Sony WF-C700N Review – Hitting All The Right Notes But For A Brief Period

Reviewing the Sony WF-C700N was a difficult endeavor for me as I never did own a pair of wireless headphones before due to the fact that I always believed that the quality will never be on par with a pair of wired headphones. While that statement still rings true in some regards, The Sony WF-C700N did manage to convince me that there is real potential to be had in the wireless headphone space.

After spending much time with the product in the most general of use-cases as well as some specific ones of my own, I can say with certainty that I definitely have been missing out on some pretty unique experiences overall by not believing in the capabilities of a good pair of wireless headphones.

What’s In The Box?

The Sony WF-C700N comes in a compact, eco-friendly box made from recycled materials and come in a variety of colors such as black, white, lavender and green. The headphones are kept inside a pill-shaped charging casing with a flat-bottom while the accessories such as the replacement S and XL size silicone earbuds and USB-C cable for charging are kept in a separate piece of packaging also enclosed in the box. 

I feel like the headphone design is quite minimalistic, they are relatively quiet in their appearance with only some branding to be found on the side. As for its overall functions the headphones come with two microphones enclosed in each bud, and each bud has a large physical button that can be programmable through the Sony Headphones Connect App to perform different functions.

On top of that, the entire inventory is IPX4 splash-proof and each bud weighs about 4.6g while the charging case weighs 31g which is pretty light and helps with the portability factor. One thing that really surprised me however is how comfortable the headphones are when in use, the WF-C700N feels great to wear even after hours of use and I would often times forget that I was wearing them while listening to music in bed or watching my favorite content on YouTube.

Performance and Sound Quality

On to the part where its most important when considering a pair of headphones, the WF-C700N definitely delivers pretty good bass and clear vocal quality for the average listener such as myself. It does its job relatively well utilizing its 5mm drivers with high-compliance diaphragm and also brings a balanced sound profile from 20Hz – 20,000Hz listening range.

While the focus of these headphones are never geared for gaming, the sound quality that the Sony WF-C700N delivers when playing games like PUBG mobile are actually pretty good. Directional audio cues such as footsteps and gun-shots are clear and crisp while the explosions from grenades sounds really great immersing you in the experience.

You are of course free to tinker with the Equalizer for a much more personalized experience, which is what I did as well since the default EQ settings are pretty flat for me. I recommend either by using the eight presets or by creating your own custom profiles (up to three).

The Excited EQ setting is the one I find to be suitable for most type of music genres and general use. Listening to the various tracks on my playlist during the daily commute has been quite an experience as the sound quality is impressive as it manages to almost simulate an experience similar to that of my home set-up which includes a dedicated amplifier.

On top of that, call quality is great with the people on the other line telling me that the sound reception was clear and natural sounding, while the physical button controls are just easy to work with. I personally have not miss-clicked any buttons during my time with the product but you may also reprogram the button operations to add in volume control function which would definitely help make things more convenient.

Ambient and Noise Cancelling

The WF-C700N offers pretty decent noise cancellation considering its size, I was actually quite astounded that it manages to mute most of the ambient noise outside once you put them on. While they will not completely isolate you from the outside world like a good pair of over-ear headphones would, it is still decent considering its price point.

The headphones also supports AAC and SBC audio format via Bluetooth 5.2, as well as Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. Not only that you may also opt for Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DCEE) feature which restores compressed original music sources to fit closer to its original recording quality.

Through the Sony Headphones Connect App available for both Android and iOS, you can also activate Adaptive Sound Control which automatically switches between noise reduction and ambient modes depending on your surroundings. The feature has four profiles – Stay, Walk, Run and Transport with Walk and Run allowing ambient noise to leak through so you can hear your surroundings better with Stay and Transport are more to noise reduction.

Battery Life

The headphones lasts about 7.5 – 8 hours (with active noise cancellation turned on) with the charging case being able to extend the total use time to around 15 hours as it can fully charge the headphones once after the battery has been depleted. Personally, I find this not to be an issue as the time taken for my commute is roughly around an hour or two so the battery life is definitely suited for light users such as myself.

A full charge on the earbuds takes about 90 minutes and three hours for the charging case. All of this is done through the included USB-C cable as there is no wireless charging supported for the Sony WF-C700N. Not only that, the Sony Headphones Connect App does require constant location tracking for it to work properly which may veer some people off due to privacy concerns.

Verdict

The Sony WF-C700N has good sound quality, effective noise cancellation and a comfortable fit. The headphones and its charging case feels well-made and light enough to carry in your pocket and is easy on the ears with extended use.

While the relatively low battery life (when compared to the competition) and lack of wireless charging may push some people away, considering that the headphones are priced below RM600 (RM549) and offers great sound performance relative to that price range, I would say that the Sony WF-C700N is a good product for those who would want to take their audio on the go without breaking their bank.

You may find further information regarding this product at their official website.

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