If your headphones are running low on power, a 10-minute quick charge will give you up to 90 minutes of play. When you pair a second or subsequent device (the headset has pairing information for other devices), press and hold the (power) button for about 7 seconds. The time window to skip back a track is so narrow using the buttons that it’s almost impossible to actually go back.

WH-CH510 Wireless Headphones | Sony United Kingdom

Take a look at our best on-ear headphones guide for more options, but the Sony WH-CH510 hold their own compared to rivals. We’re disproportionately excited to see a budget product adopt this future-proofed port instead of micro USB. The plastic headband, swivel joints, and ear cup housing don’t feel remotely rugged and we’d be remiss to recommend “chucking” them in your bag or treating them at all unkindly. Unlike many of the higher-end models of Sony headphones, there is no wired option for listening here.

There’s definitely a lack of rumble in pretty much any Run the Jewels songs or movies with a lot of explosions or huge machines in them, but on the whole bass sounds come in at least loud enough to be heard over competing vocals. Of course, the upshot of all this is that they’re incredibly lightweight which, coupled with their diminutive size, makes them ultra portable. They’re responsible for the usual array of play/pause, volume up/down, and skip forward/back options but they also allow you to activate your device’s voice assistant. This is a standard feature of most Bluetooth headphones, and it’s an extreme rarity that it malfunctions. You may want to cancel out noise on your daily commute, during a flight, or block out noisy neighbours.

WH-CH510 | Sony UK Questions and Answers about WH-CH510 | Sony UK

port on most modern smartphones while the lightweight, plastic construction improves their portability and comfort. Sidetone is similar to a transparency mode on noise canceling headphones, but with the not-so-fun drawback that you can’t turn it off on this set of headphones.As expected of inexpensive headphones, the Sony WH-CH510 has a very basic foam and soft coating for ear pads. If you put the Sony WH-CH510 on your head without turning them on, they do fairly well despite the caveats above, but they’re definitely not the headphones you want for an intercontinental flight for example. The fact that these Sony WH-CH510 headphones are in the on-ear format means you won’t quite get the audio quality that over-ear competitors offer.

WH-CH510 Wireless Headphones | Sony South Africa WH-CH510 Wireless Headphones | Sony South Africa

Because it’s frankly insane that wireless headphones could cost this little, not to mention a pair like the Sony WH-CH510 that has decent sound, a USB-C port, and 35 hours of battery life. It doesn’t fold or collapse any further to make for a more compact package (although the cups do swivel 90° and flatten), but the fewer hinges the better in this case as we suspect that will be the first point of failure. The volume level and sensitivity of the Sidetone function cannot be adjusted, and the function cannot be turned off.

This is largely due to the smaller cups not creating a seal, as well as offering less sense of space. While it’s a fairly standard feature on higher-end headphones, this inclusion is a pretty nice add at the entry level. Apart from the Sony logo on both cups, the only other flourish is a simple diamond grid texture covering most of its exterior.