REASONS TO BUY
Lightweight
Good sound
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Especially considering their relative performance
Beats Solo3 Review
Decent performance that doesn't quite match the expectations set by the list price
RELATED: Best Wireless Headphones
Our Verdict
While the Beats Solo3 are good headphones, they don't quite live up to the high-end pedigree suggested by both their price and their advertising. The sound quality is good but not exceptional, they do not offer active noise cancellation, and they're not the most comfortable headphones we've tested. They are exceptionally light at just 7.5 ounces, are available in many different colors and have a nice, minimalistic design. If you find those features important in your favorite wireless headphones, then these are a worthwhile buy.
Editor's Note: This review includes new information on our favorite products and those we would buy. It was updated on January 18, 2021.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product Beats Solo3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Most Comfortable Wireless Headphones | Best Overall Wireless Headphones |  Best Bang for Your Buck | ||
| Price | $300 List $115.00 at Amazon | $379 List | $350 List $198.00 at Amazon | $349 List $199.00 at Amazon | $60 List $54.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | Not bad if you like the styling, but you can get better sound quality, noise isolation, and comfort elsewhere for the same price | The clear choice for those that place a premium on comfort without sacrificing sound quality and noise cancellation | An excellent choice for both audiophiles and those looking to enhance their concentration by drowning out distractions | Perfect for audiophiles that want exceptional possible sound and good noise cancellation | Good overall sound quality, noise isolation, and comfort at a great price |
| Rating Categories | Beats Solo3 | Bose Noise Cancelli... | Sony WH-1000XM4 | Bose QuietComfort 3... | Soundcore Life Q20 |
| Sound Quality (30%) | |||||
| Noise Isolation (25%) | |||||
| Comfort (25%) | |||||
| User Friendliness (10%) | |||||
| Portability (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Beats Solo3 | Bose Noise Cancelli... | Sony WH-1000XM4 | Bose QuietComfort 3... | Soundcore Life Q20 |
| Type | On-ear | Over-ear | Over-ear | Over-ear | Over-ear |
| Noise cancelling | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manufacturer reported battery life (hours) | 40 | 20 | 30 | 40 wired, 20 BT | 40 |
| Measured weight (ounces) | 7.5 | 9.2 | 8.8 | 10.9 | 9.3 |
| Included case | Padded soft case | Semi-hard case | Semi-hard case | Semi-hard case | Lined drawstring pouch |
| App | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Earcup padding cover material | Leatherette | Leather | Foamed urethane/leatherette | Synthetic protein leather | Leatherette |
| Charging cable length (inches) | N/A | 42" | 7.9" | 47.2" | 40" |
| Microphone for voice? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth version | N/A | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 5.0 |
| Onboard buttons | Volume, play/pause, forward/back | Volume, play/pause, forward/back, noise cancelling, voice assistant, power/bluetooth, answer/decline/mute calls | Volume, change track, take/make calls | Volume, play/pause, forward/back, noise cancelling | Volume, multifunction, power, NC |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The Solo3 offers decent all-around performance, but in many areas, they fall short of similarly priced wireless headphones.
Performance Comparison
Good headphones, the Solo3 doesn't quite live up to its price tag in our opinion.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Sound Quality
The Solo3 sounded better than the average pair of headphones but not exceptional in our testing. Where the Solo3 really shines is in its clarity. Everything from crowded guitar riffs to swung notes on ride cymbals sounded crisp and clear. In this capacity, these headphones were just shy of the clarity of top-scoring models.
The major downside to the Solo3 is its bass, which was very weak compared to other high-end models. This robbed some degree of depth from most music. Overall, this sound profile makes the Solo3 great for things like podcasts and acoustic music, but it makes things like bass-heavy rock or hip hop sound a bit flat compared to other high-end models.
The Solo3 sounds good, but at this price point we'd expect a bit more.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Noise Isolation
Noise Isolation is one area where the Solo3 really falls short of other high-end models. This is mostly because the Solo3 lacks an active noise-canceling feature, which is standard for most models in this price range. Though the headphones themselves do a decent job of muffling ambient noise, even with loud music playing, we could still hear a slightly quieter version of most of the surrounding noise. This paled compared to the almost complete sound isolation of the active noise-canceling models.
Comfort
The Solo3 was again lacking in our comfort testing. These are the only on-ear headphones that we tested, so they put some pressure on your ears by design. While this is fine for short periods after time, after using them for an hour or two, our ears were aching for a break. In contrast, over-ear models from Bose and Sony stayed on our heads all day without any complaint.
It's somewhat personal preference, but we felt the on-ear design of the Solo3 was much less comfortable than the over-ear designs of other models.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
User Friendliness
The Solo3 is fairly easy to use but can be a bit finicky. The headphones have a single button that functions as a play/pause button. You can also quickly press twice to skip forward a track or press three times to go back a track. To fast forward, you press twice and hold on the second press. None of these commands are particularly intuitive once you get past the play/pause functionality, so there is a slight learning curve.
One plus for Apple users is that the Solo3 uses the proprietary Apple W1 chip. This makes pairing with Apple devices even easier than usual. It also means that once you pair these headphones with one of your Apple devices, every other device logged into your Apple account will immediately recognize the headphones.
Portability
The Solo3 was the most portable headphones that we tested. These headphones weigh just 7.5 ounces and fold up into a tiny, padded carrying case. These things will certainly not weigh you down when you carry them on to your next flight.
The Beats Solo3 packs up the smallest of any of our models.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Should You Buy the Solo3?
Unfortunately, the Solo3 price to performance ratio isn't particularly good. Today's standard expects active noise cancellation in this price range. The Beats Solo3 are fairly good headphones that still fail to live up to their list price. If you're considering spending this much on wireless headphones, there are much better options available.
What Other Wireless Headphones Should You Consider?
If your budget can stretch about $50, we'd recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4, which is the top-ranked noise cancelling headphone with superior performance in sound quality.
—
Max Mutter and Steven Tata
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