These balanced Beats headphones remain among my favorites – and theyre $50 off

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Beats Solo 4 headphones retail for $200 in Matte Black, Slate Blue, and Cloud Pink
• Beats’ best-selling headphones return with up-to-date features, signaling that the company used the product’s long hiatus wisely
• A tight fit and small ear cups may cut your listening experience shorter than you’d like.

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I’ve spent a lot of time testing headphones, and I always find a new favorite with every new release. But one pair of headphones will always hold a special place in my heart, years after their launch: the Beats Solo 3 on-ear headphones.

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The Solo 3 awakened my passion for headphones; they were the first pair I spent more than $50 on. I bought a Rose Gold pair in high school with the money from my first job, and they stuck with me throughout college. I still have them, but years of use have burnt out the audio components and worn down the ear pads. So, when Beats offered me a pair of the Solo 4 headphones to test, I was more than happy to see how the company used the eight years since the Solo 3’s release to improve the Solo 4.

Before I get into the details, I want to mention that these headphones are on sale for $150 at Walmart. The retailer is also giving away five free offers, including up to four months of Apple Music.

The Solo 4 design shows Beats’ shift away from flashy, chrome accents adorned with heavy branding, toward a muted matte finish with simpler elements. I think Apple may have influenced these design choices. The Solo 4 ditches the mini USB port and instead has a USB-C port for charging and lossless audio. You can also now plug the headphones into a device to listen and charge them simultaneously.

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I tried the Solo 4 cans in Cloud Pink to trigger nostalgia for my Rose Gold Solo 3. The Cloud Pink Solo 4 is stunning and aesthetically pleasing, making it suitable for people who like stylish devices. In terms of audio, Beats has given the Solo 4 headphones a much-needed tune-up. If you previously strayed away from Beats because of their incredibly bass-forward sound, you’ll like the Solo 4 sound much better.

One of Beats’ taglines for the Solo 4 is “Amazing sound. Simplified”, and I couldn’t agree more. Instead of offering an artificially pumped-up, bass-heavy sound profile, the headphones have the most neutral sound I’ve ever heard from Beats. It’s still not wholly neutral, but undoubtedly neutral to Beats’ standards.

I listened to Kendrick Lamar’s A.D.H.D. and immediately noticed the Solo 4’s modest bass response. Because the bass didn’t overpower the midrange, I could appreciate minor details in the song, like Lamar’s layered vocals and the psychedelic synth sounds in the upper midrange. Beats says upgraded transducers improve high-frequency responses, and passive tuning helps maintain sound quality over wired and wireless connections. I concur.

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Like every other pair in the Solo lineup, the Solo 4s are on-ear, so the cups sit on your ear instead of enveloping it likeover-ear headphones. The Solo 3’s cups are ever so slightly larger, but the Solo 4’s new UltraPlush ear-cup padding is more comfortable.

Despite the new padding, I couldn’t wear these cans for long. On-ear headphones have never been comfortable for me because I wear four earrings in each ear. After about 30 minutes of wear, the earcups put too much pressure on my earrings, prompting me to take a break. The Solo 4’s on-ear fit shouldn’t bother listeners with glasses, but I’d avoid them if you have multiple ear piercings.

The headphones don’t have noise-canceling or transparency modes, but their passive noise isolation is impressive. If you think the transparency mode on other headphones lets in too much noise and noise-canceling blocks too much noise, the Solo 4’s natural noise isolation is the perfect middle ground.

The Solo 4 are the first pair in the Solo line to receive Personalized Spatial Audio, and I don’t have much to say about it. I’m not a fan of spatial audio, and it drains your headphones’ battery. The spatial audio feature works — and it works well — but I prefer regular audio. Speaking of battery life, the Solo4 headphones offer up to 50 hours of continuous playback, 10 more hours than the Solo 3.

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Like the Beats Studio Pro, the Solo 4 has increased interoperability with iOS and Android devices. For iOS fans, the headphones offer iCloud pairing, full access to Siri, Find My, over-the-air software updates, and Handoff. Android users can use Google Fast Pair, Bluetooth Multipoint, Google Find My Device, and the Beats companion app.

ZDNET’s buying advice

The Beats Solo 4 headphones deliver style and functionality for music lovers. If you weren’t a fan of Beats’ signature sound in the past, I challenge you to give the Solo 4 a try — they might change your mind. A note about their fit: if on-ear headphones are your preferred style, you can’t go wrong with the Solo 4. But if you prefer over-ear headphones, you may find the Solo 4 uncomfortable.

If you’re a loyal Beats fan but want Beats headphones with more premium features, try the Studio Pro; you can regularly find them for $250 or less. If you want over-ear headphones in a similar price range with the same focus on sound quality, consider the Sennheiser Accentum Plus or the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2.