Beats Studio review

What are the Beats Studio headphones?

The Beats by Dre. Studio have, for years, been the top-end model in the highly-recognisable Beats range. And now they've been given a refresh for 2013 and beyond.

The price hasn't changed, £269.99, and for that you get a pair of great-feeling, good-looking headphones that feature active noise cancellation to make them even more commute-friendly. These are the best-sounding Beats headphones we've tried, too, but as ever with Beats headphones the sound quality doesn't entirely match the price.

Beats Studio - Design and Comfort

Beats by Dre. has simplified the Beats Studio look in this new reincarnation. Where the previous model had cups that stuck out a way from the side of your head, these stick pretty close. 

Any design suggestion that these are headphones for the music studio seems to have vanished, besides the name, as the design here is clearly formulated with the commuter in mind. And really, that's no bad thing. 

These are reasonably light ANC full-size over-ear headphones that are quite streamlined and classy in their lines, but there are enough loud Beats design inflections to let them sit happily among their brothers. 


The trademark mix of black and red colouring is here, along with the classic 'b' Beats signifier on the rear of each cup. Their entire outer part is glossy plastic. It's eye-catching, but doesn't entirely fit with a £270 pair of headphones. And it attracts more fingerprints than a CSI crime scene.