Beats Studio Pro

Top-tier noise cancelling trapped in a headphone that can't handle a simple phone call. Those 74,000+ reviews might look shiny, but dig deeper and the love isn't really there.

Here's what surprised us: the active noise cancelling is genuinely fantastic. It sits in the 98th percentile in our database, and it feels like it. In a noisy coffee shop or on a flight, these things create a shockingly quiet bubble. But the microphone performance is a total letdown—63.4 out of 100 for calls. In our tests, your voice comes through compressed and hollow, like you're on a 2010 flip phone. It's the worst part of the package by a mile and a real head-scratcher for a headset this expensive.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra are the real obstacles here. Both offer ANC that's just as good—sometimes better—and their mics don't make you sound like a robot. Sony gives you a more refined, customizable sound and LDAC for hi-res streaming. Bose is the king of all-day comfort. The Beats only pull ahead if you absolutely need that Apple Spatial Audio head tracking and a fold-flat design, but even then, the call quality trade-off is hard to swallow.

Pricing is all over the map, from $170 to $350 depending on the retailer. At $170, these are a solid buy if you only care about ANC and don't take calls. At $350, they're a straight-up bad deal. Our advice: wait for a sale that dips below $200, or grab a renewed unit if you can stomach the risk.

Look, the Beats Studio Pro are a weird pair of headphones. They nail the stuff that looks good on a spec sheet—best-in-class noise cancelling, solid build quality, and that sweet Spatial Audio head tracking if you're all-in on Apple. But then they completely faceplant on call quality, which is just baffling for $350 headphones. And somehow, despite a glossy 4.7-star average, the actual user sentiment ranks at the bottom of the barrel compared to other over-ear cans. That disconnect should make you pause.

If you take more than a couple calls a week or care about mic quality at all, walk away. The Studio Pro's mic performance is a dealbreaker. Get a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QC Ultra instead—they'll treat your voice with respect and still give you amazing ANC.

Unless you find these deeply discounted, skip 'em. The ANC is killer, but the mic performance and shaky user sentiment kill the vibe. If calls matter at all, get the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QC Ultra instead. Your voice—and the person on the other end—will thank you.