But that largely has to do with the 700s being over-ear headphones not on-ear cans. The 700s’ large oval cups sit over my ears, creating a comfy seal that meant hours of pillowy-soft comfort. After a while, the smallish cups tend to put uncomfortable pressure on my tiny ears. The more I wore them, however, the more comfortable they became. After breaking the Solo Pros in, I could wear them for 2 hours with no real discomfort. For audio, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones deliver an impressive low-frequency response.
There’s plenty of competition, but I expect these to become just as prevalent as their predecessors everywhere you look — so long as your head isn’t as big as mine. Listeners who want something even more compact than the Solo Pro while remaining within the Beats family should consider the Beats Studio Buds. This set of true wireless noise cancelling earphones works just as well on Android as it does on iOS. Still, the Studio Buds is a fine pair of earbuds for daily use if you appreciate the Beats design. If you’re not willing to sacrifice comfort for a slightly smaller build, the Sony WH-1000XM4, rather than the WH-1000XM3, are our go-to ANC headphones. You get plenty of features like Ambient Aware mode, touch controls, and granular EQ adjustments.
Once paired, the headphones automatically reconnect to the most recent device. They use Bluetooth 5.0 firmware and support AAC streaming. Again, this is mainly to the benefit of iOS users as AAC performance on Android devices is unpredictable. If you’re an Android user who wants high-quality wireless audio, you’ll have to look into some Beats alternatives. Battery life is 22 hours if you stick to noise-canceling and transparency modes. If you turn both of those off (with a double-press of the aforementioned button), you can get up to 40 hours of good old music playback.
Additionally, these feature quite plush and soft padding around the ear cups and headband. This adds to the comfort and works to keep them securely in place. Furthermore, the ear cup cushions add an extra layer of noise cancellation.
However, for all but the most discerning of listeners, I’d argue the Solo Pro are detailed and energetic enough to make up for any shortcomings in this regard. Black headphones are getting boring, and while the other available colors are a bit more bold, I prefer the subdued but luxurious beats flex review look of the gray-and-copper pattern. The Solo Pro is the successor to Beats’ best-selling headphones, the Solo 3 Wireless. Act fast to save nearly 50% on the model that nearly 18,000 shoppers are crazy about. Each headphone set comes with its own respective audio pros and cons.