This headset runs as low as $150, quite a bit less than Beats Solo3 Wireless brand new, but even at the same price, it’s the better choice. Not only does the lessening of outside noise improve audio quality, but it also steers you away from damaging your hearing. While the noise cancellation found on these mid-tier Sony cans isn’t going to beat the Sony WH-1000XM4 abilities, it’s better than not having the feature altogether.īut it’s not just about having a feature to say that the feature is there no, the Sony WH-XB900N attenuation is effective enough to prevent you from maxing out the volume. While the Beats Solo3 is one of the company’s most accessible products, it lacks one major feature touted by the Sony WH-XB900N: active noise cancelling. Related: Best Bose headphones If you’re interested in the Beats Solo3 Wireless, save money with the Sony WH-XB900N instead The price disparity isn’t indicative of a lack of quality, rather it likely just reflects a smaller profit margin for the company, which means more money for you to put toward streaming. More often than not, a direct competitor to a Beats model will be cheaper than the household name. However, just because a product is an off-brand, so to speak, doesn’t make it inherently poor quality. Sometimes it’s worth it to invest in the real deal.

Not only is it tested to withstand at least 10 flat bends, but it can be contorted any which way too. The SteelFlex headband stays true to its name. That said, if you’re looking to get the absolute best audio quality, wired listening is still running laps around wireless. iPhone users should get headphones that support AAC, and Android users should look out for aptX or aptX HD support. Since Beats by Dre is now part of the Apple conglomerate and has been since 2014, the company’s wireless headphones and earbuds integrate the W1 chip or H1 chip and support the AAC Bluetooth codec. However, we don’t live in a perfect world and different codecs provide different transfer rates and qualities. Ideally, there wouldn’t have to be any sacrifices made in quality for the sake of efficiency.

Each waveform depicts a transfer rate of 100 kbps. If you’re unfamiliar with the technology, a Bluetooth codec determines how data is transmitted from a source (phone) to a receiver (headphones). What is represented is the max transfer rate (kbps) of each respective Bluetooth codec (greater is better). Each waveform depicts a transfer rate of 100 kbps. Represented is the max transfer rate (kbps) of each respective Bluetooth codec (greater is better).

Beats studio vs solo 2