Beats Solo3 vs. Sony h.ear mini WH-H800: Apple headphones are completely defeated?

For the headphones currently on the market priced between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan, in addition to pursuing higher sound quality than ordinary mobile phone headphones, users also have higher requirements in many aspects such as product wireless connectivity and appearance design.

When it comes to the relatively niche product area of ​​high-value wireless headphones, Apple's Beats Solo3 Wireless and Sony's WH-H800, which was launched in the second half of 2017, are obviously the two products that people pay the most attention to.

So, who is better in this headphone showdown between Apple and Sony?

Is it the "b" of aesthetic fatigue, or the h.ear towards youth?

When it comes to the appearance of headphones, Beats and Sony are bolder than ever in their choice of colors. For example, both Beats Solo3 Wireless and Sony WH-H800 offer users green versions. The prairie green Beats Solo3 Wireless and the mint green Sony WH-H800 naturally become the best choices for our discussion of the two headphone designs.

The conspicuous "b" on the left and right sides has become the most eye-catching family logo of Beats Solo3 Wireless, and the rounded and smooth line design from the earmuffs to the headband perfectly interprets the positioning of Beats headphones as a "fashionable product".

However, the seemingly eye-pleasing design of Beats Solo3 Wireless does not completely win high praise for the product. Most users who are familiar with Beats products know that Beats Solo3 Wireless can be said to have completely copied the appearance and structure of its predecessor Beats Solo2, and the overall style was set by the earlier Beats Sudio 2.0 product.

This is like the almost unchanged appearance of Apple from iPhone 6 to iPhone 8. Although many users do not reject this approach, it does seem a bit aesthetically fatigued and not innovative enough.

On the contrary, the Sony WH-H800, which also has a green appearance, is not only brighter in color than the Beats Solo3 Wireless, but also successfully opened up a new option with a younger design in the second generation of h.ear series products based on the concept of "h.ear on 2 Mini Wireless".

Adhering to Sony's consistent minimalist design style, Sony WH-H800 sticks to the same color from the shell to the ear pads, from the headphone cable to the retractable headband. It should be noted that the headphones themselves are made of aluminum and a variety of resin materials. To achieve such a seamless effect, it can be seen that Sony has put a lot of effort into the appearance of the product.

The clever curvature on the side of the shell further optimizes the folding space, allowing the Sony WH-H800 to be easily stuffed into a bag and carried around.

In addition, the weight of the headphones is also a crucial factor that affects the wearing experience. In this regard, the weight of the Sony WH-H800, which is marked as around 180g on the official website, is more advantageous than the weight of about 215g shown on the official website of the Beats Solo3 Wireless. With a similar size, the Sony WH-H800 feels lighter.

Sony's sound quality is more attractive than Apple's W1 chip

After becoming an Apple brand, Beats headphones will naturally have more intersections with Apple devices. Beats Solo3 Wireless is integrated with the same W1 chip as Apple's own AirPods headphones, which can instantly achieve wireless pairing with Apple devices, even iOS terminals or Mac computers using the same iCloud account, without the need for secondary pairing.

At the same time, driven by Apple's W1 chip, Beats Solo3 Wireless also provides up to 40 hours of battery life. With the help of Fast Fuel technology, the efficiency of fast charging can also achieve 3 hours of playback after charging for 5 minutes.

However, while Beats headphones have become more and more useful thanks to Apple, Beats Solo3 Wireless still doesn’t sound good enough.

The emphasis on bass is the "pain point" of Beats headphones. Although this tendency has been improved on Beats Solo3 Wireless, for a headphone product that still costs more than 1,000 yuan in the market today, its sound quality performance is still difficult to support such a price, and it is still difficult to get rid of the reputation of being just a "showpiece".

When it comes to sound quality, Sony naturally has more accumulation and voice than Beats. In terms of basic hardware parameters, the Sony WH-H800 is equipped with a 40mm driver unit, which has high-bandwidth audio performance from low frequency to 40kHz high frequency, supplemented by the digital sound enhancement engine DSEE HX. In the Bluetooth mode when the power is turned on, it can display high-frequency signals and tail sounds that are often lost in audio compression processing, providing natural sound effects with a sense of space.

On the other hand, in terms of wireless connectivity, although the Sony WH-H800 is not as popular with Apple users as the Beats Solo3 Wireless equipped with Apple's W1 chip, the LDAC "black technology" it supports can transmit about 3 times the amount of data of ordinary Bluetooth. At a maximum transmission speed of 990kbps, wireless headphones can also enjoy high-quality music with sound quality close to Hi-Res Audio.

With the introduction of Android 8.0, a large number of Android phones have added support for the LDAC protocol in the system. Obviously, the opportunities for Sony WH-H800 to demonstrate its strength are becoming more and more. In addition, the addition of NFC technology and the touch-to-pairing method with smartphones and music players that also support NFC have greatly simplified the previous process of setting the Bluetooth pairing code.

Finally, in terms of battery life, the Beats Solo3 Wireless with 40 hours of "endurance" thanks to the Apple W1 chip has become the industry benchmark, but the Sony WH-H800 is equally strong, bringing a battery life of more than 24 hours a day, which can meet the listening needs of users on their commutes for about a week. The fast charging capability of charging for about 10 minutes can provide about 90 minutes of playback, which is basically comparable to Beats.

So, in general, in the comparison between two representative high-value wireless headphones with a price range of 1,000-2,000 yuan on the market, Beats Solo3 Wireless is still the Beats in people's impression. The addition of Apple elements makes it an unprecedentedly easy-to-use trendy headphone, but if you still have some requirements for sound quality, the third-generation Beats Solo may still not be your ideal choice.

The difference is that after striving to make the appearance of the headphones attract more users' attention, Sony WH-H800 has demonstrated balanced product strength. You can still find core technologies such as LDAC and DSEE HX on the product that catch the attention of enthusiast users. Combined with a more outstanding appearance design, it presents users with a wireless headphone boutique that takes into account both visual appearance and sound quality.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.