Contrary to what you may think, this isn’t to the detriment of noise cancelling performance. In fact, AKG’s on-ear ANC headphones do a better job of combatting external noise than Beats’. Neither headset is exceptionally durable, but the pivot points on the N60NC are more prone to breakage compared to the Solo Pro. For less than $100, though, the AKG N60NC are an absolute steal. The Studio 3 Wireless can similarly insta-connect to Apple devices, sounds incredible, and looks great, but you won’t feel like your head is a watermelon about to burst. Both pairs of headphones also offer super-fast charging (up to three hours in just 10 minutes of charging!) and excellent battery life.
The ANC does a nice job of blocking out your surroundings so you can focus on the music or podcast you’re listening to. Again, these are on-ear headphones, so we’re not talking Bose or Sony levels of noise cancellation, but the Solo Pro does a very good job countering ambient distractions. Plus, the transparency mode offers a window into your environment when you need to have a quick convo or listen for your stop on the train. The Solo Pro also uses Beats’ Pure ANC, so the audio is being constantly adjusted automatically to suit your surroundings.
The Beats Solo Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones meet both of those requirements, and starting Nov.22 at 7 p.m., they’re on sale at Walmart for Black Friday. ANC is a power-hungry technology, though; so you will see a major decrease in battery life from the old to the new Beats on-ears. The Beats Solo3 Wireless boasts just over 45 hours of playtime on a single charge, which is more than double what the Beats Solo Pro provides with noise cancellation on. After about the 24-hour mark, battery life longevity becomes overkill and a way for companies to flex on spec sheets, but it’s impressive nonetheless.
Turning the ANC on can sometimes change the sound signature. Here, there’s the slightest change in bass response, but it’s not at all obvious, so there are no issues on that front. It would be nice to have software that allows you to adjust ANC or EQ levels. Most headphones beats flex review in this price tier tend to have something along these lines. The outer panel of the right earcup houses the clickable control panel. The central Beats logo is a multifunction button, controlling playback, call management, or summoning Siri when held in.
Simply pair them as you would any other Bluetooth headphones, and you can then check battery status and control ANC from the Beats mobile app. There’s no AptX or Aptx-HD support, as you’ll find with many high-end Bluetooth headphones, but they’ll play audio via Apple’s AAC codec beats studio3 instead. Since Apple acquired Beats in 2014, Beats headphones have been increasingly optimised for iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. Thanks to the Apple H1 chip, the Solo Pros not only pair instantly with these devices but you can also summon Siri at any time using your voice .
The clamping force of the headset is so great, however, that a secure fit is easy to come by. That’s impressive for a pair of on-ear headphones, whose passive noise isolation you might expect to be inferior to that of over-ear models. In fact, my only gripe regarding the headphone’s noise cancelling is that the microphones sometimes pick up and amplify wind turbulence. That’s not a problem specific to the Solo Pro – we’ve seen it on other ANC headphones as well – but it can be quickly remedied by switching off ANC and transparency.
The Studio 3 Wireless headphones are two years old now, but they’re still the best pair of headphones you can buy from Beats. The Solo Pro is a notable set of headphones for a few reasons. First, its beats studio3 earcups sit on your ears; they don’t envelop them like over-the-ear headphones. The advantage there is a more compact, travel-friendly size, but you also lose that added bit of noise isolation.