I’ve enjoyed watching the evolution of Beats over the last few years. After starting as gaudy bass goblins with questionable build quality, Beats has focused on refining its image, resulting in better-balanced products worth considering. A great example of this transition are theBeats Studio Budsreleased in 2021. The Studio Buds produce above-average sound quality and have solid battery life, making them a contender for our list ofbest earbuds.
Building on the success of the Studio Buds, Beats decided to go back to the drawing board for the Studio Buds+. In addition to new acoustic vents, Beats has refined the bass production and worked to improve transparency mode. Furthermore, thePlusbuds feature fantastic battery life. They are by no means perfect, and audiophiles will have grievances, but at $170, how much will the flaws bother you?
Beats Studio Buds+
Building off the success of the Beats Studio Buds, the Studio Buds+ feature advancements in a few key categories. Beats significantly improved the Studio Buds+ battery life thanks to larger cells in the earbuds and the charging case. By including larger microphones, Beats enhanced the active noise-canceling and transparency mode performance.
Price and availability
The Studio Buds+ are available from Beats, Apple, Amazon, Best Buy, and others for $169. They are available in three colors: black, ivory, and transparent.
Design, hardware, what’s in the box
I understand this comes partially from nostalgia, and you have to be of a particular vintage to appreciate it, but I love the transparent design of the Studio Buds+. If you remember the simple joys of a funtastic color Nintendo 64 or the original iMac, the Buds+ will make you feel at home. While the matte plastic is “transparent,” it’s less like the Nothing Ear 2’s clear plastic and more like the translucent products of the ‘90s. The black and ivory colorways are, sadly, not transparent.
The charging case for the Studio Buds+ is sleek and well-designed. A magnetic closure keeps your buds secure while not in use, while a single LED signals charging status. For me, it’s the shape of the case that impresses the most. It’s thin and rounded, comfortably fitting in jeans’ pockets or smaller sleeves in bags. Even though wireless charging isn’t present, the increased battery capacity is a trade I’m willing to make.
More than just looking good, the Studio Buds+ feel good in the ear as well. Beats added three acoustic vents to the Buds+ to help relieve ear pressure. And while I’m typically annoyed after a brief period with earbuds, I felt little fatigue or irritation after wearing them for over five hours in a single sitting. Although comfort will ultimately come down to your individual ears, the light weight of the Buds+ helps a great deal. It’s easy to forget you are wearing them. If the default medium-size ear tip isn’t to your liking, Beats includes three other sizes in the box: extra small, small, and large.
A comfortable fit is important because it helps the buds stay secure in your ear while moving about. I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but the activity profiles of tech reviewers and Olympic athletes rarely overlap. Even still, I tried to recreate several scenarios where the Buds+ may come loose. Working out shouldn’t result in the earbuds falling out; I could jostle my head around and even touch my ear lobe with my shoulders while putting on a messenger bag without dislodging the buds, activities that would most certainly result in lost AirPods.
Even though there are no touch controls on the Buds+, the physical buttons work well and don’t require a lot of force to activate, preventing an unpleasant feeling against your ear. The Buds+ have an IPX4 rating, so sweat and water splashes shouldn’t be an issue — just don’t go swimming with them.
Rounding out the unboxing experience is a short USB-C to USB-C cable; no charger is in the box.
Audio and ANC
I found myself really enjoying the sound the Studio Buds+ can produce. Beats claims its custom two-layer transducers are responsible for the improved bass, and I see no reason to disagree. Songs from multiple genres sounded great, with enough thumpy bass to keep the beat moving without being ear-punishing.
Vocals are clear, and the mid-range is well-defined. I never felt any instruments were being swallowed up by a muddle of noise. I understand my music tastes might not be the norm — more ‘90s Amy Grant went through my Buds+ than anything else — but the earbuds felt right at home blasting upbeat pop.
I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. No one will confuse the Studio Buds+ for higher-end offerings from Sony or Sennheiser. I never felt like I was in a large concert hall with sound reverberating around me.
The depth of the sound, while good enough, isn’t magical. If you’re an audiophile expecting to sit down and discover nuances in your favorite tracks, you will be disappointed. But Beats isn’t pretending they are up to that standard, and you aren’t paying that kind of money. Don’t expect to do any tweaking to the default tuning, either. The app is rudimentary, with only an option to select between transparency and active noise canceling.
In an effort to improve transparency and ANC, Beats added larger microphones to the Studio Buds+. While it’s not perfect, I did find the ANC worked well enough. You’ll still hear any air filters or fans you have on in the background, but once the music gets going, it does the job of keeping the outside world at bay. As with most ANC systems, the listening experience improves considerably once turned on.
Transparency mode is more of a mixed bag. I could tell the Buds+ struggled to determine which sounds should be emphasized around me and which should be kept in the background. While it’s not the only contributing factor, there is no Apple silicon driving the Studio Buds+. Even though other products like the Beats Fit Pro benefit from the Apple association, it decided not to include the technology in the Buds+. I don’t think there was ever a real threat that the AirPods Pro would be shown up, but I doubt Apple was taking any chances.
The increased size of the microphones has added benefits beyond ANC. As a result, voice calls using the buds are clear, and people on the other end have no problem hearing, even in crowded environments.
Overall, you’re going to be pleased by what you hear coming from the Studio Buds+. The sound fidelity is what you’d expect for the price range, and I like that Beats balanced the tuning.
Apps and features
Apple’s “It Just Works” DNA has bled over into Beats — for better or worse. While you don’t get a lot of customization or EQ options, the trade-off is ease of use. The Studio Buds+ are exceptionally easy to set up. I was listening to music in moments, with the aid of the Beats app on Android. If you are an iOS user, pairing your Buds+ takes seconds. Ear detection is good as well. My Buds+ had no issue knowing when to switch over audio controls on both Android and iOS. Android setup took one extra step, but I was still paired within moments.
The Studio Buds+ feature Bluetooth 5.3 compatibility and a form multipoint on Android devices. If Audio Switch is selected in the Bluetooth settings for your buds, you may switch between a device like a Chromebook and your phone, depending on your activity. It’s a useful feature, and anytime I can use earbuds or headphones on multiple devices without re-pairing is a success.
As I mentioned before, the Beats app for Android is nothing to write home about. I can change the ANC mode and see the charge of both buds and the case — that’s it.
Battery life and charging
Battery life is an area where the Studio Buds+ really shine. Beats claims up to 36 hours of listening when factoring in recharges with the case. While this much be a bit of a stretch, I can see the buds getting pretty close to that number. With a mix of transparency and ANC, I could get up to 9 hours on a single charge. Full ANC reduces that number to just under 6 hours, but it’s still an impressive showing.
The charging case allows for a little power boost, with five minutes getting you an additional hour or so of playtime. It worked well in testing, as I found myself checking the app twice to make sure I wasn’t seeing things as the charge shot up. If you are a more demanding user, the Beats Studio Buds+ are worth a look for an all-day battery experience.
Competition
If you’re looking for alternatives, theSamsung Galaxy Buds 2 Proare a good place to start. You’ll pay $40 more, but the sound quality will be noticeably improved over the Studio Buds+. You will sacrifice battery life, and the case and buds design are not as sleek as the Beats, but you’d have to decide which features are most important to you.
If you’re looking for a similar design at a lower price, theNothing Ear 2might be worthwhile at $149. The Ear 2 buds feature a little more customization and more traditional multipoint functionality. Sound quality will suffer a little in comparison, and battery life is worse than the Studio Buds+.
Should you buy them?
When I think of the Beats Studio Buds+, I’m reminded of my favorite story from theStar Warsset. Mark Hamill recalls asking George Lucas if they shouldn’t have messy hair and wet clothes for the scene right after getting out of the trash compactor on the Death Star. According to Hamill, Harrison Ford, overhearing the conversation, walked up to him and said, “Hey, kid, it’s not that kind of movie.”
I think the same can be said for the Buds+. If you understand what they are trying to be, you’ll get a lot of enjoyment from the design, build quality, sound fidelity, and battery life — especially in the price range. If you go in with audiophile expectations, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Even still, they are good enough for me to rock out to Amy Grant all day — and nothing is more important than that.
