Beats Solo Pro Review

In the five years since Apple acquired Beats, the Beats Solo Pro are only the second pair of Beats headphones that have been designed from ground up in collaboration with Apple. The first were the excellent Powerbeats Pro, and for the most part, the Beats Solo Pro continue that winning streak.

Everything about the Beats Solo Pro feels refined, from the vastly improved sound quality to the slick new design. Sure, the Beats Solo Pro aren't audiophile cans, but they're genuinely good headphones with just one potential deal breaker.

No longer 'bout that bass 

Noise-cancelling is the headline feature on the Beats Solo Pro, and for the most part, it's excellent. While they won't block out as much noise as over-ear headphones from Sony and Bose, the Beats Solo Pro still do a great job of making your world a bit quieter, whether it's at an office, on the street, or on a plane.

If you want to hear some ambient noise, there's a button on the left cup that turns on "transparency". This mode blends in environmental sounds, and it does so in a fairly natural way - there's no weird lip sync or artificial gain, so it doesn't sound like someone is yelling at you. Although you really should take off your headphones if you're talking to someone. Tapping the transparency button again brings back full noise-cancelling.

The Beats Solo Pro are a far cry from the obnoxious bass-driven headphones the manufacturer was once associated with. They're not audiophile cans, but they come across refined and clear, and they're certainly fun to listen to.

While the Beats Solo Pro bass won't make your head rattle, they're not lacking in low-end. The kick in Carly Rae Jepsen's "Too Much" has a resonant oomph without overpowering the rest of the song.

This kind of balance was a theme across many of the tunes I threw at the Beats Solo Pro. They admirably handled the raw death metal production of Blood Incantation's "Slave Species of the Gods"; despite a cavalcade of guitars and drums, the track never came across as muddy. They're surprisingly detailed headphones.

In a similar vein, Regurgitator's "Blubber Boy" burst with energy. The soundstage is wide enough to create a sense of presences, and frequencies were balanced but not to the point where the Beats felt flat. It's an exciting tuning that sounds consistently good across genres.

Made to taking a beating

The Beats Solo Pro are surprisingly slick headphones that feel a lot more premium than past iterations. While the cans are still predominantly plastic (a slick matte, no matter which colour you pick), there's now an aluminium slider for adjusting fit. Not only does this make the Beats a bit more rigid, it helps create a seamless design where it's not immediately obvious if you've got the headphones extended. They genuinely look great

The Beats Solo Pro also seem built to last. There's quite a lot of flex in the headband, letting you twist it any which way before it snaps back to shape. And while there's no official water-resistance rating, Apple says the Beats Solo Pro are still sweat-resistant enough to use at the gym.

Instead of a power button, the Beats Solo Pro automatically power on when you unfold them. This might seem like a small feature, but it saves enough time that it makes headphones with power buttons feel anachronistic. Sadly the Beats Solo Pro don't pause your music when you take them off. It's a little weird, given it's a convenience we've been seeing in other Apple headphones like the AirPods Pro and PowerBeats Pro.

The Beats Solo Pro work best with Apple products, which isn't all that surprising. They'll pair to any iOS device instantly, they support hands-free Siri, and they can seamlessly reconnect to any device tied with your Apple ID. After you've got your Beats Solo Pro paired with an iPhone, you'll see them available as an audio option for your Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac. If you're deep in the Apple ecosystem, it's a welcome time-saver that saves re-pairing headphones whenever you change device.

If you’re using the Beats Solo Pro with an Android device, they're essentially just plain old Bluetooth headphones. There is however an official app that gives you access to functionality like transparency mode, lets you see battery charge, and check for updates.

Skull Crusher

The biggest strike against the Beats Solo Pro is their fit. On-ear headphones will never be as plush as a pair of over-ears, but Beats Solo Pro are tight. At first, it felt like they were trying to drill into my skull to get at that tasty brain meat. A snug seal is necessary for the noise-cancelling tech to work, but I found it took a lot of adjustment to feel a semblance of comfort. My glasses probably didn’t help.

Wearing in the headphones and giving the band a few twists made the Beats Solo Pro gentler on my noggin, but it was hard to escape just how tight they are. This isn't great if you're planning on a solid listening sesh. The sheer amount of clamping force can make the Beats Solo Pro painful over an extended period of time.

Of course, your mileage my vary. Everyone's head is different, after all. But if you're considering dropping cash on the Beats Solo Pro, you'll want to try them on in a store first.

One feature you won't find on the Beats Solo Pro is a headphone jack. If you want to use them as wired cans, you'll need to pick up Apple's Lighting-to-3.5mm cable, which will set you back $55. You'll also need to use a Lighting cable to charge the Beats Solo Pro, but there's one in the box. This could be a little inconvenient if you're not already in the Apple world; it's a shame the Beats Solo Pro don't use USB-C instead.

In terms of battery, you should get around 20 hours per charge with noise-cancelling on, or up to 40 hour if you switch it off. It's worth noting that you can't use the Beats Solo Pro when they're flat, even if you have a Lighting-to-3.5mm cable. A five minute charge will get you three hours of playback however, or six if you don't need noise-cancelling. A full charge should take just under two hours.

Beats Solo Pro - Final Thoughts

The Beats Solo Pro are mostly excellent headphones compromised by their tight fit. Headphones should be comfortable, the Beats Solo Pro aren't. No one wants sore ears after listening to music. Again, mileage will vary, but if you're at all interested, try before you buy. Personally, there's no way I could make it through an entire long haul flight wearing them.

If you're after noise-cancelling cans, it's probably smarter to go with an over-ear model like the Sony WH-1000XM3s, they're more comfortable thanks to a plusher fit. If you want to stay within the Apple world, I'd go with the AirPods Pro instead. The noise-cancelling tech isn't quite as powerful and the battery life is shorter, but they're so much more comfortable.

But if you want a small pair of noise-cancelling headphones that also happen to look swish - and the fit is right for you or you like tighter cans - the Beats Solo Pro deliver on all other counts.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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