Sony Headphones

The MDR-7506 has been hanging in broadcast booths and video rigs since 1991, and almost nothing about it has changed — including the flaws. At 63 ohms and 106dB/mW it's sensitive enough that any camera, mixer, or phone drives it fine without an amp. The sound is bright and detail-forward: sibilance, hum, and edit points jump out, which is exactly why engineers love it and casual listeners sometimes find it fatiguing. The 230g folding frame is featherweight for all-day wear. Two gripes come up constantly: the 3-meter coiled cable is permanently attached and heavy for desk use, and the stock earpads famously disintegrate into black flakes within a year or two — nearly every long-term owner ends up buying aftermarket pads and considers it part of the price.

Sony's flagship fixes the XM5's two biggest sins: the folding hinges are back, and the case now closes with a satisfying magnetic clasp instead of a fiddly zipper. The QN3 chip and 12 mics deliver arguably the best ANC you can buy right now, and the wider headband spreads pressure better than the XM5 ever did. Owners' gripes are real, though: the $449 list price stings (thankfully street price has drifted to about $398), 30 hours of battery is now merely average, and running LDAC drains it noticeably faster. The matte finish picks up skin oils, and a few owners report the power button being awkwardly close to the ANC button. No aptX support, as always with Sony. Still, as a total package — sound, ANC, call quality, comfort — this is the one most people should buy.

At its near-permanent $38 Amazon price, the WH-CH520 is the sensible default for anyone who just needs wireless headphones that work. You get a 50-hour battery, real multipoint, and — unusually at this price — the full Sony Headphones Connect app with custom EQ and 360 Reality Audio certification. The stock tuning is surprisingly even for the money; a little EQ warms it up nicely from the 30mm drivers. The trade-offs are exactly what you'd guess: an all-plastic build that feels light rather than premium, thin on-ear pads that get fatiguing past a couple of hours, zero noise isolation to speak of, and no ANC. The one genuinely annoying omission is a 3.5mm jack — when the battery dies, it's a paperweight until you charge it. The mic is serviceable for quiet-room calls. As a beater pair, it's nearly impossible to beat.

Now that the XM6 exists, the XM5 has become the value play — routinely dipping to around $248 on Amazon, nearly $150 under its original price. The ANC and warm, bass-forward tuning still hold up against anything in this bracket, multipoint works reliably, and at 250g it disappears on your head. But know the ownership record: the non-folding design means a bulky case, and there are widespread reports of the headband stems cracking at the hinge after a year or two — enough that it spawned class-action chatter. Touch controls can misfire in cold or humid weather, and the smooth plastic scuffs easily. If you can live with babying the hinges, this is a lot of flagship for mid-range money; if you're rough on gear, the XM6's return to folding metal hinges is worth the premium.

The WH-CH720N is what happens when Sony puts its flagship V1 noise-cancelling processor in a $180-list headphone that actually sells for $87-95. At 192 grams it's one of the lightest ANC over-ears made, and that's its superpower — people who find the XM5 or Bose heavy wear this all day and forget it's on. The ANC is genuinely good on low rumble, merely okay on voices and clatter, and there's some hiss. Sound is balanced-warm and clean, though the bass is a bit loose and the 30mm drivers won't wow anyone before EQ in the Headphones Connect app. The weight savings come from frankly hollow-feeling plastic that creaks when flexed, and the headband padding is minimal. It doesn't fold, only swivels flat. Battery is 35 hours with ANC on — fine, not class-leading. A 3.5mm jack is included. Comfort-first ANC, done cheap.

Still the all-rounder to beat for Android users, especially now that the XM6's arrival keeps pushing the price down. The 8.4mm Dynamic Driver X sounds rich and warm out of the box, LDAC delivers genuine hi-res from a phone, and the foam-ish tips seal so well that ANC feels stronger than it measures. Eight hours with noise canceling on is excellent, and 3 minutes in the case buys an hour. The Reddit-consensus complaints are real, though: call quality falls apart in wind, the polished case scratches if you look at it wrong, and a vocal minority reports one bud draining faster than the other after a year-plus. Multipoint works but disables LDAC. The Headphones Connect app EQ is powerful once you find the settings buried three menus deep. IPX4 is fine for gym sweat, nothing more.

Sony's WF-C710N fixes the two loudest complaints about the beloved WF-C700N: it adds multipoint and touch controls, and stretches ANC battery life to 8.5 hours. The translucent Glass Blue finish became a minor social-media phenomenon, and the ANC — with dual noise sensors — is comfortably among the best in the sub-$100 tier when you catch it on sale from its $120 list. The stingy parts are very Sony: SBC/AAC only (no LDAC on a Sony bud at this price still stings), no wireless charging, no spatial audio, and the buds grew slightly chunkier than the C700N, which smaller ears notice on long sessions. The Sound Connect app is feature-rich but pushy about accounts and notifications. Mic quality is average outdoors in wind. Amazon review volume is still building since the 2025 launch, but sentiment tracks the C700N's strong reputation.