Beats Solo 4 Review

Our Beats Solo 4 Headphones Experience

The Beats Solo 4 has an iconic look and feel commonly seen in gyms and on influencer reels. They feature an on-ear design, fold compactly, and come with a soft carry case, a USB-C charging cord, and a 3.5mm audio cable.

The Solo 4 features one-touch pairing for Apple or Android devices, automatically connecting to devices linked to an iCloud or Google account, making transitions between devices seamless. The Bluetooth 5.3 connection was stable and maintained a strong connection up to 133 feet in our open-field tests.

The Beats are not the easiest to use. Some controls didn't work, and the customizations were limited; however, the compact and lightweight design is well-suited for travel or stuffing into a gym bag.For the price, which isn't quite high-end but is still not budget-friendly, we expected controls that work predictably, EQ adjustments or presets, and more features like active noise cancellation.

The Solo 4 are on-ear headphones, which means they rest on the pinna of the ear, not over the ear, resting on the head around the pinna. This design tends to cause pressure points and hot spots, and the Solo 4 did just that for us. While they were stable enough to use during workouts, the clamping force was strong enough to limit our wear time to under two hours.

The Beats reduce some sounds, such as typing, but voices remain loud and clear. During gym use, we couldn't escape the deep grunts, distracting chatter, and loud music of a busy peak gym time. Alternatively, awareness was better than noise-cancelling options, so if chatting with others is your vibe while working out, they allow enough awareness for spotting a partner.

Sound Quality

These headphones have a playful mix of creamy highs, smoky mids, and punchy lows that strike a great bargain between balance and expression. The Solo4 truly excels at maintaining clarity and keeping dynamic shifts tight, even at maximum volume. The sound is clear enough, but not as fully detailed and dimensional as other models.

Beats are typically bass-heavy, but the Solo 4 doesn't fit that mold. Compared to older generations, the 4's lows have adequate punch and power, but don't smack you in the face. That's great if thick bass isn't your thing. However, some may yearn for more detail and presence in the lows while listening to pop, rap, or rock artists like Lizzo, Cardi B, and The Cramps; unfortunately, the built-in EQ is not adjustable.

The mids sound forward and developed, with a beautiful warmth and body laced in. However, while the clarity is great, it is not as fully developed as some competitors. Still, pop, hip-hop, R&B, and country tracks by Samm Henshaw, Khalid, and Ryan Bingham sounded wonderful to our ears. The highs are bright and lovely but lack clarity and consistency. We enjoyed high-hitting vocals and instruments across pop, jazz, and dance genres, though they sometimes sound dull or flat in low-quality recordings.

Country artist Dolly Parton's “9 to 5” showcases the Solo 4's abilities best. The insistent thrumming of the piano from 0:00 to 0:09 demonstrates that these headphones can handle lows with warmth and power. When the clattering of a typewriter-like sound (made by Parton's acrylic nails) enters at 0:05, the rhythmic clacking is clearly defined and crisp against the beefy piano riff. By the first chorus, the song explodes with stacked vocal harmonies, vibrant percussion, electric guitar riffs, and brass accents. Each instrument has a distinct, vibrant personality that is clearly discernible. Parton's buoyant, bubbly soprano floats over the ensemble, easily distinguishable and never sounding shrill or like she's competing to be heard. Despite the increased complexity of the mix, each voice and instrument is distinct, clean, and dynamically balanced.

Our frequency response analysis of the Solo 4 confirms our expert ears' interpretations. Relative to our Target Response Curve, which portrays what we believe is the most widely appealing sound signature, the Beats have somewhat recessed lows and overemphasized highs.

The deemphasized bass makes the mids sound more prominent in the mix, allowing vocals and instruments to stand out across most genres. However, bass-lovers who listen primarily to EDM and hip-hop may want more power. While the highs are emphasized, the detail and clarity are lacking. Thus, despite the accentuated highs, classical and jazz lovers who favor precision in the treble range will be disappointed.

Soundstage

The instrument location on these headphones is great, but the sound feels like it's coming straight from the headphones and being funneled directly into the eardrum. It does not sound wide or expansive.

The poor dimensionality is partly due to the headphones' on-ear design. Without the extra space that over-ears provide, the Solo 4 cannot deliver sound that playfully bounces around and within your ears to create a rich cinematic experience. That being said, Beats offers Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking for Apple users, but it falls short of expectations.

Comfort and Fit

The Solo 4 were surprisingly comfortable for the first hour; however, after that, our ears started to get sore. Wearing glasses or earrings didn't affect the comfort level, but we didn't wear them for more than two hours at a time.

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At 218 grams, the Solo 4 is one of the lightest headphones in our lineup. The earcups are small (35 x 30 millimeters) and almost toy-like. Despite its small size, the clamping force is strong, which can contribute to long-term discomfort by creating pressure points.

Noise Cancellation

The Solo 4 has limited noise cancellation, relying solely on passive noise blocking. It's pretty disappointing that they don't offer ANC at this price.

While they offer some passive cancellation from the earcups blocking the ear canal, it isn't on par with those that employ technology to counteract sound waves within the folds of the ear and headphone earcup.

App and Controls

Beats takes the same Apple/Android hybrid approach for customizations. There's an app for Android users. For Apple users, the customizations are built into the iOS settings. Either way, the options are minimal.

Controls

The controls look sleek, like a modern touchpad with traditional button reliability. The large, central “b” button on the left earcup manages phone calls and media playback, while a rocker directly above and below the “b” button controls volume. An old-school Power/Bluetooth button is on the bottom of the right earcup. We struggled to get the “b” button to perform the fast-forward or fast-reverse, but playing/pausing, or skipping a track worked well.

Connectivity

Simultaneously connecting two devices is finicky, as the Beats do not offer a multipoint connection. Instead, they support Audio Switching for Android and manual swapping for iOS. Audio Switching is similar to Multipoint, but for devices linked to a Google account. iOS shares audio with those nearby using Apple Audio Share support. While the limited multipoint functionality is a bit of a bummer, most Solo 4 users are satisfied with connectivity.

The Solo 4 shines in battery life, lasting an astounding 73 hours. If you don't want to charge your headphones regularly, the Solo 4 is an excellent choice.

According to Beats, 10 minutes of charging will provide five hours of playback time. If you don't have access to an outlet, you can always plug the headphones directly into your device using the included USB-C or 3.5 mm audio cables.

Call Quality

A set of multiple beam-forming microphones and specially formulated voice-targeting algorithms work together to deliver surprisingly good call quality.

Whether making mock calls from a simulated noisy subway environment or a quiet setting, the Solo 4's voice isolation technology performed admirably well. Our real-life phone calls impressed us even more. We also test the headphone's performance in a vibrant office space and a baseline test in our audio studio, removing any background interference, so we can get a true sense of the voice quality.