If you wander into any airport, you’ll see more than a few sets of Beats headphones. It’s kind of hard to miss the massive headsets and bright colors. With so many people buying up these expensive headsets, you have to wonder if there’s anything to the sound that comes out of the Beats headphones.

Or, is it just really good marketing? As it turns out, Beats really does make some great headphones.

The Newest Beats: The Studio Wireless

The Studio Wireless headset from Beats works via Bluetooth. These headphones fold up into a nice little packet (easy to carry), and have twelve hours of battery life. They also include the essential noise-cancelling feature. As far as sound quality goes, they are actually quite excellent considering that they are wireless. And if you aren’t a fan of the whole Bluetooth thing, this headset does come with some extra cords and a USB that quickly powers up your headset.

The design of the Studio Wireless headphones is nice too. This headset feels a lot sturdier than past Beats designs. It also comes in a bunch of really nice matte colors including black, blue, red, titanium, and white. This is kind of a stark contrast to past glossy Beats headphones finishes, but it’s a nice change.

The matte color takes the headsets from attention grabbing to understated (well, as understated as a massive headset with the Beats logo can be). This headset is also softer somehow, and that makes for easier wearability. All in all, I’m really digging the design of these headphones.

Beats Target Market

Beats tends to target real audiophiles, but it’s more than that. You have to be comfortable wearing a massive headset wherever you go. In some city neighborhoods, rocking the Beats headphones isn’t such a good idea (too flashy), and these can look kind of silly on a businessperson traveling suit-style. But, it’s all about the sound at this point, and Beats certainly has the sound down. Bass sounds great, higher notes are clear, and this reviewer really digs the new design and matte color.

The only design drawback that I can see is that the cords that come with the headphones are red. So, you can pick the understated matte black headset, but if you want to plug in your headphones, your cord will be red. That’s not a big issue though. There’s a slightly bigger issue that you should be aware of.

A Big Drawback or Two

First, these headphones retail for $380 (yikes!). That’s a lot of coin to drop on a pair of headphones. Second, I’m not sure it’s worth spending that much money on these headphones. The battery that’s included in the new wireless set is integrated. That means that you can’t change the battery when it dies. The battery should last a while, but you will be tossing these headphones out in a few years – perfectly okay if you want to upgrade every few years. Otherwise, not so much.

Do you dig the new Beats Studio Wireless?