Hands-On With Apple's New Beats Solo Pro Headphones

[entropys]

WH-1000XM3

No, MX3 are equivalent to studios and QC35s (price bracket). the solos are on ear. The general concensus from what I have read is MX3 have better ANC, Bose better sound, studios third. These solos would be lesser than studios.
you can get much better sound than these four, but $

 

[beanbaguk]

Overpriced junk. I have no idea why Apple tout these as "studio quality".

I've borrowed a number of Beats headphones from colleagues to try them out, and they sound very artificial, the bass is oversaturated and there is very little mid-range so all you hear is extreme highs and lows. I don't expect much more from these.

I'll wait to see what serious audio reviews say about them, however if you want to be hip and look cool, then they're probably for you.

In the meantime, I'll stick with my B&W PX's.

 

[Donnation]

Lmaooo my statement is nonsense? Yet I see pairs of Beats all over NYC. How exactly is my statement nonsense? What does that make YOUR statement?

People are buying Beats. End of story. The average consumer that buys Apple doesn’t care about all of the fancy bells and whistles that tech savvy folks like.

Your best response is my statement is nonsense? Give me a break.

*face palm*
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Thank you. You get it. Some people on this forum are so out of touch and are so one sided. It’s incredibly sad.

Your statement is nonsense in response to what I originally wrote. I never said people wouldn't buy them, I said that I think that the price is comical, which it is for what you are getting. I also said I don't know why anyone would buy these over Bose or Sony. I didn't say no one would buy them as I am very aware of Apple's stores and the brand perception of Beats.

So again, your post was nonsense.

 

[Kiteflygolf]

Noise cancelling headphones were initially marketed to airline flyers. With these headphones they’ve become almost useless on planes if you want to watch a movie provided by the airline since you can’t plug them in.
On long haul flight in business class with larger screens where you can sometimes put your own entertainment on a larger screen that’s now not a possibility with these.

delta and American Airlines have each taken different approaches to video entertainment. Delta is installing video screens for you to plug in to while American is taking them away. Not everyine buying these expensive toys has the means to buy their own video machine. I view these as limited use due to my extensive travelling needs. Whomever designed these hada limited viewpoint for real world application.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Overpriced junk. I have no idea why Apple tout these as "studio quality".

I've borrowed a number of Beats headphones from colleagues to try them out, and they sound very artificial, the bass is oversaturated and there is very little mid-range so all you hear is extreme highs and lows. I don't expect much more from these.

I'll wait to see what serious audio reviews say about them, however if you want to be hip and look cool, then they're probably for you.

In the meantime, I'll stick with my B&W PX's.

I'd imagine you don't know what you're talking about on any level. Professional reviewers have disagreed with you since the Solo2's came out 5 years ago and provided scientific evidence to demonstrate it... having the most natural mid-range out of their competitors.

 

[jlc1978]

I have:
AirPods 2nd gen
Bose QC35II
Bose QC20
Powerbeats Pro
I'm always looking for something a bit better, so I'll give these a listen when I can.

Have you tried the new Bose 700's? I'm using them regularly on long flights and find them to be very good at ANC and comfortable enough to wear almost continuously. The only issue I have with comfort is every few hours I pop them off as my ears get hot and I need a short break form having cans pressing over my ears.

USB-C as well so I can charge them, my iPad and Mac with one cable and power supply.

 

[iGeneo]

Have you tried the new Bose 700's? I'm using them regularly on long flights and find them to be very good at ANC and comfortable enough to wear almost continuously. The only issue I have with comfort is every few hours I pop them off as my ears get hot and I need a short break form having cans pressing on my ears.

USB-C as well so I can charge them, my iPad and Mac with one cable and power supply.

I'll have to take a look at them!

 

[ipponrg]

I'd imagine you don't know what you're talking about on any level. Professional reviewers have disagreed with you since the Solo2's came out 5 years ago and provided scientific evidence to demonstrate it... having the most natural mid-range out of their competitors.

Anyone can be a “professional” reviewer. The solo 2s might sound “natural” if you haven’t heard better midrange headphones. Scientifically, graphs are just graphs. I’ve seen some really terrible headphones with good graphs. The graphs really are to aid you in some expectations before trying them on

 

[WWPD]

$5.99 KOSS from Wal-Mart is where it's at.

 

[kaycrystal626]

It looks ok.

 

[Herrpod]

Whilst not having tried these, I'll go with Lemmy's view on my experiences with trying previous beats incarnations;

"Like listening through a wet towel"

The early Beats headphones were definitely like that, but ever since the Beats Solo 2s, they've sounded really great. Problem was they weren't built very well. No complaints at all about the sound. They have clear mids and highs and a strong bass response that isn't remotely boomy. I use them for games, movies and music and they shine on all of them. If this new model has a similar sound signature and improved build quality, they're a winner imo.

 

[BuffaloTF]

Anyone can be a “professional” reviewer. The solo 2s might sound “natural” if you haven’t heard better midrange headphones. Scientifically, graphs are just graphs. I’ve seen some really terrible headphones with good graphs. The graphs really are to aid you in some expectations before trying them on

Tyl from Inner Fidelity and one of the largest contributors to Head-Fi given a quote/unquote “professional” label? He just retired after doing it since 1992, and basically created the headphone enthusiast community as we know it.

Your knowledge of the topic is clearly staggering. Just move along, us mere mortals don’t deserve your wisdom.

 

[rgbrock1]

i'll stick to bowers&wilkins, thanks.

Ditto. I have a pair of PX7's and there is nothing else like them.
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The pricing is comical for what you are getting here. Why anyone would choose these over Bose or Sony is beyond me.

Or Bowers & Wilkins which are worlds better than either Sony or Bose. (In my subjective opinion of course)

 

[480951]

Hopefully they reinforced the hinges because that's what broke most of the time on the Solo 3s. And since the on-off mechanism is engaged only by using the hinges, these are going to break much more quickly if the hinges haven't been addressed. They do look thicker in pictures.

As soon as I read that it was a deal breaker. No power button? Seriously? The hinges are the most breakable part. I went out of my way to not close them most of the time when I had my Solo 2s and they still managed to crack. I was pretty disappointed because I tend to really baby my electronics so they last a long time.

 

[kennyt72]

They've got the bling market covered... anybody who wants to tell the world they spent $$$ on a set of headphones will want a pair.

Personally, I'm happy with my no frills wireless JVC flats headphones. They sound great and I doubt anybody's gonna mug me for them. Also if they break or get lost, I won't be crying that much.

Thats all true but they're still a waste of money

 

[alexandr]

Ditto. I have a pair of PX7's and there is nothing else like them.

and they are so much better designed.

 

[McG2k1]

I looooove mine. Everything about them so far. I've owned... many headphones over the years.

How do you stop your phone from playing music or pod casts every time you put them in your pocket? If I turn ear detection off it doesn’t wait until it detects my ear/pocket and just starts playing as soon as I take them out of the clamshell.

 

[AustinIllini]

No, MX3 are equivalent to studios and QC35s (price bracket). the solos are on ear. The general concensus from what I have read is MX3 have better ANC, Bose better sound, studios third. These solos would be lesser than studios.
you can get much better sound than these four, but $

Yeah, I have B&O H9i headphones. They're really expensive, but they sound significantly better than the Bose, Sony offerings. The B&Os actually sound better without the ANC enabled.

 

[Tech198]

Noise cancelling headphones were initially marketed to airline flyers.

Would make sense.. those engine noises can be a concern while your listening away. I guess just turning up the volume is not an option unless you wanna get aggravated the person ext to you to turn it down.

 

[itsamacthing]

Hello Apple. Leather Cans that breath so ears don’t overheat. USB-C charging. Oval shape so they fit over the ear.

A 16 year old could have told Apple this was a bad idea

 

[chucker23n1]

Am I the only one who wants Beats X, but with the H1 and in better color choices?

 

[ipponrg]

Tyl from Inner Fidelity and one of the largest contributors to Head-Fi given a quote/unquote “professional” label? He just retired after doing it since 1992, and basically created the headphone enthusiast community as we know it.

Your knowledge of the topic is clearly staggering. Just move along, us mere mortals don’t deserve your wisdom.

Cool story. So one professional in the audio community says a positive note about Solo2, and you discount the other professionals in the audio community. You also didn’t read Tyl’s assessment thoroughly and seemed to have selectively decided to remember certain words from his review.

Please continue to preach about this. It’s amazing how much people can learn from other people such as yourself with selective comprehension.
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Yeah, I have B&O H9i headphones. They're really expensive, but they sound significantly better than the Bose, Sony offerings. The B&Os actually sound better without the ANC enabled.

I’ve also liked the BO offerings as well, definitely way more than Bose. All headphones should sound better without their ANC activated.

 

[goobot]

Its sad that these use lightning over usb c. Like really Apple?

 

[TopherMan12]

you would THINK a review

This isn't a review.

 

[DeepIn2U]

This is what I like to call "Expensive garbage"

Indeed ... this is 2 things for Apple:
1. a distraction for inbound cash
2. paying for AirPods v3's R&D costs