There was a time when almost every household had some form of Beats audio lying around. Whether it was headphones or the aptly named ‘Pill’, the brand was synonymous with consumer music and entertainment, but in recent years, Beats has disappeared from view. I recently got reacquainted with the pop-culture audio phenomenon, spending a week with the recently refreshed Beats Solo 4 on-ear headphones, and it really was been a week of two halves. The Solo 4s, which launched at AUD$329, have some really fantastic battery life, with Beats boasting the cans will last 50 hours on one charge – in my experience, that’s pretty accurate. They’re light, and, for certain types of music, they sound great.
With the Beats Solo 4 headphones, anything ambient or lo-fi-adjacent sounded perfectly fine, and podcasts and audiobooks were crisp and clear. This is because these audio forms largely focus on the high-end of the sound spectrum, where the Solo 4 delivers rich audio. Where they fell flat, however, is in its delivery of the low end. Playing anything that features a bass-heavy composition or with more sonic diversity left music sounding decidedly duller. Add to that some ergonomic issues and you start to paint a picture of the Solo 4 headphones as a whole.
The Beats Solo 4 has undergone some cosmetic upgrades, copped a slightly refreshed design and returned to the market in a big way, but for $329, are these new versions really worth it? After a week of hands-on testing and trials, I’m still not convinced.
Beats Solo 4 At A Glance
- Brand: Beats
- Model: Solo 4
- Drivers: 40mm
- Battery Life: 50 hours
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm analog input, USB-C audio input and charging
- Weight: 217g
- Noise Cancellation: N/a
- Price: AUD$329
For your hard-earned money, the Beast Solo 4 offers a light, compact pair of Bluetooth headphones that work well with both iOS and Android (I tested the headphones using my Google Pixel 6a). They weigh in at 217 grams and feature a 3.5 mm port for wired audio delivery, though they can also be used wired over USB-C.
Yep. The Solo 4 charges over USB-C and charges quickly at that, only needing around 10 minutes of charge time to give you five hours of playback time, according to Beats. I believe that, and I believe the claim that the Solo 4 will last you 50 hours on a single charge. The first time I charged the Beats was after work on a Friday, and I didn’t need to charge them again throughout an entire week of testing. It’s honestly impressive and a far cry from some other headphones I’ve used over the past few years that need to be charged far sooner but, conversely, offer a lot more.
In terms of controls, the Beats are simple. There are two buttons: the first, a small power button on the right can, which can be pressed for a second or so to power the device on or held down to initiate its Bluetooth pairing mode, and the second, a bigger, clickable button on the left can which actually controls the audio. Press the button once to pause or answer a call, twice to skip to the next song, three times to skip to the previous song, and hold the button to activate your voice assistant of choice. I like the fact that the main control button is actually clickable rather than a touch-sensitive surface like some other headsets, but that’s a personal preference.
I also downloaded the Beats App from the Google Play Store on my Pixel 6a and was left pretty bewildered. The app essentially allows you to rename your Beats and switch up the controls: there is no ability to change the headphones’ audio settings or set a custom EQ, which I feel is a pretty basic addition for a pair of headphones that cost as much as these ones do. I think being able to boost the bass, or even choose between a few different pre-configured EQ settings, could have gone a long way to help smooth out some of the sound issues I had, but we’ll get to that below.
Beats Solo 4 Design
As with most things touched by Apple, Beats’ design ethos is minimalist and straightforward. I respect it, honestly, as the Solo 4 isn’t a flashy pair of headphones by any stretch of the imagination. The model I had was almost entirely black with metal accents where the strap meets the cans, with tasteful Beats logos on either side. It doesn’t scream for your attention, which is very much my vibe.
They’re also light and easily carryable at just 217 grams, which allows you can forget about them if they’re left around your neck. The strap is plastic on top and only lightly padded on the underside, which could have been a problem if, again, these things weren’t so light.
For headphones that can last you two days of pure playback without a charge, I struggled to wear them for more than an hour at a time before the discomfort got too much and my ears needed a break. The lack of any noise cancelling meant that wearing them in public spaces (such as, from my house to our office) would see external noise distracting you from what you’re listening to. If you’re like me, and use headphones to avoid those distractions, this is a bigger deal than it would be for others.
The major issue comes from how uncomfortable the Solo 4 is when worn for longer periods of time. Within about an hour of use, my ears were aching, and I’d have to take the headphones off for a few minutes to let them breathe a bit. Your mileage may vary here – maybe my ears are just not built for Beats.
I think it has to do with how rigid the unit is, and how little padding (again) there is on the actual ear cushions. That rigidity might be a good thing in more active scenarios, like running or getting in your weekly gym session, but it’s hard to say they’d perform better than a more comfortable pair of headphones would.
How’s the Sound Quality
Now for the most important test. I tested the Solo 4 across multiple types of music, as well as some podcasts and audiobooks, and came away ultimately deciding that the headphones’ 40mm drivers are pretty disappointing.
When it came to ambient and lo-fi music (the type of stuff I tend to listen to while writing or reading, and don’t really focus on) the headphones performed perfectly. With spoken word (podcasts, audiobooks), they performed great. Most of that is high-range sound, which is where the Solo 4 thrives. But once I added something with more sonic range or depth, the sound profile waned significantly.
The first genre I wanted to test was heavy metal, and the Solo 4 sucked away any punch it had, delivering a flat, empty-sounding experience. It made Gojira’s The Way of All Flesh sound like …And Justice For All. I switched to hard rock and had similar issues, with Queens of the Stone Age’s punchy rhythms completely kneecapped, which was when I realised that the drums and bass in each song I had tried were almost inaudible. You could hear the snare drum relatively well, but the rest of it kind of melted into a mud that only higher-ranged instruments or vocals could escape.
It’s easily my biggest criticism of the Solo 4 and the main thing I’d want Beats to improve for its next iteration. If I’m spending more than $300 on a new pair of headphones to listen to music made by a brand as well-established as Beats, I’d want to be able to hear the instruments.
Additionally, it’s a shame that the Solo 4 doesn’t have any kind of noise cancelling. It’s something I use a lot in my in-ear and over-ear headphones, and it feels like one of those things that once you get used to having, you struggle without. If you’re on the way to work and are trying to block out the roadwork, good luck. At the gym and don’t want to hear the pumping electro blaring from the speakers? Not happening.
You can deal with this somewhat by just turning the sound up, but I found that this wasn’t an ideal solution either. It’s probably a first-world problem, but it’s a problem nonetheless.
Do We Recommend the Beats Solo 4?
If you’ve skipped the review to get to this point, let me just say this: the Beats Solo 4 headphones have a lot going for them, but for the most part, they don’t fulfil my needs.
They’re very light, and look very nice, but don’t deliver on the most important things: sound quality and comfort. There are myriad other options out there that can deliver you both of those things, and you’re probably going to spend less, or get more for your money. If Beats can deliver a more dynamic sound profile in the next set, that might change, but for now the Solo 4 is a pretty lacking mid-range option.
DISCLOSURE: The author of this article, Dean Blake, was provided the product by Beats for the purposes of this review. All opinions expressed are those of the author. For more information on our independence, testing and review guidelines, you can read our full editorial policies here.
