It's not hard to recognize a pair of Beats by Dre headphones from across a room. That's by design, of course. And your reaction to these multi-colored pieces of ear candy will depend a lot on your musical taste and age. This is unfortunate because both the Beats Studio and the new Beats Studio Wireless headphones will do more than make Stankonia sound amazing.
The new wireless version of the Studio headphones continues along the company's more subdued (fashion-wise) path, with only two color schemes: matte and glossy black.
It's not only a huge departure from the signature red-accented Beats line, it also seems to be a play at more 'adult' listeners. Having every musician and athlete wearing your colorful headphones is great for selling to the under-30 crowd. But as those customers grow up, sound (not necessarily looks) tends to become more of a priority. The Beats Studio Wireless delivers here too.
In an effort to make all music sound good, Beats has a taken a more democratic, even-handed approach to frequency response. Whether it's the deep bass cuts of an 808, or a squealing heavy metal guitar, highs, mids, and of course lows, all are given equal attention here. So you can listen to your favorite hip hop track and follow it up with a Jack White guitar jam and enjoy both because the headphones are made for both and everything in between. Plus, you can cut out all that external noise.
The Bluetooth headphones use Adaptive Noise Canceling. When you're listening to music, the ANC is turned down so it doesn't interfere with the sound quality of your tunes. But once the music is turned off, ANC is turned up to block out the sounds of the outside world. It's great for buses, airplanes, Thanksgiving dinner, or any other situation where you need hours and hours of music or quiet.
The Studio Wireless headphones also deliver with 12 hours of wireless music and up to 20 hours of wired music. The headphones feel just as light and comfortable as the wired Studio headphones. Except now you don't have that pesky wire getting caught on everything and tangled up. The subdued 'b' on the left cup controls your music the same way Apple's earbud controls do.
Overall, it's a nice package that'll cost you the very adult price of $380. That's $80 more than the wired versions. But just because you and your headphones have grown up doesn't mean you can't enjoy 'Ms. Jackson.' It's just that now you can also appreciate the latest from Jack Johnson.
Okay, maybe growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Roberto is a Wired Staff Writer for Gadget Lab covering cord-cutting, e-readers, home technology, and all the gadgets that fit in your backpack. Got a tip? Send him an email at: roberto_baldwin [at] wired.com.
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