Beats headphones are something of an institution when it comes to consumer audio tech and is absolutely up there with the very best brands when it comes to popularity. Acquired by Apple back in the heady days of 2014, the Beats brand has gone from strength to strength and now encompasses a wide range of over-ear headphones and in-ear earphones. For you, Beats deals hunters that means some fantastic cheap Beats Headphones sales on the older models, although the new ones are often for sale as well. There are the best Beats by Dre Headphones for everyone.
Contents
Best Beats by Dre Headphones
1. Beats Powerbeats3 Wireless headphones
While not truly wireless like the Powerbeats Pro mentioned below, the Powerbeats3 Wireless still offer Bluetooth connectivity and, arguably, better value for money. The inclusion of Apple’s W1 chip gives you a super seamless connection to iOS devices and you get a good fit and similarly good noise isolation (noise-cancellation isn’t part of the package). Battery life is 12 hours, while a quick five-minute charge will get you one hour of use.
The bassy sound can overpower at times, but this makes them a good option if you’re going to be using them in noisy environments. They’re also a fun listen, which makes them our pick of the current crop of Beats in-ear headphones.
2. Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones
The Beats Solo 3 Wireless are a tale of two halves. From a technology perspective, they shine. As the smallest of the Beats on- and over-ear family, they wear their Apple ownership on their sleeve and come with Apple’s W1 chip built in for faster pairing with Apple devices.
The newer Class 1 Bluetooth helps to create one of the most stable wireless connections we’ve ever tested, and their 40 hours of battery life is impressive, though they can also be used wired if you run out of juice.
From a sound perspective, however, these Beats headphones fall a little short. It’s not that the sound is bad, and it’s certainly not as unwieldy as some Beats naysayers would have you think. But for all they give us in full-bodied sound and enthusiasm, they miss out in subtlety and refinement compared to the cream of the similarly-priced crop.
The overall performance just isn’t as explicit or engaging as we’d like – it needs to be tighter and more insightful to keep us entertained over longer listens.
3. Beats Solo Pro
The newest Beats on the block are a fantastic addition to the series and a tempting purchase for anyone looking for a set of cans with decent noise-canceling tech.
Studier than the Solo 3 line and sporting a cool matte finish in each color, the Beats Solo Pro feel like the biggest step up in quality the series has seen in some time for its larger line of headphones. Beats work best with iPhones and pair fast thanks to modern chipsets and we’re loving the hands-free Siri integration too which is a first on the Beats Solo Pro.
The active noise-cancelation brings Apple’s Beats somewhat closer to the best offerings from Sony and Bose, although those two are still ahead by some distance. We do like the simple-one button access to the transparency mode here though. This optional feature allows some outside noise to come through, which can be handy in an office if you want to be aware of someone calling your name or making sure you’re aware of traffic around you when walking or cycling.
4. Beats Studio 3 Wireless
The Beats Solo 3 Wireless are a tale of two halves. From a technology perspective, they shine. As the smallest of the Beats on- and over-ear family, they wear their Apple ownership on their sleeve and come with Apple’s W1 chip built in for faster pairing with Apple devices.
The newer Class 1 Bluetooth helps to create one of the most stable wireless connections we’ve ever tested, and their 40 hours of battery life is impressive, though they can also be used wired if you run out of juice.
From a sound perspective, however, these Beats headphones fall a little short. It’s not that the sound is bad, and it’s certainly not as unwieldy as some Beats naysayers would have you think. But for all they give us in full-bodied sound and enthusiasm, they miss out in subtlety and refinement compared to the cream of the similarly-priced crop.
The overall performance just isn’t as explicit or engaging as we’d like – it needs to be tighter and more insightful to keep us entertained over longer listens.
