Beats by Dre are one of the most popular headphone brands in the world. Their success is due in large part to their marketing as well as their product design. These trendy looking, portable headphones are big business and the compact folding design and hard hitting bass make them a hot item. The Beats Solo3 Wireless have both of these features on top of being wireless which is what makes them such a desirable headphone model.
Recently Sennheiser has been putting their own twist on the stylish portable headphone with their HD 4 Series. Their slim headband, folding body and punchy bass make them worthy of a match-up against Apple’s Beats by Dre and specifically the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless would make an interesting match-up against the Beats Solo3 Wireless. So let’s put them side-by-side, compare features and figure out which has the best sound and most of all… the best bass.
Features and Specification Comparison
Beats Solo3 Wireless
The Beats Solo3 Wireless is an on-ear headphone that boasts up to 40 hours of battery life. It folds up for portability, comes with a case and connects to any Bluetooth mobile device. You get passive noise isolation an optional wire with inline control for use with smartphones and of course your wireless mobile controls are all located on the earcup.
The Solo3 Wireless is relatively comfortable although a little heavy. Not too big of a deal. And pairing with mobile devices seems fairly simple with no issues or delays. Smartphone controls work as expected with music apps and making phone calls are no problem.
There’s no specs on frequency range but once we put it to the test we’ll know once and for all which one sounds best. Here’s a few of the specs we do have on the Beats Solo3 Wireless.
Size and Weight
• Height: 7.8 in / 19.8 cm
• Weight: 7.58 oz / 215 g
General
• Form Factor: On Ear
Connections and Expansion
• Bluetooth®
• Wireless
Power
• Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
Other Features
• Bluetooth®
• On-Board Call and Music Controls
• On-Board Volume Control
• Beam-Forming Mic for Optimal Call Clarity
• Noise Isolation
• Stereo Bluetooth®
• Passive Playback via RemoteTalk cable
• RemoteTalk Cable with inline Controls
• LED Fuel Gauge
• Charge via Micro-USB cable
Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless
The HD 4.40 BT Wireless is called an “around the ear” headphone by Sennheiser although it is a compact design and cutting it close to almost being an on-ear. The padding on the earcups is quite a bit softer than the Beats Solo3 Wireless which is definitely a plus. The 4.40 BT Wireless lasts up to 25 hours on a charge and uses Bluetooth 4.0 for quick connection to smartphones or wireless devices. This headphone also includes wireless NFC connection for capable devices as well. The HD 4.40 BT comes with a carry bag instead of a case.
As with the Solo3 Wireless, the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless pairs up quick and easy with no problems whatsoever. Track and volume controls functions seamlessly and making phone calls are easy. Overall the features and specifications are very similar between the two wireless headphones. The HD 4.40 BT also has one other advantage over the Beats as you can use the free CapTune app for smartphones to customize your sound and preferences. It even integrates with your music library and can connect directly to your TIDAL account.
Here’s the full published specs on the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless as well.
• Impedance 18 Ω
• Frequency response (microphone) 100 – 10,000 Hz
• Frequency response 18 – 22,000 Hz
• Sound pressure level (SPL) 113dB (Passive: 1kHz/1Vrms)
• THD, total harmonic distortion <0.5% (1kHz/100dB)
• Pick-up pattern Dual omnidirectional microphones
• Battery Specification Li-ion Polymer Battery
• Codecs AptX
Battle of the Bass Headphones
Now to get down to the sound test between the Beats Solo3 Wireless and the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless headphones. For the test we used the very popular Spotify playlist “Rap Caviar” and selected a number of tracks to try on both headphones. We’ve compared both headphones indoors and outdoors using the same mobile device which is an Apple iPhone 6S.
After running both headphones through the paces, the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless came out on top. This headphone not only has bigger and better bass but the full-range of frequencies all the way up to the high end make quite an impression. When it comes to sound, and especially big bass, the Beats Solo3 Wireless just didn’t match up. It’s a great headphone with a solid sound but just didn’t match the audio quality of the HD 4.40 BT Wireless.
Final Comparison
Both the Beats Solo3 Wireless and the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless headphones were comfortable with great sound and functioned well. In the end the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless is an all around better headphone due to durability, slightly better comfort, intense bass and a full range frequency response that will get you moving. Despite the difference in battery life (40hrs for Beats over 25hrs on Sennheiser) the sound of the Sennheiser headphone is where it’s at. And with an MSRP of $149.95 the HD 4.40 BT is miles ahead in terms of value than the Beats Solo3 Wireless at an MSRP of $299. Shop the Sennheiser Headphone Store at Audio46.
Come see the Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless Headphone in action at Audio46 or order online.
Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT Wireless Headphone
