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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2023
I bought these primarily for studying so I can block out other noisy students in the library and wear them for long amounts of time without my ears getting sore. I also chose these because Sony seems to make good headphones, and I really liked the design- they aren’t too huge and bulky.
PROs:
Comfortable, I wear these for hours at a time in the library. Of course every so often I take them off for 5 minutes when my ears get warm but that’s inevitable. Happy with how comfortable they are because I also wear hijab, which means I already have 2 layers of fabric over my ears which makes most headphones so uncomfortable and painful to wear. The top band is squishy so it doesn’t hurt your head much.
The sound is lovely, but I’m no expert or that fussed over sound so I don’t know how it holds up against others. But I noticed a big difference with my other headphones, the music sounds great and you can adjust the settings from the app.
The noise cancelling mode is pretty good. Again I have no real point of comparison. It mostly blocks background noise, not people’s voices. Voices become muted, especially if it’s a crowd, but you can still hear people talking around you which is a bit of a bummer. But they are great for blocking other sounds- for example on the motorway, they totally block out the sounds of the road and cars. When I take them off I get shocked by how loud it is. This is great if you get overstimulated. Sometimes I wear them without playing anything just for some quiet. They block out some noise even without turning them on.
The app is good, you can adjust the noise cancelling. NC mode sometimes gives me a headache after a while, not sure why, so I often switch to ambient mode.
Battery strength is good. You should charge it every night if you’re going to use it a lot though. The only times it’s ran out is when I haven’t charged it in a few days despite heavy use. You could definitely charge it fully once and use it non stop for a car and plane journey- I’ve done that.
Very light considering the size. They aren’t heavy enough to hurt your head. Sometimes my scalp hurts after a while but that would happen with any sustained pressure. I just shift them forward or backwards and its fine. They’re pretty secure, enough to run in, but not sure of they’re tight enough to exercise at all angles with, you know moving your head up and down. I think if they were any tighter they’d be uncomfortable anyway so I don’t mind.
They’re pretty sturdy, not floppy lile my other smaller headphones from Sony.
I got it in white and I don’t regret it. They look very stylish. I hesitated because in the picture it looks paper white, but it’s a bit more muted in person, with hints of grey.
CONs:
Despite being generally comfortable, there’s a really annoying piece of plastic in the ear that pokes at my ear sometimes. I don’t know if it’s because my ears/head are sort of big but it’s irritating sometimes. I have to shift it around.
They don’t fold up. If they did they’d be so much easier to transport. As it is, I wear them around my neck, as the ear pieces thankfully do twist around. Still I think they’d be easier to take care of if they folded. It’s sort of risky just putting them in your bag, unless you can be bothered to carry them in a proper case which admittedly I rarely do. I had to buy a separate case for around £14 so add that to your tally.
The buttons feel a bit cheap, they’re quite clicky, not very soft. I don’t really care about that sort of thing but I know some people do.
OVERALL:
I got these after a long while of comparing different headphones. I settled on these because of the price. I’m a uni student and this is the most I’m willing to spend. It’s actually a little steep, especially since I don’t listen to music that much. They’re mainly for studying and travel. But because of the noise cancelling I end up using them a lot. If they were any more expensive, I’d be too afraid to use them as much as I do. Whilst they’re expensive for my range, they are the cheapest of Sonys over ear headphones that are good. And that also LOOK good. I’ll admit I value the aesthetics- there’s other brands with similar headphones that probably perform as well for less, but that look bulkier and uglier. These look great.
So I don’t regret this purchase!! I think it would be a total waste if I bought the more expensive Sony headphones that are more trendy right now, especially since I bought this myself. If you’re a student looking for a solid pair of headphones but can’t afford the popular ones, these are a great shout! I plan on using them at least until I finish university, so 3 year’s minimum. I’m getting my money’s worth. I also heard they use the same tech as the Sony XM4/5 but don’t quote me on that- but I think 90% of people would be very happy with the sound. I bought these when they dropped and there we’re basically 0 reviews- I took a leap and have no regrets!! They’d also make a great gift for any teenager obsessed with their music lol.
Update: it’s now January 2024 and I rarely go anywhere without them! Still in great shape and the noise cancelling is a god send. I get asked about them all the time. And I’ve been shoving them my bag unceremoniously for months and they’re still going strong
PROs:
Comfortable, I wear these for hours at a time in the library. Of course every so often I take them off for 5 minutes when my ears get warm but that’s inevitable. Happy with how comfortable they are because I also wear hijab, which means I already have 2 layers of fabric over my ears which makes most headphones so uncomfortable and painful to wear. The top band is squishy so it doesn’t hurt your head much.
The sound is lovely, but I’m no expert or that fussed over sound so I don’t know how it holds up against others. But I noticed a big difference with my other headphones, the music sounds great and you can adjust the settings from the app.
The noise cancelling mode is pretty good. Again I have no real point of comparison. It mostly blocks background noise, not people’s voices. Voices become muted, especially if it’s a crowd, but you can still hear people talking around you which is a bit of a bummer. But they are great for blocking other sounds- for example on the motorway, they totally block out the sounds of the road and cars. When I take them off I get shocked by how loud it is. This is great if you get overstimulated. Sometimes I wear them without playing anything just for some quiet. They block out some noise even without turning them on.
The app is good, you can adjust the noise cancelling. NC mode sometimes gives me a headache after a while, not sure why, so I often switch to ambient mode.
Battery strength is good. You should charge it every night if you’re going to use it a lot though. The only times it’s ran out is when I haven’t charged it in a few days despite heavy use. You could definitely charge it fully once and use it non stop for a car and plane journey- I’ve done that.
Very light considering the size. They aren’t heavy enough to hurt your head. Sometimes my scalp hurts after a while but that would happen with any sustained pressure. I just shift them forward or backwards and its fine. They’re pretty secure, enough to run in, but not sure of they’re tight enough to exercise at all angles with, you know moving your head up and down. I think if they were any tighter they’d be uncomfortable anyway so I don’t mind.
They’re pretty sturdy, not floppy lile my other smaller headphones from Sony.
I got it in white and I don’t regret it. They look very stylish. I hesitated because in the picture it looks paper white, but it’s a bit more muted in person, with hints of grey.
CONs:
Despite being generally comfortable, there’s a really annoying piece of plastic in the ear that pokes at my ear sometimes. I don’t know if it’s because my ears/head are sort of big but it’s irritating sometimes. I have to shift it around.
They don’t fold up. If they did they’d be so much easier to transport. As it is, I wear them around my neck, as the ear pieces thankfully do twist around. Still I think they’d be easier to take care of if they folded. It’s sort of risky just putting them in your bag, unless you can be bothered to carry them in a proper case which admittedly I rarely do. I had to buy a separate case for around £14 so add that to your tally.
The buttons feel a bit cheap, they’re quite clicky, not very soft. I don’t really care about that sort of thing but I know some people do.
OVERALL:
I got these after a long while of comparing different headphones. I settled on these because of the price. I’m a uni student and this is the most I’m willing to spend. It’s actually a little steep, especially since I don’t listen to music that much. They’re mainly for studying and travel. But because of the noise cancelling I end up using them a lot. If they were any more expensive, I’d be too afraid to use them as much as I do. Whilst they’re expensive for my range, they are the cheapest of Sonys over ear headphones that are good. And that also LOOK good. I’ll admit I value the aesthetics- there’s other brands with similar headphones that probably perform as well for less, but that look bulkier and uglier. These look great.
So I don’t regret this purchase!! I think it would be a total waste if I bought the more expensive Sony headphones that are more trendy right now, especially since I bought this myself. If you’re a student looking for a solid pair of headphones but can’t afford the popular ones, these are a great shout! I plan on using them at least until I finish university, so 3 year’s minimum. I’m getting my money’s worth. I also heard they use the same tech as the Sony XM4/5 but don’t quote me on that- but I think 90% of people would be very happy with the sound. I bought these when they dropped and there we’re basically 0 reviews- I took a leap and have no regrets!! They’d also make a great gift for any teenager obsessed with their music lol.
Update: it’s now January 2024 and I rarely go anywhere without them! Still in great shape and the noise cancelling is a god send. I get asked about them all the time. And I’ve been shoving them my bag unceremoniously for months and they’re still going strong
