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Engadget
an hour ago
- Engadget
Sony WF-C710N review: More than midrange
Sony's 1000X earbuds may get most of the attention in the company's lineup, but there are gems to be found on the roster for less money. The LinkBuds series offers some serious contenders for $100 less than the flagship WF-1000XM5. There have also been some compelling products under $150 from Sony, and the recently released WF-C710N ( $120 ) also fits the bill. A comfortable fit, a long list of features and above-average ANC performance lead the positives here, but there are a few caveats you'll need to consider before you commit. The WF-C710N outperforms similarly priced competitors in several areas, but don't expect flagship-quality audio at this price. $88 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $90 at Target$90 at Best Buy The WF-C710N is the successor to the WF-C700N that debuted in 2023. That set was a formidable mid-range contender in its own right, thanks to a compact design and handy features. Sony didn't change the overall look too much for the C710N, but the touch panels for the controls are easier to find since they're now concave circles. The company also introduced a transparent blue color option that allows you to see inside the earbuds and case. It's giving Beats Solo Buds and Studio Buds + vibes, but I'm all for it. In my opinion, the more transparent gadgets, the better. Compared to much of the competition, the C710N's smaller size also means it is more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The earbuds sit on the ridges of my ears nicely, and there isn't any unbalanced, excess weight projecting out from the side of my head. It's clear Sony fine-tuned the ergonomics for all-day use, and I had no trouble wearing them for the entirety of my battery tests. That's not always the case with larger, bulkier earbuds. The C710N might be a midrange set at $120, but the long list of features allows the earbuds to punch above their weight. Starting with the basics, there's active noise cancellation (ANC), adjustable ambient sound mode, customizable EQ (presets and sliders), multipoint connectivity, reconfigurable touch controls and automatic pausing when the buds are removed from your ears. On the more advanced end of the spec sheet, you get Adaptive Sound Control: Sony's trademark tool that automates changes to sound settings based on activity or location. There's also a personalized EQ, 360 Reality Audio support, DSEE upscaling and a Quick Attention feature that lowers the volume and activates ambient sound for any brief chats. The only notable omission here is Speak-to-Chat that does the same thing as Quick Attention automatically when you start talking, but I'm not surprised it was left off a pair of $120 earbuds. ANC performance is remarkably strong on the C710N, a feat that typically eludes the competition in this price range. In particular, I noticed these earbuds do an above average job of blocking human voices as I was able to greatly reduce the volume of nearby chatter in most instances. I'm not talking complete silence, but the amount of noise blocking is above average when you're in the vicinity of someone you'd rather not listen to at full volume. Constant distractions like loud fans are also reduced but not entirely thwarted, so that too is better than what you'll get from a lot of the similarly priced options. Billy Steele for Engadget Compared to other midrange earbuds, sound quality is slightly above average on the C710N, but it could be good enough to satisfy you at this price. The bass is tight and punchy, but oftentimes it overpowers the mix for hip-hop, rock and metal — basically any genre with a driving beat. And when you switch to something more mellow like bluegrass, the low-end tone still constrains the treble and mid range. Depending on the song, highs can cut through, but a boost in the middle of the EQ would do wonders for overall depth of sound here (you'll want to keep DSEE active). Is it good enough for someone looking to pick up a set of earbuds on a budget? Yes. Does the audio performance compete with flagship options like the WF-1000XM5 ? Not even close. In my tests, the C710N didn't last as long as Sony promised. The company says you'll get up to eight and a half hours on a charge with ANC active. But, using a mix of noise cancelling and ambient sound modes, I only managed between six and a half and seven hours. That's a respectable amount, but if you're looking to wear these for an entire work day, you might not make it. That's especially true if you need them to also stick around for your commute. Despite offering the option to 'Capture Voice During a Phone Call' in the Sound Connect app, the C710N doesn't pipe much of you back through the earbuds in that scenario. Even with ambient sound active, I still felt the need to speak up more than normal, so voice and video calls weren't as natural as they could be. Overall, Sony's assurance of 'crystal-clear calls' falls flat as you'll sound decent, but not pristine. The C710N will block most background noise from coming through, but in doing so the quality of your voice greatly suffers. All of that means these earbuds are usable for calls if you really need them, but if sounding comprehensible in calls is important , you'll want to look elsewhere. If comfort and handy features are your primary concern, the C710N will serve you well. Sound quality isn't the best, but it isn't bad either, so I have no doubt that many people will be pleased with it. If I had been able to hit (or even surpass) Sony's stated battery life, these earbuds would be easy to recommend. Despite that, they're still a solid option, especially at $120, since the company once again outpaces its midrange rivals with more convenient tools than you'll find anywhere else. The C710N is definitely a better choice than the slightly cheaper Beats Solo Buds , which are now $99.95 at full price ($80 at launch). The transparent option allows you to see the inner workings of the WF-C710N.
Tom's Guide
19-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
Beyerdynamic Amiron 100 review: A solid AirPods 4 alternative, If you can get them
Price £159/ No US priceConnectivity Bluetooth 5.3ANC YesBattery 6 hours (ANC on) 8 hours (ANC off) 27 hours (Case)Weight 0.091 poundsDimensions 1.6 x 1.01 x 1.9 inchesColors Cream, BlackCompatibility iOS, AndroidFrequency response 10Hz - 22kHz Earbuds. It sometimes feels like they're a dime a dozen — a quagmire of a product category with loads of contenders that do little to set themselves apart from the rest of the space. Case in point: The Beyerdynamic Amiron 100, a pair of buds that look and sound pretty good, but aren't all that available and don't quite do enough to set themselves apart. What do I mean? Look at them — an attractive pair of buds, yes, but their rounded charging case and en-stemmed shells make them look like a lot of the competition. Their feature set is much like everything else around, with similar battery life and shared codec support with the nearest competition. Before I get in-depth with the Amiron 100 — which are actually quite good, despite their identity crisis — I'd like to say one thing. Most people are going to be better off with Sony's cheaper WF-C710N and their more interesting colorways. So, who are the Amiron 100 for, and are they some of the best wireless earbuds? Let's find out. First things first — you can't get the Amiron 100 in the U.S.. You can get their stablemates, the excellent Amiron 300 (which are worth the extra $100) stateside along with their over-ear cousins the Aventho 300 (which are also worth the extra dollars). It's a shame that there's no availability as yet for the Amiron 100, although it's not like you're not well served for alternatives. If they do come to the States, it's likely that they'll launch at the same price as in the U.K.. Here, they cost £159. That makes them a direct competitor to the AirPods 4 with ANC — and I'd say they're a very viable alternative to Apple's in-ear buds. In the end, that's all a moot point. If you're looking for a pair of earbuds to rival Apple's option, you're still best served by Sony's excellent $119 WF-C710N. Had Beyerdynamic launched the Amiron 100 a year ago, things would be different — but Sony's budget buds have completely shifted the 'affordable earbuds' landscape. It's almost not fair. Either way, you're not going to get them in the States yet, and while there are compelling reasons to choose them if they arrive, Sony's buds are so well priced it's hard to justify. With their smooth case and tiny bud size, the Amiron 100 are an attractive pair of earbuds. I've got the Cream color option here, and it is a nice change from the usual white options that tend to dominate the field. The color highlights are nice too. Here, it's a kind of light bronzy silver, and it glints nicely in the light for some extra design glitter. It's all plastic, but there's a nice metallic sheen to make sure they look premium. Considering their price point, I'd say they look pretty good. They are slightly larger than the competition, like the AirPods 4 ANC. The stems are chunkier, longer, and much fatter, but it doesn't make much of a difference once they're seated in your ears. The case is shaped well and slips nicely into a pocket, although it's not as minuscule as the AirPods charger. You get more battery as a result, though. Fit is the highlight of the package. As with so many buds that recognize that your ear canals aren't completely circular, the Amiron 100 feature ovular tips that don't reach too far into your ears — and it makes for a very comfortable fit. You might want to size up from the options that come pre-attached. I had to go for the L size for a better seal to improve ANC and bass reproduction. They're light too boot, so they don't get fatiguing over time. They're not going to rest on the concha of your ear either, so you don't have to worry about undue pressure. I'd say they're up there with some of the most comfortable earbuds that I've ever tried. High praise indeed. Build is also very good, with a high-quality fit and finish. The plastics on use feel chunky and premium, and the metal hinge on the charging case is a nice touch. That closes with a satisfying 'click' as well, making them feel more expensive than they actually are. It's almost AirPods Pro 2 like. As a more affordable pair of buds, I wasn't expecting an exhaustive list of features to go through — but there are some that would have been nice to get. There's only support for SBC, AAC; AKA, the barest minimum. That's about what you'd expect at this price though, so it's not the biggest bugbear. Some will be upset to see that there's no spatial audio component here, given that the AirPods 4 support Apple's standard. It's a shame that it's not there, but given how well Beyerdynamics' implementation has worked on more expensive buds and headphones, I'm not too rattled that it's not here. The Beyerdyamic app remains an absolute treat, though. It connects immediately to your earbuds and then gives you a nice list of things that you can do with them. There are the expected settings — ANC on and off, voice assistant control, wear detect control, and the like. There's also settings for EQ, with a surprisingly powerful 5 adjustable bands. That's more than some (Bose), and around the same as others (Sony), and it's a nice extra to have. It's more important than you think as well, as I'll allude to later, given you'll want to adjust the highs so that they sound their absolute best. I like the battery readouts in the app as well, although they can be confusing. It's good to see how many hours you've got remaining, although they often don't match up with the specs that Beyerdynamic put on the box — I'll never turn my nose up at more battery in my earbuds, if I actually get more battery. The feature set of the Amiron 100 is about what you'd expect for the price. There are some 'nice to haves' that are missing, but you're otherwise set with an expected array of features. Previously, ANC at this price would come with a caveat — 'they're low cost, so you can't expect noise canceling that cancels out all of the noise like the really expensive models.' There's still a smidgen of truth to that, but thanks to the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds and the Sony WF-C710N, excellent ANC is more than within reach for the budget-conscious consumer. Which means it's not an excuse that the Amiron 100 can pull out of their hat to justify the disappointing noise canceling performance. It's fine. When music is playing, you'll block out the sound of a busy office environment or an incessant AC system, but little more than that. Train carriages are quietened and buses become at least quieter, but when you compare the performance to some of the competition, they don't manage to stack up. Even with music playing, my clacking keyboard can make it through, and the sounds of the outside world are able to creep into my listening. It seems like Beyerdynamic has focused on the low range, which does make some sense. The sounds of engines, for example, do melt away. But that's apparently led to a compromise in higher-range cancelation, with tire noise and fan sounds a particular issue. It's not bad. It does the job. But considering how good the ANC is from the similarly priced Bose option and the even cheaper Sony buds, it does feel like a missed opportunity. The Amiron 100 are fine for most kinds of calling. To give them a test, I called a friend to chat. They've got solid mics inside, which make sure that I sound great to my call recipient, with plenty of clarity to my voice. There was no crackle or static to the call, and in a quiet environment, they had little problem making the call sound decent. They struggled a bit more in a noisy environment, in my case, a busy cafe. The microphone could hear my voice, but it struggled to separate it from the conversations and ambient sounds of the coffee shop. It was fine, and I could have a conversation, but it wasn't up there in noise isolation with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds. My friend came through clearly, and I had no issues hearing what they had to say. The Amiron 100 will be just fine for normal calling and conversation — although, as always, you might want something more dedicated for professional situations. The moment you connect the Amiron to your phone and open the Beyerdynamic app to explore the settings and features, there's one thing you're going to want to do first. Head into the EQ settings, make a new custom setting, and dial the highs down by about -1 and -2. Adjust the top two sliders for the best effect. That way, you'll dial in what are some very pervasive high frequencies. Pre-adjustment, cymbals are too piercing, and other highs can get uncomfortably loud. Once correctly changed, you'll give the mids more space to breathe and kill off some of the unfortunate sibilance and the metallic, synthetic edge. Once I'd adjusted my pair I was able to sit down for some proper testing with Qobuz, one of the best music streaming services. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make use of Qobuz's excellent hi-res streaming thanks to a lack of a compatible codec, but the better the track to downsample, the better the end result in my ear holes. Soilworks Harvest Spine roars with a melodic fury, blistering drum beats pummeling the listener into submission. Those kick drum hits are impactful and well-defined too, which is big bonus, and the bass guitar does a good job of standing out amongst the noise. The mids make sure the distorted guitar lines are represented well, and now that the highs are properly dialled in, the guitar solos and cymbals are crisp and clear. Soundstage is very good for a pair of earbuds, making sure that the Swedish Ensemble are well spaced apart. Instrument separation is good as well, although there is some melding of the cymbals and some of the guitar distortion. The multi-layered orchestral stylings of Ichiko Aoba's COLORATURA descend into the depths of an atmospheric ocean, and the buds do a good job of replicating the delicacies of Aoba's composition. Twinkling highs give way to a simple piano, giving the Amiron 100 ample opportunity to show off their mid-range talents. The bass line is reasonably well defined, although some of the finer detail is lost (I'd wager down to the lack of hi-res codec and a slightly sloppier bass response). It's a moving experience though, and the Amiron 100 give a stand-up performance. Pat Metheny's Last Train Home and its chuffing hihats and smooth guitar line are a test for any set of buds, and the Amiron do an admirable job. There's some great space to the recording, with each instrument easy to place within the mix. The piano to the right is well defined with good decay, while the bass skips and jumps with reasonable timing. There's perhaps some control issues in the low end on occasion, but it's otherwise a great jazzy experience. The stats presented by Beyerdynamic are about what you'd expect from a pair of earbuds that cost under $200. That's more than Apple's AirPods line, and around the same as the Bose offering. Not quite as much as Sony's cheaper offering, though. I did see some strangeness with the battery while I was testing though. The battery percentage readout while I had ANC on at mid-volume told me they'd last for 7.5 hours when fully charged — that's the claim for the ANC off. Some listening later (2 hours), and the buds had dropped to 5 hours. That's half an hour of battery that's melted into the nether, but it's still more than the claimed battery life on the box. You'll likely be able to pull more than the claimed battery then, which is always a bonus. It doesn't stop the battery readout from being strangely inaccurate, however, and I'd wager the app overestimates how much listening time you actually have left. The Amiron 100 are not a bad pair of buds by any stretch of the imagination. They sound fine, much better than the AirPods 4, and they're built impeccably well. They're comfortable, relatively handsome, and they make a fine case for 159 of your finest British pounds. But there are two main problems. The first is the availability — Stateside, we're yet to see a release date. They might not even arrive at all. Then there's the second, and it's a transparent blue one; the Sony WF-C710N. They've managed to shake the space up more than I'd considered, and made life far trickier for buds that cost more than $119. Their performance is comparable in many ways. They do sound good, and they've got decent battery. But the Sonys are so much cheaper and offer better ANC that the potential savings make so much more sense. Don't worry about their lack of U.S. sales — just buy the WF-C710N.
Tom's Guide
15-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
I review headphones for a living, and even I'm confused about how they're named
I'm done. I can't take it anymore — my brain melts at the sheer variety of headphones, specifically the names given to them. Confusing product line naming, annoying product titles that consist of little more than numbers, letters, and dashes — It's all just a bit too much. Perhaps I'm not as clever as I once thought. But still, there should be some thought that goes into how headphones are named, to make it easier to decode for people like me. And maybe you. What's 'professional' about my earbuds? Why is this new pair of earbuds named the same as a product from a few years ago that's still on sale? If you're pulling your hair out at just how confusing the world of headphones can be right now, you're not alone. And if I struggle? I can only imagine what it's like for someone who doesn't literally live headphones. Here's a look at a few of the top headphone makers and their baffling naming conventions. Sony is the first culprit on my list. I get that the XM series headphones are the best wireless headphones you make, but why is there only a letter difference between the headphones and the earbuds? And what's with all the other numbers? The WF and the WH. The former are earbuds, the latter headphones. Ah, great, that works with some of the cheaper models as well — the WF-C710N. But unless I'm in the know, how am I supposed to know that they're not as good as the WF-1000XM5? I guess the price would give it away, but if I were going by name, I wouldn't know. But wait, it gets worse! Linkbuds — without press releases and people like me writing about them at length, how would you know where they sit in the Sony product line? At least they're named better than before, the Linkbuds Fit (which fit into your ears) and the Linkbuds Open (which sit on the outside of your ear). That at least gives you some idea of what they do and how they work without research. Then there's the ULT headphones, with different names again… The XM5s are Sony's premium noise-canceling headphones and our pick for the best headphones on the market. The large, over-ear cushions are incredibly comfortable and the active noise cancelation is excellent. Plus, these amazing headphones still give you up to 30 hours with ANC enabled. You can push that up to 40 hours of battery life with ANC turned check: $329 @ Walmart | $319 @ Best Buy Bose, you're not immune. Your current lineup isn't terribly named. The QuietComfort Ultra headphones and Earbuds are obviously at the top of the product line, while the QuietComfort headphones and earbuds are the cheaper option. Good. The issue is that you can still buy old models of the top-of-the-range models in some places, and they lack the Ultra moniker, despite looking the same. The QuietComfort headphones look identical to the older QC45, and you can still sometimes find the NC-700 headphones in some places. Look, you're trying to do better, but there's still confusion to be found here. The 4.5-star QuietComfort Ultra headphones are the best noise-canceling headphones that you can buy right now. That's thanks to Bose's excellent ANC algorithm, which manages to block more noise than any other pair of headphones we've tested. They sound great as well, boast a decent attempt at Spatial Audio, and while the 24-hour battery life isn't the best, they are still a solid pair of cans. Bowers & Wilkins! You're not getting off scott free. I love your headphones, but the naming is getting… interesting. Before I knew the ins and outs of the B&W headphones line, I thought that the Px8 was the successor to the Px7—but no. The Px7 is its own product line, with sequels and new models. Similarly, the Px8 is now a product line, with successors to the throne. There's the Px7 S2 and Px7 S3, although there was a Px7 S2e (an 'evolution' to the line) in between. Similarly, there's going to be a Px8 S2 at some point. Then there are the buds. The Pi8 — the top of the range buds, makes sense — and the cheaper option are called the… Pi6? Not the Pi7, following the headphones? Don't worry, though, there aren't any S2 or S3 models here. Yet. And what's with all the Pros? And why does it appear in different parts of the name? Apple AirPods Pro 2. Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Am I going to be using these buds in a professional recording studio? I don't think so – it generally just means 'these are the best ones.' But why. If you're shopping for just a pair of Sony headphones, you could probably work out the names, feature sets and price points on your own and choose the right pair for you. The same for all the big brands, I'd imagine, is true. In a vacuum, the naming conventions in some way work so that you can tell them apart. But, when you are shopping amongst all the brands (and there are more with different naming conventions, like Apple, Sennheiser, and Samsung), it soon becomes a murky mire of names, price points, and feature sets. Choosing headphones is not easy at the best of times, and working out what you want when you can't decode endless product codes and names isn't helping matters at all. What can be done to solve the issue? I mean, some form of uniform naming convention would be nice, like what Bose is trying to do, but even then, it would get confusing if they're named too close to older models. As far as I'm concerned, it's an issue that's inherent to a long-running and well-filled product category — one that's not going to go away. At least it's not as bad as it is for laptops and computers. I'm sorry, computing team — you guys have it rough.
