So if you’ve been watching me for awhile, you know that I generally like Sony’s ANC headphones lineup. All of their headphones sound good, they fit well, and they’re featured packed. However depending on your needs… you’ll be better off with one over the others. So today we’re going to be breaking down Sony’s ANC headphone line up as of late 2021. We’ve got the recently released XB910N’s, the 1000XM4’s, and the WH-CH710N.
Now I know some of you are asking… “Where are the H.ear On 3’s AKA the WH-H910N”? Well right now as of late 2021 these things aren’t listed on major retail sites and they don’t even show up on Sony’s own online store. So they might be getting phased out. And personally I really don’t mind because I don’t see any real reason why you’d want to go with these over the XB910N or 1000XM4. So thats why they’re not in this video. Nonetheless regarding pricing, the 1000XM4’s retail for $350, the XB910N retail for $250, and the WH-CH710N retail for $180. But sony does like to put all of these headphones on sale on a regular basis. But with all that being said, if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first, lets talk about the included cases that come with these headphones. Now unfortunately the WH-CH710N’s don’t come included with a case. Which is typical for a pair of entry level headphones like these. Where both the XB910N and 1000XM4’s do. Now both of these cases are going to do a great job of keeping your headphones safe if you stuff them into a cramped back pack. Which is great for commuters. However I do want to point out that even though these cases are very similar… the 1000XM4’s is stiffer than the XB910N’s case. Now this isn’t a huge deal, but you do get a slightly more premium feeling case with the 1000XM4’s.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding build quality all of these headphones are mostly made out of plastic. Now both the XB910N and 1000XM4 are well built, they feel sturdy in your hands, and they both have zero cracking and squeaking whenever you flex them. Which is good. However… I can’t help but feel that the WH-CH710N feel too much like a toy. They do feel a little flimsy. However, what really differentiates all of these headphones build quality wise… I feel is their leatherette. Personally I’ve never really liked the leatherette found on the WH-CH710N, it feels rather rough and course, and it gets everywhere. But then there’s the 1000XM4’s leatherette which feels better… but it does feel rather plastic for a pair of premium ANC headphones. And finally there’s the XB910N’s which I would argue has the best feeling leatherette. It feels much more natural and supple. So overall, the XB910N and 1000XM4’s are well built for their respective price ranges… but I do prefer the XB910N’s cause of their better feeling leatherette. And then there are the WH-CH710N which have fairly meh build quality.
But next I want to quickly touch on the design of these headphones. The WH-CH710N and 1000XM4’s share the same subtle design langue… where as the XB910N has gone through a slight design refresh. And personally I am not a fan of this design refresh specifically cause their headband is now much more bulbous. Cause for comparison sake the WH-CH710N’s headband is noticeably more low profile and the 1000XM4’s headband is even more low profile. Which just make them look much sleeker. So looks wise… I am not a fan of how the XB910N’s look when they’re on your head. Where as the 1000XM4’s are just a good looking pair of headphones.
But now lets talk about fit… all of these headphones fit pretty much the same. They all don’t have a lot of clamping force making them big head approved. Shirts down below. And they’re all relatively light weight, so you can easily forget that you’re wearing these headphones if you’re working at your desk or watching a movie in bed… and they aren’t too noticeable on your head when you’re walking around with them on. Now the XB910N’s weigh in at 252 grams where as the 1000XM4’s weigh in at 254… basically the same. And I would consider them light weight cause most other similar ANC headphones weigh in around 270 to 290 grams. But then there are the WH-CH710’s which weigh in at 223 grams. So they’re going to be even less noticeable. And personally these are the headphones I would choose for working out with. But finally there are their ear pads… now all of these ear pads are relatively spacious and they should have no problem accommodating most ear types. However I do have to point out that even though the ear pads on the WH-CH710N’s are fairly spacious… they are a little shallow. So if you have ears that stick out a lot, they’ll might get pressed down on. But then there are the XB910N’s which have the deepest ear pads. Even deeper than the 1000XM4’s ear pads. Now the XB910N’s ear pads aren’t as spacious or as deep as the Bose QC45’s ear pads. But if you have relatively large ears than the XB910N’s are the best bet here. However… since the XB910N’s ear pads have the most surface area coming in contact with your skin, they do heat up the fastest here. Now the XB910N’s don’t have an over heating problem, but the 1000XM4’s do stay cooler for longer. And then there are the WH-CH710N’s which stay the coolest for longest cause their ear pads are pretty thin. But overall fit wise all of these headphones should have no problem accommodating most people… but the XB910N’s have the most spacious earpads… but personally I don’t like how they look. So personally I do prefer to wear the 1000XM4’s cause they fit me just fine, their ear pads stay a little cooler for a little longer and they look much sleeker.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Regarding battery life all of these headphones have good battery lives. With their active noise cancelation turned on both the XB910N’s and 1000XM4’s are good for 30 hours and the WH-CH710N’s are good for 35 hours. However if you were to use these headphones with their active noise cancelation turned off you can extend their battery life that way.
With their active noise cancelation turned off the 1000XM4’s can only go for as long as 38 hours. Where as the WH-CH710N’s can go for as long as 45 hours and the XB910N’s can go for as long as 50 hours. Which is pretty impressive and could be very useful if you're someone that only uses the ANC on their headphones when you have to like me.
Now when it comes to charging these headphones they all charge via a USB C port like they should. But fast charging numbers are a little different. If you charge these headphones up for 10 minutes from a dead battery the WH-CH710N’s are only going to get you one hours of playback time. Where are the XB910N’s are going to get you 4 and half hours of playback and the 1000XM4’s are going to get you 5 hours of playback time.
Now regarding connectivity, both the 1000XM4’s and XB910N’s can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you can easily hot swap from one device to another regardless of operating system which is great for power users. However if you decide to use this feature you’re going to have to sacrifice LDAC and use AAC. Now if you’re an iPhone user this doesn’t matter cause iPhones top out at AAC. So if you’re an iPhone user definitely go ahead and turn this feature on. This really only affects android users.
But at least Sony’s newer headphones now allow you to connect to 2 devices at the same time… cause the WH-CH710N’s which are the oldest headphones here, can only be connected to 1 device at time. So they aren’t the best option for power users.
However when it comes to performance all of these headphones have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. And when it comes to audio codecs, the WH-CH710N’s have support for SBC and AAC, a pretty standard stack for entry level headphones. Where these other two headphones have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony’s own LDAC. Now these headphones don’t have APTX support like with Sony’s older headphones cause sony is phasing out APTX support on their newer headphones in favor of their own LDAC. However like I mentioned earlier, iPhone’s top out at AAC so LDAC doesn’t really matter.
However if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with all of these headphones cause they all still have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they all come included with audio cables. Something that is just ludicrous in the eyes of apple. However just keep in mind you can’t use the USB C port on any of these headphones as a wired connection. You can’t use these headphones while they're charging… but they can be used passively.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones cause all off these headphones sound very different from one another. First lets start with the WH-CH710N’s… personally I don’t really like listening to music with these headphones cause these headphones have a bass heavy EQ to them and they do sound rather shallow. If you want to actually hear the mids and highs on these headphones then you’ve gotta turn them all the way up. And since these headphones do sound rather shallow… they do make it very hard to hear what people are saying when you’re watching movies with these headphones. And unfortunately unlike all of these other two headphones the WH-CH710N’s don’t have an adjustable EQ so you can’t change how they sound directly. They don’t even connect to Sony’s headphone app period which is something their predecessors did do. So besides not being able to adjust their EQ, you’re also not going to get any firmware updates on these headphones.
But now lets turn our attention to the XB910N and 1000XM4’s. Now from a performance standpoint the XB910N and 1000XM4’s have the same instrument separation and sound stage. And over all both of these sony headphones sound good. However if you want something that sounds more open you’ll might want to go with something from bose or sennheiser. But over all, Sony’s headphones are people pleasers. Whether you like a neutral EQ or bass heavy EQ… these headphones have you covered and you can make them sound however you want. And the bass on the 1000XM4’s has enough physicality to satiate most people that want to physically feel their music. However… if you really like bass then you’ll might want to go with the XB910N’s. The XB910N’s have an above average amount of bass to them so they are going to rattle your head way more than the 1000XM4’s. Having the clear bass slider on the 1000XM4’s set to ten is like having the bass on the XB910N’s set to 6. Now all of this bass is just dumb fun when listening to music but it also adds an extra level of immersivness when you’re watching movies with these headphones. Now personally I love that the XB910N’s have this extra bass feature and I wish the 1000XM4’s also had this feature… but if you don’t want to you don’t have to use this feature. You can always turn it off by lowering the clear bass slider on the XB910N’s. However I do gotta point out that even though the XB910N’s have an above average amount of bass… they do have about 20% less bass than their predecessor the XB900N’s.
Now when it comes to actually controlling your media the WH-CH710N’s are using physical buttons. Where as these other two headphones are using touch pads. Now the touch pads on both of these headphones are easy enough to use and they are very accurate. Now they’re not perfect… but they aren’t problematic either like some other touch pads out there.
However, the 1000XM4’s are the only headphones here that have wear sensors. Meaning that they’ll automatically play or pause your music when you take them off or put them back on. No personally I don’t care for wear sensors on my headphones and I usually just turn that feature off… but im just point this out for the person that just needs to have all of the features.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Obviously as you move up in price these headphones are going to block out more noise. However all of Sony’s headphones still share the same principles. Most importantly all of these headphones barely have any cabin pressure. Which is great for comfort. The ANC on these headphones doesn’t change how your music sounds. And the microphone array on all of these headphones do a good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. However the 1000XM4’s do do the best job here at that. But nonetheless we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, as you move up Sony’s product line up… they block out more noise. Now the WH-CH710N’s block out an adequate amount of noise for a pair of entry-level ANC headphones. Now these headphones don’t block out a ton of noise and I wouldn’t recommend for flying… but they can help out on your bus ride home. Next up there are the XB910N’s and these block out noticeably more noise than the WH-CH710N. They block out more road noise and they do a better job of blocking out chatter. So these can help out if you're using them in a cafeteria or something. And finally there are the 1000XM4’s. And finally there’s the 1000XM4’s which just block out the most amount of noise here. However one small detail about these headphones is that they also have an atmospheric pressure sensor in them. And this just isn’t marketing fluff… if you go through the calibration process while you’re at cruising altitude you really do see a difference. So plainly if active noise cancelation is your main priority… the 1000XM4’s are the obvious choice.
But now lets talk about the ambient mode on these headphones. Now all of Sony’s headphones have good sounding ambient modes. However you can’t adjust how much noise the WH-CH710N’s let in like these other two headphones. Now overall the 1000XM4’s have the best performing ambient mode here and I will explain why in a moment. But the ambient mode on the XB910N’s does sound a little clearer. However, the main reason why I say the 1000XM4’s have the best ambient mode is because they will actively block out sudden spikes in loud noises saving you from jump scares. But so that you can see what im talking about let me just show you. Slight headphone warning.
So like you may have just seen, when the 1000XM4’s detected that sudden loud sound they turned off their ambient mode… and when that loud sound stopped they turned their ambient mode back on. And I feel that this is a very good feature either for when you’re walking around the city and a siren rolls by or if you’re working from home and your dog just starts barking cause there’s someone at the door. Now technically the XB910N’s now have an active ambient mode just like the 1000XM4’s… but it doesn’t work as well. Again let me just show you… and major headphone warning.
So like you may have just seen… the XB910N detected that noise… but they didn’t detect it as fast and after a few moments they just let in that noise. So there’s defninltey some tweaking that needs to be done here. So overall, all of these headphones have good sounding ambient modes… but the 1000XM4’s have the best ambient mode here because they will protect you from sudden loud noises. However, I do have to mention that the 1000XM4’s have speak to chat which works a little like this.
Now personally I don’t use speak to chat because that I’ve found that its very easy to accidentally activate it. Making it more of a nuisance. And personally I do prefer quick attention which is found on both the 1000XM4’s and XB910N’s where if you fully cover their touch pads you can talk to someone without having to take you headphones off like this.
So yeah, personally I do prefer speak to chat because its more intentional. Now I feel that quick attention should be locked after you have the touch covered for 2 seconds so that way you don’t have to keep the touch pad covered the whole time you’re talking to someone… but hey what do I know… but nonetheless I do feel that quick attention is a very useful feature for my constant commuters and frequent flyers.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now plainly said, the WH-CH710N’s have the worst sounding microphone here. Personally I wouldn’t even try taking phone calls with these headphones.
Next up are the XB910N’s which have a decent enough sounding microphone for phone calls while in a quiet room.
And then there are the 1000XM4’s which I feel have a slightly better sounding microphone than the one found on the XB910N.
However this microphone completely falls apart when it comes to blocking out a constant low frequency sound like road noise. So I wouldn’t even try taking phone calls with these.
Where as the XB910N’s do a much better job dealing with road noise. Now they are interfering with my voice… but this sounds way better than the mess going one with the 1000XM4’s.
And finally there are the WH-CH710N which not only sound super shallow to begin with… they also don’t block out any road noise what so ever.
However when it comes to blocking out chatter… its not awful. But nonetheless I wouldn’t take any serious phone calls with these headphones.
Where as with the XB910N do they do decent job of blocking out chatter.
And so do the 1000XM4’s. So overall id say that they 1000XM4’s and XB910N’s ave decent enough sounding microphones for phone calls. Now even though I recommend that you take phone calls with these headphones in a quiet room… you could get away with some chatter.
So with all the being said… here’s my break down of Sony’s current ANC headphones line up. The WH-CH710N’s are fine for a pair of entry level headphones and they can make for a great pair of work headphones in the gym. However don’t go in expecting top tier build quality, and personally I don’t like their bass heavy sound signature. And I really hate that these headphones don’t connect Sony’s headphones app even though their predecessors did. And I also wouldn’t try to take phone calls with these headphones. But then there are the Sony XB910N’s… and over all these are a great pair of mid tier ANC headphones that you really can’t go wrong with because they do everything very well. But their stand out characteristic is their bass. It really is dumb fun and it adds an extra level of immersiveness when watching movies with these headphones. I just personally really don’t like how they look. And finally there are the Sony 1000XM4’s… now I think most people will be just fine with the XB910N’s, but if you want the improved active noise cancelation, better ambient mode, and or wear sensors then these are the ones to get. But from a superficial stand point I do lean toward the 1000XM4’s just cause of they look. They look much sleeker than the XB910N’s.