I do not argue that the Sony WH-1000XM5 is the best headphones that money can buy. But if I said you could get a brand-name listening experience for half the price - and in a certain way actually better than the XM5

I'm a big fan of the Sony WH-1000XM5, but I recently replaced it with Beats Solo4, the latest installment of a product that basically puts the Apple-owned brand on the map. It was a great experience. I knew the trade meant to sacrifice some aspects of active noise cancellation and sound performance, but I also made a change

I'll say straight away that the Beat Solo 4 is not going to impress all the ears, especially the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Playstation. Another pair of Miam headphones or

Beats Solo4 weighs only 7.65 ounces, is foldable, easy to carry, and can even be thrown in your pocket. The XM5 is slightly heavier and weighs 8.8 ounces, but when you're wearing something on your head, even 1 ounce can make a difference.

Both the Solo 4 and XM5 come with cases, but a pair of Sony eventually takes more room in the bag and requires you to put them flat. And given the cost of the XM5, I usually choose to bring a rigid case with me on a trip to keep the can safe. Not only is the Beats case small, it also allows you to scrape the soft pouch into the tiniest corner of your backpack during use. As many travelers, I can appreciate any little bit of stored storage space. 

It's true that the Sony WH-1000XM5 is some of the best noise-cancelling headphones in terms of battery life, but they don't last as long as Beats Solo4. Solo 4 gets up to 3 hours of battery life, which is an improvement of 10 hours over the previous Beat Solo 50. On my recent trip, I didn't have to worry at all about charging my headphones until I got home. The Sony WH-1000XM5 will last up to 40 hours if you don't use the ANC feature, but personally I use it with ANC most of the time, dropping the battery estimate to 30 hours. It gives Solo 4 another win and less play time between charges. 

One of my favorite things about the Sony WH-1000XM5 is that they switch very easily between my different playback sources such as my iPhone and iPad. But if you're an Apple user, you can't rival the convenience of Beats Solo4. Not only do they have a quick setup when you turn them on, but you can also adjust Solo 4 controls directly in the Settings app, even machine like Find me ready. 

Another feature that is only available on Beats and AirPods devices is sharing audio.1 When traveling with friends and family, we can watch the same movies together on my iPad if we both use Apple headphones. I'd rather use shared audio on a regular basis and consider it one of the big perks of the Apple ecosystem.

If you need noise cancellation and want to stay in Apple's ecosystem, you might choose AirPods Pro4 instead of Beats Solo2. You can often find AirPods Pro2 on sale forド199 and have one of the best wireless earbuds sound performance with ANC 1. But if you're looking for some over-ear cans, the beats are worth a look.