So apple’s ear buds are amazing… but I don't know what happens when it comes to their headphones. The AirPods Max are super expensive and they can be hard to justify over cheaper options… and the beats studio pro are priced as premium ANC headphones and they are more like mid tier ANC headphones. But today we’re going to compare the AirPods max to the Beats Studio Pro, we’re going to look at their quirks and we’re going to talk about what they need to do different.
Regarding pricing, the AirPods Max retail for $550 and these are just a status symbol for people that just dont know better. And then there are the Beats Studio pro which have a retail price of $350 and these are also hard to justify for a pair premium ANC headphones. Personally I wouldn’t pick up either of these two headphones… but I will have some better options and videos linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the cases that come included with these headphones… the beats studio pro come included with a soft shell case… which is unacceptable for these premium ANC headphones cause premium and mid teir ANC headphones come included with hard shell cases. And you know, you want a hard shell case for your headphones so that they stay protected if you plan on traveling with your headphones. But then there are the AirPods Max which are even worse cause their “CASE” doesn’t even protect the headband it self. So overall, I dont know why apple just deliberately gives you such sub par cases with their headphones when hard shell cases are the standard for premium ANC headphones.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding fit, both of these headphones have their issues. When it comes to clamping force the beats studio pro’s have a very tight fit to them making them not big head approved. And the AirPods Max also have a tight fit to them but they’re not as tight as the beats studio pro. But also, the beats studio pro’s dont sit as naturally on your head cause their ear cups have very little range of motion, so their ear cups apply a little more pressure on the front than they do on the back, making them feel unnatural. Where as since the ear cups on the AirPods Max have a lot more range of motion, their ear cups apply an even amount of pressure around your ears which feels more natural. But then there’s the headband on the beats, this headband is minimally padded, so hot spots do show up after like 30 or 40 minutes of use. Where as hot spots are not an issue for the AirPods Max cause of their net… and I will admit, this is one of the coolest things about the AirPods Max. But then there are the ear pads on these headphones. Now the ear pads on the Beats Studio Pro are very shallow, so even if you have average sized ear like me, they will press down on your ears which can get uncomfortable after like 30 minutes. Where as the earpads on the AirPods Max are more spacious… but these fabric EarPods can get itchy after like 20 minutes. But one of the biggest issues for the AirPods Max, comfort wise is their weight, the AirPods Max weigh in at a hefty 384 grams… which is a lot. Where as the beats Studio Pro weigh in at 260 grams which is average. Now the AirPods Max weigh what they weigh cause they are using much more premium materials than the mostly plastic body that you’ll find on the Beats Studio Pro… but all of this weight is super noticeable when you have them on your head. With the AirPods Max, it is very hard to forget that you have them on and you can really feel their weight shifting around when you’re walking around with them on. So overall, both of these headphones are uncomfortable when compared to other options out there. They both have a lot of clamping force… but with the beats their ear cups have a limited amount of range of motion… their ear cups are shallow and hot spots can be an issue. And with the AirPods Max, they’re very heavy and their ear cups can get itchy.
Now when it comes to battery life, the AirPods Max have an advertised battery life of 20 hours with active noise cancelation turned on… and this is below average for premium ANC headphones… but if you were to use them with their active noise cancellation turned off, you’ll be able to extend their battery life.
Where as with the Beats Studio Pro, these have an advertised battery life of 24 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on… and with their active noise cancelation turned off they can go for as long as 40 hours. So battery life on the Beats is better… but its still a little below average when compared to other other there.
But in order to charge these headphones… the AirPods Max charge via a lighting port… just like AirPods or your iPhone… where as the Beats charge via a USB C port. But the really interesting thing here is, with the beats you can use their USB C port as a wired connection… and they also have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack… and they come included with an audio cable.
And this is a very big deal cause the AirPods Max dont have an audio jack, and if you want to use them with a wired connection, you have to use their lighting to audio jack cable which is sold separately. So with the beats, its nice that you can use them with a wired connection right out of the box.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, the AirPods Max are using apple’s H1 chip, so you’ll be able to easily hot swap between any of your apple devices associated to your iCloud account… making them a great option if you’re an apple power user.
Where as with the Beats… they aren’t using apple’s H1 chip… so they won’t hot swap between devices as easily as the AirPods Max… but they are still a good option for power users cause they will jump from one device to another very easily… you just have to go into your device’s bluetooth menu and establish a connection.
And when it comes to overall Bluetooth connectivity, there’s zero latency across board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device… but when it comes to audio codecs, both of these headphones only have support for SBC and AAC which is very typical for apple.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. For starters with both of these headphones you can’t directly adjust their EQ to your liking like you can with a lot of other headphones out there. Now with the Beats you can choose from a few pre made EQ’s but only if you use them with a wired connection through their USB C port… its weird. But with the Beats these have a bass heavy EQ, and the bass on these headphones resonates a good amount and there s a good amount of kick to it. But the vocals and instrumentals on these headphones also have a good amount of detail to them. But then there are the AirPods Max and I cant help but feel that these sound noticeably better than the Beats. For starters the AirPods Max just sound more open than the beats and they have better instrument separation. And this is with both of these headphones having their spatial audio turned on and set to fixed. But also the bass on the AirPods Max just resonates a little more than the bass on the Beats. And also, there’s a little more of an emphasis on the highs on the AirPods max than on the Beats. So overall, yes I would say that the AirPods Max sound noticeably better than the Beats Studio Pro… but I feel that most people will be happy with the beats studio pro.
Now when it comes to controlling your media… both of these headphones are using physical buttons. But personally I don't like the physical buttons on the beats cause they’re on the left side and when you press these buttons you have to jam them against your head. Where as with the AirPods Max, you have their crown which is on the right side… and when you press on it, you’re not jamming these ear cups into your head.
But also, the AirPods Max has wear sensors, so they will automatically pause your music when you take them off and they’ll start playing your music again when you put them back on. Now personally I don’t really care for wear sensors on my headphones and I usually turn them off if I can… but I thought I would point them out cause wear sensors are becoming more and more common on premium ANC headphones… and the Beats Studio Pro don’t have them.
But something both of these headphones do have is Hey Siri support which can defeintly be super useful cause this way you can simply tell Siri to control you music with your voice… or you can ask her to do other things.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Now until the Sony 1000XM5’s came along… the AirPods Max were the King of active noise cancelation for awhile… albeit they had a lot of cabin pressure… but then there’s active noise cancelation on the Beats Studio Pro which preforms more similarly to a pair of Mid Teir ANC headphones. But so that you can see for your self we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the ANC On the AirPods Max is really good and its up there with the Sony 1000XM5’s. The ANC on the AirPods Max will have no problem blocking out noise on your bus ride home, if you’re in a chatty office or jet engine noise. The ANC on the AirPods Max is good. But then there’s the ANC On the Beats Studio Pro… and for their price… their active noise cancelation is below average and I defneitly wouldn’t recommend them for flying cause they aren’t going to block out all that much noise.
But then there’s the ambient mode on these headphones. Now both of these headphones have an ambient. Now the ambient mode on the Beats Studio pro is good enough to get the job done… but the AirPods Max has perhaps the best sounding ambient mode out there cause it sounds like you’re not even wearing headphones. The ambient mode on the AirPods Max sounds like you’re hearing the outside world with your own ears which is very impressive. My only gripe is you can adjust the ambient modes on these headphones to your liking. And I also dont like that these headphones dont have a conversion mode like a lot of other headphones out there. And what a conversation mode is… it allows you to talk to someone without having to remove your headphones like this.
now Bose calls it conversation mode on the Bose NC 700 and sony calls it quick attention on their headphones headphones that have touch pads. And these types of features are really good especially when you’re flying cause you can have very quick conversations with people without having to remove you’re headphones… and this is something that is missing on both of apple’s headphones.
But finally here’s the microphone test, now I feel that both of these headphones have good sounding microphones on them.
But I do think the AirPods max do a better job of focusing on my voice. And this isn’t surprising to me cause apple has always had good sounding microphones on their AirPods and I do feel apples makes the microphones on their AirPods sound a little better than beats
But also, both of these microphones do a good job of reducing noise pollution cause right now this microphone is doing a really good job of reducing this road noise. Cause for comparison sake, if we were to switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear all of this road noise, but if we switch over to the AirPods Max, it is severely reduced.
And the Beats Studio Pro also do a really good job of dealing with this road noise
And when it comes to blocking out chatter, the beats studio pro are also doing a good job of reducing all of this chatter, cause again for comparison sake, if we were to switch back over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear all of this chatter, but if we switch back over to the beats studio pro, it is severely reduced.
And the AirPods Max also do a really good job of reducing all of this chatter. So overall I feel that both of these headphones have good sounding microphones on them for phone calls, but I do think the microphone on the AirPods Max is better than the microphone found on the Beats Studio Pro.
But with all of that being said… even though I like how both of apple’s headphones sound and they both have really good sounding microphones on them for phone calls… and even though the AirPods Max have really impressive active noise cancellation… personally it is very hard for me to justify either of these two headphones. First off both of these headphones are fairly uncomfortable for their own reasons… the AirPods max are very expensive and they’re hard to justify when compared to better preforming alternatives out there, and the ANC on the Beats Studio Pro is lack luster for a pair or premium ANC headphones. But then also there are their cases… its almost as if apple is deliberately trying to insult you when headphones of this price range typically come included with a proper hard shell case.