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  1. Home
  2. Headphones
  3. Compare
  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Cable
    10. Headshots 1
    11. Headshots 2
    12. Top
    13. Rear
    14. Top
    15. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Total Harmonic Distortion
    13. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Wireless
    2. Latency
    3. Battery
    4. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    5. Xbox One Compatibility
    6. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Beats Solo 2 Wireless vs Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Beats Solo 2
Beats Solo3 2018

Tested using Methodology v1.0

Updated Sep 10, 2021 05:30 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated Jan 12, 2024 09:31 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Beats Solo 2 Wireless Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Picture
TypeOn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
Noise CancellingNo
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes

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 Solo 2 Wireless review

See Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless review

0
0

Our Verdict

Beats Solo 2 Wireless

Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless

The Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless are slightly better headphones than the Beats Solo 2 Wireless. 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. 

0

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Black
Solo2 Wireless
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Black
Solo3 Wireless
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Gold
Solo2 Wireless
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Gold
Solo3 Wireless
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Red
Solo2 Wireless
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Red
Solo3 Wireless
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Rose Gold
Solo2 Wireless
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Rose Gold
Solo3 Wireless
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Silver
Solo2 Wireless
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Silver
Solo3 Wireless
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Blue
Solo2 Wireless
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Gloss Black
Solo3 Wireless
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Flash Blue
Solo2 Wireless
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Gloss White
Solo3 Wireless
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Shock Yellow
Solo2 Wireless
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Ultra Violet
Solo3 Wireless
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Siren Red
Solo2 Wireless
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Space Gray
Solo2 Wireless
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White
Solo2 Wireless
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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.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

7.1
6.8

Bass 
 

7.8
6.5

Soundstage 
 

5.8
4.3

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Design Picture 2
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Design Picture 2

Type  

On-ear
On-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.0
7.0

Comfort Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Comfort Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.47 lbs
0.47 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.1 lbs
1.1 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

8.1
6.5

Controls Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Controls Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

iOS

Ease Of Use  

Above-average
Decent

Feedback  

Above-average
Decent

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No

Channel Mixing 
 

No

Noise Cancelling Control  

N/A
No

Talk-Through 
 

N/A
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

7.9
7.9

Breathability Before Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Breathability Before Picture

Breathability After Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Breathability After Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

2.3 °C
2.3 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

6.4
6.4

Portability Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Portability Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Portability Picture

L  

4.38"
4.25"

W  

6.13"
6.13"

H  

2.63"
2.63"

Volume  

70.6 in³
68.5 in³

Transmitter Required  

N/A
No

Show text

Case 
 

6.0
7.5

Case Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Case Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless 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
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Stability Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Stability Picture

Show text

Cable  

Cable Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Cable Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Cable Picture

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

4.4 ft
4.2 ft

Connection  

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Angled Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Side Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Front Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Front Picture

Side Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Side Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Side Picture

Rear Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Rear Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Front Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Front Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Front Picture

Top Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Top Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Top Picture

Rear  

Rear Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Rear Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Top Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless In The Box Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

2.93 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.6 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

7.1
7.5

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.6 dB
0.5 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.8
6.5

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Bass  

See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.37 dB
4.97 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
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

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.2
8.3

Mid  

See details on graph tool

Mid  

See details on graph tool

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

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.2
8.2

Treble  

See details on graph tool

Treble  

See details on graph tool

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

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.7 dB

Dips 
 

1.31 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

6.1
8.8

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

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

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

5.8
4.3

PRTF  

See details on graph tool

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

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No

Room Ambience 
 

No

Head Tracking 
 

No

Virtual Surround 
 

No

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.5

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.148

WHD @ 100 
 

0.066

Show text

Total Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.8

Distortion  

See details on graph tool

Weighted THD @ 90 
 

1.803

Weighted THD @ 100 
 

1.152

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown

Power 
 

On

Connection 
 

Unknown

Codec 
 

SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

5.5
5.1

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-12.91 dB
-13.32 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

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

Show text

Leakage 
 

6.1
6.0

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

44.46 dB
44.97 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes

In-Line 
 

Yes

Boom 
 

No

Detachable Boom 
 

No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

6.2

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool

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

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

5.9

SpNR  

See details on graph tool

Speech + Pink Noise  

Speech + Subway Noise  

SpNR 
 

10.65 dB

Show text

Active Features

Wireless 
 

7.6

Type 
 

Bluetooth 4.0

Obstructed Range 
 

42 ft

Line of Sight Range 
 

118 ft
242 ft

NFC 
 

No

Show text

Latency  

2.3

Base Latency 
 

192 ms
179 ms

aptX Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

aptX(LL) Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Battery 
 

8.0
8.4

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
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 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

Yes
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
5.0

App Picture  

Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless App Picture

App Name  

Beats

iOS  

Yes

Android  

No

macOS  

No

Windows  

No

Equalizer 
 

No

ANC Control 
 

No

Mic Control  

No

Room Effects 
 

No

Playback Control 
 

No

Button Mapping  

No

Surround Support 
 

No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

7.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2 + W1 chip

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No

NFC Pairing 
 

No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

118 ft
242 ft

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

192 ms
179 ms

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

134 ms

Android Latency 
 

154 ms

Show text

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  

Beats Solo 2 Wireless Cable Picture
Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes

USB Audio 
 

No

Detachable  

Yes
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 
 

No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Show text

Xbox One Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Show text

Base/Dock 
 

0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No

Line In 
 

No

Line Out 
 

No

Optical Input 
 

No

RCA Input 
 

No

Dock Charging 
 

No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock

Show text

Check Price

Black
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
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Black
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
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Gold
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Gold
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Red
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Red
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Rose Gold
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Rose Gold
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Silver
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Silver
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Blue
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Gloss Black
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Flash Blue
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Gloss White
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Shock Yellow
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Ultra Violet
Solo3 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
Siren Red
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
Space Gray
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
White
Solo2 Wireless
Searching
Finding store
 
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Beats Solo 2 Wireless

Beats Solo3 2018 Wireless

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

Beats Solo 2 vs Beats Solo3 2018: Main Discussion

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