Beats Solo2 Wireless Review: Bluetooth Adds Considerably To The Solo Appeal

 

Beats is taking its Solo line wireless, with a new set of Bluetooth cans that match the wired Solo2 almost exactly in terms of external design. Surprisingly, they also match their wired counterpart in terms of sound, both when used with the included aux cable with inline remote, and when they’re used with the Bluetooth wireless connection. And after Beats took its sound engineering back to the drawing board for the Beats Solo2, that means they sound surprisingly good.

30 foot range12-hour internal rechargeable battery3.5mm able with inline remote included215gMSRP: $299.95Product info page

Pros

Good sound, wired or wirelessComfortable and light

Cons

The Beats Solo2 Wireless comes as close to replicating the Solo2 signature design as possible, with just a few fractions of a millimeter different in dimensions due to the need for a battery within the case. The mirroring of the design of the two products was intentional, and a desired goal from the start, because Beats wanted these headphones to share all the same traits, except of the addition of wireless functionality in these new Bluetooth versions.

The retention of the same design is smart not only to unify the Solo product line, but also because they have really top-notch fit and finish to begin with. The new design is a lot more visually appealing than the previous Solo, with fewer line breaks and softer angles. They’re still plastic, and contain little in the way of metal surfaces, but the high-gloss look works well with Beats’ bold colors (red, black, white and blue are options for the Wireless model at launch).

Solo2 Wireless packs padded cups and headband, and both are soft and comfortable for all-day use. They’re lighter than the Studio version of Beats’ headphones, and the on-ear design will probably be preferable for some. They fold up into a decently portable package, and will stow in the included soft case when you want to take them travelling. The soft case itself also contains padding, so you can throw them in a bag without much concern about their overall safety.

Beats has gone from a brand whose headphones I’d never recommend, let alone own myself, to one that is right up there with some of the better general consumer market audio companies in terms of audio quality. For them to have accomplished that between a single generation of hardware is impressive. What’s more impressive is that the Beats Solo2 wireless headphones deliver sound that is consistent regardless of whether you use them wired or wireless, and that in both cases, there’s a warmth out of the box that you don’t generally get from audio equipment without a decent break-in period.

There’s no active noise cancellation here, but he ear cups do offers a certain amount of passive filtering out of surrounding sound, which is plenty for most use cases. The audio also doesn’t suffer from any kind of inherent background hiss or static, again regardless of whether you’re using either wireless or wired connection.

The Beats Solo2 Wireless is rated at 12 hours of use on a single charge, and in practice I did get a good amount of listening out of them – definitely enough for a long day at the office, and for most flights you’ll ever have to take. Plus, they work with the included remote cable whenever you do run out of juice, so you won’t be left in the lurch.

For a wireless pair of headphones, 12 hours of continuous use is a very respectable duration, and Beats has also included its LED light indicator to tell you how much batter you have remaining. And if you’re using them with an iPhone or iPad, there’s also a battery indicator icon that will show up in your status bar once you’ve paired them with your device.

The Beats Solo2 Wireless Headphones are the first new hardware from Beats to arrive post-Apple acquisition, but they’ve been in development long before the deal came together, and they shared a development cycle with the wired version which debuted earlier this year. Beats staggered their launch to make sure the wired version got its own spotlight, and to refine the additional engineering required to make sure the wireless version had identical sound, without any kind of artificial enhancement or EQ trickery.

Overall, the company accomplished what it set out to do with the Beats2 Wireless – these feel like they should become the new default option for customers shopping for a pair of on-ear wireless headphones. Price is still an issue, as it’s a 50% premium over the wired version, but there’s a lot more engineering involved, too. And thanks to that work, these don’t feel overpriced, per se – the added convenience of wireless features is hard to quantify, but if you’re concerned about budget, check out Solo2 or other wired option first.

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Beats Music will reportedly come part and parcel with iOS

iTunes is a dinosaur, but Beats may be just what it needs

The Beats Music streaming service will reportedly join the likes of Newsstand, Maps and Stocks as a default iOS app next year.

Apple acquired Beats in May, and although they've yet to do anything meaningful with the brand just yet that will soon change, reports the Financial Times.

Beats Music will be bundled with an upcoming iOS update as early as March, the site says.

Apple hasn't made any official statements on its plans for Beats Music, but iTunes sales slowed this year and it's clear that the iPhone maker is plotting something.

Word in October was Apple will merge Beats Music with iTunes, which already offers limited streaming music with iTunes Radio, and the FT agrees that that's likely.

In addition Apple has reportedly been courting record labels in an effort to slash the streaming music subscription price in half to just $5 (about £3.20, AU$5.80) a month.

Via 9to5Mac

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Leaked docs reveal Apple's plans for Bluetooth Beats headphones

What will Apple and Beats produce next?

Beats released a pair of headphones - the Beats Solo2 - just as Apple was buying the company earlier this year, and now a follow-up appears to be in the works.

But while there's been a lot of speculation over the various ways Apple might change what Beats is about, a just-uncovered FCC filing suggests the iPhone 6 maker actually won't change much at all.

The FCC documents show a Bluetooth-enabled version of the Beats Solo2 released earlier this year.

But other than the addition of wireless capabilities, these headphones don't seem much altered from the earlier, wired Solo2.

There's also been some speculation on whether future Beats headphones will adopt Apple's lightning tech, but for now these appear to be sticking with microUSB so they can remain open-platform.

That may still change in the future, or Apple might even come out with iOS-exclusive variants on otherwise multi-platform headphones, thereby trying to please everyone.

Either way, while this new headset may carry Apple's branding, it appears the new Beats Solo2 will still definitely have the Beats DNA.

There's no clue as to when these will come out, so keep an eye out for announcements from Apple while we do the same.

Via 9to5Mac

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Apple's Beats, Bose settle patent spat over noise-canceling tech

Bose filed suit against Beats in July, accusing the rival headphone and speaker maker of infringing five patents related to noise-canceling headphones.

Bose filed suit against Apple's Beats over headphone patents in July. CNET

Bose and Apple's Beats have agreed to settle a patent lawsuit related to noise-canceling headphones that was filed by Bose in July.

In a court filing in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, attorneys for the companies said "they have settled their respective claims" and want to dismiss the case. Both parties will be responsible for their own costs, expenses and attorneys' fees, they said.

The companies didn't disclose any information about the settlement.

Apple declined to comment. A Bose spokeswoman said "the issue has been resolved, and terms aren't being disclosed." She declined to provide any further information.

Headphone and speaker maker Bose filed suit against Beats in July, accusing the (at the time, soon-to-be) Apple company of infringing five patents related to noise-canceling headphones. The accused products included the Beats Studio and Studio Wireless headphones, and Bose asked for financial damages and an injunction to ban the sale of infringing Beats products.

Bose said in its complaint, lodged with the US District Court in Delaware and with the US International Trade Commission, that it had "suffered and will continue to suffer damages, in an amount yet to be determined, including due to loss of sales, profits, and potential sales that Bose would have made but for Beats' infringing acts."

It added that for almost 50 years, it has "made significant investment in the research, development, engineering, and design of proprietary technologies" used in its products. Its current line of noise-canceling headphones, for instance, uses inventions protected by at least 22 US patents and 14 pending patent applications.

Apple, meanwhile, in May agreed to buy Beats for $3 billion, giving the electronics giant a popular headphone business and subscription streaming music service. The acquisition brought Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to Apple's management team, and Apple said it would continue to use the Beats brand. Beats controls about 60 percent of the $1 billion premium headphone market, according to NPD Group, and it has proved popular with everyone from celebrities to tweens.

The deal closed at the beginning of August, and Apple has started promoting the music service with current iTunes users and prominently featuring the headphones in its online store. However, the company may change the Beats brand for the music service, instead folding the streaming offering into its iTunes product.

Meanwhile, Apple blog MacRumors on Friday reported that Apple planned to remove Bose products from its stores.

Apple declined to comment about the report. Bose didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the issue.

The two companies' feud has spilled over to professional sports. The NFL, which has a deal with Bose, recently banned football players from wearing Beats headphones. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick revealed that he was fined $10,000 for wearing his pink Beats to last Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Shara Tibken Shara Tibken is a senior writer for CNET focused on Samsung and Apple. She previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal. She's a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda." See full bio

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Chromecast challenger Matchstick beats Kickstarter goal

The streaming-media dongle reaches its $100,000 funding goal in just one day. But how will it do against similar devices from Google, Roku and others?

Matchstick is based on Firefox OS, the open-source operating system built by Mozilla. MatchStick/Kickstarter

Google's Chromecast, an HDMI dongle that streams video and music to your television, is in for a fight now that the Matchstick has reached its funding goal.

The HDMI streaming stick, which runs Mozilla's Firefox OS, surpassed its goal of $100,000 in crowdfunding on Kickstarter. Surprisingly, it took the device just one day to surpass its goal. It still has 28 days to go before its campaign is complete. As of this writing, Matchstick has generated more than $154,000 in pledges from over 6,000 backers.

Matchstick did not immediately responded to a request for comment.

Matchstick is the first streaming stick that's based on Firefox OS, the open-source operating system built by Mozilla. The device connects to an HDMI port on a television to stream content from the Internet via a computer or mobile device. Matchstick says it will work with apps like Netflix, HBO Go and Pandora at launch.

Matchstick is pitting itself against Google's Chromecast, which provides a similar service. That device, which costs $35, also allows users to stream content ranging from Netflix to YouTube to HBO Go.

When the Matchstick goes on sale next year, the company expects the device to retail for $25. People funding the Kickstarter campaign, however, can get the device for less. Backers have already purchased all 500 pledges at the $12 level, with the Matchstick expected to ship to them in February. As of this writing, more than 4,000 backers have claimed a device for an $18 pledge, and the developer units, which call for a $24 pledge, have sold out. Backers are also shelling out for multiple devices: more than 1,300 have pledged $34 for a two-pack and more than 40 people have pledged $160 to get 10 Matchsticks.

For now, Matchstick will stream from a wide range of mobile operating systems, including Firefox OS, Google's Android, and Apple's iOS. Microsoft's Windows Phone will not be supported out of the box.

In many circumstances, companies that get to their funding goal quickly will offer some stretch goals to increase funding. So far, Matchstick has not offered any additional stretch goals. The company has, however, committed to answering any questions consumers might have about the device on its Kickstarter page.

Don Reisinger Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications. See full bio

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Sennheiser tries to beat Beats with new design for CX headphones

Sennheiser is looking to beat Beats with new red headphones. Sennheiser

Sennheiser hasn't forgotten about Dre, taking a leaf out of the playbook of rival Beats by focusing on a more recognisable design for its new CX headphones.

German manufacturer Sennheiser is well-known among audiophiles for the audio quality of its kit, but in the last couple of years, like all headphone manufacturers, it's been left behind by Beats in terms of popularity and visibility.

Co-founded by rapper Dr Dre and recently snapped up by Apple for billions of dollars, Beats is derided by audiophiles, but has carved out an unbeatable brand identity thanks to its instantly recognisable design and the magic touch of celebrities from rappers to World Cup football stars.

Speaking exclusively to CNET last year about the challenge from Beats fashion 'phones, Sennheiser scion Daniel Sennheiser admitted the firm had been "complacent" -- but it's clear with the CX in-ears it's learned its lesson.

Following the example of Beats, Sennheiser has rethought its design -- specifically, to make sure that people wearing Sennheisers can be seen to be wearing Sennheisers. The new CX headphones have a new signature oblong design on the outside of the earbuds, and the cables come in white, black and red -- which just happen to be Beats' signature colours.

Perhaps that's a sort of audiophile honeytrap, so when the less-informed music lover says, "Cool, are they Beats?", the audiophile can sneer, "Ac-tually, they're Senn-heiser," before dropping the mic and high-fiving everyone in the organic record store.

The new Sennheiser CX series is made up of four slightly different models of ear-canal headphones: CX 1.00, CX 2.00, CX 3.00 and CX 5.00. Full prices and availability are yet to be confirmed, but Sennheiser has told us that the CX 3.00s will cost £45 in the UK. That converts to $75 or AU$80.

The CX 2.00 and CX 5.00 have an attached inline remote control for playing, pausing and skipping tracks, and a hands-free microphone for taking calls without taking out your headphones. The remotes are compatible with the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy devices, although Sennheiser hasn't confirmed it'll work with other makes of phone or tablet.

The CX 1.00 and CX 3.00 are just headphones without the hands-free or remote. The CX 3.00 and CX 5.00 headphones also come with a hard plastic carry case that you can wind your headphones into so they don't tangle.

All the headphones in the range come with four sizes of ear sleeve to fit lugholes of all shapes and sizes. The drivers have also been angled differently to direct sound into the ear better. They go deeper too, with 17KHz bass instead of the 19KHz of previous models.

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Sennheiser will also show off a wacky new device next week called Mogees. Mogees combines a vibration sensor and a mobile app to detect and analyse the acoustic properties of any physical object and turn it into a unique musical instrument.

We'll see this crazy-sounding musical marvel at next week's IFA trade show in Berlin, where the great and the good of the technology industry gather to show off their wares for the rest of the year. We'll be there to bring you photos, videos and hands-on first impressions of everything from the expected Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to the wackier stuff like this Mogees thingy -- so keep it CNET.

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Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless

Pros Incredibly powerful, robust bass response. Does not distort even at top volumes. Sweat-and water-resistant. Multiple eartip options.

Cons Overpriced. Audio balance is completely shifted to the bass realm, with very little high-mid presence. Bottom Line The Beats Powerbeats2 is a gym-focused Bluetooth earphone pair with a frequency response that will only appeal to extreme bass fans.

By Tim Gideon

Some audiophiles may thumb their noses at Beats' bass-boosted, celebrity-endorsed speakers and headphones, but the brand helped bring better sound to the forefront for otherwise casual listeners. But despite my gratitude toward Beats for making people care about audio again, I can also recognize when the company's gone too far with its emphasis on bass. The Powerbeats2 Wireless is a $199.95, gym-friendly Bluetooth earphone pair with some vague LeBron James-branding and more deep bass response than anyone really needs. Unlike some more balanced offerings in the Beats lineup, this pair has almost no high-mid sculpting to counteract the thunderous boosted bass. These earphones are good-looking and distortion free, but excellent, exercise-focused Bluetooth pairs like the Jabra Rox and Editors' Choice JayBird BlueBuds X can be found for far less.

Design
The Powerbeats 2 are available in the established Beats color schemes of red and black or white, both of which are sharp-looking, fitness-style earphone pairs connected by a flat linguini-style cable that rests behind the neck. Stabilization fins tuck behind the top of the ear for a secure fit, while the chunky-but-lightweight eartips stay inside the canal.

The fit can feel disconcertingly loose until you find the right-sized eartip, and even after I found the right one for my canals, the earphones kept a relatively open, relaxed feeling. This may be due to the over-the-ear loop on each earpiece potentially pulling the earpieces away from the canals a bit. There's something to be said for this feel when exercising, since the earphones won't fall out of your ears despite the relaxed fit, and they let you hear your surroundings better. Most in-canal earphones create a firm seal at the canal that blocks out ambient sound and aids in bass response, and the Powerbeats2 Wireless doesn't create this seal. It's not a deal breaker, but it took me some getting used to.

An inline three-button remote control and microphone compartment hangs near chin-level from the left earpiece, allowing for easy control of playback, volume, and calls. The Powerbeats2 Wireless ships with a very short USB charging cable, four pairs of eartips in multiple sizes, a clip that fastens onto the earphone cable to keep it secure behind the head, and a hard zip-up carrying case.

Pairing the earphones with an iPhone 5s was effortless and quick, aided by helpful LEDs that indicate pairing status and battery level. Beats estimates the Powerbeats2 Wireless battery life to be about 6 hours on a full charge, but this depends on the volumes at which you listen to your music.

Performance
This is not a subtle-sounding earphone pair. On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Powerbeats2 Wireless does what it was made to do: fill your ears with gobs of throbbing bass that sound like they're coming from a club PA. It doesn't show any distortion on the most challenging deep bass tracks, even at maximum and unsafe volume levels. At moderate volumes, it sounds overly bass-heavy and lacking in high-mid and high frequency definition. This is an imbalance that comes through on other tracks even more prominently.

On tracks that lack super-deep bass content, like Bill Callahan's "Drover," the Powerbeats2 Wireless creates some out of whole cloth. Both the drums and Callahan's baritone vocals, which need no extra bass, get plenty piled on top. The track sounds muddled at times, as if the high-mid frequency range were completely ignored. This is odd, considering the recently reviewed Beats Solo 2 sounds far more balanced, with at least a decent sense of high-mid and treble presence to keep every aspect of the track well-defined against the onslaught of deep bass. Yes, this is comparing headphones to earphones, but the overall Beats sound shouldn't vary this much.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" suffers from the same lack of high-mids. The kick drum loop's attack sounds dull and heavy here, without the attack would slice the mix with a sharp treble edge on a more accurate earphone pair. The sustain adds onto the already formidable deep lows, almost masking the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop. This should not be happening. 

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' "The Gospel According to the Other Mary," receive far too much boosted bass to have a natural sound. If you exist in the rare subset of listener that sometimes exercises to classical music, you probably already had a feeling these earphones weren't for you based on the reputation of the brand alone.

The Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless is for people who want extreme bass, and not really anyone else. Vocals take a backseat to beats and bass here, and this pair is a certainly a great option for the gym if that's your thing. However, you can get far better overall audio performance without giving up on bass completely, and the LG Tone Ultra (HBS800), Jabra Rox, and JayBird BlueBuds X are all better-sounding, exercise-focused Bluetooth options worth your consideration. Some Beats products feel a tad inflated in price, while others (like this one) are simply too expensive no matter how you look at them.

I won't speculate on whether the subtle LeBron James branding of this particular product (on the Beats website and in commercials) has anything to do with the price, but this is not what a $200 pair of earphones should sound like. The Powerbeats2 Wireless looks good and doesn't distort, but for this price you need a much more balanced sound signature on top of those things.

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Beats Solo 2

Pros Powerful, distortion-free audio with boosted bass and bright highs. Lightweight, comfortable fit. Inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices.

Cons Big bass sound isn't for purists or anyone seeking flat response. Slightly overpriced. Bottom Line Fans of booming low-end won't be disappointed by the Beats Solo 2 headphones' powerful bass and distortion-free audio performance.

By Tim Gideon

By now, headphone enthusiasts should know the drill with Beats: If you love big, booming bass, read on, and if you want a flat-response, critical listening-appropriate headphone pair, move on past the Beats Solo 2 (maybe to the Editors' Choice Sennheiser HD 558). The $199.95 Solo 2 is all about streamlined design that's focused on being lightweight and comfortable over long listening sessions, and with very few design flourishes. The drivers deliver seriously deep bass that balances out against heavily tweaked high frequencies. Beats headphones often feel a bit overpriced, but the Solo 2 manages to offer compelling value—even if you're still paying a bit of a premium for Dr. Dre's name and the allure of wearing the same headphones you see on celebrity athletes and musicians.

Design
Available in glossy pink, blue, or gray along with the more traditional Beats colors of red, black, or white, the Solo 2 looks similar to other Beats headphones. The on-ear (supra-aural) fit is extremely lightweight, with plush earpads and enough cushioning under the headband to stay comfortable. You can fasten on a little too tight and create some unnecessary pressure on the ears; loosening them a bit eliminates any tension issues without making them less secure on the head as it might with most headphones.

While not really marketed for it, the Solo 2 is a decent passive noise eliminator. The earcups block out a healthy amount of ambient room noise, and while you shouldn't expect anything close to active noise cancellation, it's a nice fringe benefit of the comfortable earpads. 

The removable audio cable, which connects to the left earcup, includes an inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices. The three-button remote has dedicated volume controls and a center button that answers and ends calls, or plays, pauses, or skips tracks depending on how many taps you give it and whether you're on a call or not. The Solo 2 ships with a carabiner and a black zip-up, padded protective pouch into which the headphones, which fold down at hinges on the headband, fit inside.

Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Solo 2 delivers a subwoofer-like assault with absolutely no distortion even at maximum, unsafe listening levels. At moderate levels, the sense of bass response is powerful, but well-balanced with the rest of the mix to produce a sculpted, tweaked response. Purists won't love it, but the Beats brand is a trailblazer in the big bass headphones era.

On Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track that doesn't have much in the way of deep, subwoofer-style low-end, the Solo 2 refreshingly doesn't try to create it out of whole cloth. The drumming gets a decent dose of low-end with some definite boosting, but not to the point that the drums sound unnatural or overpower the mix. Callahan's baritone vocals hardly need any help in the lows, and though they also get a little boosting, they don't sound muddy even if I would've liked to hear a tad more high-mid presence to bring out a treble edge. The highs are boosted enough to give the guitar strumming and the consonant sounds of the vocals more presence, but they're never overly sibilant or too bright. 

Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" is the kind of track that really tells us about the Solo 2's sound signature. Here, the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop are intense, delivered with the kind of power we expect from a club PA system. The attack of the kick drum loop, however, lacks the treble edge (like with Callahan's voice) it gets with some other pairs. That edge is what allows it to slice through the dense mix, so it sinks into the background without it. Meanwhile, the highs are boosted enough to really bring out the crackle of the vinyl, which on some headphones would be an afterthought. The vocals are delivered with strong clarity and manage to float over the mix.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene of John Adam's "The Gospel According to the Other Mary," have a slightly unnatural sound to them through the Solo 2. They don't sound bad at all, just a bit boosted in the aforementioned bass and high frequency ranges, which lends transparently recorded pieces like this the feel of a cinematic score. The lower register strings at the opening of this track have an immediately strong presence through the Solo 2, which is too much for some classical purists to take when the lower register instruments increase in depth and intensity later in this track. It's an exciting sound, to say the least.

If $200 is your budget for on-ear headphones, you have a plethora of options. If you'd rather have a more dialed-back bass experience without foregoing bass response completely, both the Sennheiser HD 558 and the Marshall Monitor offer excellent, rich sound signatures with crisp, clean highs. If you're looking to spend far, far less money, the Scosche Lobedope SHP451M delivers big, deep bass response on a serious budget, while the Skullcandy Crusher allows you to adjust bass levels yourself. The Beats Solo 2 sounds and feels like one of the least overpriced options from Beats, which normally prices its headphones at a premium. I suppose they could be sold for a bit less than $200, but even at that price, the Solo 2's comfortable, well-made design delivers thunderous lows without a hint of distortion.

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Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless

Pros Incredibly powerful, robust bass response. Does not distort even at top volumes. Sweat-and water-resistant. Multiple eartip options.

Cons Overpriced. Audio balance is completely shifted to the bass realm, with very little high-mid presence. Bottom Line The Beats Powerbeats2 is a gym-focused Bluetooth earphone pair with a frequency response that will only appeal to extreme bass fans.

By Tim Gideon

Some audiophiles may thumb their noses at Beats' bass-boosted, celebrity-endorsed speakers and headphones, but the brand helped bring better sound to the forefront for otherwise casual listeners. But despite my gratitude toward Beats for making people care about audio again, I can also recognize when the company's gone too far with its emphasis on bass. The Powerbeats2 Wireless is a $199.95, gym-friendly Bluetooth earphone pair with some vague LeBron James-branding and more deep bass response than anyone really needs. Unlike some more balanced offerings in the Beats lineup, this pair has almost no high-mid sculpting to counteract the thunderous boosted bass. These earphones are good-looking and distortion free, but excellent, exercise-focused Bluetooth pairs like the Jabra Rox and Editors' Choice JayBird BlueBuds X can be found for far less.

Design
The Powerbeats 2 are available in the established Beats color schemes of red and black or white, both of which are sharp-looking, fitness-style earphone pairs connected by a flat linguini-style cable that rests behind the neck. Stabilization fins tuck behind the top of the ear for a secure fit, while the chunky-but-lightweight eartips stay inside the canal.

The fit can feel disconcertingly loose until you find the right-sized eartip, and even after I found the right one for my canals, the earphones kept a relatively open, relaxed feeling. This may be due to the over-the-ear loop on each earpiece potentially pulling the earpieces away from the canals a bit. There's something to be said for this feel when exercising, since the earphones won't fall out of your ears despite the relaxed fit, and they let you hear your surroundings better. Most in-canal earphones create a firm seal at the canal that blocks out ambient sound and aids in bass response, and the Powerbeats2 Wireless doesn't create this seal. It's not a deal breaker, but it took me some getting used to.

An inline three-button remote control and microphone compartment hangs near chin-level from the left earpiece, allowing for easy control of playback, volume, and calls. The Powerbeats2 Wireless ships with a very short USB charging cable, four pairs of eartips in multiple sizes, a clip that fastens onto the earphone cable to keep it secure behind the head, and a hard zip-up carrying case.

Pairing the earphones with an iPhone 5s was effortless and quick, aided by helpful LEDs that indicate pairing status and battery level. Beats estimates the Powerbeats2 Wireless battery life to be about 6 hours on a full charge, but this depends on the volumes at which you listen to your music.

Performance
This is not a subtle-sounding earphone pair. On tracks with powerful sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Powerbeats2 Wireless does what it was made to do: fill your ears with gobs of throbbing bass that sound like they're coming from a club PA. It doesn't show any distortion on the most challenging deep bass tracks, even at maximum and unsafe volume levels. At moderate volumes, it sounds overly bass-heavy and lacking in high-mid and high frequency definition. This is an imbalance that comes through on other tracks even more prominently.

On tracks that lack super-deep bass content, like Bill Callahan's "Drover," the Powerbeats2 Wireless creates some out of whole cloth. Both the drums and Callahan's baritone vocals, which need no extra bass, get plenty piled on top. The track sounds muddled at times, as if the high-mid frequency range were completely ignored. This is odd, considering the recently reviewed Beats Solo 2 sounds far more balanced, with at least a decent sense of high-mid and treble presence to keep every aspect of the track well-defined against the onslaught of deep bass. Yes, this is comparing headphones to earphones, but the overall Beats sound shouldn't vary this much.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" suffers from the same lack of high-mids. The kick drum loop's attack sounds dull and heavy here, without the attack would slice the mix with a sharp treble edge on a more accurate earphone pair. The sustain adds onto the already formidable deep lows, almost masking the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop. This should not be happening. 

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' "The Gospel According to the Other Mary," receive far too much boosted bass to have a natural sound. If you exist in the rare subset of listener that sometimes exercises to classical music, you probably already had a feeling these earphones weren't for you based on the reputation of the brand alone.

The Beats Powerbeats2 Wireless is for people who want extreme bass, and not really anyone else. Vocals take a backseat to beats and bass here, and this pair is a certainly a great option for the gym if that's your thing. However, you can get far better overall audio performance without giving up on bass completely, and the LG Tone Ultra (HBS800), Jabra Rox, and JayBird BlueBuds X are all better-sounding, exercise-focused Bluetooth options worth your consideration. Some Beats products feel a tad inflated in price, while others (like this one) are simply too expensive no matter how you look at them.

I won't speculate on whether the subtle LeBron James branding of this particular product (on the Beats website and in commercials) has anything to do with the price, but this is not what a $200 pair of earphones should sound like. The Powerbeats2 Wireless looks good and doesn't distort, but for this price you need a much more balanced sound signature on top of those things.

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Beats Solo 2

Pros Powerful, distortion-free audio with boosted bass and bright highs. Lightweight, comfortable fit. Inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices.

Cons Big bass sound isn't for purists or anyone seeking flat response. Slightly overpriced. Bottom Line Fans of booming low-end won't be disappointed by the Beats Solo 2 headphones' powerful bass and distortion-free audio performance.

By Tim Gideon

By now, headphone enthusiasts should know the drill with Beats: If you love big, booming bass, read on, and if you want a flat-response, critical listening-appropriate headphone pair, move on past the Beats Solo 2 (maybe to the Editors' Choice Sennheiser HD 558). The $199.95 Solo 2 is all about streamlined design that's focused on being lightweight and comfortable over long listening sessions, and with very few design flourishes. The drivers deliver seriously deep bass that balances out against heavily tweaked high frequencies. Beats headphones often feel a bit overpriced, but the Solo 2 manages to offer compelling value—even if you're still paying a bit of a premium for Dr. Dre's name and the allure of wearing the same headphones you see on celebrity athletes and musicians.

Design
Available in glossy pink, blue, or gray along with the more traditional Beats colors of red, black, or white, the Solo 2 looks similar to other Beats headphones. The on-ear (supra-aural) fit is extremely lightweight, with plush earpads and enough cushioning under the headband to stay comfortable. You can fasten on a little too tight and create some unnecessary pressure on the ears; loosening them a bit eliminates any tension issues without making them less secure on the head as it might with most headphones.

While not really marketed for it, the Solo 2 is a decent passive noise eliminator. The earcups block out a healthy amount of ambient room noise, and while you shouldn't expect anything close to active noise cancellation, it's a nice fringe benefit of the comfortable earpads. 

The removable audio cable, which connects to the left earcup, includes an inline remote control and microphone for mobile devices. The three-button remote has dedicated volume controls and a center button that answers and ends calls, or plays, pauses, or skips tracks depending on how many taps you give it and whether you're on a call or not. The Solo 2 ships with a carabiner and a black zip-up, padded protective pouch into which the headphones, which fold down at hinges on the headband, fit inside.

Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Solo 2 delivers a subwoofer-like assault with absolutely no distortion even at maximum, unsafe listening levels. At moderate levels, the sense of bass response is powerful, but well-balanced with the rest of the mix to produce a sculpted, tweaked response. Purists won't love it, but the Beats brand is a trailblazer in the big bass headphones era.

On Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track that doesn't have much in the way of deep, subwoofer-style low-end, the Solo 2 refreshingly doesn't try to create it out of whole cloth. The drumming gets a decent dose of low-end with some definite boosting, but not to the point that the drums sound unnatural or overpower the mix. Callahan's baritone vocals hardly need any help in the lows, and though they also get a little boosting, they don't sound muddy even if I would've liked to hear a tad more high-mid presence to bring out a treble edge. The highs are boosted enough to give the guitar strumming and the consonant sounds of the vocals more presence, but they're never overly sibilant or too bright. 

Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" is the kind of track that really tells us about the Solo 2's sound signature. Here, the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the drum loop are intense, delivered with the kind of power we expect from a club PA system. The attack of the kick drum loop, however, lacks the treble edge (like with Callahan's voice) it gets with some other pairs. That edge is what allows it to slice through the dense mix, so it sinks into the background without it. Meanwhile, the highs are boosted enough to really bring out the crackle of the vinyl, which on some headphones would be an afterthought. The vocals are delivered with strong clarity and manage to float over the mix.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene of John Adam's "The Gospel According to the Other Mary," have a slightly unnatural sound to them through the Solo 2. They don't sound bad at all, just a bit boosted in the aforementioned bass and high frequency ranges, which lends transparently recorded pieces like this the feel of a cinematic score. The lower register strings at the opening of this track have an immediately strong presence through the Solo 2, which is too much for some classical purists to take when the lower register instruments increase in depth and intensity later in this track. It's an exciting sound, to say the least.

If $200 is your budget for on-ear headphones, you have a plethora of options. If you'd rather have a more dialed-back bass experience without foregoing bass response completely, both the Sennheiser HD 558 and the Marshall Monitor offer excellent, rich sound signatures with crisp, clean highs. If you're looking to spend far, far less money, the Scosche Lobedope SHP451M delivers big, deep bass response on a serious budget, while the Skullcandy Crusher allows you to adjust bass levels yourself. The Beats Solo 2 sounds and feels like one of the least overpriced options from Beats, which normally prices its headphones at a premium. I suppose they could be sold for a bit less than $200, but even at that price, the Solo 2's comfortable, well-made design delivers thunderous lows without a hint of distortion.

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