There are five buttons in total built into the WH-CH710N. There’s a power button of the left earcup, three buttons representing volume and action commands aligned in a row on the right earcup, and a button for toggling between noise cancellation and ambient sound modes lower on that same right earcup. It involved a small learning curve to get used to the various buttons, but I was able to functionally use each one in no time. Features Sony estimates battery life to be roughly 35 hours with ANC on, or 45 hours with it off, but your results will also vary with your volume levels. Performance Bluetooth setup was routine and easy. The WH-CH710N also supports near-field communication ( NFC), where compatible devices can pair with the headphones by touching them to the left earcup. That was a breeze, too. After a week of extensive listening with these headphones paired to a Google Pixel 2, I didn’t have any notable connection issues. More than that, I found the range of these Bluetooth 5-supported headphones to be exceptional. Design While it may be tempting to think of the WH-CH710 as an affordable alternative to the much-loved WH-1000XM3 headphones, their lower price means that sacrifices have been made in terms of quality. While noise-cancellation here is great, it isn’t on a par with what you’d get on some more expensive headphones. The Ambient Sound mode doesn’t allow for clear conversation, and the mostly plastic frame doesn’t feel sturdy. The Sony WH-CH710N sounds really good, and I enjoy using it, but it’s not perfect. This headset only gives a mild sort of emphasis to notes in the low end. Bass heads are probably better off with something like the Sony WH-XB910N since it has a much stronger low end. Lows, mids, and highs

Hard Case for Sony WH-CH720N Wireless Headset Bluetooth Noise

That said, they're about half the price of Sony's flagship headphones and while we didn't love the sound during our critical listening tests, they aren't any worse than many other non-HD headphones out there. Their long battery life was a huge boon that allowed us to go several days without needing to recharge them, which is definitely a selling point for people that can never remember to charge their cans. Of course, you can find even better headphones for a bit less - like the JBL Tune 750BTNC, which we highly recommend - or drop a bit more to get a more premium experience. The mic offers decent intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded, but there was some Bluetooth distortion fuzzing up the edges. The mic signal was strong, however, so despite the distortion, the words came through loud and (somewhat) clear. Conclusions The Sony WH-CH710N headband may be rigid, but it feels durable, as does the rest of the product. As long as they’re not abused, these should be able to be your daily cans for the foreseeable future. Should you buy it? This, honestly, isn’t a huge deal. They weren’t meant to be on par with top-quality products in terms of sound, and they weren’t priced to be either. What the Sony WH-CH710N needed to do was sound good, because they’d be a waste of stellar features if they didn’t.The last thing we have to talk about is battery life, which is actually a pretty big highlight for the headphones: they should last about 35 hours on a single charge with noise cancelling turned on and up to 200 hours in standby mode. In fact, listening to them for three days straight at eight hours a day, we didn't even hear the low battery warning. That battery life will likely degrade as time goes on - like all electronics - but out of the box expect these to last you a few days, maybe even a week, between charges. Likewise, there’s no carrying case included with the WH-CH710N. A USB-C charging cable and a headphone cable are included, as is a picture book cosplaying as an operating manual — I found Sony’s online help guide to be significantly more useful. With 30mm drivers powering the sound, the WH-CH710N display a fun and energetic sound. It’s a well-rounded, dynamic listen with bright highs and rumbling lows. Steely Dan’s Do It Again shows off the treble in all its glory. The high-end is nimble and defined, with each instrument distinct from the last. Anytime you start to believe one instrument has claimed the spotlight, the next chimes in prepared to hold its own against the cluster. Yes. They are not their higher-priced, popular older sibling. But at the end of the day, the WH-CH710N deliver excellent battery life and adequate sound for a manageable price. They aren’t the best, but they’re great at being good.

Sony WH-CH710N review | TechRadar Sony WH-CH710N review | TechRadar

The left earcup houses the power/pairing button, as well as connections for the included USB-C charging cable and the 3.5mm headphone cable. Plugging the audio cable in immediately breaks the Bluetooth connection, but you can still use the headphones in active ANC and ambient listening modes. If you’re trying to conserve battery life or the headphones are out of juice, you can also listen in wired, passive mode, though some of the bass response and high-frequency clarity suffers.If you’re after high-fidelity sound for a fraction of the price, you’ll be disappointed with the WH-CH710N, especially with limited codec support that includes SBC and AAC. But, with realistic expectations, I think most people would enjoy how they sound. Noise cancellation The Sony WH-CH710N headphones feature three listening modes: Ambient Sound, Ambient Sound Off, and Noise Cancelling. From my experiences, the AINC featured in the WH-CH710N works … to an extent. At normal listening volumes, it filters out some lower frequencies well. But some jarring noises still found their way into my listening experience. Like, say, the neighbor’s power tools during a weekend project. The noise cancellation dampened these sounds to a degree, but it was nothing like what I’ve grown accustomed to with more premium headphones. Our Take Greater Capacity : The Hard case can fits your Sony WH-CH710N / CH700N Wireless Noise Canceling Extra Bass Headphones perfectly and has a storage area for the cables or charging wire The oval-shaped earpads were soft, just not the kind of soft that you would expect from higher-quality products. The headband also felt a bit more rigid than I would have liked. These are mainly minor annoyances that didn’t take away from my overall experience.

Hard Case for Sony WH-CH700N Wireless Noise Cancelling

That's probably because these aren't Hi-Res Audio headphones, and they don't support many HD codecs - the exception, of course, being AAC. If you don't need exceptional clarity you probably won't mind their sound, but if you're a big audiophile you'll definitely hear the shortcomings. On the right earcup you’ll find your basic control buttons for volume and play/pause, plus a button that controls noise cancellation and ambient sound, two features we’ll talk about more in a minute. You can hold the middle button to bring up your assistant, but you won’t be able to activate it just by saying ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘OK, Google’ as neither come built into the headphones. On the left earcup are a 3.5mm aux port, a power/paring button and USB Type-C port that’s used for charging. While the soundstage does begin to feel somewhat claustrophobic as we move through the song, the headphones allow for a complex layer of high notes to build upon one another. Again, the mids can become somewhat lost in the mix, but there’s a good enough balance of bass and treble that it takes a closer listen to notice this detail. Should you buy the Sony WH-CH710N?

How do you control the WH-CH710N?

Sony has also included voice-assistant support for hands-free calls. Sony WH-CH710N sound – A dynamic listening experience So what, then, do they actually sound like? Well, our first impression of the Sony WH-CH710N’s sound quality was that it sounded energetic and easy-to-listen to. They didn’t overwhelm us with bass (they're not part of Sony’s Extra Bass series) and we thought we heard a clear midrange and rolled off highs. So for lows, the ANC is quite good, while for mids and highs it's merely decent. And keep in mind it does affect the audio slightly—with ANC on, expect increased bass depth and slightly higher overall volume levels. However, these differences are incredibly subtle. Ambient listening mode works well for conversing or hearing your surroundings without removing the headphones. This change of mind return policy is in addition to, and does not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law including any rights you may have in respect of faulty items. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.