Sony WF-SP800N Review: Huge Stamina, ANC, And Awesome Sound

Sony WF SP800N review presented

"Like a top athlete, Sony's WF-SP800N earphones stand out for everything they do."

  • good sound

  • Best in class battery life

  • Very good water and dust protection

  • Good active noise cancellation

  • Outstanding call quality

  • Bulky charging case

  • No wireless charging

If you've looked at the best wireless earbuds in the past year, you know we know the world of the Sony WF-1000XM3. They excel in so many areas like noise cancellation, sound quality, and call quality that you have to dig quite deep to find bugs.

However, we were much less impressed by Sony's last attempt to create a set of true wireless earphones for the sports audience, the WF-SP700N. The bad battery life was our main criticism and the active noise cancellation did not impress us.

Enter the WF-SP800N: the highly anticipated update from Sony for its sport-oriented real wireless earbuds. At $ 200, they're a little more expensive now, but Sony seems to have learned all the lessons from the WF-1000XM3 to bring the SP800Ns up to date. They are available for Pre-order now from Amazon and Best Buy, with deliveries from the end of May.

Was Sony successful? Let’s take a closer look.

Classic design with a twist

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The WF-SP800N follows the same general design that Sony has used for all earphones – it has a slightly elongated body that protrudes from the ear. Gone is the weird lima bean shape of the WF-SP700N, but these are still bulky than most of today's much smaller earbuds. They are also surprisingly heavy. At 9.5 grams, they are 1 gram heavier than the XM3 and almost twice as heavy as the Jabra Elite 75t, which weighs 5.5 grams.

Not that they feel heavy – in fact, adding a silicone ear fin helps them stay comfortably anchored. However, if you knock on the sidewalk, you are definitely aware of it.

To put the ear fin in the correct position, you have to do a double twist when inserting it: a backward rotation to insert the ear fin into your ear and a forward rotation to lock it in place. This tilts the earphones down – a different angle than the XM3.

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The combination of the large overall size of the SP800N and the integrated ear fins means that the charging case also plays a major role. It's smaller than the case of the Powerbeats Pro and WF-1000XM3 and much smaller than the chunky case of the SP700N, but compared to the Jabra Elite 75t – a model that I used during my test of the SP800N – it's much bigger and not what I would call pocket-friendly. In the picture above, the blue case is actually that of the Jabra Elite Active 75t, but it is identical to the case of the Elite 75t.

Unlike Apple's more expensive AirPods Pro, there is no wireless charging option, just USB-C.

See the best battery

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

When the SP700N's battery life wasn't particularly long, the SP800N was clearly designed to be overwhelming: it offers an impressive battery life of nine hours with the ANC function on and an enormous 13 hours with the battery off. That's three more ANC hours and five more non-ANC hours than the WF-1000XM3. I haven't been able to confirm these statistics during my short time with the earbuds, but Sony's claims are usually consistent with the actual results.

The 13-hour performance without ANC smashes all other real wireless earbuds we've seen

After nine hours with ANC, they're only an hour behind the MW07 Plus from Master and Dynamic, but the 13-hour performance without ANC outperforms any other real wireless earbuds we've seen, including the Samsung Galaxy Buds + that followed 11 hours ahead.

The charging case contains only a single charge, which is a surprise given its physical size. However, you cannot argue with the total wireless time of 26 hours when you need it. According to Sony, the 10-minute quick charge offers up to 60 minutes of music playback for fast charging.

ANC added

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sony can very much appreciate the popularity of active noise cancellation on real wireless earbuds – more has been done to promote this feature than any other company.

The SP800N doesn't have Sony's premier ANC technology, the proprietary QN1e ANC chip in the WF-1000XM3, and Sony can't say what ANC technology the SP800N uses. But we know that: it works very well.

When I check a function like ANC during a pandemic, I can't say much about performance on a flight, but when I use a combination of bathroom fans and vacuum cleaners as a replacement, I can safely say that the SP800N shouldn't have a problem with the white noise of an airplane cabin.

Sony won't say what technology the SP800N's noise cancellation is based on, but we do know this: it works very well.

Outside is a different story. When using ANC while walking and jogging, I found that even the slightest breeze made unwanted noise because the external microphones incorrectly tried to compensate for a noise that wasn't really there.

However, it's not a big deal. Thanks to the tight sealing of the earplugs, the earphones offer excellent passive sound isolation, so you probably don't have the need to activate ANC outdoors.

Call to all athletes

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Despite the wind-related problems of your ANC, the SP800N offers impressive call quality. I've put many real wireless earbuds through the phone call test, and they're the first ones my callers have described as ringing on my phone – kudos, as most earbuds force you to compromise on the clarity you get Your phone to your ear.

The wind was occasionally felt, as were passing cars, but the overall experience was excellent.

I've had a case where the earphones lost connection to my phone while on a call, but that seems to be an isolated case. Wireless connectivity is generally excellent with the SP800N.

Excellent sound

Sony WF-SP800NSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

One of the advantages of using Sony wireless headphones and real wireless earphones is the company's Headphones Connect app, which allows you to customize a variety of settings, including the EQ. Unfortunately, the app wasn't ready to work with the SP800N during my trial period, so I had to make do with Sony's factory sound settings. And I couldn't have been happier.

If you want your training to be accompanied by a driving bass forward beat, you will love the SP800N.

The SP800N sounds ready to use. The tones are warm and rich, and the lows, mids and highs are well defined so that the vocals stay clear and crisp. The sound stage is both wide and deep, which smaller earphones simply cannot reproduce. And then there's the bass. It's deeply resonant and offers an impressive level of immersion in bass-heavy tracks, but it just stops being shy to be overwhelming. If you want your training to be accompanied by a driving bass forward beat, you will love the SP800N.

If you don't like the big bass, you can adjust the EQ in the Headphones Connect app, but I couldn't test this.

The right touch

As with the XM3 from Sony, all controls are controlled via touch-sensitive areas on the earphones. They are very accurate, so accidental knocking is rare, but only the top half of the earphone can be used. This means that you have to get used to finding the specific areas with your finger instead of just tapping anywhere on the outside of the earphone. I personally prefer the physical buttons on the Jabra Elite 75t, but the controls on the SP800N work just fine. By default, you get play / pause, skip tracks, answer / end calls, access to voice assistants and ANC mode. However, these can be changed in the Headphones Connect app. If you want volume control, you can have it, but you need to decide which of the other features you want to swap for it.

Like many true premium wireless earphones, the SP800N has wear sensors that automatically pause your music when you remove an earphone.

Our opinion

For $ 30 less than Sony's superb WF-1000XM3, the $ 200 WF-SP800N offers everything you can expect from a set of real wireless earbuds, including excellent sound, decent ANC, great battery life, and full protection from an IP55 -Water resistance rating. A somewhat bulky charging case that doesn't allow wireless charging is one of the few downsides, but I suspect that for many, this won't be a deal breaker.

Is there a better alternative?

When you're ready to spend $ 30 more and do without the SP800N's gigantic battery and IP55 protection, Sony's WF-1000XM3 offers better ANC and sound quality. However, we are only talking about a small improvement for both.

For $ 20 less, Jabra's $ 180 Elite 75t may be a better competitor. It can't keep up with the SP800N's battery life and has no ANC, but I think they sound very similar, they're both IP55, and the Jabras are smaller and more comfortable.

How long it will take?

As with most Sony products, the WF-SP800N comes with a one-year warranty. However, this is probably not an indicator of the life of the earphones. They are very well built and with an IP55 degree of protection you can throw very little on them so that they do not survive. Treat them well and keep them in the charging case when not in use. They should be used regularly for many years.

Should you buy it

Absolutely. Currently, the WF-SP800N occupies a unique position in the real wireless world: it is cheaper than most premium earphones and offers fantastic performance in all areas that matter most.

Editor's recommendations




Sony WF-XB700 Earbuds Review: Affordable, Quirky Fun

Sony WF-XB700 earphones

"The Sony WF-XB700 is a fun, quirky earphone that offers tremendous value."

  • Great battery life

  • IPX4 water resistance

  • Solid low-end sound

  • Pushy design

  • Limited codec support

There are any number of words you can use to describe Sony's latest earphones, the WF-XB700. A few – like fun, bulky, powerful, or affordable – come to mind immediately.

However, one word resonates the most. Value.

You may not look like much, but for $ 130, the WF-XB700 offers a range of features that far exceed its cost. If you can accept that these buds are not a substitute for their bigger sibling, the WF-1000XM3, and learn to tolerate a few quirks, you will be pleasantly surprised with Sony's latest real wireless offering.

Out of the box

The packaging of the WF-XB700 is as standard as possible and the contents of the box correspond to what we expect from earphones. There is a charging case with the buds themselves, a USB-C charging cable, additional earplugs and documentation that contains a user manual and warranty information.

Sony WF-XB700 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

If you were previously connected to a pair of wireless earbuds, you may not need to read the manual before trying the WF-XB700. However, you may need to replace the earbuds for one of the three pairs of replacement options. Conveniently, the tips supplied with the earphones fit my ears well from the start.

Like most earphones these days, the WF-XB700 supports Bluetooth 5 technology. After more than a week, I have found no connection problems. For the reasons you might expect, I couldn't quite exceed the limits of the Bluetooth connection, but I didn't have to worry about any noticeable problems when I was moving around my house or garden.

design

I came into conflict over the design of the WF-XB700. To put it bluntly, it's a functional construction, even if at first glance they don't seem to be capable of such an achievement. Once I found the right fit in my ears, the buds stayed secure thanks to what Sony called a “tri-hold structure” based on contact with three different points on the ear. They created a good seal around my ear canals, which is good for the sound quality.

Sony WF-XB700 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

At the same time, the structure of these buds is problematic. It's a strange word for this type of product, but the WF-XB700 is what I can only call "layered" with a pronounced footprint that extends well beyond your ear. In other words, be careful with these hoodies. These massive buds have to get caught, a quirk that gets annoying every time.

Two buttons are built into the buds, one on each side, and they have proven to be reasonably appealing. Similar to the buds themselves, which are black with a blue border, the charging case is not noticeable. Compared to other cases, it has a considerable depth to accommodate the size of the buds.

Function over shape in earbuds is not a bad thing. I would have liked a slimmer profile overall, but for most people, given the capabilities of these buds, it's a worthwhile compromise.

properties

IPX4 water resistance. Integration of the language assistant. Nine hours of playback on a single charge, with a quick charge feature that gives you an extra hour of audio after just 10 minutes in the case.

Sony WF-XB700 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

A year ago, these functions could easily have been reserved for equipment in a much higher tax bracket. Since then, they have quickly dropped to a budget level for earphones that is much more palatable to the masses, i.e. H. The WF-XB700.

In the time I spent with these bulky buds, each of these features worked remarkably well. The buds would easily take me through a whole working day before I had to recharge. The earphone case only has an additional charge, which is less than ideal. However, if you can hear them all day and charge them at night, I don't see this as a major problem for most.

A couple of sweaty runs have proven that the IPX4 rating is correct. While the voice assistant isn't as easy as wake-word enabled products like Amazon Echo Buds or Google Pixel Buds 2, it still worked well when I called it up with the right earbud button.

The function I wanted for these buds, as simple as it is, would be the ability to automatically pause the sound when you take an earphone out of your ear. It's something I've gotten so used to with other earbuds, and that's why I've repeatedly missed parts of podcasts and music when I pulled out a bud to have a conversation.

Audio quality

If you think these buds are what they are, a pair of real $ 130 wireless earbuds that are supposed to be more fun than sophisticated, you will enjoy the new Sony product. If instead you're looking for excellent sound that matches Sony's flagship WF-1000XM3, the WF-XB700 may not be for you.

Sony WF-XB700 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Sony has hit its Extra Bass brand on the WF-XB700, and for me that's "fun". The bottom end has a lot of punch, but doesn't sound bloated. If you regularly stream top hit playlists on Spotify, the WF-XB700 is an excellent addition to this listening experience.

The big bass has some drawbacks, however. The rest of the frequency range takes a back seat. If you take into account the lack of support for audio codecs like aptX, more experienced listeners will likely look for definitions that are not fully available. However, if you're looking for reference level audio, these are simply not the buds you're looking for.

The WF-XB700 has no noise cancellation technology that is not expected outside of Amazon's earbuds at this price (though I suspect this will change soon). The call quality is solid and contributes to what I think is above-average sound for the cost of these buds.

Our opinion

For the money, the WF-XB700 from Sony are fun, quirky earphones that are a lot more fun than quirky ones. Despite their shortcomings, including the size boss, the new earphones from Sony are just as valuable as they have positioned themselves on paper.

Are there any better alternatives?

The Amazon Echo Buds, valued at $ 130, have active noise reduction, but sacrifice battery life. If you're heavily invested in the Apple or Android ecosystem, the Apple AirPods or Google Pixel Buds 2 may be better, if more expensive.

How long will they last?

In addition to Sony's general reputation as a company that manufactures durable products, the WF-XB700 comes with a one-year warranty. You shouldn't have to worry about getting your money's worth with these earphones.

Should you buy them

Yes. I'm still not convinced of their design, but given the affordable price, the pleasant sound and the wealth of functions, the WF-XB700 is a bargain.

Editor's recommendations




Sony PlayStation 4 Pro Review 2020: 4K at a Price

PlayStation 4 bundle

PlayStation 4 Pro 1 TB console

"PlayStation 4 Pro is the first console to take 4K UHD gaming seriously."

  • 4K games for less than $ 500

  • Improves the display of selected PlayStation VR titles

  • All games run a little better than the standard PS4

  • Also looks good on 1080p TVs

  • Supports all PS4 games

  • HDR can be very difficult to set up

  • Few titles offer 4K support at launch

  • No 4K Blu-ray player

Sony's PlayStation4 Pro was the first of its kind for game consoles when it launched in November 2016. Thanks to a better graphics card and other hardware improvements, she was able to process the gameplay with 4K UHD resolution and high dynamic range (HDR).

Unlike previous hardware leaps for game consoles, however, the Pro is still a PlayStation 4 at its core. Games or game modes that cannot be found on a standard start console cannot be played. Instead, the Pro gives players who care about graphics and resolution the privilege of knowing that their games are doing as well as they can.

The console doesn't offer everything you need to make it the heart of a high-end media system.

PlayStation 4 Pro has been largely successful in this regard. When played on a 4K TV, the PS4 Pro looks sharper and more detailed. The games also run more smoothly on a standard Full HD set. It's the best PS4 you can buy right now.

On the other hand, Sony's decision to give players the opportunity to maximize the performance of their consoles has opened Pandora's box. Outputting the console with 4K HDR is a complicated and expensive process that most people just won't do, at least not until 4K UHD TVs become cheaper and HDR becomes a widespread standard.

Nothing prevents you from buying a PlayStation 4 Pro and taking advantage of the performance advantages that it naturally offers. However, these improvements are minor: you may see more pixels and save a few seconds less load time, but the cost is an additional $ 100 to $ 150 that is missing in your pocket. More importantly, the complexity of setting up the PS4 Pro (which is not always easy) means that you are giving up the greatest strength that video game consoles have over PCs: the ability to plug and play.

We need a bigger box!

Physically speaking, the PS4 Pro does not differ significantly from its new counterpart, the PS4 "Slim". It has the same sharp, sloping design, but with three "slates" instead of two. The pro is not as big as you can imagine. At 295 x 327 x 55 mm, it's two inches wider and two inches lower than the original PS4. At 7.3 pounds, it's also a pound heavier than the original PS4 and almost three pounds more than the Slim. On the other hand, it's a console that just sits under your TV most of the time. Who cares?

It also has some additional ports: the optical drive and two USB 3.1 ports on the front are standard PS4, but the Pro has an additional USB 3.1 port on the back, which is useful if you have a PSVR headset . To record the 4K signal, the HDMI port of the Pro is HDMI 2.0. The Pro also has an optical port that was included in the original PS4 but was removed from the "Slim".

Interestingly, the PS4 Pro's optical drive is the same as the PS4's, which means that unlike the more powerful Xbox Series X, it doesn't support 4K Blu-ray. The console can stream 4K HDR content from apps like Netflix and Hulu, but lack of support means the console doesn't do everything you need to make it the heart of a high-end media system.

When played on a 4K UHD TV, the PS4 Pro looks sharper and more detailed.

The real changes are inside. The PS4 Pro has an AMD Radeon graphics card with 4.20 teraflop (TFLOP), which is a serious improvement. Like the standard PS4, it has an 8-core AMD x86-64 Jaguar processor, but the clock speed has been increased to 2.1 GHz. Like the original PS4, it has 8 GB of DDR5 RAM, but also has an additional gigabyte of DDR3 RAM to manage temporary memory states for open games and apps. The Pro comes with a 1TB hard drive that, like the PS4, can be replaced with any 2.5-inch SATA hard drive.

The bottom line is that the technical upgrade of the Pro is more than just cosmetic. Even without software support from individual developers, games and apps run more smoothly and loading times can be shortened. Some games that push the game hardware to its limits (or have been poorly optimized) stutter less or see less frame rate losses. At the same time, this isn't the kind of leap that a new generation of games like the PS5 will allow later this year with far more powerful specs than the PS4. Even if Sony allowed PS4 Pro exclusively, these games would not be much bigger or more content than what we are now playing with the next generation on the way to release. The improved graphics card could lead to sharper, more detailed games over time, but that's it.

Radiant happy people

The main advantage of the PS4 Pro is the ability to play games with 4K UHD resolution. Games look better in 4K UHD than standard 1080p Full HD games. The 4K advantage increases the details of every wall, every face, every weapon, every vehicle – everything looks sharper. Even older games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, one of the few 4K-compatible games before Pro launched, look much better. This detail mostly comes into play when you see objects up close – you can stare at a close-up of a person's face and see every pore – but you will still see less detailed textures if you are vigilant.

As long as you have a 4K UHD television, playing a game in 4K is very easy: the console automatically scales your resolution to 4K when connected, as does your resolution on the standard PS4.

Each game also requires a patch that enables 4K support. Before the console launched, there were minimal 4K-capable games, less than 10. This number has increased significantly in the years since the Pro launched, but the changes are not consistent at all levels.

PlayStation 4 Pro test "data-image-id =" 1076712Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

When it comes to 4K support, every game is different. Although many suggested 4K patches just seem to activate high-resolution mode, some games offer new setting options. With The Witness, for example, you can choose to run the frame rate at 4K at a frame rate of 30 frames per second (fps) or 1440p at a scaling of 4K and a frame rate of 60 frames per second.

Xbox One S can also scale up games to 4K. However, there are currently no 4K native games, and most games continue to render at or below 1080p, just like the original Xbox One. Skyrim: Special Edition is rendered at 4K on the PS4 Pro, and other games like Titanfall 2 and The Last Of Us get a resolution boost.

In many cases, the increase in resolution increases the image quality to a certain extent in 4K and 1080p devices. When using a 4K set, the increased render resolution means less likelihood of softness or upscaled artifacts. And if you have a 1080p TV, the game can “Super Sample”, which means that it will be rendered at a higher resolution and then scaled down to 1080p. The result is a sharper and cleaner picture.

Of course, this is all a bit confusing. While many games “just look better” when you connect the PS4 Pro, you may have to tweak the settings to make the games “work properly”. This is not a problem – more choice is generally a good thing – but like adding patches and other PC-style system functions to consoles, the function transfers more decisions to you and you need to do more research on the technical aspects of games . After launch, Sony also added a “boost mode” to the Pro that supports games with no special support for the Pro with higher frame rates. Unfortunately, the function is far from perfect: the results of “boosting” vary from game to game, and Sony has recognized that there may be unforeseen errors that add more trial and error to your console. This is a blessing on the PC, where you can use these distinctions to customize your hardware, but on a console it feels more like a burden.

Shinier, sadder people

Both the PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro support a high dynamic range, so this is not just an advantage of the PS4 Pro. However, since HDR is only available in a subset of 4K televisions and the PS4 Pro was originally shown with 4K and HDR to improve the picture consistency of the console, this is an important and very questionable aspect of the possibilities of the console.

With HDR support, Sony has led players into the complicated world of competing, unregulated software standards. HDR is a separate feature from 4K, which is largely unpublished and is difficult to identify when buying a TV. There are also different forms of HDR: The PS4 Pro requires HDR 10, which differs from "HDR Premium". There's also a competing standard, Dolby Vision, that is similar, but doesn't work with a PS4 Pro.

Even if you buy a compatible TV, there is a good chance that there will be frustrating technical issues that can affect or prevent your ability to play games with HDR. Although it varies from model to model and from brand to brand, it seems that models can have compatibility problems. Some of them seem to be related to the firmware. In November 2016, LG released a firmware patch for some of its TVs that specifically addressed issues with the PS4 Pro.

For this test, we tested the PS4 Pro with a set of Samsung 8 that meets the specifications of the console. The TV was able to register 4K and HDR in other devices. With the PS4 Pro, however, the device recognized the HDR connection, but was unable to maintain it properly. The problem was partially fixed when Samsung technicians replaced the TV's motherboard, but HDR was still not compatible with every setting.

All of these roadblocks render HDR practically unusable, which is a shame.

While it would be easy to attribute this to a defective TV, it should be noted that the problem would not have occurred without the PS4 Pro's technical eccentricities. While TV manufacturers have been working to make their HDR devices PS4 Pro compatible, it can be rightly said that each person has their own problems pairing the console with a television.

In addition, the PS4 Pro must be connected directly to your TV to support HDR. HDR content cannot be viewed through a switcher, receiver, or pass-through. This limitation, which I believe is rare, if not unprecedented, will be a serious barrier to entry for anyone using surround sound or other high quality home theater equipment. Given the specialization of technology, it's not crazy to think that many people who can use HDR want to use it in conjunction with a speaker system.

Even in ideal circumstances, enabling HDR can be more complicated than setting up 4K. Although the PS4 Pro makes it as easy as possible, enabling the feature on your TV may require a deep dive into the settings and a lot of trial and error. TV manufacturers seem to combine 4K UHD (Ultra HD) and HDR. This varies from sentence to sentence, but is complicated and there is no intuitive roadmap to get it going.

All of these roadblocks render HDR practically unusable, which is a shame. Based on what we saw at the PS4 Pro reveal event, where we saw the PS4 Pro along with 4K and HDR, and our review unit, where we only played in 4K, HDR is certainly the more impressive of the two upgrades. The more dynamic lighting allows you to see over long distances and see subtle details in light and dark places that would be hidden in standard HD.

Become "Pro" in VR

The PlayStation 4 Pro can also improve the way PSVR games work, regardless of what TV you have. According to Sony's Mark Cerny, the PS4 Pro does not automatically lead to technical improvements without special support that is integrated into individual games. Based on our testing, we have generally found that this is the case. Although games may try to use PS4 Pro to improve PSVR in different ways, the additional graphical performance seems to allow the headset to display more detailed renderings at a higher resolution.

Warranty information

The PlayStation 4 Pro comes with a one-year limited manufacturer warranty.

Our opinion

Before you buy a PS4 Pro, you have to ask and answer a lot of questions if you want to get the most out of the console. Do you have a 4K HDR 10 TV? Does this TV have an HDMI port on the physical device? Are you using a receiver or switcher for audio? Are you interested in 4K Blu-Rays? Do you own or plan to buy PSVR? Is it better to just wait for the PS5 to be released later this year?

If you don't answer all of these questions correctly, the improvements you'll see on the PlayStation 4 Pro can be costly. The PS4 Pro is undoubtedly the best version of the PlayStation 4, but it's not that much better that you should feel compelled to upgrade when a better new console is on its way soon.

Is there a better alternative?

It depends on your situation. The standard PS4 can play all games, so you won't miss any titles with the cheaper price. In this case, the Pro is only intended for those who want to get the most out of their 4K TV. Otherwise, the only alternatives at the moment are the Xbox One X or a gaming PC, but you'll miss out on amazing exclusive products like Persona 5 Royal and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

How long it will take?

Not at all for very long. The release of the PS5 is planned for this holiday, provided there are no problems with the production or the start. Therefore, the clock on the PS4 Pro and this generation generally runs out. There will probably be some intergenerational games at the beginning of the next generation, but it will only take that long.

Should you buy it

Maybe if you don't have a PS4 yet and want to experience the huge library of excellent games. Otherwise, just wait for the PS5, which is backward compatible with many PS4 games and has its own set of exclusive games.

This article was last updated on April 28, 2020 by Cody Perez, a Digital Trends employee.

Editor's recommendations




Sony WH-CH710N Headphones Review: A True Wireless Value

Sony WH-CH710N headphones

"Sony's WH-CH710N wireless headphones are great at being good."

  • Excellent battery life

  • Comfortable design

  • Integration of the stellar voice assistant

  • Inconspicuous noise cancellation

The Sony WH-CH710N is the middle ground in the extensive range of wireless headphones from Sony. They have more premium features than Sony's entry-level models, without the premium price of flagship models like the WH-1000XM3.

Without question, some corners had to be cut to achieve this. However, the $ 200 Sony WH-CH710N, which will be available for pre-sale this month, offers more than enough features to make it fascinating – and an important addition to the Sony roster.

Out of the box

Corner No. 1: The box in which the WH-CH710N is delivered is just a box. I will of course not hold that against Sony. If you save price, you will lose some pomp and that is understandable.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Likewise, the WH-CH710N does not include a carrying case. A USB-C charging cable and a headphone cable are also included, as is a picture book that is displayed as a user guide. I found Sony's online help much more useful.

The Bluetooth setup was routine and simple. The WH-CH710N also supports Near Field Communication (NFC), where compatible devices can be paired with the headphones by touching the left ear cup. It was also a breeze. After a week of intensive listening with these headphones paired with a Google Pixel 2, I had no noteworthy connection problems. I also found the range of these Bluetooth 5-supported headphones to be exceptional.

design

I was surprised at the smaller footprint of the WH-CH710N, at least compared to other headphones I've tested recently. They are not exactly light, but for me they were of a good size and weight for longer listening times.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The oval ear pads were soft, but not as soft as you would expect from higher quality products. The headband also felt a little stiffer than I would have liked. These are mostly minor annoyances that have not affected my overall experience.

A total of five buttons are integrated in the WH-CH710N. There is an on / off switch on the left auricle, three buttons for volume and action commands aligned in a row on the right auricle, and a button to toggle between noise canceling and ambient sounds located on the same right auricle. A little learning curve was required to get used to the different buttons, but I was able to use each functionally in no time.

properties

On paper, there seems to be a lot to like about the features of the Sony WH-CH710N. These include the battery life and the compatibility of the voice assistant.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The WH-CH710N offers an estimated playback time of 35 hours with noise reduction activated and 45 hours without noise reduction. This is better than the WH-1000XM3's 30-hour battery life and is enough to take a week's commute without needing to recharge.

For obvious reasons, I didn't commute when I used these headphones. But they survived me with fairly constant use all week, so I can vouch for the longevity of these headphones. It takes approximately seven hours to fully charge the WH-CH710N. However, after 10 minutes of charging, you can play for an hour. It's not quite as fast as the WH-1000XM3, but it's still decent.

My beef mentioned above with the physical instruction manual is about activating voice assistants with the headphones. Based on the physical instructions, it is difficult to set up your preferred voice assistant. However, the online guide contains detailed instructions and quickly guided me through choosing my preferred assistant from the settings on my phone.

I chose Amazon Alexa as my assistant and by long pressing this action button I was able to do everything that I normally use with my Alexa devices, from setting the timer when cooking to controlling light bulbs and other smart home products . It may not be a big deal for everyone, but for a person who often uses smart assistants, flawless integration was a solid benefit.

Audio quality

I'm just going to get this out of the way now: The WH-CH710N won't sound as good as the WH-1000XM3 or other high-end alternatives. You just can't keep up with the clarity and audio quality of these premium wireless headphones.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

This is frankly not a big deal. They shouldn't be able to compete with high quality products in terms of sound, and they didn't have a price for it. What the Sony WH-CH710N had to do sounded good because if they weren't, they'd be a waste of great features.

I have good news. Equipped with 30 mm drivers and a frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz, the WH-CH710N offers what I can best describe as reliable audio quality. Even though I couldn't find a track that blew me away musically, it was difficult for me to come across a song that was misrepresented by the criminal.

If you're looking for high-fidelity sound for a fraction of the price, you'll be disappointed with the WH-CH710N, especially the limited codec support that includes SBC and AAC. But with realistic expectations, I think most people would enjoy how they sound.

Noise cancellation

The WH-CH710N is advertised as noise canceling headphones, but is not an active noise canceling headphones. Instead, Sony implemented a technology called AINC (Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation), which is designed to adapt continuously to the environment in order to create the most effective mode for noise suppression.

To support this, the headphones in each ear cup have a pair of microphones, one forward and one rear, to pick up as much ambient noise as possible. They also have an ambient sound mode to turn on outside noise without having to remove the headphones, and an option to turn off noise cancellation and ambient mode altogether.

In my experience, the AINC included in the WH-CH710N works … to a certain extent. At normal listening volume, some lower frequencies are filtered out well. But some annoying noises still found their way into my listening experience. Such as the neighbors' power tools during a weekend project. The noise canceling has muffled that noise to some extent, but it was nothing more than what I am used to with more premium headphones.

Our opinion

For the right person, the Sony WH-CH710N offers excellent value for money. It has a number of features for its cost if you're okay with sacrificing sound quality and noise canceling ability to keep on budget.

Are there any better alternatives?

It depends on what concessions you want to make. The WH-1000XM3 has dropped significantly in price, but they still cost almost $ 80 more than the $ 199 WH-CH710N. The previous model in the range, the Sony WH-CH700N, has dropped to $ 129 and has similar features, namely an identical battery life. However, the latest model has new components and technologies, which may make the additional costs worthwhile.

How long will they last?

The Sony WH-CH710N headband is rigid, but feels durable just like the rest of the product. As long as they are not misused, they should be your daily doses for the foreseeable future.

Should you buy it

Yes. They are not their more expensive, popular older siblings. Ultimately, the WH-CH710N offers excellent battery life and reasonable sound at a manageable price. They're not the best, but they're great at being good.

Editor's recommendations




Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G Lens Review: The Perfect Astro Lens?

Sony Fe 20mm F18 test lens 7771

Sony FE 20mm f / 1.8G lens test: an excellent landscape lens

"With maximum sharpness and minimal distortion, the 20 mm lens from Sony is an almost perfect astrophotography and landscape lens."

  • Outstanding sharpness

  • Small to no aberrations

  • Light

  • Aperture de-click switch

  • Weatherproof

  • Slight barrel distortion and vignetting

With the exception of third-party manufacturers, the Sony FE 20mm f / 1.8G is the widest full-frame E-mount prime lens to date. It's designed to take more of the scene and offers a 94-degree angle of view – phone photographers can imagine it is between the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle lenses of an iPhone 11 – but adjusts this field of view with a large f / 1 , 8 aperture for excellent low-light performance.

While the focal length and aperture are clear in the name of the lens, other features from Sony such as the "advanced optical design" and the "Dual XD Linear Motor" have to be decoded. (I'll come to that.)

But are these features worth nearly $ 900? Thanks to superior sharpness and minimal distortion, I have to say yes. This is still a niche lens, but its jargon-packed list of features is more than just marketing hype.

Design and specifications

The FE 20mm f / 1.8 is part of Sony's high-end G-series (but not the high-end GM-series) and is housed in a weatherproof, lightweight housing that fits on the A7R IV which I served as a test camera, this review felt at home. These two linear autofocus motors help the lens adjust the performance of modern Alpha series housings, while a dedicated aperture ring with a click switch enhances its appeal for serious video shooters.

The lens feels sturdy and well built. The barrel isn't made of metal, but that helps keep the weight at a reasonable 13 ounces. With a length of 3.5 inches, it doesn't take up much space in the camera bag and accepts modest 67mm filters.

What is not obvious when looking at the lens is the optical design, which consists of 14 elements in 12 groups with an aperture of nine wings that stops up to 1:22.

An aperture ring offers direct control of the aperture without having to rely on a camera-based dial. This takes getting used to, but feels just like how you naturally hold a camera in two hands.

The aperture ring is not just about ergonomics. With the de-click switch, the aperture settings can be adjusted silently and continuously, which is important for video recording. I definitely prefer to enable the click for still images as you can feel how much you've adjusted it without looking. (The aperture value is still displayed in the electronic viewfinder, but the click only feels more reassuring.)

In addition to the aperture ring and the de-click switch, there is a focus lock button and a switch in the lens barrel with which you can easily switch from auto focus to manual mode. A standard focus ring is located on the front of the lens.

Autofocus

This is where the dual XD linear motor system comes in, which is said to generate fast and quiet auto focus. My experience matched these claims. The auto focus is pretty quiet. It is not silent, but it does not distract you when you take pictures in a sensitive environment such as a wedding ceremony.

The speed of the autofocus was in line with the expectations we had of the A7R IV – fast and accurate, only struggling with subjects that most cameras struggle with, such as shiny objects or where there is not much contrast.

The 20 mm focus very close to the front of the lens, about 7 inches. With the large focal length, this is not enough for real macro functions, but I did not expect the generous 0.2x magnification. For a wide-angle lens, this close-up opens up a number of creative possibilities for a variety of subjects.

picture quality

Note that 20 mm is an unusual focal length – 24 mm is much more common for a prime number, since larger angles are usually covered by zooms, e.g. B. the FE 16-35 mm f / 2.8 from Sony. The focal length is ideal not only for taking wide views, but also for exaggerating the distance between objects, while the bright aperture of 1: 1.8 simply cannot be achieved by zooming.

The lens has some barrel distortion towards the edges, but less than expected with a wide-angle lens. Lines near the edges of the frame are gently curved towards the corners, but this can easily be attached to the post.

Vignetting is also a common problem with wide-angle lenses, especially with such large apertures, but the Sony 20mm only had a very slight darkening in the corners. The vignette was completely removed by a slight adjustment of +5 in Lightroom.

However, the resolution is even more impressive. The sharpness was excellent in the middle, even wide open, and really showed what the 61 megapixel A7R IV can do. Lowering the aperture brought a slight improvement, but if you want that dreamy, shallow depth of field, you don't have to worry about sacrificing focus to get it. The edges had only a slight drop in sharpness, which is probably not recognizable in real pictures.

Where the lens really shines is in astrophotography. This is certainly a photographic discipline in which both bright apertures and wide angles are required and where sharpness is of the utmost importance. Stars are represented as tiny pinpricks of light without sagittal coma flickering, even towards the edges of the frame. Together with the resolution of the A7R IV, the lens helped capture an abundance of sharp stars.

Small light sources do not suffer from the usual flares, while larger light sources – such as the sun or the moon – create starbursts. But the flare is well controlled overall in the FE 20 mm, and even hard light didn't cause much of a problem. Occasionally, a starburst was paired with a rainbow arch or a slight color shift, but nothing big. Chromatic aberration also does not appear to be present.

Wide angles are generally not thought of for their bokeh, but the FE 20mm f / 1.8 looks great here. With an aperture of nine sheets, even a stopped recording creates soft, circular blur patterns. I couldn't see any "onion rings" or other strange shapes that bokeh fans like to criticize.

For videos, the lens produced more of the same with sharp details and well-controlled stray light. The clicked aperture is very impressive here; I could hear my own breathing, but no mechanical noise when I set the aperture while recording.

Our opinion

The wide angle, the fast aperture and the high-end optics ensure an excellent mix of the Sony FE 20mm f / 1.8G. The sharpness is excellent, aberrations are minimal or nonexistent and all the things that wide-angle lenses do most struggle – like barrel distortion and vignetting – are minor and barely noticeable on most shots.

For $ 898, this is certainly not a budget prime. But for photographers who regularly pull out a wide angle, the high-quality workmanship and the impressive optics are probably worth it. The lens is ideal for astrophotography, landscapes and any other picture that needs a broad perspective.

Is there a better alternative?

The focal length of 20 mm is not very common, and for e-mount shooters it depends on this Sony that Sigma 20 mm 1: 1.4 DG HSM Art.or just with a zoom.

The Sigma is an excellent lens, but some users complain about corner distortion when shooting stars. Designed as a DSLR lens, it weighs twice as much as the Sony. In addition, there is not the usual financial advantage of a third-party provider, since both lenses cost the same.

However, the Sigma has a brighter aperture of 1: 1.4 for shots where the last bit of light is important. The Sony 20mm is probably the better option for most, as the 1: 1.4 advantage over 1: 1.8 is pretty small, but the size and weight difference is big.

How long it will take?

The Sony 20mm is well built, so the lens should last for several years, apart from a major disaster. Lenses typically have long product lifecycles, so we wouldn't expect a replacement for many years.

Should you buy it

Yes. If you need a bright wide-angle prime in your kit, the Sony FE 20mm f / 1.8G offers excellent quality in a light, durable lens that's not too expensive.

Editor's recommendations