. If WF-1000XM5 is not coming soon. The mic performance also seems to be pretty great too.

[@simonrockstream]

They look like Nothing

[@Vaxalic]

New Sonys coming out by late August, that’s what I’m waiting for

[@gweek4170]

Stick to the WF-1000XM5

[@zeroa69]

Im really glad beats are finally worth a damn more competition is great. That being said at thia price id recommend sennhieser or klipsch earbuds all day long. I love my twm2s and before that i had klipsch t52s sport and those are phenomenal. Probably the better sounding and its wing tips made for a better fit for biking. Problem is they use proprietary clip on ear tips and im all about comply foam tips over everything else. Between that and anc is the main reason im still rocking the senns and shelved my klipsch.

[@crazzp]

I'm still using the WF-1000XM3 but their battery is really terrible now. I barely get through 1.5h on each full charge.

[@AndrewTyler]

In the future it might be a good idea to include some airpods in the performance charts to compare against.

[@JungleJeffarnold]

And Technics, Bose, Sony, Sennheiser etc etc etc

[@christapunt]

Yes! I would love to see this compared to similarly priced earbuds from other major brands

[@RavenBomb123]

The Mac Address video got airpods graphs as well. This one probably didn't get that since this seems more standalone than the direct comparison MA did.

[@megami215]

Why? It's the same technology made by the same company. $12 earbuds with a $150+ mark up

[@bakedbeanfanclub]

@@megami215please link me the $12 earbuds these are comparable to lmao

[@Artista_Frustrado]

something i love of the clear plastic they used is that is not ultra clear, instead is actually semi-colored, aka, the one that actually looks good & nostalgic i hope we get to see Overhead Headphones with that look

[@khfan9437]

Black/gold “actually” looks good, too.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

oh absolutely, that one is a classic aesthetic combo@@khfan9437

[@AzngameFreak03]

Google and Apple working together: Me: * nervous consumer noises *

[@kerolosatef3628]

wow, the mic sound

[@nonnymoose7005]

One of the best bluetooth mics I've ever heard. I wonder if it's stuck using HSP or if it's doing something better.

[@Marco-vp8wl]

Just wanted to say the same. They sound like wired headphones 🤯

[@yeetso8788]

Real

[@igor4knezevic]

The colors are so perfect The transparent is the coolest one The ivory is the classiest out of them And the black is just the one you can't go wrong with (and probably the most appealing) I don't, I just love these headphones, and hopefully they'll be my next tws. Just hoping Apple doesn't prematurely retire them after a few years on the market.

[@TheKing-qn9uc]

Clear all the way omg. Just see them in person. I have owned the black ones already, have the clear ones now, and it’s beyond a doubt the way to go. By /far/ the coolest and best choice

[@Fesey_]

honestly, the microphone on those earbuds were shockingly good

[@ThisUploaded]

Transparency gives one extra perk aside from the shear cool factor. It makes it way easier to spot counterfeits. And apple/beats are notoriously very well cloned from a visual standpoint. It will be really difficult to pull off a clone when so much of the inners need to at least look identical as well now.

[@joshuad1716]

A Mac address video and short circuit video on these? Nice

[@JadeEyeland]

i had deja vu

[@HeathRS]

If they put wireless charging in finally I would buy a set. I had the original Studio Buds and found the battery life to only be about 3 hours with ANC on, so I bought the Sony XM4s. They sounded great when they didn't have connection issues, but after I went back to an iPhone I bought the new AirPods Pro 2s. I still think the Beats fit me the best of all of them. I'd be curious to see how the new ones sound compared to the AirPods Pro 2s. Listening to the original Buds side by side with them feels like the Beats have an ever more slight bit of bass, but the midrange is a bit flatter. Not a problem with hip hop and electronic, but I listen to a lot of rock and metal and the AirPods just sound a bit fuller to me. Both do sound pretty good though.

[@cadenchurchill4296]

Nice to see they've actually made these more comparable to the AirPods Pro than the older ones. Upgraded to AirPods Pro 1 from the original Studio buds and the AirPods are just so much freaking better. Sound is so much clearer, transparency is not only useable, but incredibly awesome, and noise cancelling is also so much more useful.

[@shivampathak5773]

My 1More Evos absolutely demolish anything apple makes

[@mikeoxlong1897]

@@shivampathak5773yeaaah no

[@greylawson6352]

Wow the mic quality is great

[@Rkcuddles]

10:47 finally thank you for telling us what these graphs mean without using words I don’t understand.

[@jonathanoneill6404]

Honestly, this is one of the first times I've appreciated the graphs, as he explained why what parts of each graph were representing and why it mattered for this product. Do it this way for ALL of the headphone reviews! don't just say "they're punchy" or "lots of brilliance." I don't know what that means and I'm not going to take the time to learn.

[@LutraLovegood]

And if you know what those means, a graph can tell you the difference between nicely brillant and grating on the ears after a while. If a review doesn't have a graph, I just don't trust it.

[@roddybrod]

Weird to see this on MA earlier as well, but I liked all the extra technical info here.

[@und3dpix959]

On my Beats Studio Buds I can change the long clicks to different functions. So right is volume up, and left volume down. Try it :)

[@Dre_Key]

How’d you do that

[@junoperberry]

​@@Dre_Key probably just by using the app

[@itsme_nxvesh1918]

@@junoperberry use the app im guessing. I do it with mine on an iphone in the iphone settings. You go to bluetooth, and press the i icon and change the controls.

[@junoperberry]

@@itsme_nxvesh1918 wrong person

[@danirachmanto83]

​@@Dre_Key its on the app, just updated it. im using it too on android

[@Breigner01]

Like I said on the macadress video, I'm pleasantly surprised that beats is making better products now. I bought a beats studio 3 not too long after it got out and I was greatly disappointed, it was too bassy and the cussion around the ears was so soft that the driver was straight up crushing my ears and I couldn't wear it for over 1h because my ears would hurt too much. Hope they will continue on this path.

[@ArsonistDawn]

Thats like one of the best microphones I have heard on bluetooth earbuds damn

[@Carlos-xu5zq]

Just ordered some yesterday and they come in tomorrow, love what both apple\beats are doing, they need more products that are equally as good on andriod as it is with apple, love to see it!

[@yashjanghala]

Some? 😳

[@Carlos-xu5zq]

@@yashjanghala one lol my bad

[@Carlos-xu5zq]

@@nikan-1 they are good so far, dont plan on returning them

[@ZordZ-jl5nq]

You watched the review AFTER purchasing the product?

[@magnustangen6269]

damn the mic really surpprised me! thought they were really on par! as always, amazing video, watch you guys every single day

[@ronniebush2430]

These are so much more comfortable to wear then the Sony XM4s. And, you can actually make a normal phone call. The mix is so much more real with the Beats, like I'm hearing old songs for the first time. The bass doesnt thump like the cheaper JBLs, but the music is so much clearer. Like this guy says, im hearing parts of songs and instruments that i didnt know were there. Im a fan! Did I mention how comfy they are to wear?

[@Mitty92]

I love that its transparent (thats prob the main reason why Im gonna get them) and I wish that apple would make this for the Airpod's pros. Like wouldn't that be sick

[@mattzeepk2993]

Got the Powerbeats Pro recently and can confirm they sound excellent and work flawlessly with my phone/watch

[@costafilh0]

A good TEST for the video: Put a strong FAN on your face for a portion of the microfone test on the video. This would simulate wind and also good for testing options with dedicated wind reduction.

[@jorismak]

Haven't found a single device that handles wind, even with a dedicated wind mode (beyer / sony).

[@Kwotzi]

Wow the microphones on these are really good!

[@ichmiel1316]

Would be nice to see how close you can bring the frequencersponse curve to the target with an eq

[@EvilBlueNinja]

the range on my studio buds is wild. super happy with them. sometimes had range up to 75m. my co worker has airpods and the range on them is quite poor compared to these.

[@Secret_Takodachi]

Too be fair you're dressed in 90s colors like in "White Men Can't Jump" it's only natural that everyone would be dunking on you. ❤ I actually really like the hoodie to be clear! lol

[@Blizzard4242]

I agree with spatial audio on headphones / earbuds regarding the boomyness / far effect you were describing. On a proper Dolby Atmos speaker system though it sounds great, no boomyness at all.

[@itsme_nxvesh1918]

You can go in the settings on your iphone and change the press hold on either earbud for volume up and down.

[@robinnicholas9042]

Would love to see a comparison of these with likes of samsungs, apples, googles versions esp with the labs results now being used

[@googlesucks6029]

Yeah I remember when they were hyped and I tried them on. I couldn't hear the difference between them and my cheaper earphones I thought I was wearing them wrong or had bad hearing.

[@Sensei_Leo]

i wanted to get the airpods pros gen 2. i have the pros but i chose to get buds instead. been using it for less than an hour so i might be biased BUT so far i love them and they stay in the ear better than the pros. i love the battery life since im a PC maniac so i use it for long hours on weekends so not having to worry about battery is a HUGE plus for me (no pun intended)

[@snowdaysrule]

Love the translucent finish!

[@NonLegitNation2]

I have the Beats Studio Buds and I like them. The ANC isn't as good as AirPods or even my Sony Link Buds S but it's pretty good. The battery life is decent also. Will I upgrade to these, probably not anytime soon since I got the Studio Buds only about 6 months ago.

[@Demonetized]

I loved the Mac Address video for this.

[@Goodsdogs]

I’m here to look at the transparent case

[@Alekai185]

wtf? you guys glanced over the fact that this is probably the best sounding mic on any pair of earbuds on the market :o it's so clean!

[@bbking006]

Would've been nice to see their frequency response curve compared to other earbuds

[@MXT2006]

Actually in the settings of the beats you can change the buttons to allow volume control on them.

[@albyx]

You guys are double-dipping with this video and the one over at MA. Cmon now.

[@Cheffthechefguy4040]

On Apple you can change the long press to affect volume

[@rolanddenzel-authorcoach]

Volume - I think you can add volume up/down in the app using one of your press-and-hold actions.

[@DctrGizmo]

The transparent design looks so cool! I hope this means that Apple bring transparency to their other devices.

[@tantedcornny]

wow the mic quality was crazy good

[@rickjamesrickjames1]

The buds look dope. The problem with Beats is they can look amazing, and perform amazing here and there. But what is the durability of the product? All of my Beats products up to the Powerbeats Pro have failed on me when I don't even rough them up or use them enough. Again, the device looks nice, nice to know they sound good. But will they hold up? I guess we'll see over time.

[@pangtundure]

I loved that last bit of absolutely joyful outro 🤣

[@SkyyMi]

Okay the clear casing has me sold. If my pixel buds fail while these are still available I will be getting them.

[@care2000]

Wow the mic sounds excellent

[@i_Gotcha_]

Jesus that transition to using the Mic on the beats was damn near flawless I had to replay it after seeing the comments lol thats how good they are!

[@aarong2374]

really liking the graphs

[@jonasc3150]

I bought a new VW Polo GTI in 2019 and the soundsystem is from Beats. Only knowing 2010 Beats headphones I was a bit worried but these speakers are very nice.

[@rwinkler4321]

The problem with in ear buds' mics is often that they cant separate noise from your voice as well. It would be good if you could include a short test with some wind and some clicking and clacking, like when you are in the kitchen.

[@RichardTheGreat210]

Have had the studio+ for 2 weeks now and they are amazing imo.

[@ThePiquet888]

Never heard anyone use 'nebulous' in a conversation. luv it!!

[@OzoneGamerStation]

Are these good for running? They don’t seem to be advertised to include usage for exercise activities. I have the beats fit pro and they are great for running and working out. Not sure if I should switch to these if these new ones aren’t sweat resistant.

[@RishabhSharmaDehradun]

Researched a lot and took a leap of faith, first time i paired, the sound was very low, i got disappointed and wanted to return it, just before packing it back o tried again and surprisingly the were loud and loved the sound quality, i have used Jabra Elite 65t, Bose sound sport, presently have QC35 ii, these definitely sound better than Jabras, at par Bose sound sport (even better bass), tried Airpods pro 2, these are definitely better

[@TalesOfWar]

I think voices tend to be audible still with ANC on because of safety reasons. If someone is yelling to get your attention because you're about to walk off a cliff (slightly exaggerated of course lol) you'll still hear them.

[@calm-men6957]

No. Voices are usually at a higher frequency, which anc cant block well. Anc can block vehicle noises well because they are at lower frequencies

[@fizzdoodle9666]

Just bought the Beats Studio + without doing research but was blown away by how good the buds were. I'm especially impressed with the noise-cancelling feature it has. With technology like this, I'm hoping that one day an earbuds will exist with a "muffler" mode noise canceling where it cancels out loud explosions but still inputs voices like those muffles used in firing range.

[@macattack123mattc3]

I don't want to be "that guy", but in the interest of improving y'all's quality: Wow! Those headphones can actively cancel out 100 khz!?! That's amazing! (11:55) Also, cancellation at those frequencies (above about 600hz) can be hit or miss, due to the (relatively) short wavelengths and the processing latency in the DSP chips, and IMO is more dictated by the passive isolation of the headphone system. For a premium earbud, I would have hoped for more passive isolation, especially since I (and many others) am sensitive to noise cancelling (it gives me a headache). Then again, I am spoiled by my Etymotic triple-flange eartips...

[@TruFire710]

we need to bring transparent casings back.

[@ThatBulgarian]

that mic is the best ive ever heard on wireless headphones

[@danielbrugovsky6018]

9:25 You can set the audio to "hold the button" in the Beats app. It will replace voice assistant, but let's be real, who uses that.

[@jsirius94]

Great look at these exciting earbuds, i too am a sucker for the clear and will probably be picking these up. (Minor nitpick, when talking about the frequency response it would be 1 kHz or 1,000 Hz. We don't hear up in the Megaherz range lol)

[@H0w3r]

would be nice to see comparisons to other similar/popular products in the same category when you show us the graphs, much like how you do with hardware review like GPUs. great video though

[@HudsonCola]

I might buy them purely for the transparent casing

[@fish_water5311]

Should I get the Sony c700n, beats studio buds +, or a different option. I like the fact that the beats have more features but the c700n are way cheaper. Also if anyone knows does the c700n automatically connect when you take them out of the case?

[@x-daum]

Is eatips compatible with older products? (beats studio buds or beats fit pro)

[@aartwallow]

Nice review! The time that beats added lots of bass is long gone I think. Haven't seen those crazy frequency measurements for a couple of years

[@swordegghandle]

Just ordered these, I had first gen air pods lol so this is a major upgrade

[@Wopder13]

how’s the product? durability and quality?

[@ezurg01]

You can totally change the volume on them

[@phatec]

Little known fact, DR Dre sold Beats to Apple in 2014 for $3 billion, becoming the wealthiest hip-hop artist. He also joined the executive team at Apple.

[@bitMAN]

Both those Beats and the Vessi shoes look sick!!!

[@tech8tools]

Noise canceling future with one bud are available like AirPods Pro ? Or we must wear both

[@kylefunke9132]

Man said “I have a sound bar” and “actual surround sound” in the same sentence

[@GrilledChickenRamyun]

I dont understand why people hate if its bass(y)

[@user-jk5rt4kd8q]

I'm going to hold out for the Beats wireless pro max ultra plus

[@PassiveAssassin]

Always enjoyed your hosting but ive noticed a big increase in comfort. Keep up the great work.

[@DerangedCoconut808]

we need more clear/tinted clear electronics again. or clear ones full of water like those old LAN line phones back in 90s/2000s. those beats should come in those g3 imac colors.

[@slickdeals]

Honestly looking forward to these. That said my daily headphones are still the Shokz OpenRun because they're amazing in the office - the sound quality isn't amazing but they have great battery life and it's nice to never have to take them off.

[@fthrc]

Do you think the transparent model will turn yellow with long use??

[@thambone30]

Are these better than the Status Between 3ANCs?

[@eggw0ll]

I would love to see lab results for the AirPod pros and compare them to these bad boys

[@hueanao]

You guys should test the Nokia 5710 XpressAudio. Looks like an interesting concept for music/podcasts listening when you're at the gym or something.

[@rorycadorette8420]

They seem great, but you can save $70 and buy a set of jlab epic air ANC or jlab epic air sport ANC and get 12+ hours of battery per earbud and 70 hours of playback with case. They come with a distinctive EQ setup, ANC and ANC pass-through (which works amazing), have Tile built into the headphones and have ip66 rating. They work with Google quick sync, and are jamb packed with a ton of features, and they carry a 2 year limited warranty, of which they pride themselves on, as it was a fairly simple process to have them replaced at no extra cost, multiple times within the 2 year time frame. You get just as many features with Jlab as you do with beats, possibly even more, all at a price point that makes sense ($99). I'm surprised you guys haven't seen or reviewed these headphones yet as they have been adding features to the epic air ANC series and can contend with some of the best headphones out there.. And Jlab is the first company I seen that uses the Tile app to find your missing device, which while searching for headphones will give you location as well as making the earbud(s) ring out so that you can locate them easier. Ear bud shut off, that's OK, Tile will still connect to them to find your device. Jlab uses Tile in several of their products and keeps innovating all while not changing cost to the customer. Jlab epic air sport ANC was released at $99 and since has not changed, even with a 2nd gen version being released, they still only cost $99.

[@LutraLovegood]

Maybe I should update my pair.

[@mikewifak]

The angle of the dangle is inversely proportional to the heat of the beats.

[@coldzeroh1]

you can control volume from the buds

[@jorismak]

Was going to say they seem very spec-like to the wf1000xm4. Interesting response graph, but indeed nothing to mock . But then the price, they actually go under the heavy hitters in the non-apple space . Not bad! Too bad the Galaxy buds are always winning the response graph race and android features and aren't even that expensive ... So still no contender for that .

[@sesposit88]

1:46 ey size dont mattah!

[@paulorossicroce]

What about the jeans' pocket test!?!?

[@deejay_n_va]

Watching this on my Beats Studio Buds+

[@villegas24]

After the fit bit pro I became a fan of beats.

[@Lucid130]

This dude loves the zephyrus duo

[@kenfung8551]

Your hoodie reminds me of squirtle! Nice unboxing

[@kenfung8551]

Also does anyone still have issues with choosing between ANC and Spatial in your control centre on the iPhone and the only way to choose between the two is in the Bluetooth settings ?

[@Mihnea729]

The mics sound good !

[@steveyp94]

I've been happy with my beats fits pros