Introduction
Sony has a legendary standing within the audio sphere, its premium WF-1000X collection noise-canceling earbuds have been thought to be the gold commonplace for drowning out undesirable noises round you. Sony just lately introduced a extra inexpensive pair of noise-canceling earbuds dubbed WF-C700N with guarantees of immersive sound, potent noise canceling, and as much as 15 hours of complete playback for a grand complete of €130/$120/£100.
These new TWS buds provide a lot of the options discovered on the premium WF-1000X4 for a fraction of the value and are additionally Sony’s lightest noise-canceling earphones thus far measuring simply 4.6 grams per earbud. Can the WF-C700N dwell as much as their lofty claims and the way do they stack as much as the competitors? Let’s discover out.
Design
The C700N are available a compact eco-friendly field made out of recycled supplies. You will get them in black, white, lavender and sage inexperienced colours which all have a pleasant pastel end, particularly with the lavender and inexperienced pairs. The earbuds dwell inside a reasonably slim pill-shaped case with a flat backside. Just like the buds, their case is made out of plastic and incorporates a good textured end which jogs my memory of the again of a DualShock 4 controller. The case lid is well-constructed and closes with a agency snap.
The retail package deal contains the buds, their case, substitute S and XL-sized silicone ideas, and a USB-C cable for charging. Shifting on the buds themselves – they characteristic a stemless design with an oval form and two microphones on every bud. Every bud options a big bodily button that helps programmable single and double faucets in addition to a maintain gesture.
The C700N’s product web page describes their ergonomic design was developed primarily based on Sony’s intensive experience in ear form knowledge and I can affirm these have an important match for my ears and keep put even after hours of use. The buds additionally create an important seal in your ears which helps with their noise-canceling capabilities. The entire package deal is IPX4 splashproof.
Options
Sony C700N pair over Bluetooth 5.2 and help the AAC and SBC audio codecs however skip out on the upper bitrate aptX HD and LDAC variations. You additionally get help for Sony’s 360 Actuality Audio right here and Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DCEE) for compressed audio recordsdata. The buds help Google Quick Pair on Android units. There’s no multi-point pairing at launch however the characteristic is promised to reach by way of a software program replace later this summer time.
The important thing characteristic of the C700N is their energetic noise cancelation with noise sensor know-how and ambient sound mode. Sony’s Headphones Join app for Android and iOS is your one-stop store for controlling the C700N. The app has an intuitive design and offers you a wonderful degree of management for the audio equalizer in addition to the noise cancelation and ambient sound modes. One factor to notice is that the app requires fixed location monitoring to work correctly.
The adaptive sound management routinely switches between the noise canceling and ambient modes primarily based in your surrounding. It has 4 profiles – staying, strolling, working and transport. The center two choices have Ambient Sound toggled on so you’ll be able to hear your environment when on the transfer whereas the opposite two are set to noise canceling mode.
WF-C700N deliver customized Sony 5mm dynamic drivers. You additionally get Sony’s concentrate on voice setting which senses whenever you’re speaking to somebody round you and immediately activates ambient mode with out pausing your audio. You may also register location-based adaptive sound management modes and EQ settings for locations you frequent and the earbuds will routinely enter the particular mode you’ve chosen for the particular location.
The C700N lack a put on detection sensor which is disappointing provided that it is a commonplace characteristic even on inexpensive earbuds we’ve reviewed. There’s no wi-fi charging both so that you’ll need to make do with USB-C for top-ups.
Efficiency and Sound high quality
Sony C700N provide nice noise canceling for his or her dimension – you’ll be able to simply put them in your ears and immediately really feel the extent of static noise round you go down a number of notches. You don’t even have to play music to note the distinction which is nice for public transport commutes or whenever you simply wish to focus with none distractions. Testing these earphones in an workplace surroundings was nice for drowning out all of the mundane noises just like the AC, water cooler and the fixed commotion across the office.
On the road, the buds dealt with loud automobiles and busy strolling areas effectively with out completely isolating you from actuality just like the extra premium Sony earbuds and over-ear headphones. Noise cancelation on the C700N will not be on the extent of Sony’s premium WF-1000X4 earbuds nevertheless it’s nonetheless fairly good contemplating the C700N are available a lighter type issue and are inexpensive.
We additionally discovered the match on the C700N to be actually comfy even after hours of use. The seal created from the silicone ideas was actually good and positively helped the noise-canceling efficiency.
The ambient mode works as marketed by letting in sufficient of the surface noise out of your environment which is kind of helpful when strolling round downtown or going for a run. You may also manually alter how a lot sound is let in by way of the ambient sound mode’s 20-level slider.
The adaptive sound management characteristic which toggles between noise cancelation and ambient mode primarily based in your exercise additionally labored effectively throughout our testing. It could often take just a few seconds to activate ambient mode once I bought as much as stroll round and would then resume ANC mode a short time after I took a seat.
Shifting on to the sound efficiency, the C700N deliver a balanced sound profile marketed to succeed in the usual 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz listening to vary. The default EQ setting is flat and packs first rate mid-range sound copy however that’s the place the customized EQ settings come to play. There’s a complete of eight presets right here and you may also create as much as three customized profiles.
I discovered the Excited EQ good for many varieties of music however you’re additionally free to tweak all eight modes to your liking. This degree of management over the equalizer isn’t seen at this worth degree and is a much-welcome addition. The CN700N can even get loads loud in the event you want them to. Sony’s DSEE audio upscaling didn’t make a noticeable distinction when testing decrease bitrate audio sources.
Name high quality is a step up from equally priced earbuds with individuals on the opposite finish reporting clear and pure reception of my voice. Stronger winds would muffle up the expertise however that’s the case even on premium earbuds.
The bodily button management on the buds labored flawlessly every time which isn’t at all times the case with opponents that depend on touch-sensitive controls. Having the ability to reprogram the button actions and having quantity controls on the buds was neat. Connectivity efficiency was on level with no dropouts when testing on an iPhone, Android pill and MacBook.
Battery life
Sony is promoting as much as 7.5 – 8 hours of playback for the earbuds (with ANC on) whereas their charging case extends the entire run time to fifteen hours. These claims have been reproduced throughout our testing however that’s effectively beneath opponents that may last as long as twice as lengthy. The charging case offers one full recharge of the buds after their batteries are depleted.
A full recharge cycle for the earbuds takes about 90 minutes whereas the case wants three hours to get again to 100%. A fast 10 min cost will internet you as much as an hour of playback.
Verdict
The Sony WF-C700N checks the three core pillars of an important pair of wi-fi earbuds – good sound high quality, potent noise cancelation and a snug match. The buds and their case really feel well-made and are gentle sufficient to hold round in your pockets and in your ears for hours at a time. The extent of noise canceling is above opponents within the worth vary and is even aggressive with pricier choices from Sony, Samsung and Apple.
The sound high quality is sweet and the added EQ management from the Sony Headphones Join app is stellar. Battery life falls in need of competing buds which might last as long as 30 hours with their charging circumstances. The absence of damage detection is a bummer and we’d have appreciated to see wi-fi charging on right here too. We additionally hope to see the promised multipoint pairing software program replace right here as quickly as attainable which can make these buds an excellent sweeter package deal.
In case you are available in the market for a pair of wi-fi earbuds within the €100/$100/£100 vary then you need to critically contemplate the Sony WF-C700N as they’re an important general package deal.
