Beats Solo 2 vs Solo3 2018: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:31 PM

See Beats Solo 2 Wireless Review

TypeOn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingNo

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

TypeOn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

Noise CancellingNo

WirelessYes

TransducerDynamic

MicYes

Our Verdict

Beats Solo 2 Wireless

Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless

The Beats Solo3 2018 are slightly better headphones than the Beats Solo 2. While both headphones have a similar sound profile, the Solo3 have a noticeably better battery life with about 40 hours of continuous playback. They also take advantage of the W1 chip on iOS devices, which the Solo 2 don’t do. Design-wise, there isn’t much difference between the two models.

Variants

Solo2 Wireless (Black)
Solo2 Wireless (Blue)
Solo2 Wireless (Flash Blue)
Solo2 Wireless (Gold)
Solo2 Wireless (Red)
Solo2 Wireless (Rose Gold)
Solo2 Wireless (Shock Yellow)
Solo2 Wireless (Silver)
Solo2 Wireless (Siren Red)
Solo2 Wireless (Space Gray)
Solo2 Wireless (White)

Solo3 Wireless (Black)
Solo3 Wireless (Gloss Black)
Solo3 Wireless (Gloss White)
Solo3 Wireless (Gold)
Solo3 Wireless (Red)
Solo3 Wireless (Rose Gold)
Solo3 Wireless (Silver)
Solo3 Wireless (Ultra Violet)

Review

See Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Review

Check Price

Black

Solo2 Wireless

Black

Solo3 Wireless

Gold

Solo2 Wireless

Gold

Solo3 Wireless

Red

Solo2 Wireless

Red

Solo3 Wireless

Rose Gold

Solo2 Wireless

Rose Gold

Solo3 Wireless

Silver

Solo2 Wireless

Silver

Solo3 Wireless

Blue

Solo2 Wireless

Gloss Black

Solo3 Wireless

Flash Blue

Solo2 Wireless

Gloss White

Solo3 Wireless

Shock Yellow

Solo2 Wireless

Ultra Violet

Solo3 Wireless

Siren Red

Solo2 Wireless

Space Gray

Solo2 Wireless

White

Solo2 Wireless

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

7.1

6.8

Bass

7.8

6.5

Soundstage

5.8

4.3

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

7.1

6.8

Neutral Sound

7.4

7.2

Commute/Travel

6.9

6.8

Sports/Fitness

7.2

7.4

Office

7.0

6.6

Home Theater

5.9

Wireless Gaming

5.6

Wired Gaming

7.2

Phone Calls

6.1

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

On-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Yes

Transducer

Dynamic

Mic

Yes

Show Text

Comfort

7.0

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.47 lbs

Clamping Force

1.1 lbs

Show Text

Controls

8.1

6.5

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

iOS

Ease Of Use

Above-average

Decent

Feedback

Above-average

Decent

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

N/A

Talk-Through

N/A

Additional Controls

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Breathability

7.9

Breathability Before Picture

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

2.3 °C

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Portability

6.4

Portability Picture

L

4.38"

4.25"

W

6.13"

H

2.63"

Volume

70.6 in³

68.5 in³

Transmitter Required

N/A

Show Text

Case

6.0

7.5

Case Picture

Type

Pouch

Soft case

L

4.5"

W

6.1"

H

2.6"

Volume

69.1 in³

Show Text

Build Quality

7.5

Build Quality Picture

Show Text

Stability

7.5

Stability Picture

Show Text

Cable

Cable Picture

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.4 ft

4.2 ft

Connection

1/8" TRS

1/8" TRRS

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Side Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Front Picture

Top Picture

Rear

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

Show Text

Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

2.93 dB

Treble Amount

-1.6 dB

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Frequency Response Consistency

7.1

7.5

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.6 dB

0.5 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

Raw FR R

Bass Accuracy

7.8

6.5

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

3.37 dB

4.97 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

10 Hz

Low-Bass

3.16 dB

3.71 dB

Mid-Bass

3.76 dB

5.45 dB

High-Bass

4.1 dB

6.62 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.2

8.3

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

2.42 dB

2.22 dB

Low-Mid

0.26 dB

2 dB

Mid-Mid

-3.42 dB

-2.56 dB

High-Mid

-1.28 dB

-0.02 dB

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Treble Accuracy

8.2

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

3.21 dB

2.45 dB

Low-Treble

-0.5 dB

1.69 dB

Mid-Treble

-0.64 dB

1.43 dB

High-Treble

-7.35 dB

-7.57 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.4

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.7 dB

Dips

1.31 dB

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Imaging

6.1

8.8

Group Delay

Phase Response

Phase Error

70.55°

Weighted Group Delay

0.16

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.53 dB

0.83

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

19.08 dB

1.29

Driver Mismatch (Phase)

76.12°

Weighted Phase Mismatch

4.21

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Passive Soundstage

5.8

4.3

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

3.43 dB

PRTF Error

7.28 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

1.99 dB

PRTF Distance

2.63 dB

Openness

7.0

4.8

Acoustic Space Excitation

3.9

4.6

Correlated Crosstalk

0.04 dB

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

Show Text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

8.5

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.148

WHD @ 100

0.066

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Total Harmonic Distortion

7.8

Distortion

Weighted THD @ 90

1.803

Weighted THD @ 100

1.152

Test Settings

Firmware

Unknown

Power

Connection

Unknown

Codec

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ

No EQ

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Microphone

Integrated

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Isolation

Noise Isolation

5.5

5.1

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-12.91 dB

-13.32 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

-0.8 dB

-0.69 dB

Mid

-9.77 dB

-9.04 dB

Treble

-30.95 dB

-30.84 dB

Self-Noise

16.82 dB

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Leakage

6.1

6.0

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

44.46 dB

44.97 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

Yes

In-Line

Yes

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic

Yes

Show Text

Recording Quality

6.2

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

LFE

369.71 Hz

FR Std. Dev.

2.96 dB

HFE

3,466.89 Hz

Weighted THD

28.322

Gain

33.03 dB

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Noise Handling

5.9

SpNR

Speech + Pink Noise

Speech + Subway Noise

SpNR

10.65 dB

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Active Features

Wireless

7.6

Type

Bluetooth 4.0

Obstructed Range

42 ft

Line of Sight Range

118 ft

242 ft

NFC

Show Text

Latency

2.3

Base Latency

192 ms

179 ms

aptX Latency

N/A

aptX(LL) Latency

N/A

Battery

8.0

8.4

Battery Type

Rechargable

Battery Life

18.25 hrs

Continuous Battery Life

42 hrs

Additional Charges

0.0

Total Battery Life

42 hrs

Charge Time

1.35 hrs

1.5 hrs

Power-Saving Feature

Audio While Charging

Yes

Passive Playback

Yes

Charging Port

micro-USB

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App Support

0.0

5.0

App Picture

App Name

Beats

iOS

Yes

Android

macOS

Windows

Equalizer

ANC Control

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Show Text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

7.0

Bluetooth Version

4.2 + W1 chip

Multi-Device Pairing

NFC Pairing

Line Of Sight Range

118 ft

242 ft

PC Latency (SBC)

192 ms

179 ms

PC Latency (aptX)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

134 ms

Android Latency

154 ms

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Show Text

Wired

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.4 ft

4.2 ft

Connection

1/8" TRS

1/8" TRRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

Show Text

PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC/PS4 Analog

Audio + Microphone

PC/PS4 Wired USB

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless

Show Text

Xbox One Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Show Text

Base/Dock

0.0

Type

No Base/Dock

USB Input

Line In

Line Out

Optical Input

RCA Input

Dock Charging

Power Supply

No Base/Dock

Show Text

Check Price

Black

Solo2 Wireless

Black

Solo3 Wireless

Gold

Solo2 Wireless

Gold

Solo3 Wireless

Red

Solo2 Wireless

Red

Solo3 Wireless

Rose Gold

Solo2 Wireless

Rose Gold

Solo3 Wireless

Silver

Solo2 Wireless

Silver

Solo3 Wireless

Blue

Solo2 Wireless

Gloss Black

Solo3 Wireless

Flash Blue

Solo2 Wireless

Gloss White

Solo3 Wireless

Shock Yellow

Solo2 Wireless

Ultra Violet

Solo3 Wireless

Siren Red

Solo2 Wireless

Space Gray

Solo2 Wireless

White

Solo2 Wireless