The Beats Studio Buds Plus is an earphone after all and while im sure people would still buy them regardless just because of the cool clear case sound really should be a priority. There are so many good sounding wireless earbuds on the market now that it just wouldnt pass if fidelity took a hit but Beats have nailed it in this regard. Its crazy to think a company that was universally bashed for having bad sound quality has now found there way under Apples guidance.
The thing I noted in all the release literature was the increase in driver venting. I always felt that my original Studio Buds were a bit bloated and that there was room for potential improvements in sound quality if the drivers were allowed to breath. The difference is night and day to a tuned ear.
This is a far more polished, refined and airy listening experience that removes the muddyness and clears out the midrange to make the Studio Buds Plus work well with many musical genres.
The bass remains punch and with good sub bass extension but the mid bass is cleaned up in a way that makes them sound more controlled and tighter with a better representation over low weighted stringed instruments.
This carries into the midrange where the airyness creates a greater sense of spacing between instruments but also improves detail retrival as fine sounds are no longer overwhelmed.
Its the same drivers inside but it goes to show how important internal positioning, venting and dampining is when designing sound iniside an earphone shell.
The treble is good with some bright spots that adds energy int pacey tracks and the soundstay is average which is to be expected on any in ear headphone.
I won’t go as far as to say the Studio Buds Plus are tope tiers sounding but we have to accept that is by design. Apple is just not going to put a sub $200 earphone to market that performs better than its more expensive flagship.
However for the price they are very competitive especially if you like a well defined low end as the Plus have just the right amount of bass quantity to make EDM, Rap and Hip Hop music slam but they do it in a way that remains composed enough to work with all genres.
Other Feature:
Some other things we should talk about are the inclusion of an IPX4 water resistance rating which makes them a good choice for running and working out.
I like that they include auto pairing so when I take the earbuds out the case they are automatically detected by my iphone however I dislike that they dont have the auto switching function found on airpods.
Other features that aren’t included are spatial audio, audio sharing and fit optomization via software but I do appreciate that Beats includes 4 seperate sizes of eartips in the box to ensure a greater chance of a good seal in your ears.
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