Beats Studio3 Headphones - Review

I've been looking for a pair of wireless headphones ever since the Sony headphones I was using broke a couple of years ago. I bought the Sony's to cope with the noisy open-concept office at the TMX Group, but as it turned out the noise cancellation was not very good (these were a mid-range pair, not the top-of-the-line WH1000). They also weren't good outside because the mic picked up too much wind noise. 

I did look at the top-of-the-line Sony and Bose headsets, but they were both expensive and large. My preference is for headphones that fold up so I can carry them in my book bag or small knapsack. While shopping last week, I stopped into The Source and found the Beats Studio 3 headphones on sale and ended up buying them. 

I'd describe these as midrange headphones. The sound quality is good but not audiophile quality. Noise cancellation is good enough. It's not total but it doesn't suffer from the annoying noise that plagued the Sony's outside on windy days. (There is some wind noise, but at a tolerable level). They are comfortable and the earcups fold up under the headband so the folded size is fairly compact. 

Setting up pairing to my phone and computer was straightforward, once I found a YouTube video showing how to do it. (As with my recent smart plug purchase, the manual was pretty much useless). There is a companion Android app, but it has few features. I haven't been using them long enough to verify the claimed battery life (40 hours without noise cancellation), but in the week I've had them I haven't yet had to charge them and I'm still at 3/5 battery.

The controls are basic. A power button on the right earpiece also turns noise cancellation on and off. Tapping parts of the left earpiece pauses playback, controls volume, and advances music tracks. Control is via a physical press and not a swipe, so the controls aren't capacitive. That may be a durability issue in the long run, but reduces the chance of accidentally doing something you don't want to do. 

It would be nice if the power button had more relief. I would also prefer it if the noise cancellation defaulted to off. I mostly wear these indoors at home and don't usually need it, so I turn it off to save battery life. It would also be nice if the app offered equalization settings. 

Given the price, I'm happy with my purchase. The top-of-the-line Sony or Bose headphones would have cost me twice what I paid for the Beats with only a small improvement in sound quality.