Overall Score 6.2 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
Ultimate Ears Drops
Overall Score 6.0 Represents average audio ecosystem compatibility score.
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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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.
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.
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 .
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.
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
Ultimate Ears Drops are both dustproof and water-resistant.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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.
Ultimate Ears Drops, the device supports wireless charging. To charge the earbuds, you simply put down on a compatible charging pad.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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).
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.
The Beats Studio Buds have a noise-canceling type of microphone, these microphones are made to filter out background sounds from the desired sound.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.