SONY IS AT the top of the game when it comes to personal audio, with its WF-1000XM4 true wireless and the WH-1000XM5 over-the-ear headphones. They’re far from cheap though, which brings us to the new WH-CH720N headphones, available with active noise cancellation at a far more accessible INR 9,990.
Straight out of the box, the new cans (Sony’s product nomenclature is a mouthful, isn’t it?) follow some of the aesthetics of recent premium offerings from the company, and the blue colour is likely the one to pick over the relatively staid white and black colour variants. Yet it’s fairly obvious these are built keeping the price point in mind. Made almost entirely of plastic, the headphones are particularly lightweight (192 g), which means they sit comfortably on the head and coupled with the soft cushioning on the earcups and headband, are comfortable for extended use.
The design is largely uncluttered, with a USB-C port, a 3.5mm audio jack and a power button on one cup and volume, play/ pause and noise cancellation/ambient sound buttons on the other. Pairing rather quickly via the Headphones Connect app, the headphones support multipoint connectivity, so you can switch from a laptop to a cellphone when a call comes in, for example.
No matter whether you’re on a call or listening to music, the headphones sound good, almost in a way allowing a wider audience to sample the classic Sony sonic signature. Mids and highs are detailed, and bass response is good, with none of that muddiness that plagues budget headphones, and you can toy around with the equalizer settings to tune the audio to your liking. The audio has no real shortcomings, but nothing that would grab headlines either.
It’s good for most genres and for the price, just not exceptional. What elevates these cans is the presence of active noise cancellation, which is rather impressive at its price point. There’s also an ambient mode for when you want a little more awareness of your surroundings, but I ended up using the ANC turned on all the way, it’s just that good. Battery life is impressive as well, with about 28 hours of use with noise cancellation, but they take over three hours to charge. In a nutshell, the WH - CH720N impresses, and makes for a solid mid-range pick for anyone not looking to break the bank with the pricier XM5s.