Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
In a listening session where audio purists are judging their gear on how well it can reproduce the sounds of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9, chances are the Beats 360 will score somewhere in the middle. Reproducing the notes of Beethoven or Vivaldi is not its strong point. But look beyond that and you will likely fall in love with all that the Beats 360 offers. For example, listen to Dai Dai by Shakira and Burna on it. Unless you have the ears of an audiophile, the Beats 360 will please you with its sound.
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More than that you will love just how much it offers in terms of its design, noise cancellation, and overall functionality. It is one of the most versatile headphones you can buy in India currently.
That is a big praise coming from us over here at India Today Tech. But we don’t say that lightly. The Beats 360 earns the praise with all that it brings to table, and in the process justifies its price of Rs 42,990. The reason is simple: In a segment where it is notoriously difficult to create products that can hit all the right notes, from sound to design, from noise cancellation to versatility, the Beats 360 does it all. Almost. It is not perfect. But it is quite close.
There are a number of aspects where Apple, which owns the brand Beats, has paid special attention to this headphone. Sure, there are also a couple of things I wish were better. But overall, the Beats 360 is an extremely well-packaged product.
And it all starts with the design.
Change your style and colours
Compared to the existing Beats Studio Pro and Beats Solo 4, the Beats 360 uses a slightly sportier design. It also uses a modular design, which is one of the key highlights of the product.
This is an over-the-ear pair of headphones. That means unlike the crowd-favourite Beats Solo 4, this one engulfs ears, resulting in a more comfortable experience and overall better performance in both active noise cancellation (ANC) and sound quality. The headphone is full-sized but not over-sized. I found the earcups large enough to completely go over my ears. But I would say my ear size is middling, neither small nor large. Some people with larger ears may find the earcups just a tad small, though still not in a way that would make them uncomfortable.
While the outer casing on the headband band is plastic, there is enough shiny steel inside it to give it heft. The metal also gives the band a really good amount of clamp force. It has its advantages, and one slight disadvantage. The advantage is that you can use Beats 360 in the gym without ever having to worry about it feeling loose or irksome. Not even when you are doing burpees will you find the Beats 360 unstable or wiggly on your head. Similarly, while commuting the overall design and the clamp force of the headband will keep it secure, even when you are pushing and jostling in Delhi Metro during morning rush hour.
So, what is the disadvantage? That you may notice while using the Beats 360 at work for hours at a stretch. Unlike a few other headphones that seem to rest on the head more lightly and caress ears gently, the Beats 360 can feel a little heavy around the jaw and temple after prolonged use. Though with use it is likely to get better after a couple of months as the metal band adjusts to the shape of your head.
The rest of the Beats 360 has been made keeping in mind gym and commuting. By default, the Beats 360 uses material that is water and sweat resistant. It is one of the rare IP4X certified headphones, even good enough for jogging sessions in light drizzle.
The Beats 360 achieves its rain-proof quality with the help of some specific materials. Its earcups are made of plastic. The earpads use rubber and knitted synthetic fibre, which Beats calls Performance Knit. The fibre pads, which have memory foam inside them, are not as plush as fabric or leather pads but they sure are more breathable, seem significantly durable, and are water and sweat resistant. In use too, they don’t seem shabby at all despite their somewhat abrasive texture. They pose no discomfort to skin even after you are using the headphone for hours.
Then there is the modular nature of the Beats 360. You can swap out the earcups and headband. That means in the long run, the Beats 360 are arguably the more hygienic option compared to most of the other headphones. The modular design also means you can mix colours to create your own style. For example, on a pink Beats 360 you can put in light blue headband and earcups to create dual-tone cans. And the modular nature means you can keep an extra pair of headband and earcups, the one using softer material like engineered leather — Beats call these pads UltraPlush — and swap them depending on where you are using the headphones: the synthetic fibre cups in gym and engineered leather in office.
The build quality of the Beats 360 is fantastic and the mechanism to swap the cups and the band is incredibly easy. You simply twist the pads to lock. The middling weight of around 290 grams also adds to the gym and commute appeal of the Beats 360.
There are four physical buttons on the headphone — two each on the left and right earcups. On the right earcup you have the volume rocker, and play and pause button. On the left there is the power and pairing button as well as the mode that controls noise cancellation. It is good to see the Beats 360 steering clear of the touch-sensitive buttons or gestures. They are never very precise, compared to usual buttons.
One more thing before we move to the next section: the Beats 360 comes with a fantastic ripstop carry pouch. It is the best headphone pouch I have seen any company bundle with their device. It feels incredibly well built, with magnets at its enclosure and overall quality materials. It is also a soft-shell pouch, which makes it easy to shove and throw it in a bag.
Fantastic noise cancellation, good sound
Using the Beats 360 is a delight, thanks to its design. Despite the clam force, these are not uncomfortable cans to wear. And you will want to wear it quite often given how good its noise cancellation is.
I would not say that ANC is class-leading. But it is fairly close to what top performers like Sony WH1000 XM6 offer. And it is definitely better than what 90 per cent of other headphones provide. Apple says it uses 8 microphones for noise cancellation in the Beats 360, paired with its own proprietary algorithm that we know from AirPods Pro are best in the industry. In use, all this tech wizardry means you can barely make out any noise once you have put on the Beats 360. As part of this review, I often wore them to silence the loudspeaker noises that fill the North Indian cities at this time of the year. Similarly at work, when I used the Beats 360 I could barely hear the loud chatter around me.
As part of this review, I used the Beats 360 by pairing it with an iPhone. On the iPhone, it works just like an AirPods. On Android, you do need the Beats app to make the most of it.
So how does Beats 360 sound? Like other Beats, this one too aims at crowd-pleasing sound that tilts towards bass. This means the contemporary pop, hip-hop and trance sounds best on it. It is good enough with vocal heavy music (say classic rock) but is not as pleasing as it is in modern genres. And, it goes without saying, that classic music with their emphasised highs is not really the kind of stuff that makes the Beats 360 feel comfortable.
Having said that, one bit I really like about the Beats 360 is how clean it sounds despite its bass preference. In a way, it is classic Apple, similar to the AirPods. While bass is clearly felt, it is never muddy and mids (think vocals in Bollywood songs) also appear cleanly. Even highs are perceptible even if the soundstage to host them is not there. The clean lows and clear mids make the Beats 360 sounds much roomier than it actually is.
Just to put it in jargon-free words: I believe the Beats 360 are some of the best sounding headphones for contemporary music, the kind most people will play in gym or while commuting. Or rather the kind most people (say 95 per cent) play nowadays. Unless you are in that other 5 per cent, you should not worry about the Beats 360 sound quality. Chances are you will love it.
The Beats 360 also pushes out great audio during calls using 3 of its microphones. It is in many ways the best sounding headphone I have used in calls. Similarly, the Beats 360 — because of its sound signature — also works great when paired with a TV for watching movies and series. In a movie with great sound, like Dunkirk, it truly makes the scenes and sounds come alive.
As I said, there are a couple of things that could have been better. One is the clamp force, as highlighted earlier. The other thing that I miss on the Beats 360 is ear-sensing. In premium headphones and earphones it has become a regular feature. If you take off an ear-sensing headphone, it automatically pauses the music playback. And then resumes when you put it on. The Beats 360 lacks it. And two, there is no lossless music playback through a wired cable. This wouldn’t matter to 95 per cent users, but getting the option is always nice.
The battery life of the Beats 360 is another highlight of its superb performance. Beats says that once charged the headphone is good enough for around 32 hours of use. In my use, I saw similar figures. And that means if you are using the headphone for a few hours daily, it would be good enough for around a week of use.
Beats 360 review: Is it worth its price?
The Beats 360 has been priced in India at Rs 42,990. It is on the higher side in our country compared to its global price, similar to how many of the Apple products have been of late due to various factors. But I believe it offers plenty to justify its price.
In no uncertain terms, I believe the Beats 360 is the best gym and exercise headphone you can currently buy. Is it better than the gym-focussed buds like Powerbeats Pro 2? Well, the form factor is different. If you need full-sized headphones then the Beats 360 is the one you should get.
It is also, compared to buds and most other headphones, more versatile. The colour options and modular design means you can customize it. The over-the-ears design means the Beats 360 also excels for commute use as well as in office. In other words, there is plenty of value in the Beats 360 even at their high price. That is if you are looking for a pair that is jack of all.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
