Speaker 1: Hey folks, here they are, the new Beats Studio plus earbuds that come in black, white, and a transparent version that everyone seems pretty excited about because who doesn't like Transparent Electronics? At least those of us who lived through that whole clear craze thing back in the eighties and nineties that brought us such classics as the Nintendo Game Boy, color Clear and Translucent iMac G three. But I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time talking about the color of these earbuds because that's [00:00:30] all just cosmetics. And if you're here to watch a review, you probably want to know more about how they perform and how they're different from the original studio buds that came out a couple of years ago. Speaker 1: [00:01:00] First things first price. The new Buds cost $170 or $20 more than the studio buds, and they look almost the same, at least on the surface. The case is the same size, and the buds are the same shape and size and only weigh one gram more than the original studio [00:01:30] buds. The originals fit my ears well with the largest set of Eart tips, and these fit my ears well too, but some people with small ears had trouble getting a tight seal and secure fit with the originals. So like with the AirPods Pro two Apple, which owns beets, decided to include a set of extra small ear tips to go along with the small, medium and large tips that should help those of you with smaller ears. But like with all in your headphones, I just can't guarantee that they'll be able to fit everyone's ears equally. Speaker 1: [00:02:00] Well as with the originals, these don't have touch controls, but have a physical control button on each earbud, which I like. There are some small cosmetic changes, but the biggest changes are on the inside. Beach says 95% of the components are new and improved. The speaker drivers haven't changed, but these are powered by a new, more powerful custom chip set and have three new microphones in each bud that are three times larger and more sensitive. All that along with better microphone placement [00:02:30] and new venting help improve not only the noise canceling performance, but the voice calling performance, which is now quite impressive. Right up there with the AirPods Pro two s voice calling performance. You can get a sense of that in this test call with my fellow CNET editor, John Falcon from the streets of New York. Hey John. I'm doing a test call here from the streets Speaker 2: Of New York. It's pretty noisy. I have lots of traffic on by. Um, how do I sound? Speaker 3: [00:03:00] You sound really clear. I really can't believe you're outside. To be honest. I don't hear any traffic noise or any wind noise really whatsoever. Speaker 1: The buzz also sound cleaner with better overall bass performance. I didn't think they quite offer the same level of refinement or detail as premium earbuds [00:03:30] from Sony and Sennheiser, for example, but they deliver bold, dynamic sound that's well-suited for today's music, whether it's pop, hip hop, edm, or a country and everything in between. These aren't audio file grade earbuds, but they do sound very good for their compact size. The upgraded sound is due in large part, the improved digital processing associated with that faster processor that's more akin to the H one and H two chips found in the AirPods line. However, [00:04:00] the new processor still doesn't support all those chips features for Apple users anyway, like the Studio buds. These are geared toward both Apple and Android users with Android users able to take advantage of Google Fast Pair and also able to download the Beats app for Android to their devices. Speaker 1: Interestingly, there's multi-point Bluetooth pairing for Android users with automatic switching between devices on your Google account. However, if you're an Apple user, the Buds link [00:04:30] to your iCloud account, but you'll have to manually switch between devices, which some people prefer because auto switching can be a little wonky and irritating at times. The only thing that Android users don't get is hands-free Siri. That's the feature where you get access to Apple's voice assistant by saying the Siri wake command. There's still no spatial audio for movies. That's spatial audio with head tracking, though you do get spatial audio for music and there's a fine, [00:05:00] my feature that helps locate your earbuds should they become lost, but it's not the same advanced precision finding that's included with the AirPods Pro too. As I said, the noise canceling is improved. Beats says the buds are 1.6 times better at muffling ambient noise, and in my test, they definitely did a better job reducing ambient noise across a wider range of frequencies. Speaker 1: I also thought the transparency mode was better with virtually no perceptible, hiss or white noise that you [00:05:30] sometimes hear when you put some buds into their transparency mode. Beats says the transparency mode is two times better overall, like the studio buds, these are I P X four, splashproof and I were able to run with them without having them fall outta my ears. That probably won't be the case for everyone. Battery life is also improved. It's now up to six hours from five on a single charge with noise canceling on, and you also get three additional charges from [00:06:00] the charging case instead of two. There's U S B C charging, but no wireless charging. Typically buds in this price range do feature wireless charging. Speaker 1: Those are the improvements in a nutshell. Alas, for those of you bought the original Studio Buds, I'm sorry to report that these new plus buds are definitely improved and and by a significant margin. The reality is the sound and perform [00:06:30] similarly to the Beats Fit Pro, which carry a higher list price of $200, but often get discounted to $160. So why would you buy these instead of the Fit Pros, particularly since the Fit Pros include spatial audio with head tracking for Apple users. Well, it comes down to what style of buds you like. Not everybody likes the Fit Pros design with their integrated sport Fins, and while I ultimately think the AirPods Pro two are superior, some people prefer earbuds without [00:07:00] stems and these are quite discreet, barely sticking out of your ears. And let's get real. If you're an Android user, you're probably not gonna be buying the AirPods Pro. Speaker 1: Two, the Studio Buds Plus are the better choice. All that said, I do think these earbuds are a little expensive at $170, but the original Studio Buds quickly came down in price and now sell for less than a hundred dollars. I expect that the Studio Buds Plus will follow a similar path and ultimately cost 30 to [00:07:30] $50 less. However, I can see the black and white models getting discounted before the translucent version does gimmick or not. I do think that model will be very popular. Clear is still cool, but what do you think? Do you like the Studio Buds Plus better than the Fit Pros and AirPods Pro two, and how do they compare to nothing's? Earbuds, which also have a translucent design though, may be not quite as translucent as these. I'm David Carnet for cnet. Thanks for watching.