Apple users on the hunt for a premium pair of over-ear headphones don’t have to drop $549 on the AirPods Max. The Beats Studio Pro are an excellent — and much more affordable — alternative, and right now you can snag a pair at a major discount. Amazon has knocked a whopping $170 off all four color variants, which drops them down to just $180 — only $10 more than the all-time lowest price we’ve seen since they were released this summer. Though there’s no set expiration for this deal, so we’d suggest getting your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on this serious bargain.
While it’s strange to start with a bit of a negative, it’s important to note from the get-go that this headphone doesn’t have either Apple’s H1 or its H2 audio chip. That means you miss out on some features, appreciate fast device switching and ear detection, that you’d get with Apple AirPods Max — but it doesn’t mean you don’t get excellent audio. On the contrary, as CNET’s headphone expert David Carnoy found, the audio tends to be aggressive, with sculpted highs and forward-sounding mids. That’s in comparison to the AirPods Max or the Sony WH-1000XM5 which are a bit more laid back, and if you appreciate that sort of aggressive sound, then you’ll love the Beats.
In terms of features, you get what you’d expect from a higher-end set of headphones, such as good-quality active noise cancellation and transparency mode, comfortable ear padding, and, surprisingly, the addition of both a USB-C port and a headphone jack. Battery life is also pretty impressive at around 40 hours with noise canceling off and 24 hours with it on, so it’s about standard for the industry and this price.
Overall, the Studio Pro headphones are a solid upgrade over the Studio 3 Wireless, and with this discount, well worth picking up. That said, if you’d appreciate a few more options, be sure to check out our full roundup of all the best headphones and earbuds deals available now for even more bargains.
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