[MICHAELSD]

It's a bit taboo around Head-Fi to get excited for a new Beats headphone, but hear me out because I believe Beats under Apple is on a true upwards trajectory and that the Beats Studio 3.0 will be the best wireless headphones on the market.

What we know:

- The Studio 3.0 will include an Apple W1 chip with industry-leading wireless range, perfected AAC Bluetooth support, and superior battery life.

- Frequency response will be greatly improved if the Solo3 and the newest Beats headphones like the BeatsX are any indication. Soundstage and imaging (the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S) should also be better than expected.

These are my most-anticipated wireless headphones for those reasons alone since Beats under Apple is a much better company and I think the Studio will be the pinnacle of the new Beats.

Apple announced Studio3 today:

https://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/studio3-wireless

HIghlights:

- W1 chip.
- Brand new drivers.
- Next-gen "Pure ANC."
- Real-time audio calibration to preserve ANC clarity.
- 22 hours of battery with ANC on, 40 hours with ANC off.
- Improved earpads.
- $349, only $50 more than the Solo3.
- New colors.


Edit:

By the way, I feel I should probably justify why an audiophile who will spend whatever for the best sound is so excited about Beats Studio3: these are the exact features in a wireless headphone I've wanted for over a year.

- Best-in-class wireless reliability/range.

- Flawless AAC support!

- Comfortable over-ear design second to Bose in overall comfort, based on the previous model.

- Hopefully audiophile-tuned sound with bass emphasis. Even better if it beats Sony and Bose.

- ANC that can be disabled. (I could do without ANC but I don't mind it if it can be disabled without affecting the sound negatively.)

- 40+ hours of battery life with ANC disabled.

- Materials designed for everyday use. (Premium materials like leather and metal aren't conducive to workouts.)

Only feature it's missing is a Lightning connector as I don't use micro USB so it's a bit inconvenient to have to switch cables to charge it. I'm honestly so pumped that Beats Apple is releasing it I'm tempted to pre-order. Could care less that they're Beats branded if they sound as good or better than the competition.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Yeah, the Beats Studio 2 had a built in amp that was advertised as well. Of course, all of the wireless headphones out there have a DAC/AMP built in, few provide enough juice to warrant marketing the merits of the power supply. I haven't heard them but I'd hope they can compete with Blue's amp style.

And because it's Apple I'm hoping this set is just flagship level across the board: ANC, SQ, Build, wireless tech. Hoping these are like someone took the Sennheiser Momentum/HD-1, Blue Satellite, Bose QC 35 And Sony MDR1000X and put them in a blender with only the best features mixing together.

That's the hope anyway. If the ANC isn't state of the art, I'm out.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Also, we don't know when they will release, if they even will

 

[MICHAELSD]

Yeah, the Beats Studio 2 had a built in amp that was advertised as well. Of course, all of the wireless headphones out there have a DAC/AMP built in, few provide enough juice to warrant marketing the merits of the power supply. I haven't heard them but I'd hope they can compete with Blue's amp style.

And because it's Apple I'm hoping this set is just flagship level across the board: ANC, SQ, Build, wireless tech. Hoping these are like someone took the Sennheiser Momentum/HD-1, Blue Satellite, Bose QC 35 And Sony MDR1000X and put them in a blender with only the best features mixing together.

That's the hope anyway. If the ANC isn't state of the art, I'm out.

In that case, the Studio 3's amp should be next-level -- and I believe them as well on providing a proper amp. The Solo3 aren't explicitly advertised as including an amp, yet they do sound significantly better in wireless mode.

Reviews regarding ANC on the Studio 2 are very good, better than the Momentum's ANC, and the current 2.0 model was released in 2013 I believe.

I think you're right in your assumption that it will take the best of those headphones, then go a step further with better wireless and hopefully better sound quality.

Also, all rumors point to a fall launch. They've been clearing out the Studio 2.0 for months at $179-$199 and Beats doesn't have a current-gen over-ear. I'm not sure they'll upgrade the Solo series this year so the Studio is definitely going to be totally refreshed.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

It's a bit taboo around Head-Fi to get excited for a new Beats headphone, but hear me out because I believe Beats under Apple is on a true upwards trajectory and that the Beats Studio 3.0 will be the best wireless headphones on the market.

What we know:

- The Studio 3.0 will include an Apple W1 chip with industry-leading wireless range, perfected AAC Bluetooth support, and superior battery life.

- They are due for a redesign that improves the build quality, and will hopefully include some Apple flourishes.

- Frequency response will be greatly improved if the Solo3 and the newest Beats headphones like the BeatsX are any indication. Soundstage and imaging (the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S) should also be better than expected.

- Retail price is expected to be $399.

These are my most-anticipated wireless headphones for those reasons alone since Beats under Apple is a much better company and I think the Studio will be the pinnacle of the new Beats.

By imaging to do you mean they look good in photos?

 

[chef8489]

Its because the majority of the public dont really care about sound or dont understand it, and really only care about popularity and fashion and believe the hype of advertisement.

Apple does not care about audio quality., All they care about is money. Beats brings a lot of money in because of advertisement and image and thats why they purchased the brand.

 

[Levanter]

"the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S"
LOL?

 

[MICHAELSD]

"the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S"
LOL?

By imaging to do you mean they look good in photos?

While I haven't personally heard the HD800S unfortunately, the imaging on the Solo3 floors me -- it's better than the ATH-AD700, Momentum 2.0, or the V-MODA M-100 (though all those headphones have cleaner overall FR). The soundstage may not be huge but each element is given its own clear separation in space, and it's a clear 360-degree representation as well.

 

[seamon]

Yes. Beetz Silo 3 is gud. I am personally considering replacing my LCD 3 with dem Beetz

 

[MICHAELSD]

Yes. Beetz Silo 3 is gud. I am personally considering replacing my LCD 3 with dem Beetz

Honestly I expect the Studio 3 to have everything I'm looking for in a wireless over-ear. If not I'll look into Audeze or maybe buy a HD-6xx (all different leagues, I know).

 

[XERO1]

Soundstage and imaging (the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S) should also be better than expected.

 

[trellus]

Soundstage and imaging (the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S) should also be better than expected.

I have the Beats Solo 2 Wireless and they are actually good, for what they are. I heard my co-worker's Solo 3 Wireless and I didn't really any difference, though, to be honest, and the Solo 3 were released after Apple bought Beats. My impression is that the only improvements were to battery life (Solo 2 was already really good, but Solo 3 have ridiculously good batter life) and the W1 chip, and some new color options.

I would expect the improvements from current Studio Wireless to a new Apple-infused Studio Wireless to be as incremental, and while I've never heard the HD800S, I don't find the Solo 2 Wireless imaging to even be as good as my HD 600 or DT 880 Pro, much less an HD 800S. I don't know how those graphs you showed measure, but it certainly didn't convince my ears.

 

[seamon]

What he meant guys was that Beetz has 4D soundstage and imaging. In the 3rd dimension world, Beetz will sound distorted and closed in but once you transcend your existence into the 4th dimension, everything will become crystal clear and you will have this vast open soundstage that Sennheiser can only dream of.

Spoiler

Seriously though OP, I don't think we can deduce much from that graph and info page. You are comparing a closed back consumer grade HP to a open back famous for its vast soundstage and pin precise imaging. You're comparing apples to oranges imo. If you really wanna compare soundstage and imaging, maybe start off a little more modestly like comparing them to say THX00 or something.

 

[xDaveyJ]

So you've never heard the HD800S and you've said imaging is on par..
Go home you're drunk.

Headfi sometimes...

 

[obobskivich]

(the Solo3's imaging is about on par with the HD800S) should also be better than expected.
.

Honestly I agree that they're just there to "look good" and not to "sound good." Apple historically has never been overly focused on "hi-fi" - they already have customers that believe they walk on water, turn water to wine, and can do no wrong, so there's no onus to actually deliver groundbreaking performance. Monster was an audio company, and at least on some level (at some time) cared about hi-fi (and Noel Lee has even openly said they knew the Beats didn't have great sound, because that was relatively low on their list of design goals compared to looks, compatibility with mobile devices, etc). Frankly I'd be surprised if Apple does anything but try to re-shape Beats from being plastic teeny-bopper fare into something more like the Parrot headphones, and spends most of the money on a marketing campaign touting it as the second coming of high fidelity, and running the price up significantly. Notice that "improving audio quality" doesn't fit into that anywhere. Yes that's pure speculation, based on both brands' track records - they're ultimately marketing companies that have figured out how to get rich selling ketchup popsicles to women in white gloves, figuratively speaking.

I'll freely admit I haven't heard the very latest Beats, but I've never heard a Beats headphone worth listening to for any prolonged period of time, and none of them have ever offered ANC that's peformed anywhere near "top end" (and I wouldn't regard Sennheiser as having mastered that either, frankly). Beats turned "ANC" into a feature everyone "has to have" though, despite their ANC solution's performance being extremely bad. It's nowhere near what Bose has on offer, and I don't see that changing either, for the express reason that quality ANC is an expensive and arduous engineering project that few companies are willing to invest in, especially when many methods of achieving ANC are now patented by the few companies that *have* invested in it (like Bose and Sony). Neither Beats nor Apple have a history of being market leaders for technology or innovation, so seeing them launch something with market leading ANC (or sound quality) would be surprising, to say the least.

But like I said - this is all pure speculation. It could always be wrong. But I'm not holding my breath.