I know what I like. That is clear, precise, and powerful sound reproduction. These Beats are clear and powerful, and pretty precise. I am testing with a Samsung Galaxy S5, and Spotify with "Extreme Quality" tracks. The bottleneck is the bitrate of the tracks.
Sound- Lows are low, and not nearly as muddy and overbearing as before! Mids are more present than ever in Beats. Highs are a tad too "Crispy", but not a big deal. Noise cancellation is always on, but this isn't too much of a bummer, everything is still clear.
Wired- Has an auto off/on feature now. Plug in the cable and it's on! It's actually kind of cool. Bass is a slight bit more extended while wired and has a little more detail. The wire is okay, not the nicest ever.
Wireless- Beats confirmed with me that they apparently DO use APT-X codec. Why is it not advertised? Not a clue. This makes sense seen as how the audio is nearly as good as wired and doesn't have the typical nasty sound like when transmitting from my Galaxy Nexus with no APT-X. The DSP and amplifier built in do a great job. It is loud via bluetooth. Loud enough that I only push 75% volume.
Noise Cancellation- Wow, these are actually really good. They let really loud noises in and not much else. Of course they have a hiss when no music is playing, but that's expected. The "Adaptive" cancellation turns that down when music is playing. By the way, these are awesome on a plane.
Music is controlled with the "b" on the left side. Tap to pause, double-tap to skip. Volume is on the same ear and is simple. Up above the "b" is up and down is...well...down. The touch controls on the Zik's and Level-Over are neat, but mechanical doesn't let you accidentally change the song.
The padding is comfortable, though it may be a little thin for some. After 2 hours, my ears were touching the hard plastic grille on the inside. My ears weren't too toasty either.
Overall, I love these things. APT-X is amazing and so is the noise cancellation, especially when flying or out and about in noisy places. Finally I am okay with cutting the wire for periods of time, and I'm delighted, but not disappointed, when plugging back in.
Sound- Lows are low, and not nearly as muddy and overbearing as before! Mids are more present than ever in Beats. Highs are a tad too "Crispy", but not a big deal. Noise cancellation is always on, but this isn't too much of a bummer, everything is still clear.
Wired- Has an auto off/on feature now. Plug in the cable and it's on! It's actually kind of cool. Bass is a slight bit more extended while wired and has a little more detail. The wire is okay, not the nicest ever.
Wireless- Beats confirmed with me that they apparently DO use APT-X codec. Why is it not advertised? Not a clue. This makes sense seen as how the audio is nearly as good as wired and doesn't have the typical nasty sound like when transmitting from my Galaxy Nexus with no APT-X. The DSP and amplifier built in do a great job. It is loud via bluetooth. Loud enough that I only push 75% volume.
Noise Cancellation- Wow, these are actually really good. They let really loud noises in and not much else. Of course they have a hiss when no music is playing, but that's expected. The "Adaptive" cancellation turns that down when music is playing. By the way, these are awesome on a plane.
Music is controlled with the "b" on the left side. Tap to pause, double-tap to skip. Volume is on the same ear and is simple. Up above the "b" is up and down is...well...down. The touch controls on the Zik's and Level-Over are neat, but mechanical doesn't let you accidentally change the song.
The padding is comfortable, though it may be a little thin for some. After 2 hours, my ears were touching the hard plastic grille on the inside. My ears weren't too toasty either.
Overall, I love these things. APT-X is amazing and so is the noise cancellation, especially when flying or out and about in noisy places. Finally I am okay with cutting the wire for periods of time, and I'm delighted, but not disappointed, when plugging back in.
What? Expected if you had Beats Wireless beofre changing to Studio Wireless, maybe. Try other brand's wireless offerings and let me know if your ears are so much better than mine. I certainly can't detect any noise with my friend's 3-yr old Bose can's which cost the same as the Studio Wireless. And the new Bose successors to his also are dead quiet. Same for European brands, not yet tried Japanese or Chinese, though. Check it out.