3★2026-01-04by Kipp
I wanted to like them
I honestly wanted to like them. The problem was that I bought a pair of Sony XM6s at the same time. So my teenage daughter wanted a pair of ANC phones for the gym, and she asked for these. I'd heard before that Beats were overrated, but I figured alight, I wouldn't mind trying them out myself. So I bought her a pair of sandstone for her and a black pair for myself. I picked up the XM6s locally because Best Buy had a decent sale price. I also have a set of USB-C Airpods Max that I got maybe a year ago, and a couple cheap but very decent JBL and Anker ANC's that we mostly just use around the house for late night TV watching and such. But yes, I REALLY like music, LOL. And headphone quality very much matters to me. Well the XM6s instantly became my favorite ANC phones. The Airpods are a close second. I see why Sony ANC's are the standard by which all other ANC's are judged. Yes, they cost double what these do, though if you're actually paying the stated retail price, the margin narrows. But quality-wise, both in terms of sound and construction, it's not even close. Anyway, I got my Beats delivered next day and opened them up. Right away I got the first indication of the differences. The XM6s came in a nice hard-sided case with a magnetic clasp, while the Beats came in a nice pouch. The pouch is OK, but you do have to kind of squeeze them in. Not terrible, but not great. OK, so I pull out the headphones and unfold them. Again, they're OK, but definitely felt cheaper than the XM6s. Definite trend going on here. Turning them on, again the power button felt cheaper. Same with the other buttons. In fact, same with just the overall feel of the materials and finish. The XM6s just feel more... premium. Extending the phones felt nicer with the XM6s. They were both comfortable, though the XM6s covered my ears more fully. Now, the connection is the one part I think the Beats edge out Sony. Since Beats is owned by Apple, they connect like Airpods. You turn them on and a pop-up on your phone asks to pair. They both pair just fine. Being an Apple product now, the battery status shows up on a widget along with battery status of the phone and watch. They also have AppleCare available, while I've heard horror stories about Sony warranty support. Though if we were in Europe with actual consumer protection laws, both Sony and Apple would have to actually stand behind their products, but that's another discussion. Anyway, they just fit better into the Apple ecosystem. This is a plus and minus actually, as I'm not a fan of Apple using their walled garden for features that they don't allow anybody else to use, but it is what it is. Speaking of, Beats also have Find My, which is a huge plus... kind of. Battery drain is a huge issue with Airpods Max if you have it set to always on, even when you aren't using them and have them stored in the case. The Airpods Max don't actually turn off, while the Beats do, but I'd assume even with them being turned off it would still be an issue, because what would be the point if you could just turn them off and disable it? But I didn't think to test it before I sent them back. Sound-wise, the XM6s definitely sound better... until you start adjusting the EQ with the Sony app. Then the XM6s sound WAY better. Like OMG. Yeah, there's some adjustment you can do to the Beats with accessibility settings, but how there's no real EQ available for Beats is mind-boggling. This is Apple being Apple. They know what's best, and they'll tell you that's what you want. Well, no. Now, while the Airpods Max also fall just short of the XM6s in terms of sound quality, they do sound WAY better than Beats IMO, so it's possible. Hell, maybe they'd beat (LOL) the XM6s with a proper EQ. Of course, they also cost more than XM6s or Beats. Anyway, that's my review. Didn't mean to make it so long. TL;DR Beats are ok, you can do better. Sony XM* are the gold standard, get those.
