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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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
XANAD Hard Case for Sony WH-CH720N /WH-CH710N / CH700N
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. 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 WH-CH710N headphones feature both NFC and Bluetooth, so you have the option to either connect manually with Bluetooth or to simply touch your NFC-enabled device to the “N” mark. I chose to use Bluetooth to stream music and connection was swift and stable every time. 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 WH-CH710N are touted as noise-canceling headphones, but they don’t have active noise cancellation technology (ANC) like the WH-1000XM3. Instead, Sony implemented what’s essentially its second-tier, cheaper technology called Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation (AINC), which it said is designed to constantly adapt to the environment around it to create the most effective mode for noise cancellation. 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 The Ambient Sound mode, on the other hand, was disappointing. While I could tell that my housemates were talking, I struggled to make out specific words and phrases. This is especially difficult when the volume is boosted above mid-way. I also had difficulty discerning the difference between Ambient Sound and Ambient Sound Off. That said, there was no noticeable change in sound quality when cycling through the three modes, which was pleasant since ANC can sometimes throw the tonal balance off-kilter.
Case for Sony WH-CH720N, Sony WH L LTGEM Hard Headphone Case for Sony WH-CH720N, Sony WH
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.
How do you control the WH-CH710N?
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? Sony has also included voice-assistant support for hands-free calls. Sony WH-CH710N sound – A dynamic listening 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 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
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