Sony WF-C700N Wireless, Bluetooth, Noise Cancelling Earbuds (Small, Lightweight Earbuds with Multi-Point Connection, IPX4 rating, up to 20 HR battery, Quick Charge, iOS & Android) Black

Product Information

We alter pace with a few seconds of the Cat Burns track Go and the Sonys seem to enjoy conveying the intimacy.

The main difference between the XM5 earphones and the other two models is they don't make you leave off any controls—they support a four-tap gesture that controls volume by default. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.Boosting higher frequencies in the graphic equaliser successfully increased their prominence but you’ll want to avoid increasing them too much as this left the buds sounding slightly unbalanced. The way around this is to set up a variety of profiles and settings for different locations and scenarios but not everyone is going to want to pre-plan and micromanage their true wireless experience to that degree. It's a close-run race, but the bass feels just that bit tighter, snappier and less prone to overstatement in the Sony product. I didn’t feel the need to change anything, but there’s also a slider for layering on some extra bass that might come in handy for certain music genres.

Users who want Sony earbuds but can’t stretch their budgets will like the lightweight and straightforward operation of the WF-C700N. They all have an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which means they can resist light rain and sweat, but nothing more intense.The fit remains unshakeable, and you get to explore a ton of Sony’s software features (like location-based sound settings, etc. testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. The highs and lows, the string section’s descent into quiet troughs from where they rise into a stirring crescendo are all handled deftly. Although it protects you from surrounding noise, the person you are speaking to will potentially hear background noise.

Download the Sony | Headphones Connect app to adjust settings, including Multipoint Connection *, Ambient Sound mode, and more. While not as advanced as the system used on its more expensive XM4 in-ears, the Sonys still prove more than competitive in their class as far as noise-cancelling is concerned. SBC and AAC codec support is there out of the box, but aptX HD and LDAC which are required for higher-quality Bluetooth streaming are missing.This could be partly explained by the fact they use Sony’s own 5mm driver in their design – by comparison, the WF-C500 use a 5. This is slightly disappointing although perhaps not a surprise given the feature only arrived on the WF-1000XM4 back at the end of February. They're more adept at cutting back low-frequency rumble than against a varied mix of highs and mids, however. Both the WF-C700N and C500 are focused on utilitarian functionality over the pursuit of luxurious Rococo aesthetics, but that doesn't mean that either one is as sparsely furnished as a Puritan's wine cellar.