Compared to the Bose 700, I got cleaner details and an overall warmer presentation. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. Lesley Chen is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who covers shopping, tech, health/fitness, travel, and general lifestyle topics. She’s written for BuzzFeed, Byrdie, PureWow, and Well + Good, among others. When not writing, she’s out looking for the flattest walking route around the city.
The Beats Solo Pro offer better overall noise cancelling performance than the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2, but this is under optimal conditions. Since the Solo Pro is an on-ear headset, it’s unlikely that you’ll maintain a consistent fit as it jostles on your head as you walk around. If you want more reliable, albeit slightly less effective noise-cancelling, you should get the Surface Headphones 2. Microsoft’s headphones feature an over-ear design and they apply much less force to the sides of your head than the Beats on-ear headphones. If you want a headset for conference calls, few options are better than the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2, because they have very good microphone quality and an onboard mute switch.
Unfortunately for Beats, these compete directly with another Apple product, the AirPods Pro, which costs less ($250). Yes, the Solo Pro sound better and have more effective noise-canceling. beats studio3 But while the tiny AirPods Pro also don’t plug into an in-flight entertainment system, they’re a lot easier to carry around, and I’d rather drop $250 on them than $300 on these.
On the train, I can ward off the sounds of my morning commute with Spotify or Tidal playing at approximately 40% volume wearing the 700s. And if I just wanted to sit in quiet repose, it was just a few decibels above whisper quiet and it felt like I was watching the world on mute. At home, I managed to get my Note 8’s volume down to around 30% before I beats flex review could slightly hear the television. And when I muted everything, the Bose’s dedicated six microphones reduced everything to a barely there peep. “It’s so simple, a child could do it.” The bulk of the Solo Pro’s controls are accessed via the hidden multifunction button in the right earcup. Press the center of the b once to pause and once again to play.
They produce clear, precise sound that is almost clinical at times, with well-controlled and punchy bass, pleasing mids and crisp highs. On-ear headphones sit with the cushions pressing against the ear, as opposed to the larger over-ear headphones that enclose your ear and sit against the side of your head. The Solo Pro are fairly large for on-ear headphones, with the cushions covering my ears. When it’s time to recharge the headphones, Beats’ Fast Fuel technology will give you 3 hours of listening time with 10 minutes of charge. Pairing the Solo Pros to my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 or Apple iPhone 10 XS Max was as simple as unfolding the cans and putting them on my head. By the time I accessed the Bluetooth-pairing feature on my Note 8, the device had already discovered the Solo Pros.
You can pair your headphones using the app – it will show battery level when you turn them on in a little on-screen pop-up and manage various settings. Sherri L. Smith has been cranking out product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011. In that time, she’s reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones and everything in between. The resident gamer and audio junkie, Sherri was previously a managing editor for Black Web 2.0 and contributed to BET.Com and Popgadget.