Beats Studio Pro Review: How Are Beats’ Over-Ear Buds For Workouts?

Even when buying the best workout headphones, there’s always a compromise to be made somewhere. In-ear buds have a more secure fit and the best water and sweat resistance, and can sound fantastic, but don’t match the sound quality and active noise cancellation (ANC) you can get from on-ear or over-ear buds. 

Most over-ear headphones aren’t that comfortable or secure for use during workouts, though, which is why the Beats Studio Pro stand out. Not only are they lightweight, but they stayed in place during a variety of training sessions and are great for outside workouts. However, with no official IP rating you’ll have to be wary of not getting them too sweaty during more vigorous workouts when the heat rises.

Beats Studio Pro: Price And Availability

The Beats Studio Pro launched in July 2023 and cost $349 in the US and £349.99 in the UK. That’s considerably more expensive than Beats’ sports-focused in-ear buds, like the Beats Fit Pro, which are $199.95/£199.99 and the Beats Powerbeats Pro, which are $249.95/£269.95.

How I Tested These Headphones

I’ve used the Studio Pro for a variety of workouts, including weights sessions, core workouts, yoga and indoor runs. I’ve also used them extensively outside my workouts, and have tested a range of the best workout headphones, including Beats’ in-ear headphones.

Design, Controls And Fit

The Studio Pro headphones come in four colors—black, navy, dark brown and sandstone—and have a mostly plastic design, with metal hinges and sliders, and leather ear pads. The mostly plastic build helps keep the headphones light at 9.2oz/260g, which makes them more comfortable during workouts. By comparison, the Apple AirPods Max have a metal design and weigh 13.6oz/385g.

You can adjust the size of the headphones using the metal sliders and once set to the right length, they sit securely on the head during workouts and runs. Despite this tight fit, the headphones don’t become uncomfortable over a couple of hours of use. I found I could wear them with glasses without them putting unpleasant pressure on the top of my ears, which I often get with on-ear and over-ear buds.

The fit isn’t reliable enough for extremely vigorous workouts, like HIIT, where you jump around a lot, but for slow and steady strength sessions and easy runs the Studio Pro stayed in place. I also did a core workout where I had to lie on my side for short spells and while the large size of the headphones made it a bit awkward, they didn’t fall off.

The ear pads aren’t removable so you can’t wash them, and Beats hasn’t given the Studio Pro headphones an IP rating to indicate how water-resistant they are. I’d be wary about using the headphones as they are for sweaty workouts, and even after light training sessions I dried them off carefully. 

You can get silicone covers for the ear pads that I think would be a worthwhile investment if you’re planning to do long workouts in them regularly. The ear pads aren’t the most breathable, so even if you’re doing a low-intensity workout you’ll start to sweat around the ears after a while.

There is a small on/off button on the right side of the headphones, which can also be used to change between ANC and transparency modes, and on the left side is a large button to control playback, plus volume controls. All the buttons are large enough to be easy to use during workouts, and it’s possible to activate your phone’s voice assistant by holding the playback button, or by just saying “Hey Siri” if using an iOS device.

The headphones fold in on themselves and come with a soft carry case that has pockets for the 3.5mm jack cable and USB-C to USB-C cable you can use to listen to music through a wired connection.

Sound Quality

The Studio Pro have custom 40mm drivers powering their sound, which is rich and full and certainly not lacking in bass. The headphones offer Apple’s personalized spatial audio and head tracking (when using compatible audio sources), but you can’t directly adjust the EQ: You have to do so within the app you’re using, such as a music streaming app.

I enjoyed listening to a range of music genres and the sound was balanced and clear, with no distortion in the upper ranges. They’re bass-forward, but not unpleasantly so, and on busy tracks you can hear each instrument and the vocals clearly.

You can use a USB-C cable that comes with the headphones to plug them into devices and enjoy high-fidelity lossless audio, as well as three EQ modes to suit different situations. There’s one for entertainment, like films and games, one for listening to voice calls and podcasts, and the signature Beats profile for music.

ANC And Transparency Modes

The Studio Pro’s ANC mode cancels out background noise effectively, especially when traveling on trains. In the gym they filter out the in-house music and sounds of other users well, so you can focus on your workout—though it means you need to stay aware of others in case someone is trying to get your attention.

If that’s a concern you can use the transparency mode, which uses mics to filter in noise from your external surroundings, so you can hear what’s going on. This transparency mode isn’t as good as the one on the Apple AirPods Pro 2, where other people’s voices sound natural through the mics, but it does help you stay aware of the world.

Battery Life

The Studio Pro headphones last up to 40 hours on a change with the ANC off, and 24 hours with the ANC enabled. If you have the volume set high at all times these numbers come down, but I rarely felt the need to pump up the volume, because the over-ear design and ANC meant the sound was loud enough at mid-volume levels.

If you’re caught short of battery you can get four hours of playback from a 10-minute charge. The headphones are charged via a USB-C cable and you can charge the headphones while listening to certain Apple devices if you plug them in with the USB-C cable.

Are The Beats Studio Pro Worth It?

If you want to use over-ear headphones in the gym then the Beats Studio Pro are a compelling option, as long as you’re careful to clean the sweat off them after workouts—or invest in silicone covers to protect the ear pads.

I prefer a set of in-ear buds like the Beats Fit Pro or Jabra Elite 4 Active for workouts because they have a more reliable fit and durable design for sports, but you don’t get the same sound quality and battery life as you do with the Studio Pro, which are more enjoyable to use outside workouts.