Less than 24 hours after being acquired by Apple for $3 billion, Beats Electronics announced a a redesign to its now-ubiquitous Solo headphones. The wildly popular brand revealed this morning that it aimed to tackle updates to both “form and function” with the reworked new Solo2 headphone. Along with fundamental design and acoustic changes, the new Solo2 are also now available in a wider array of colors, with a special edition, $600 deluxe “Snarkitecture X” edition of the cans in the works.
Similar to the revamping of the Studio model late last year, the new Solo2 loses its visible screws, gets its frame curved for a more “custom-fit feeling,” and receives an ergonomically angled adjustment to its earcups, intended to provide a more natural fit and the ability to pivot comfortably. Updated earcup material is meant to dissipate heat and minimize sound leakage. In terms of sound signature, we can expect Beats will have followed previous re-voicing efforts to somewhat calm down the heavy-handed bass response the company has taken so much heat over. Beats claims the new Solo2 will have “a more dynamic, wider range of sound, with a clarity that will bring you closer to what the artist intended, whether you’re into hip-hop, heavy metal, jazz, electronic, or country.”
The Solo2 will remain at their previous $200 price point and will still come in black, white, red, blue, gray, and pink. However, with the release of the Solo2, Beats is adding two new colors, Champagne and Metallic Sky. Beats will also continue its partnership with project (RED), meaning a portion of each red Solo2 sale will go toward AIDS research.
But if you really want to stand out among the crowd, today’s announcement also touched on a new special edition pair: drop $600 to get your hands on the Snarkitecture X Beats ‘phones. The cans are the result of a collaboration with Snarkitecture, forged in an effort to transform the iconic Solo headphones into a piece of art, according to Beats. The completely matte white headgear has been stripped of its familiar colors and logos, so the headphones are a more pure expression of the form, accompanied by Snarkitecture’s ‘Pillow’, made from white cultured marble.” The deluxe pair will be available for purchase starting June 9 via Beats’ online store.
