TEST: Beats by Dr. Dre Studio

MANILA, Philippines - It’s not hard to create headphones that earn raves from customers. Just give them a dose of thumpin’ bass and they’re soon blogging about it ‘til kingdom come.

It’s a much trickier proposition, though, to design headphones that deliver kick-ass bass while bringing out the subtle nuances of a soft sonata.

And it’s in this exact same aspect that I expected much from a relatively new name in wearable audio.

For one thing, Beats by Dr. Dre are made by audiophile brand Monster.

For those clueless about Monster, they make those expensive Monster Cable audio cables used in high-end audio setups. Dr. Dre, meanwhile, is a Grammy award-winning rapper and record producer.

Dream team, right? Well, that plus the fact that these headphones are not cheap, retailing for a heady P22,000. You’d have high expectations, too.

Here’s what you get for your money: First off, the Beats Studio is more than just a pair of headphones. With a built-in microphone, it’s also a very effective noise-cancelling device.

Beats calls it “isolation technology,” but performance- and price-wise, it matches up with Bose’s noise-cancelling QuietComfort models, which command an equally high price.

The Beats’ built-in mic (together with an included Monster iSoniTalk cable and built-in answer button) also lets you take and make calls from your cellphone, hands-free.

Another cool feature is the mute button on the right earcup that drops the volume of your music to let you hear the outside world without taking off the headphones.

Also bundled are a couple of adapters for use on planes as well as a cleaning cloth dubbed “Monster Clean Cloth with Aegis Microbe Shield.”

The Beats Studio model runs on two AAA batteries — setting it apart from Bose’s rechargeable batteries.

Thanks to the pillow-soft breathable cushions and a perfect on-ear fit, I found it comfortable to wear for long periods of time, even though at 270 grams — roughly half a pound — they’re not exactly featherweights. (Wear them around your neck and you’ll feel the weight even more.)

How does it sound? In a word, fantastic. And oh-so-realistic. It doesn’t matter what type of music you’re into. Aside from thumpin’ bass, you get delicate pianos, scintillating strings, and soulful saxophones.

Vocals, which usually occupy the middle frequency ranges, are never drowned out, either. The separation of each instrument, as well as that between instruments and vocals, is simply astonishing.

Hot

* Wonderful “punch-in-the-gut” bass

* Crystal-clear mids and highs

* Very effective noise-cancelling effect

* Useful mute button for taking phone calls

* Supremely comfortable fit

* Nice, hip form factor

Not

* Pricey

* Very faint hiss detectable during quiet passages

* A tad heavy

The Verdict

A kick-ass, feature-rich headphone that will blow you away from the very first bass thump.