Home Wireless Earbuds Ultimate Ears Drops Vs. Beats Studio Buds

A Review By Comparison of the Ultimate Ears Drops Vs. Beats Studio Buds

Last updated on May 18, 2023   7 min read
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Beats Studio Buds

Beats Studio Buds

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Reasons why you might like the Beats Studio Buds

Overall Score 6.2 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating of IPX4
  • Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)
  • Battery Life of 8 hours
  • Has Usb Type-C
  • Number Of Microphones of 6 only
  • Has Ambient Sound Mode
VS
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops

Reasons why you might like the Ultimate Ears Drops

Overall Score 6.0 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.

  • Battery Life of 6 hours
  • Has Usb Type-C
  • Number Of Microphones of 2 only
  • Has Ambient Sound Mode

A summary of the review by feature comparison

Category Features Beats Studio Buds Ultimate Ears Drops
DESIGN ingress protection (ip) rating IPX4
weight 5.1g
has no wires or cables
wingtips included
sweat resistance
is dust proof and water-resistant
has stereo speakers
SOUND QUALITY has active noise cancellation (noise control)
has passive noise reduction
driver unit size 8.2mm 9.2mm
lowest frequency 20Hz 20Hz
highest frequency 20000Hz 20000Hz
sound pressure level 100.5dB/mW 110dB/mW
POWER battery life 8hours 6hours
battery life of charging case 16hours 9hours
charge time 1.5hours
has wireless charging
has a battery level indicator
CONNECTIVITY has usb type-c
bluetooth version v5.2 v4.2
maximum bluetooth range 10meters 10meters
has aac
has aptx adaptive
MICROPHONE number of microphones 6only 2only
has a noise-canceling microphone
EXTRAS has ambient sound mode
has find earbuds feature
supports fast charging
multipoint count 2only 2only
has a mute function
control panel placed on a device
has voice prompts
travel bag is included
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A breakdown of the review per specifications

Design

Ingress Protection (Ip) Rating

Beats Studio Buds IPX4
Ultimate Ears Drops

IP ratings is the rating of protection given by an enclosure, against solids and water. In the format of IPXX, 'X' represents a number The first value means protection against solids such as dust, while the second refers to resistance against liquids (sweat).

Having a value of IPX4, the Beats Studio Buds's rating is read as, the first number of X denotes that no data available to specify a protection rating, and of liquids that they can withstand low pressure spray similar to that of a shower head when tilted at 180° for 10 minutes.

Weight

Beats Studio Buds 5.1g
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Beats Studio Buds have a weight of 5.1g . We take in account a lower weight best because lighter devices are easier to move with.

Has No Wires Or Cables

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

True wireless devices have no cables connecting any part of the device together, Ultimate Ears Drops are true wireless for this matter since they don't have wires. This is a major distinction as some wireless earbuds have wires connecting the 2 earbuds .

Beats Studio Buds also is true wireless since it doesn't have cables linking the 2 earbuds .

Wingtips Included

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops come with wingtips, these are reserved for earbuds for workouts and come as an optional add-on to each silicone ear tip for a better fit.

Sweat Resistance

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops are resistant to sweat

Beats Studio Buds's resistance to sweat makes both devices fit for use during long-distance running, marathons, training in workout bodysuits, etc

Is Dust Proof And Water-Resistant

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops are both dustproof and water-resistant.

Has Stereo Speakers

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops have stereo speakers, what this means is that Ultimate Ears Drops's speakers deliver sound from independent channels on both left and right sides, this creates a richer sound and a better listening experience.

The Beats Studio Buds also have stereo speakers

Beats Studio Buds
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Sound Quality

Has Active Noise Cancellation (Noise Control)

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

ANC uses advanced kind of tech to actively cancel noise. How it works, it detects and analyzes the sound pattern of incoming noise and inverts the soundwaves to cancel it out. In simple terms, it's like having +1 (noise) and adding -1 (counter sound by the device) giving zero which results in a reduced level of noise.

The Beats Studio Buds have Active Noise Cancellation enabling you to listen at lower levels of volume, causing less ear fatigue since you don't have to crank up the device volume to overcome background sounds.

Has Passive Noise Reduction

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops stay tightly in place, creating an acoustic seal that reduces your environment noise well as preventing the device voice audio from leaking out .

Both Beats Studio Buds, and Ultimate Ears Drops have passive noise reduction this means that they tone down ambient noise instead of actively using ANC to cancel it out.

Driver Unit Size

Beats Studio Buds 8.2mm
Ultimate Ears Drops 9.2mm

The Ultimate Ears Drops driver unit is 9.2mm in diameter, the bigger the unit the more powerful, and can produce better bass. A driver unit is the component that makes sound in the device, the unit size corellates with the loudness of the device.

Beats Studio Buds driver unit is 8.2mm in diameter, which implies that they have a smaller driver unit than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 1mm , as many tend to believe that driver units of a bigger size automatically produce better sound quality.

However, large drivers find it difficult to produce high frequencies so yeah, larger drivers are capable of generating louder sound, but this does not indicate that they produce better quality sound.

Lowest Frequency

Beats Studio Buds 20Hz
Ultimate Ears Drops 20Hz

Ultimate Ears Drops's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, low-frequency response inidcates how well an audio device produces low frequencies that can be heard, and if it makes any changes to the signal while at it.

Beats Studio Buds's lowest frequency is at 20Hz, this implies that both devices can make sound with equal bass

Highest Frequency

Beats Studio Buds 20000Hz
Ultimate Ears Drops 20000Hz

Ultimate Ears Drops's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, high-frequency response tells how well a particular audio device generates high recognizable frequencies and if it adjustments to the signal while at it.

Beats Studio Buds's highest frequency is at 20000Hz, this implies that both devices produce equal treble

Sound Pressure Level

Beats Studio Buds 100.5dB/mW
Ultimate Ears Drops 110dB/mW

SPL, is the pressure level of sound, measured in decibels, dB, Ultimate Ears Drops's measurement is 110dB/mW. Devices with a higher sound pressure level are generally louder when supplied with any given audio source.

Beats Studio Buds's sound pressure level measurement is 100.5dB/mW. The sound pressure level, something is can be taken differently by different people, so we need to have the means to get a standard measurement of sound level expressed in numerical terms.

Power

Battery Life

Beats Studio Buds 8hours
Ultimate Ears Drops 6hours

Ultimate Ears Drops's battery life is 6 hours, these last longer than 5 hours of listening which is considered average for a single charge. A device's battery life is commonly given by the manufacturer, and with longer battery life, you get to use it for longer and requires fewer chargings.

Beats Studio Buds's battery life is more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 2 hours . Every time you recharge your device, they get a little less playing time. The effect is not noticeable at first, but over a few years, your wireless earbuds will have shorter listening time.

Battery Life Of Charging Case

Beats Studio Buds 16hours
Ultimate Ears Drops 9hours

This is given by the manufacturer, and Ultimate Ears Drops's case is said to have a charge of 9 hours. A charging case with more battery hours enables you to recharge your earbuds on the go many times before recharging the case itself.

Beats Studio Buds's charging case has a battery life of 16 hours, more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 7 hours

Charge Time

Beats Studio Buds 1.5hours
Ultimate Ears Drops

It requires 1.5 hours to fully charge the Beats Studio Buds's battery. It is highly adivsable to fully charge the battery before using the earbuds when they have been in storage for long periods.

Has Wireless Charging

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the earbuds, you simply put down on a compatible charging pad.

Has A Battery Level Indicator

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops have a battery level indicator, an indicator shows you when the earbuds has a low battery. The battery indicator lights display the charging state of your device and charging case.

Beats Studio Buds too have a battery level indicator, these allow you to determine the charging state of your earbuds, whether fully charged, or having a low battery.

Beats Studio Buds
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Connectivity

Has Usb Type-C

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops have USB TYPE-C, a standard connector for transmitting both data and power through a single cable.

Beats Studio Buds too support USB TYPE-C. This USB-C plug is part and parcel of most current electronics.

Bluetooth Version

Beats Studio Buds v5.2
Ultimate Ears Drops v4.2

The Ultimate Ears Drops have Bluetooth version of 4.2, Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that enables data movement between devices placed in range, using short-wavelength, ultra-high frequency radio waves.

Beats Studio Buds has a Bluetooth version of 5.2, newer than that of Ultimate Ears Drops . Newer versions provide faster data transfers.

Maximum Bluetooth Range

Beats Studio Buds 10meters
Ultimate Ears Drops 10meters

Ultimate Ears Drops have a 10meters distance connecting via Bluetooth.

Beats Studio Buds have a maximum range of 10meters, equal to that of the Ultimate Ears Drops

Has Aac

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops support AAC, a codec used for Bluetooth audio. It supports 24-bit audio at 250kbps. Because it uses psychoacoustic modeling, it can provide better results than other codecs at a similar bit rate.

Since its the highest quality codec that any Bluetooth-supporting Apple product supports, the Ultimate Ears Drops will work fine with your MacBook. If you intend on using these with Android you need to pay even closer attention to codec support for if they only have AAC they won't provide the best audio quality possible, ensure that they also support aptX HD, LDAC, or LHDC as well.

The Beats Studio Buds support AAC as well. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate.

Has Aptx Adaptive

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops support APTX Adaptive, an audio codec for Bluetooth devices that are developed by Qualcomm. It has a variable bit rate (between 279kbps and 420kbps).

Microphone

Number Of Microphones

Beats Studio Buds 6only
Ultimate Ears Drops 2only

Ultimate Ears Drops have 2 microphones.

While the Beats Studio Buds microphones are 6, more than that of Ultimate Ears Drops by 4 . More microphones record better sound quality and help the device to filter out background sounds.

Has A Noise-Canceling Microphone

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Beats Studio Buds have a noise-canceling type of microphone, these microphones are made to filter out background sounds from the desired sound.

Beats Studio Buds
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Extras

Has Ambient Sound Mode

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops support ambient sound mode, which uses microphones to pass through ambient noises so that they can still be heard even when wearing the earbuds

The Beats Studio Buds support ambient sound mode as well, helpful when you want to listen to music but also be aware of what’s happening around you, for example when you’re having a run but still want to hear traffic.

Has Find Earbuds Feature

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

If misplaced in a room, or can't easily find them in your bag, the Ultimate Ears Drops support the find earbuds feature.

Beats Studio Buds also have the find earbuds feature. Simply use the earbuds app on your phone to play a sound from your device to locate them.

Supports Fast Charging

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops support fast charging. Commonly, technologies like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, are used to reduce the time it takes to charge a device.

The Beats Studio Buds too support fast charging. It's very similar to regular charging, only that the battery is filling up much faster. Say, with Quick Charge 3.0, the battery can be charged to 50% in just 30 minutes.

Multipoint Count

Beats Studio Buds 2only
Ultimate Ears Drops 2only

Ultimate Ears Drops have a multipoint of 2 connections, the multipoint feature allows you connect to more than one Bluetooth device and switch between them. Say, you can switch calls from one device to another without having to manually disconnect and reconnect.

The Beats Studio Buds support multipoint count of 2, equal to that of the Ultimate Ears Drops . Bluetooth multipoint comes in handy when you can be on one call and not miss notifications from another device.

Has A Mute Function

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops have a mute function, they support the option to mute/unmute a conversation directly from the earbuds.

The Beats Studio Buds also support this function. The mute function means that you unilaterally turn off the device's microphone, but still hear the other party's voice.

Control Panel Placed On A Device

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

With the Ultimate Ears Drops, so you can access the volume control, pause, play, mute, etc whichever functions are supported on the earbuds.

The Beats Studio Buds too have a control panel on them.

Has Voice Prompts

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

Ultimate Ears Drops support voice prompts. Automatically receive information through audio messages, say if there is an issue with the connection.

The Beats Studio Buds too support voice prompts .i.e the device notifies you when the battery is running low, and it's time to recharge the device.

Travel Bag Is Included

Beats Studio Buds
Ultimate Ears Drops

The Ultimate Ears Drops come with their own special pouch. Carrying earbuds without a case, or putting them in your bag without a cover may easily put them at risk of getting damaged.

Beats Studio Buds also have a case included, which offers safe transportation.

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