Friday, November 15, 2024
Latest:
Android

sensible purchase in its price segment

Luisa Rey

In recent years, Androidworld has been flooded with headsets. In addition to the over-ears, there are many brands and models that have in-ears. to offer. Not every brand holds its own when it comes to quality. Sony is one of the brands that has been putting high quality products on the market for years. In this review we discuss Sony’s WF-C700N earbuds.

Sony WF-C700N

Sony has a line of in-ears that has a product for every budget. You can buy the Sony WF-C500 for under 70 euros and the WF-C700N for a price of 119 euros over the (digital) counter. These earbuds are on the low end of the mid-range segment and in this review I’m assessing whether they deliver value for money or perhaps more.

Sony WF-C700N: the plus points

1. Comfort

I must confess that the form factor of the WF-C700N is not my favorite. Ears with sticks stay in place just a bit better for me, but that is of course different for everyone. That said, these in-ears stayed in my ears well and that is mainly due to the light weight at 4.6 grams each, the earphones are very light and do not ‘hang’ in your ears and are comfortable to wear . By the way, you get three sizes of silicone caps with the ears.

2. Noise cancelling

You can expect something in terms of noise canceling from a company that markets top products such as the Sony WH-1000XM5. Despite the small size of the earplugs, with the WF-C700N they have put a product on the market with very good noise cancelling. The difference with the Nothing Ear (2) is definitely very big and these Sony’s definitely come out as the winner in the test. There’s also an Ambient Mode that lets some of the ambient noise through so you’re aware of what’s going on around you and coming at you. The latter is extremely useful in traffic and should be mandatory from me.

A nice feature that I unfortunately haven’t been able to fully test is Adaptive Sound Control. This invention adjusts the degree of noise canceling based on where you are and what you do. If you give permission, this function can even remember which settings you have used where. Then you no longer have to switch to your favorite setting at your workplace, the gym or at home.

Related articles

3. Operation

Fortunately, Sony has also opted for the buttons in terms of operation and not the touch controls that I have been arguing with for years. The large buttons on the outside provide clear feedback but are easy to operate. They are also quite large, so putting the music on pause because someone asks you something is very quick and easy. Via the app you can assign the functions to the left and right button. In my case I chose between play and pause on the left and turn on noise canceling on the right.

4. Sound

I’ve written it before in the reviews of sound products, you can argue about sound. So I can only give you my opinion here and compare it to the other products I use. Then I have to come to the conclusion that Sony also achieves an excellent result here. The sound is nice and ‘dry’ and by that I mean that no extras are added to the sound by default. Also, there is no distortion when I play the music at high volume. Of course you can choose a setting that suits you via the accompanying app.

Some people will be horrified by it, but I’m the type who still has a conversation on the phone and not just with my mother. With these in-ears you receive good call quality thanks to the large microphones on the outside that also filter out annoying noises such as wind for me, so that my conversation partner can actually understand me.

Sony WF C700N review: sensible purchase in its price segment

5. Complete

With the WF-C700N (really those Sony product names) you buy a complete product. For example, you can use multipoint so that you can connect to multiple devices at the same time. This is useful when you listen to music via your laptop and a call comes in on your phone. When you buy the earplugs, this function does not fully work yet, you still have to manually switch to another device automatically, but that will soon be solved via an update.

The in-ears are splash-proof and can withstand sweat, so you can use them during a running session or while powerlifting in the gym. The case is less ‘showy’ than that of the aforementioned Nothing Ear (2), unless you opt for one of the more flashy colors. In addition to white and black, you can choose sage green and lavender (purple).

Incidentally, setting up these earbuds is very easy. Like other in-ears, it scans your ears, with Sony it works by taking a picture of my ears. These photos help the app see what works best for you. The pairing itself is done via Google’s Fast Pair.

FastPair from Google

The app would like a picture of my ears

Sony WF-C700N: the downsides

1. The app

Not everyone will mind, but I do. The app you use to set up and manage the WF-C700N isn’t pretty. I’ve spent over 500 hours listening to music and podcasts through Sony headphones over the last few years and I’m just getting used to it. Honesty commands me to say that the app does everything it should do. A point of attention is that when you look in the app, the battery percentage of the earphones always remains at 100% and only the case is reduced. I assume this will be fixed in an update soon.

2. The battery

You charge with the case that has a pill shape and is therefore easy to store. From the case and the earphones you can use the battery for about 7.5 hours when you have the noise canceling on, if you turn it off you get an extra 2.5 hours. If you’re going to use them for long online meetings, you’ll get 5 hours out of them. During the short time with these in-ears, I have every reason to believe that the described battery life is actually correct. There is nothing wrong with the battery itself, but the capacity is on the low side. That doesn’t have to be a problem as long as you charge it on time. Especially for those who use the earplugs very frequently. If you need to charge, you’ll be on your way again in no time with the fast charging function.

Conclusion

If you are looking for new earplugs in the price range of around 100 euros, I would definitely consider this Sony WF-C700N. This product offers a lot for a price of € 119.00. It is light, the noise canceling is very good and the critical listener will also enjoy the sound you get from the Sony WF-C700N.