Beats is without question the world's most marketed headphone and audio brand in recent years. The company took a step in the right direction when it released the Studio 2 over-ear headphones late last year with much needed improvements in audio performance with the addition of a built-in rechargeable battery, and a polished redesign. And now Beats is repeating this revamping processes with the introduction of the Solo 2 headphones, which are coincidentally also the last pair Beats released as an independent company right before Apple acquired the brand for $3 billion.

As the successor of the Solo HD, the Solo 2 have an improved audio quality and share the same slick design language and a more resilient build quality of the Studio 2 headphones, but with a smaller and lighter portable on-ear style form factor. Can a new design and fine tuning persuade Beats skeptics into jumping onboard the Beats bandwagon that is high-priced, celebrity-endorsed headphones? There's only one way to find out.