Beats Solo Pro vs Solo3 Wireless: Which one should you buy?

Hey guys Marc, here from RTINGS.com, and today we compare the Beats Solo Pro with the Beats Solo 3. Some prefer the on-ear format of the Beats Solo line, as they offer the same sleek design as the on-ear Studio. online but in a more portable and affordable package. The Pros are the latest update to the

solo

line and come with some improvements like noise cancellation and a build quality redesign that might be worth it for some. So if you've been considering purchasing a pair of

solo

headphones,

should

you get the much cheaper

solo3

, or

should

you spend more and go for the pros?

Well, in this review we will compare its design, sound quality, insulation and leakage, as well as its active features and connection options. But, as always, let's start with what's in the box. In the Beats Solo Pro box you get a Lightning to USB charging cable, a soft carrying case, the manuals, but no audio cables since the Solo Pros don't have a headphone jack. The Solo3 box also comes with a soft carrying case, a micro USB to USB cable, manuals, and a 1/8TRRS audio cable with remote control and in-line microphone. And that's it. Now let's remove the boxes and compare their design.

So starting with its build quality, the Solo Pro has the edge here. The Pros maintain the same design language as the rest of the solo line, but with some notable improvements. The frame of the Pros is much thicker and denser than the previous generation in the line. They also have slightly larger earcups with thicker, plusher pads and a new adjustment hinge that feels much more solid than the one on the Solo 3. It's a sturdy metal design that joins the headband to the earcups and feels much more durable than the hinge of the previous model. In this sense, you will feel much more secure adjusting the Solo Pros when placing them on your head than with the somewhat flimsy Solo3.

The Professionals also fold like the other models in the individual line, making them quite portable and easier to carry in your bag or with you. Unfortunately, they only come with a soft case

which

is not ideal as it will not protect them much against impacts and drops. They should still do a decent job against scuffs and scratches when in your bag, but at this price range they really should come with a good hard case. As for the Solo 3, they are a little more compact than the Pro, as they generally have a thinner structure for both the headband and the earcups.

They are also a bit lighter,

which

some prefer, especially in this over-ear format. However, their flimsier design makes them feel much less sophisticated than the professional ones. On the plus side, the older hinge mechanism and lighter design make them a little more comfortable overall, which brings us to the next segment of comfort. In this category the Solo3 has a slight advantage, although not much. The Solo Pros have thicker padding on the ear cups and headband, which should make them a little more comfortable than the previous design. However, the new hinge mechanism doesn't extend far enough for those with larger heads.

It's not a huge difference compared to the Solo3, but since the Pros have a little more padding and a thicker headband, on larger heads they tend to feel a little tighter than the older models. They're also noticeably heavier, so you might feel them more on your head than the Solo3. On the plus side, if you rarely adjust the size of your headphones when you put them on, you'll most likely find the Pros comfortable, especially thanks to the thicker pads. However, for most, the Solo 3s will fit slightly better than the Pros. In terms of its control scheme, it is a tie for both headphones.

The Pros have a slightly redesigned control scheme, but maintain essentially the same button layout as previous models. On the left earcup there is now a sleek looking, slightly raised rocker control for volume control and call/music management. One press of the Beats logo will pause or resume your music, two presses will skip to the next track, and three presses will rewind. You can control the volume level by pressing the bottom or top of the circular rocker, but the sides have no controls and do nothing, similar to previous generations. At the bottom of the left earcup is the noise cancellation toggle button that allows you to toggle between noise cancellation on and transparency mode.

You can also set it to disable noise cancellation entirely instead of simply turning on transparency within the Bluetooth settings menu when paired with an iOS device. Unfortunately, they do not come with the typical on/off switch or button like older models. Now you have to bend the headphones to turn them off. It's a decent feature, but until you get used to it you'll be leaving them on multiple times, which will continue to drain power even if the battery life is pretty good. This setup is almost the same for the Solo 3, except that the rocker arm is a little more embedded in the headphone enclosure.

Similarly, pressing the Beats logo will manage your music the same way the pros do: 1 press to play and pause, 2 to skip, and 3 to rewind. And pressing the bottom part of the circular control scheme will lower the volume and the top part will increase it. The buttons are slightly more responsive than the Pros, and to turn them on you have to physically press the on/off switch, which some prefer to fold to turn off the Pro. Overall, design-wise, the Beats solo pro is a notable improvement over the previous

solo3

. They feel better built, more durable and much higher end, but they are also a little tighter on some heads.

Its control scheme is still excellent and easy to use, but the folding down might be a hit or miss for some. Now let's compare the insulation and leakage of your design with Sam. Both headphones, like Beats' latest headphones, have a pretty good and balanced sound, but between the two, it's the Solo Pro that stands out. Now, before we look at the measurement results, let's play a recording we made with these headphones, so you can get an idea of ​​how their sound compares. Just keep in mind that this is a relative comparison and not an absolute one.

So it's good to see which headphones have more bass or treble, for example, but you won't be able to judge their actual sound profile. And if you get one of these headphones and listen to the same track we've used here, chances are you won't hear the same thing. Here we have the frequency response of the Solo Pro on the left and the Solo 3 on the right and as you can see they are both fairly balanced but slightly on the bass side. However, the Solo Pro's overemphasis is mainly on the lower bass, but the Solo 3's overemphasis is on the upper bass.

This means that the Solo Pro will sound punchier and more pleasant than the Solo3, which might sound a little muddy and boomy in comparison. The Solo Pro's midrange is nearly perfect, meaning vocals and solo instruments would sound clear and precise on them, but the Solo 3 has a noticeable drop-off around 700Hz, which, combined with its overemphasis on the midrange, high bass, can take vocals to a higher level. a little towards the back of the mixture. In the treble range, both headphones perform very well, but the Solo Pro is slightly promoted in this range. However, it is not enough for most people to notice it.

In terms of frequency response consistency, both headphones perform well, probably because they are over-ear and fit more or less the same on everyone. So you don't have to worry about losing bass if you have long hair or wear glasses with these headphones. Now, for insulation and leakage, we have also recorded a comparison, which we are going to do now. First, there is isolation. As you've probably heard, the Solo Pro has excellent active noise cancellation, especially in the mid and high ranges. That's why they're great for canceling office noise or the sound of an air conditioning system.

Something quite interesting here is the fact that the Solo Pro's ANC works well in the treble range, while almost all other ANC systems we've measured are ineffective above 1 kHz. However, its bass ANC, while sufficient for most situations, may not be sufficient for environments with a lot of low-frequency noise, such as an airplane. The Solo 3 works like typical over-ear headphones that don't have active noise cancellation. They perform well in the treble range, but don't provide much isolation in the bass and midranges. In terms of leaks, it is again the Solo Pro that performs best. Its leak profile is similar to that of the Solo 3 but significantly quieter.

So, although at high volume people around you can hear what you're listening to on the Solo 3, you don't really need to worry about leakage from the Solo Pro, unless you're in a very quiet environment, like a library and you're listening your music at full volume. One last thing, we don't usually talk about the microphone performance of Bluetooth headphones unless they perform better than usual, as they are almost always mediocre. This is due to the limitations of the Bluetooth protocol, and these two headphones are no exception. Now let's go back to Marc to learn about the active functions.

For the active functions of it, starting with its latency. It's a tie for both headphones here, with 181ms for the Solo Pros and 179ms for the Solo3. However, please note that our testbench currently does not take into account the advantages of the H1 or W1 chip. We expect much less latency when paired with an iOS device than with an Android or an external dongle like ours, and even without the H1 or W1 benefits, they work as well as most Bluetooth headphones. As for their

wireless

range, the Solo Pros are doing a little better at 277 feet compared to 242 in direct line of sight.

This means that both headphones should have more than enough range to be decent options when paired with a fixed source like your PC or Apple TV. However, keep in mind that when you are indoors, your range will vary considerably depending on the density and materials that the Bluetooth signal has to travel through. In terms of battery life, the Solo 3 lasts much longer than the Solo Pros. However, the Solo Pros do have noise cancellation, so expect shorter battery life when that feature is enabled. When we used the Solo Pros with ANC on, they lasted up to 24 hours in our tests and advertise up to 40 hours of listening time when ANC and transparency mode are off.

This would be around the same range as the Solo3, which lasted up to 42 hours in our battery drain test. Both earbuds also charge extremely fast for battery life. The Pros were fully charged in about 1.2 hours and the Solo3s in 1.5. This also means that a quick 5-10 minute charge gives you about 3 hours of listening time, which is great, especially if you forgot to charge them overnight and just need a quick top-up before you leave the house. Unfortunately, since the Pros can't be used corded, if they run out of battery, you'll be left without music until you can charge them again.

This may be a deal breaker if you're hesitating between the Solo 3 and the Solo Pro, but for most, the fast charging time should make up for it. As for app support, like most devices released by Apple so far, they do not have a dedicated app or software to customize your sound profile. Instead, they just have an improved interface that you can access in the headphones' Bluetooth settings on iOS devices. Like the Apple Airpods and Airpods Pro, the Solo Pros and Solo3 use the H1 and W1 chip respectively to connect seamlessly to your iPhone or iPad. When you're nearby, simply turning on the headphones will generate a pop-up on your iOS device with pairing and battery information.

Going into the Bluetooth settings for the individual pros, you have a few more options, such as being able to turn noise cancellation on and off or enable transparency mode, but that's about it. It's a bit disappointing as they don't have customization options like an equalizer, room effects or even a slider for the noise cancellation level and overall make the headphones feel a bit dull compared to some of the other brand headphones available on the market. such as Sony, Sennheiser or AKG. Regarding your connectivity options. The Solo pros are Bluetooth 5.0 headphones with H1 chip and the Solo 3 are bluetooth 4.2 with W1 chip.

The Pros come with a Lightning to USB charging cable and the Solo3 with a micro USB to USB. The Solo3 also comes with a 1/8TRRS audio cableso you can use them with your phone. And the cable has an in-line remote and microphone that should offer slightly better performance than the Bluetooth microphones on both headphones. So overall, which headphones should you choose? Well, for most users the decision is pretty simple, if you care about the noise cancellation feature, get the solo Pro. They isolate surprisingly well in noisy environments for an over-ear headphone that outperforms headphones like the Marshall Mid ANC.

They also have much better build quality than the Beats solo 3, making them feel more durable and higher quality. Unfortunately, the redesign makes them a bit snug on some heads, so they may not be as comfortable as the Solo 3 for some. The Pros also don't have a wired mode, so if they run out of battery, you'll be left without music until you can charge them again. Luckily, they charge quite quickly and offer a more neutral sound than the solo3. If you have the budget then the Pros are a nice upgrade, especially thanks to the noise cancellation feature, but if you don't need the extra isolation then the solo3 may offer better value, they just won't feel as premium.

And that's pretty much it. You can check all the measurements on our website. If you like this video, subscribe to our channel or become a contributor. Additionally, we are currently hiring in our Montreal offices for various positions. So if you want to help people find the best product for their needs, take a look at the careers page on our website. Thanks for watching and until next time.