Like I said in the full review… I feel that the Beats Solo Pro are overhyped and definitely overpriced at the $300. But if you’re looking for a pair of headphones and you want to get the best bang for your buck here are two options that perform better and cost less than the Beats Solo Pro. We’ve got the Sony XB900N and the Surface Headphones. I feel that both of these are better than the beats solo pro, but depending on your needs one is better than the other. 

So like I just said, the Solo Pro’s retail for $300 which is a lot for any pair of On Ear Headphones. Where as the Sony XB900N are a pair of over ear headphones and retail for $250 but sometimes they even go on sale for $200. And then there’s the Surface Headphones which are technically a pair of $350 headphones but  they’re for ever on sale these days for $250… and on rare occasion they also go on sale for $200. So if you want to pick either of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below and if you want to learn more about either of these headphones please watch their full reviews. 

Now the first thing I want to address here are the carrying cases. Since the Sony’s are a pair of $250 headphones they come included with a carrying pouch. Where as the Solo Pro’s come included with a soft-shell carrying case. And then there’s the surface headphones which come included with a hardshell carrying case. Although yeah this case is pretty big… if you plan on traveling a lot with your headphones you want a hardshell case to keep your headphones safe in your bag. And over all, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to travel with the surface headphones are the way to go here.

One of the main reasons why I can’t recommend the Beats Solo Pro’s to a constant flyer is cause they don’t have an audio jack and they don’t come included with an audio cable… so you can’t do something as simple as plugging your headphones in to watch an in-flight movie when you’re in an airplane. But if you really want to use a wired connection with your beats all you gotta do is spend $35 on apples new lighting to 3.5 millimeter audio cable. Which I think is a rip off. 

Where as both the Surface Headphones and Sony XB900N have an audio jack and they come included with audio cables. We’re at a point where having an audio jack on a pair of headphones is a differentiating factor cause it is for me. Now I don’t think that the removal of the Audio jack on the Solo Pro would have been a huge deal if they came included with that lightning to 3.5 millimeter audio cable but since apple is charging for it separately, I think it's insulting. 

But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Like I mentioned in the full review, I find the Solo Pro’s to be very uncomfortable to wear. And comfort is the most important thing to take into consideration when picking a pair of headphones. If you’re headphones don’t fit right you’re not going to want to ware them. The Solo Pro’s have a lot of clamping force that I think people even with average sized will find them to be a little too tight and since they have so little padding underneath their headband the top of your head gets very uncomfortable as well. But the main reason why the Solo Pro’s are so uncomfortable is cause they’re on ear headphones. Where as both the Sony XB900N and surface headphones are over ear headphones which automatically make them for comfortable than the Solo Pro’s. But if you’re looking for maximum comfort than I highly recommend the Sony’s. The Surface headphones are also comfortable and they’re big head approved but they do have a little more clamping force than the Sony’s. The Sony XB900N are actually a little more comfortable than the Sony 1000XM3’s cause their ear cups are more spacious. So if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to wear for hours on end and forget that they’re even there I highly recommend the XB900N’s. And also, the ear pads on the Sony’s heat up much less than the Surface headphones cause the ear pads on the surface headphones have more surface area in contact with your skin. So yeah, both the Sony and Surface Headphones fit better than the Solo Pro’s but the Sony’s are more comfortable.

Now when its comes to tech specs, both the Surface headphones and Sony’s charge via a USB C port which is super convenient for Android users. where the Solo Pro’s charge via a lighting port which is convenient for iPhone users. But when it comes to over all battery lives these headphones are very different. The Surface Headphones have the worst over battery life here. They have an advertised battery life 15 hours but with my usage I can usually got about 4 or 5 days in between charges. 

Where as the Solo Pro have an advertised battery life of 22 hours and I can go a solid week in between charges with them. Where as the Sony’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours and I can usually go about 2 weeks in between charges with these headphones. So even though I do recommend the Surface Headphones, battery life is a weak point of theirs. 

Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity the Solo Pro’s have apple’s H1 chip. So pairing to your iPhone is super easy, you can easily hot swap between any of your apple devices associated to your iCloud and they also have always listening Siri. So you can active Siri by just saying Hey Siri. In general Apple’s H1 chip is great for power users and it one of the reasons why AirPods are so awesome. So its cools to see all that functionally make its way to the Solo Pro. 

Where as with the surface headphones they can be simultaneously connected to 2 devices at the same time which should be enough for most people but then there’s the Sony’s which can only be connected to one device at time. So switching between your phone and computer isn’t going to be as seamless as the Solo Pro. So I’ll definitely give the Solo Pro’s props where its due. That H1 chip is really useful if you’re heavily integrated into Apple’s eco system. 

But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. The beats solo pro’s sound decent for mid tier headphones. They sound much more balanced this time around cause they put more of an emphasis on the mids and vocals and they still have a decent amount of bass to them that can be heard. The only major complaint I have about them is that their highs can get a little ear piercing at higher volumes. But one of the biggest differences on the Solo Pro’s from the Solo 3 or even Studio 3’s is that the bass on these headphones doesn’t really rattle your head which I know some people look for in a pair of headphones. Some people want to feel their music when they use their headphones. And I don’t blame them cause its fun. So if you want to feel the bass on your headphones both the surface headphones and Sony’s have you covered. The Surface headphones have enough physical bass to satiate most people. And thanks to their adjustable EQ you can make them sound how ever you want. If you want a neutral sound signature you can do that or if you want a bass heavy one you can also do that. Now the Sony’s also have an adjustable an EQ so you can also make them sound how ever you want. But the bass on these headphones is a whole other story. The XB900N are a part of Sony’s Extra Bass headphones line up, hence the XB in their name. If you crank the bass up on these headphones they’re going to rattle your head twice as much as the surface headphones possibly can. Maxing out the bass on the Surface headphones is like having the bass on the Sony’s set to 4. So all in all the Sony XB900N are a lot of fun to listen to but they still sound great as well. And obviously if you don’t like too much head rattling bass you can always tone it down. So if you’re looking for maximum comfort or if you want a pair of headphones to rattle your head then the Sony XB900N’s are the way to go. 

But very quickly I do want to address the media controls on these headphones. The Beats are still using physical buttons and there’s nothing wrong with that cause I know some people still just prefer physical buttons. But I think its time beats moved their buttons to the side of their ear cups cause I think jamming these ear cups into my ears is just clunky compared to most other headphones. Where as the Sony’s have a touch pad. Now after you get over their learning curve the touch pad on the Sony’s is very easy to use and in general its a very good touch pad cause its very accurate. But the Surface headphones have a hybrid set up which is pretty cool as well. They’ve got a physical dial to adjust your volume and each ear cup has a touch pad. Now I know some people still prefer physical buttons on their headphones, but touch pads aren’t that scary. Specifically these two. Cause ill admit, there are some bad touch pads out there.

But like I mentioned earlier, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones to travel with than the Surface Headphones are the way to go cause they have the best over all noise cancelation here. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test. 

Like you may have just seen the ANC on the XB900N really just can’t compete with either of these headphones cause Sony obviously want you to spring for the 1000XM3’s if you’re really concerned about ANC. But you can clearly see the Surface Headphones block out more noise than the Beats Solo Pro. And thats one of the reasons why I like the Surface Headphones So much. You get near Sony 1000XM3 active Noise cancellation for $250. But still im not the biggest fan of the active noise cancelation on the Solo Pro cause they do have a noticeable amount of cabin pressure when used in louder environments where as both the Sony’s and surface headphones have barely any cabin pressure which is what you want… and also the ANC on the Solo Pro’s really likes to pick up a lot wind noise when used out doors cause their microphones are just so exposed. Where as both the Surface Headphones and Sony’s pick up significantly less wind noise cause their microphones are much better shielded. 

Now all three of these headphones have a transparency mode where you can set them pump in some of the ambient sound around you so you can still be aware of your environment when you’re walking around the city or you can do what I do and have transparency mode turned on what watching Netflix at home so that if someone calls your name you can still hear them. But over all I do think the Sony’s have the best transparency mode here simply cause you can adjust how much noise they let in and you can even set them to only let in people’s voices which something neither of these other two headphones can do. 

But finally here’s the microphone test. I think all three of these headphones have decent enough microphones for phones calls but if I had to rank them the Sony’s would come in last.

The surface headphones sound a little better but they still sound a little shallow. 

And then there’s the beats which I think do a slightly better job of bringing outs the mids

But all in all, like I said at the beginning of the video… I think the Beats Solo Pro are over priced at $300. Add to the fact that if you were to shell out money for their audio cable these headphones would have a grand total of $335 plus tax. I would only consider or recommend picking up the Solo Pro’s if they we’re on sale for $200. But even still the Solo Pro are a pair of very uncomfortable headphones to wear which is the most important thing to take into consideration if you're looking into headphones and they just sound average. Even though their active noise cancelation is decent, the fact they they have a considerable amount of cabin pressure by todays standards and the fact that they pick up so much wind noise just make them feel last gen. If you’re looking for a pair of headphones to travel with, then I highly recommend the Surface Headphones cause their active noise cancelation is great. I think a lot of people really sleep on the Surface Headphones at their $250 price point. But if you want maximum comfort or is you want that head rattling bass then the Sony XB900N are a great option as well.