Battle Royale with Cheese (Headphones Edition): Beats Studio 3 Vs JLab Studio Pro
Battle Royale with Cheese (Headphones Edition): Beats Studio 3 Vs JLab Studio Pro

Top of the line vs. bargain bin

How much money do you need to spend on headphones?

That’s a question I found myself asking on Black Friday, as I skimmed the deals on Best Buy’s website. After finally, finally settling on which devices I wanted to use on a day-to-day basis, I got back to the original tech “splurge” that had me frequenting Best Buy at the beginning of the year (back in the good ol’ days, when hand sanitizer was not something I had to think about constantly).

Before I got into my indecisive phase with computers that has fueled the majority of my tech stories this year, headphones were the thing I was busy comparing; namely, I was looking for over-the-ear (or perhaps on-ear) headphones that I could use for hours at a time while working without the fatigue (or Tinnitus flare-ups) that I got from in-ear buds. And I looked at a plethora of headphones, from the cheapest JLab headphones to the more expensive options from Beats, JBL, and others.

But a year later, when I finally came back around to wanting some over-ear headphones, only one brand came to mind again: Beats.

This wasn’t because they were the best on the market; I knew that headphones from Bose and Sony would likely have better sound than Beats, which tend to favor bass a little more than some reviewers like. But being an Apple brand, they came with some unique benefits for someone who has gone all-in with Apple products as I have. And I remembered that they were quite comfortable.

But I can never, ever be satisfied with buying one product and sticking with it. If you’ve read my other tech articles, you’ll know that my superpower is massive indecisiveness; I tried out a whopping 10 computers before deciding that the new MacBook Air with M1 was right for me, and I tried 6 different tablets before determining that the diminutive iPad Mini was all I needed in that space. So, naturally, I was gonna try a few different options before I settled down with one.

In fact, even before we get to the Beats that I’m comparing in this story, I tried out the Beats Solo Pro, which Best Buy had on sale for $169 at the time. And I loved everything about them, from the color to the USB-C to the noise canceling. But I didn’t love how they made my ears feel like they were being pressed into my skull after a few minutes; in fact, when I took them off after an hour or so, my ears were in tremendous pain (I do wear glasses, which may be partly to blame as well). So this comparison will feature, primarily, the older Beats Studio 3 over-ear headphones, which retail still for $349 (but were on sale at Target for $175 when I got them).

I’ve always had a soft spot for JLab, though. Their products are just so damn cheap, while still being good quality; I bought the JLab Go Air headphones for $30 and I never use them at all (I usually go for my AirPods when I want true-wireless portability), but I love that I have them just in case I need them. I have JLab’s retro Bluetooth headphones ($20) because they make me feel like Starlord. And I have a pair of JLab’s Studio on-ear headphones (which were also only $30) that I like to throw into my bag for trips.

JLab hasn’t done that many over-ear headphones, however. Last time, I tried what was really their only major offering- their $100 Flex Sport headphones- but they just felt cheap by comparison to their other products. And even though I bought a pair of their Omni headphones (which they appear not to make anymore), I rarely use them, as I found the controls a little finicky and the ear-cups a little too big.

But lo and behold, when I decided to go look at their website, I found that they now offered what they call Studio Pro headphones- a larger, over-ear version of the regular Studio headphones, with ear-cups that are large enough to cover your ears but small enough to still be portable (they retain the ear-shaped design of the Flex Sport while replacing the uncomfortable fabric with a more plush, leathery material). And they were $40. It was everything I wanted at a price I could easily stomach (especially since I’d just purchased the Beats).

So, the only real question I had was this: which was better? Were the Beats worth the extra $310 (or extra $135, if you get them on sale)? There’s only one way to find out.

FIGHT!!!!

Build Quality

Let’s start with the obvious: the design.

Of course, there’s only so much you can do with the design of over-ear headphones, and, well, Beats did it with the Studio 3. There might be a reason Apple hasn’t bothered to update these in 3 years. The matte, soft-touch plastic feels sturdy and premium. The cushions are thick and soft. The controls are nondescript, with buttons built into the Beats logo and the surrounding ring of the left side that looks identical to the aesthetics of the right (although I, like other reviewers, do wish that this ring worked more like the scroll ring on the old iPods). Tiny, white LED lights indicate the battery life and whether ANC is turned on.

My gripes with the design of the Beats are few, but they are, unfortunately, present. The power button, to me, sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the hidden play/pause and volume controls, and yet it is so small that it is difficult to press. I find myself having to try the double-press to enable/disable ANC multiple times to get the function to work, and a couple of times I’ve accidentally turned off the headphones rather than achieving the settings change. I’m also not the biggest fan of the folding function, but that is entirely personal; the first time I unfolded the Beats Solo Pro (which have a very similar folding mechanism), I horribly pinched my hand in the mechanism and it was painful as all hell. Given that they fold right in the place where I am prone to grabbing headphones, I feel like this is going to happen again. And the headband, while feeling entirely premium, does also feel rather fragile; I’ve seen plenty of Beats that were snapped in half hanging on the displays at Best Buy in the past, and they definitely feel like one wrong move will irreparably damage them (but you can get Apple Care for them, so…).

And while I love that the Beats include a wire to use with a headphone jack, they still need battery power to use this, which I think is dumb; I used the JLab Omni headphones for weeks with a dead battery and a 3.5mm cable before I finally decided to charge them. And speaking of charging, well, I know I said Apple hasn’t updated the design of these things in 3 years, but they could at least have released a refreshed version that used USB-C or even Lightning instead of the supremely outdated Micro USB. Seriously, I hate the idea of having to carry a separate cable for these headphones.

With design, more often than not, you get what you pay for. That said, while the JLab Studio Pro headphones definitely look cheaper than the Beats, they don’t look bad at all. As mentioned earlier, the ear-cups have a more tapered design, mimicking more the shape of your ears, and there’s a nice blue liner inside the cups for accent. The cushions aren’t as thick, but honestly, wearing them feels more comfortable than the Beats, which have a tendency to feel like they are squeezing my head a bit (though nowhere near as unbearably as their Solo Pro cousins). The power and volume controls are located on the rear of the right ear-cup, and while definitely more noticeable, they are somewhat easier to find with your finger (I often forget which side of the Beats house the controls, and since I’m right-handed, I instinctively try to press the right Beats logo to play/pause, which does absolutely nothing).

The areas where you’ll really notice that the JLab headphones are a cheaper product is in how the ear-cups are connected to the headband. A thin, metal wire holds each cup and serves as the extensions for fitting them on your head. It feels sturdy, but I can imagine that the wire could get pulled out or misshapen in a bag if you aren’t careful. And unlike the Beats (and other JLab headphones), these don’t come with any sort of carrying bag or case to protect them (though I’ll never use the ones that come with the Beats Studio 3; it is bulky as hell). But for me, this wire design has one benefit: since it juts out over the folding mechanism, I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about pinching my hand. As for the headband, while it is thinner in the realm of padding than the Beats, it feels a bit sturdier; I don’t exactly know what is inside, but I’d wager it would withstand being bent out of shape more than the Beats.

Speaking of wires, though, the cables that connect the ear-cups to provide power are exposed and just kind of float between the ear-cups and headband, where the cable for the Beats is flush inside the headband. Unlike the JLab Omni, the Studio Pro don’t have an adapter cable for use with the ever-disappearing headphone jack, but unlike the Beats, they charge with USB-C.

It would be easy to say the Beats Studio 3 are the winners here because they do look nicer than the JLab Studio Pro. But I don’t think they look that much better as to justify the way higher price tag. I think that despite looking a little cheaper, the JLab Studio Pro look damn good for $40 headphones, and they feel good, too. And honestly, if I had to pay $40 again in a year to replace them because the wire connecting the ear-cups to the headband got bent or broken, that would still be cheaper than buying the Beats Studio 3 once.

The Jlab Studio Pro headphones come in matte black, while the Beats Studio 3 come in a variety of colors, including matte black, black or white with gold accents, red, blue, and a few other exclusives depending on where you buy them, which is nice if you want your headphones to stand out (for my comparison, I am looking at the matte black).

Winner: JLab Studio Pro. The Beats are nicer, but as I said, I don’t think they are $310 nicer. $40 gets you some damn nice-looking headphones from JLab, and that’s nothing to shake a stick at.

Sound Quality

Beats has, for a long time, thrived on their sound profile. They can be a little bass-heavy for some reviewers, but for me, they sound excellent.

End of review.

Just kidding. I love how the Beats sound; it is the primary reason I revisited them a year after first trying them out. In fact, I made a playlist on Apple Music called “Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them” that is filled with songs that I think sound just perfect on the Beats Studio 3 (and others, like the Solo Pro and even the wired Beats EP).

But the sound profile was only half of the reason I wanted to give the Studio 3 (and the Solo Pro before them) a shot; the other was ANC.

2020 has been a bitch of a year, and one of the side effects is that I’m now working from home within earshot of my wife and our television. Most days, I can focus on work, but lately, I had wanted to find some noise-canceling headphones to help me pay attention to what I’m working on (I’m not saying my wife is loud… but the TV can be). Up until now, I’ve used Apple’s AirPods Pro or a pair of Sony in-ear headphones that have passive noise canceling. The problem there was that in-ear headphones began to hurt after an hour or two, or the AirPods Pro would fall out (I had to get some third-party ear-tips to fix this), or the headphones just wouldn’t last the full 8 hours I needed them for. I found myself constantly taking them out and not using them. So I knew I needed something that was on-ear or over-the-ear. I preferred the latter because I find over-the-ear to be more comfortable for long periods of time.

Since the Beats Studio 3 have Active Noise Cancelling, just like the AirPods Pro, I decided that I needed to give this a shot. And well… it works. Kind of. When sitting in the same room with the TV on at our normal volume, it reduces- but doesn’t eliminate- the TV sound. This means that whatever I’m listening to can generally be played at a lower volume, which is better for my ears and better for focusing on work rather than my music. The ANC on the Beats isn’t quite as good as the ANC on the AirPods Pro or other headphones on the market, but it is good enough for my needs, and the difference is definitely noticeable when you turn it off.

It isn’t all good news regarding ANC, at least not for me. When I first got the AirPods Pro, I found that ANC was giving me headaches after using it for an hour or two, and while Apple seems to have fixed this a little bit with the AirPods, I’ve found that this is present with the Beats as well. It doesn’t happen all the time, and it is a very minor headache, but it is noticeable, going down into my neck and making my head feel like it is ever so slightly in a vice (and one that doesn’t go away immediately after I take off the headphones). I chalk this up to my Tinnitus more than an issue with the ANC itself, but I know I’m not the only one who has complained about headaches with ANC, so it is worth bringing up if you have had similar experiences with other ANC headphones.

The JLab Studio Pro, simply put, do not have ANC. And I’m not bummed by that. I tried JLab’s Studio ANC headphones last year and I found that they were so-so; the ANC worked decently well, but it sacrificed the quality of the sound coming from the headphones themselves. And it was nowhere near as effective as the ANC on the Beats. That said, even though the Studio Pro headphones are only passively canceling noise (and they don’t passively cancel a whole lot because they aren’t quite as snug as the Beats), once I have something playing, I can only barely hear the TV in the background, and I can focus on my work just about as easily as I can with the Beats with the ANC turned on.

Out of the box, the JLab headphones don’t sound quite as good as the Beats. But JLab has a few sound profiles that you can switch to- JLab Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost. When comparing them to the Beats Studio 3, I prefer Bass Boost, and I honestly can’t really tell any major difference between them on this profile. Maybe your ears are more discerning than mine, and maybe, maybe the Beats sound a hair better. But- and this is turning into a recurring theme with this comparison- they definitely don’t sound $310 better. Not by the longest of longshots. I don’t know what voodoo JLab does to get sound this good out of $40 headphones, but they need to keep up the good work. JLab also has an app that features a Burn-In tool to help tune your headphones for even better sound (though I suppose you could also use this app with the Beats if you wanted to).

It is worth noting that the Beats do get louder than the JLab Studio Pro; in order to achieve the same sound that I got out of the Beats at around 50% loudness on my iPhone, I had to have the Studio Pro volume up to around 65–70%. If you want the max volume out of your headphones, the Beats are going to deliver it better, but for the health of your eardrums you really shouldn’t listen to any pair of headphones at max volume for too long; to reduce the risk of hearing loss, you shouldn’t go above 80 decibels for more than 40 hours a week. According to the Apple Health app, at around 50% volume, the Beats were delivering around 71 decibels, and at max volume, I was able to get it to 87 decibels (my volume settings on my iPhone are set to max out at 90 decibels).

I was unable to get the JLab headphones to report to the Apple Health app (more on that in a moment), so I had to get tricky; I played the same song at the equivalent volume (well, the 65–70% to achieve the same loudness) next to my Apple Watch, and received a similar 73 decibels (this may not have been as accurate as the Apple Health app, but I did the same thing with the Beats as a control to make sure my watch was providing similar results to what Apple Health was recording). Likewise, I was able to cap it at 87 decibels with my current settings. Sidebar: If you have an iPhone and hearing loss is a concern of yours, you can turn on alerts in the Health app to notify you when you’ve been listening to loud music for too long.

The final thing I want to talk about with these headphones regarding sound quality is their connectivity. Both use Bluetooth, however, if you are using Apple products, the Beats definitely have a leg up in Apple’s W1 chip. This is the older chip, so it doesn’t work with Apple’s new smarts that will automatically transfer your H1-equipped Apple headphones to the device you are currently listening on (this seems to be a little half-baked anyway), but it does mean that once you’ve paired it with one Apple device, it is connected to your Apple ID and therefore can be instantly paired to all of your other devices. While I was able to pair the JLab to my MacBook, iPad, and iPhone, moving them back and forth was more of a hassle; I’d first have to disconnect them from the device they were currently connected to in order to connect them to another. Honestly, that isn’t so bad, but I’m admittedly spoiled by how simply the Beats and my AirPods simply switch between my devices.

Additionally, I’ve had a few instances where there’s a second lag using the JLab headphones when watching videos. So far I’ve only noticed this when using the Hulu web app in Safari, and it is intermittent and can be resolved by pairing the headphones again. This could be a problem with either Hulu or the new M1 MacBook as well; I’ve had other issues with Hulu recently (it likes to skip to halfway through the next episode of M*A*S*H while I’m in the middle of an episode) and I’ve heard reports of Bluetooth issues with the M1 MacBook Air (in fact, both the JLab and Beats have experienced disconnection issues when in use with the MacBook). Long story long, I’m not gonna hold this against the JLab headphones.

Winner: This is a tougher choice than I thought it would be. I mean, the Beats are some of the best headphones on the market, right? But I can’t knock how good the JLab headphones sound at a fraction of a fraction of the price. If my biggest gripe was swapping the headphones between my devices, it would still be cheaper to buy a pair of the JLab headphones for each device I use rather than to buy one pair of the Beats. With all that in mind, the only thing that I think the Beats truly wins out with is ANC, because it does reduce the volume level that I need to drown out the TV while I’m working. I’m going to give this one to the Beats Studio 3, but just barely, and really only if ANC is going to make a major difference to you. If not, save your money, buy the JLab headphones, and don’t ever look back.

Bonus Features

Ok, so some of this will be a rehash of things we’ve touched on before, but I want to be thorough, and I feel like some of these features deserve more of a call out than what I’ve given them so far.

Granted, this category is going to be heavily Beats-focused, as they have more bells and whistles. In fact, the biggest whistle is the W1 chip- that is, if you use Apple products.

I’ve already talked about ANC, which the JLab do not have, and I’ve talked about how the W1 chip makes switching between devices a breeze, and while it is a step behind the H1 chip in newer headphones from Apple, it is still two steps above anything else (again, only if you use Apple products). It provides a more stable connection with the devices, too, allowing me to travel just about anywhere in my house without having to worry about walls interfering with my signal.

That said, the JLab Studio Pro come with Bluetooth 5, which also allows for greater distance between headphones and device as well, and this works with all devices, not just ones with the Apple logo. I was able to get the same distance from my iPad with the JLab headphones as I was with the Beats. I can’t for the life of me find anything that says whether the Beats Studio 3 have Bluetooth 4 or 5, but for the price, I would hope they have 5.

But the special Apple bonuses don’t stop there. I love that the Beats Studio 3 will report to Apple’s Health app regarding decibel levels, making them another point of contact to get a bigger picture of your overall health with Apple hardware and software. Third-party headphones are supposed to be able to report decibel levels as well, and in the past, I’ve had other brands provide this data, but I’ve yet to get the JLab Studio Pro’s to do it. Luckily, other features regarding hearing health are built into the iPhone itself and not the Beats- such as capping the decibel level or alerting you if the volume has been too high for too long- so the JLab headphones should be able to take advantage of this as well.

I’ve mentioned that the Beats come with a wired adapter for use with a headphone jack (if you got one), and that’s a nifty feature. The included wire has in-line controls, though I’m not entirely sure why; when you plug in the headphones, the controls on the side of the Beats are disabled, but this seems like an unnecessary complication- I figure Apple could just as easily not included the in-line controls and left the controls in the headphones powered on. I mean, the headphones- including the ANC option- stay on while you are using the wire, so it seems odd that you would have separate controls for wired operation versus how you normally use them when they are wireless.

It would make sense if the headphones were powered off while they were plugged in, but as I’ve mentioned before (and I’ll mention again in a minute), the headphones for some reason need battery life in order to use the wire. Every other pair of Bluetooth headphones I’ve used that have a wired option can use the wire without any power whatsoever in the headphones themselves. Granted, ANC definitely won’t work without the power, but I figured the Beats should at least be able to play sound while out of juice. And with Apple quickly killing the headphone jack on most of their products (only MacBooks and the basic iPad and iPad Mini still have them), so I find this inclusion more baffling than anything else. And I don’t once expect to actually use the wire. I suppose maybe, maybe, if you were planning to use the Beats with a stereo system or an old computer that doesn’t have Bluetooth, it might make sense… but in that case, there are better- and cheaper- wired headphones to get for those specific use cases. This just feels half-assed, which I think is odd for Apple.

Ok, so like I said, this one is very heavily focused on the Beats. That’s because outside of being a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones, the JLab Studio Pro headphones simply don’t have a lot of extra things to do. And for $40, that’s fine. Costing only $40 is actually a pretty nice perk all on its own.

The only other bonus feature I can really talk about with the JLab headphones is the three different sound profiles that come built-in. I mentioned that the Bass Boost profile gives you the closest sound to the bass-heavy Beats, but if that’s too much bass for your comfort, the JLab Signature profile is a clear second best. I’d avoid “Balanced” if at all possible, as it seems to flatten everything to “balance” it out. The Balanced profile is the only one in which I think these headphones actually sound like they are only forty bucks.

Winner: So the Beats Studio 3 clearly have more bells and whistles, and so by default, they’ll win this category. But I really think you should consider whether those extra features are something you’ll use. If you don’t need ANC if you don’t need (or use) the Apple Health features, and especially if you don’t have Apple devices to take advantage of the W1 chip, then you really shouldn’t consider the Beats. The JLab Studio Pro will suit you just fine.

Charging and Battery Life

We’re in the home stretch. We’ve talked about what the headphones look like. We’ve talked about what they sound like. All that’s left is how long you’ll be able to listen to them.

Apple rates the Beats Studio 3 for up to 22 hours with ANC or up to 40 without it. That’s quite respectable, and with ANC I primarily got about two days of mixed usage before I had to charge them again. Charging is relatively quick, too. 2 hours will get you a full battery from dead, but just 10 minutes can get you up to 3 hours of use in a pinch.

As previously mentioned, however, that charging comes via a Micro USB cable that comes included in the box. Grrrrrrrrrrr. I suppose it was forgivable in 2017 that these headphones used Micro USB, but now that nearly everything but the cheapest Android phones use USB-C (or Lightning, in Apple’s case), I loathe that Apple hasn’t at least given the Studio 3 Beats the minor upgrade of a USB-C or Lightning port (for reference, the newer Solo Pro charge with Lightning). I’m not asking for a complete redesign like the Solo Pro- although being 3 years old, the Studio line is probably due a big refresh soon- but they could have at least brought the charging mechanism into the modern age.

Enough griping. Apple at least supplies you with a generously long Micro USB cable (though no wall adapter), which is more than we can say for JLab (getting there). As mentioned earlier, the Beats do also come with a cable for using the headphones with a headphone jack (if you even have a device that has a headphone jack), but this cable will not work without battery life in the Beats, so don’t think you’ll be able to use these when they are completely dead, unlike nearly every other pair of headphones that comes with a headphone jack cable. Ok… now enough griping.

So, onto the JLab Studio Pro. JLab rates the battery life at a massive 50 hours. Simply put, I’ve not had to worry about charging them at all since they arrived. JLab says that it will take longer to charge, however; 3 hours to get from zero to full, and 10 minutes will get you only an hour of use.

In the box, JLab supplies the dinkiest little USB-C cable (and again, no wall adapter). It looks well-made, but it is super short. This doesn’t really matter if you have literally anything else that uses a USB-C charger, though, and I suspect JLab knows this. Whenever I do eventually need to charge these headphones, I’ll be using my MacBook Air charger to do it. And I absolutely love that convenience (ahem… Apple).

One thing I’ve noticed regarding battery life is stand-by time. I had this problem with the BeatsX in-ear headphones, and it seems to be prominent with the Beats Studio 3 as well: stand-by time sucks. I’m getting around 20 hours of life from them whether I’m using them or not, and I’m having to charge them up daily. Throughout my time with both pairs of headphones, I’ve used the JLab Studio Pro more often and I’ve only charged them once; they’ve been sitting idle- but powered on- for the last two days and they still have around 70% battery life (this percentage is according to Apple’s battery widget; the headphones themselves will only tell you if the battery is “full”, “medium”, or “low”. Likewise, I charged the Beats to 100% last night, used them for maybe an hour at most, and then left them sitting on my desk powered on. Not only did they power themselves off at some point (which is nice, if it conserved any battery life), but about 12 hours later they have already dropped to 52% (in the hour or so I spent finishing this story since writing that sentence, it dropped to 40% with zero use at all). I imagine that this is due to the ANC; whenever I pick up the Beats, even when I don’t have anything playing on them, I can tell the ANC is on, and likewise, this has to be draining power.

Personally, I am one who forgets to turn off my headphones all the time, so that really is a bit of a deal-breaker for me that the Beats don’t seem to have any sort of low-power mode to power off ANC and keep them from draining too much when not in use. Again, this probably can be blamed on the fact that these headphones haven’t been updated in a few years; the newer Beats Solo Pro do feature both a low-power mode when they aren't being used and will automatically turn off when you fold the headphones up, so I imagine a forthcoming Beats Studio 4 or Studio Pro or whatever comes next for Apple’s over-the-ear headphones will have some of these newer bells and whistles.

Winner: With longer battery life and USB-C charging, JLab’s Pro headphones clearly win this one. The Beats will charge faster when you do charge them, but you’re going to be charging the Jlab’s far less often. And the JLab Studio Pro are definitely going to live longer if you forget to turn them off.

$40 Vs. $349

So, did the Beats Studio 3 make an argument for their higher price tag?

Honestly, I don’t think so. Definitely not in 2020, and definitely not if you are paying full price for them; even at the sale price I got them on for $175, it is a hard sell with the $40 JLab headphones being almost as good- if not better- in every category.

The biggest benefit to them is the ANC, but for that price (either the sale one or the regular price), you could get the Beats Solo Pro headphones that come with Apple’s newer H1 chip and have some good battery improvements, like charging with Lightning and both a low-power mode and easy power off for forgetful people like me who don’t turn off their headphones. The only reason those weren’t the ones I reviewed here is because they hurt my ears after a while, and unlike the JLab Studio Pro, they were on-ear headphones.

Over the duration of this review, even though ANC proved useful while I was working, I found myself reaching for the JLab Studio Pro way more often, as they were just more comfortable, sounded very nearly as good, and frankly I knew that they’d have the juice to get me through work no matter what.

I think the Beats Studio 3 are excellent headphones. But with $40 headphones being this good, they are not worth the price, no matter how good the sale is.
['Joshua Beck']
['Technology', 'Gadgets', 'Headphones', 'Tech', 'Apple']