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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 vs Beats Studio3 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016
Beats Studio3 Wireless

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:24 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:55 PM

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Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Picture

Variants

  • BackBeat Pro 2 (Black)
  • BackBeat Pro 2 (Gray, SE)
  • Studio3 Wireless (A-COLD-WALL* Cement)
  • Studio3 Wireless (Blue)
  • Studio3 Wireless (Defiant Black)
  • Beats Studio3 (Matte Black)
  • Studio3 Wireless (Midnight Black)
  • Studio3 Wireless (Red)
  • Studio3 Wireless (Shadow Grey)
  • Studio3 Wireless (White)

Our Verdict

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016

Beats Studio3 Wireless

The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 are a better wireless over-ear than the Beats Studio3 Wireless. The Beats have a slightly better-balanced default sound than the Plantronics. They're also more comfortable and portable and have a sleeker design that's stable enough for the gym and sports. On the other hand, the Plantronics have a better wireless range and battery life than the Beats. They also have easier-to-use controls with more functionality, and they sound a bit more exciting thanks to their deep and powerful bass range.

0 

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Black
BackBeat Pro 2
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A-COLD-WALL* Cement
Studio3 Wireless
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Gray, SE
BackBeat Pro 2
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Blue
Studio3 Wireless
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Defiant Black
Studio3 Wireless
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Matte Black
Beats Studio3
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Midnight Black
Studio3 Wireless
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Red
Studio3 Wireless
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Shadow Grey
Studio3 Wireless
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White
Studio3 Wireless
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Read more

Main Differences for
Mixed Usage

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.2
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Design Picture 2
Beats Studio3 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

7.5
8.0

Comfort Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Comfort Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.65 lbs
0.58 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.9 lbs
1.1 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

8.0
7.3

Controls Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Controls Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Great
Good

Feedback  

Great
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
On/Off

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
No

Additional Controls  

No
No
Show Text 

Breathability 
 

6.5
6.4

Breathability After Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Breathability After Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.7 °C
5.9 °C
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.5
6.1

Portability Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Portability Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Portability Picture

 

8.5"
4.6" (11.7 cm)

 

8.5"
6.5" (16.5 cm)

 

2.4"
3.0" (7.6 cm)

Volume  

172 in³
90.00 in³ (1,474.83 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

7.5
8.0

Case Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Case Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Hard case

 

9.3"
4.8" (12.2 cm)

 

8.8"
6.7" (17.0 cm)

 

2.9"
3.2" (8.1 cm)

Volume  

234 in³
103.00 in³ (1,687.86 cm³)
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.5
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Build Quality Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Show Text 

Stability 
 

7.0
7.5

Stability Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Stability Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Stability Picture
Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Angled Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Side Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Front Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Rear Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Top Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 In The Box Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless In The Box Picture
Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

2.09 dB
-0.42 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-0.33 dB
-3.39 dB
Show Text 

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.8
6.3

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.44 dB
0.83 dB
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.6
8.1

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.33 dB
2.68 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
25.57 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

5.76 dB
-1.65 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-1.49 dB
2.61 dB

High-Bass 
 

-2.79 dB
3.62 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.2
7.8

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.13 dB
2.99 dB

Low-Mid 
 

-1.32 dB
4.42 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.41 dB
-0.78 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.22 dB
-1.06 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.6
6.9

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

1.9 dB
4.53 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-0.25 dB
-2.9 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

0.52 dB
-3.16 dB

High-Treble 
 

-7.64 dB
-5.79 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.6
7.6

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.59 dB
1.42 dB

Dips 
 

1.14 dB
1.41 dB
Show Text 

Imaging 
 

8.2
5.1

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.43
0.53

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

7.56
57.7

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.81
0.22

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.75
5.6
Show Text 

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.3
3.9

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.73 dB
2.1 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

4.36 dB
0.93 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

13.98 dB
11.08 dB

Openness 
 

3.1
2.8

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.5
2.0
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Virtual Soundstage
Beats Studio3 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No
No
Show Text 

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.6
7.3

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.182
0.426

WHD @ 100 
 

0.197
0.177
Show Text 

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Codec 
 

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
On

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated
Show Text 
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

6.9
7.2

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-18.91 dB
-21.66 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
Yes

Bass 
 

-7.06 dB
-8.03 dB

Mid 
 

-14.05 dB
-22.18 dB

Treble 
 

-36.06 dB
-36.18 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

7.8
8.2

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

34.65 dB
32.18 dB
Show Text 
Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
Yes

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Recording Quality 
 

5.7
6.5

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

530.46 Hz
281 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.76 dB
2.69 dB

HFE 
 

3,568.48 Hz
3,466.89 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

3.193
31.636

Gain 
 

39.08 dB
37.78 dB
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

6.8
5.1

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

19.11 dB
10.16 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

5.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

4.5

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

9.2
7.6

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

30 hrs
23 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

30 hrs
23 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.1 hrs
2 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

Auto-Off Timer
No

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port  

micro-USB
micro-USB
Show Text 

App Support 
 

6.0
5.0

App Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 App Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Plantronics Hub
Beats

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

Yes
No

Windows  

Yes
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
On/Off

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

8.7
7.3

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.0
4.2 + W1 chip

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No

NFC Pairing 
 

Yes
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

250 ft
297.00 ft (90.53 m)

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

173 ms
176 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

166 ms
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

34 ms
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

472 ms
22 ms

Android Latency 
 

140 ms
73 ms
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 Cable Picture
Beats Studio3 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.8 ft
4.30 ft (1.31 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show Text 

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show Text 

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
Show Text 

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
BackBeat Pro 2
Searching
Finding store
A-COLD-WALL* Cement
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Gray, SE
BackBeat Pro 2
Searching
Finding store
Blue
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Defiant Black
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Matte Black
Beats Studio3
Searching
Finding store
 
Midnight Black
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Red
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Shadow Grey
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
White
Studio3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016

Beats Studio3 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison

Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 Wireless 2016 vs Beats Studio3 Wireless: Main Discussion

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