My God, it’s getting tougher to choose headphones. There are just too many features these days. You have to think about ANC, voice assistants, and lots of other things that hardly existed a few years ago.
And as always, a lot of these features are really just dumb gimmicks. But that doesn’t mean all of them are that way. In fact, Sony has been releasing some pretty cool stuff over the past year.
Sony WH-XB900N in Review
Which brings us to the Sony WH-XB900N. Sony runs about a hundred different lines of headphones. Occasionally they’re made for athletes. Other times they’re made for people who need waterproofing. And sometimes they’re made for people sitting on their butts at home. So where does that put the WH-XB900N? Well, they’re essentially a less impressive version of the Sennheiser 600HD. Of course, some people will still love them.
| Physical Construction |
But different types of headphones are made for different circumstances. And unless you’re willing to shell out huge bucks for your headphones, you’re not going to be able to get a pair that covers every type of feature.
When you’re picking headphones, you’re also choosing between sound signatures. Some headphones are made with an emphasis on clarity, some headphones try to stay more neutral. The Sony WH-XB900N was made rather specifically to deliver with respect to its bass performance.
What is the target audience for these headphones? It’s not totally obvious. However, it is pretty clear that they’ve got a number of different features that should be attractive to general audiences.
Looking purely at their aesthetics, these headphones look basically like everything else that Sony has made over the past couple of years. When styles work, it’s okay if you stick with them. And if you like Sony’s style, you’ll certainly enjoy the WH-XB900N.
Anyone who has used some over-ear headphones in the past few decades has probably been acquainted with a touch-control interface of some kind. IN this case, Sony decided to put a fairly large touch control on the side of both ear cups. While using the interface, you can increase or reduce volume, start tracks or shut them off, and interact with various calling features. IT’s also possible to start switching between different sound modes, but that takes a little bit more advanced configuration.
| Thoughts About Comfort |
When it comes to comfort, over-ear cans like these tend to pass with flying colors. Especially when they are not constructed specifically for portability. That’s because it allows developers to really let-loose when it comes to padding. Here you’ll find the padding feels excellent against your skin, with a pleasant smoothness to the fabric covering the memory foam.
These headphones are wired, and as such, the included wire spans about 46″. However it’s worth noting that these headphones are fundamentally different while used in wired operation. That’s because the wired version actually has a higher impedance than the wireless version.
For people who can provide more power to their headphones, as might occur through a connection with a stereo or sound card, you’ll experience a greater overall sound quality. The difference isn’t something that everyone will appreciate, especially without using higher resolution audio files. But it is there.
| Microphone & Wireless |
These headphones make use of Bluetooth 4.2. Because it’s not Bluetooth 5, you technically aren’t getting the latest tech in wireless. But the 4.2 variant basically performs the same as version 5 when it comes to these types of headphones.
One area where these headphones probably won’t “wow” you is with their microphone. As often seems to be the case, these headphones have used their microphone almost as an afterthought. It was plopped on simply so these headphones wouldn’t be totally without calling features. Apart from having a mic, you’ll only find a couple of extra features supporting this aspect of design.
Most prominently, you may want to notice these headphones have full support for Amazon Alexa and Google’s Assistant.
| Battery Lifespan |
With respect to their battery performance, these headphones are supposed to provide up to 30 hours of playtime. Are you actually going to make it that long? Well, it depends. When you decide to crank your volume to 11, you’re certainly going to see that estimate fall a bit.
However, it’s also worth noting that the 30H estimate means these headphones are supposed to have a battery capacity that’s about twice as long as many similar pairs. And without adding a bunch of battery weight to the headband in the process.
| Audio Quality |
If you couldn’t figure it out from their name, these headphones were made with a pretty clear emphasis on bass production. They’ve gone out of their way to create greater degrees of air tightness between the driver and the listener’s ear, which is great for a nice punchy athletic sound. With the remainder of the tonal range, Sony seems to have decided not to boost everything so aggressively.
One thing that can quickly change how these headphones sound is the Quick Attention Mode, which is supposed to let you listen to ambient noises as needed. So if you need to hear what someone has to say, like a cashier, then you can tap your headphones and quickly adjust them.
It might be nice if these headphones had ANC. But on the other hand, they come through when it comes to passive noise protection. And you don’t end up burning through extra battery power in the pursuit of passive noise protection.
Sony WH-XB900N vs WH-1000XM3
The WH-1000XM3 have touch controls, a powerful ambient sound mode, high-res audio support… they’re pretty much the front-runner in Sony’s 2020 lineup. But they also have a price associated with all those extra-features. For people who can live without that stuff, the WHXB900N is a slightly more grounded alternative to the bells-and-whistles provided by the 1000XM3 series.
Sony WH-XB900N vs WH-CH700N
The WH-CH700N have a slightly stronger battery lifespan, but their noise cancelling experience isn’t quite as impressive. The rest of the equipment breaks pretty even across the board, from comfort to the soundscape and microphone experience.
Sony WH-XB900N vs MDR-XB950N1
The MDR-XB950N1 are just a tad less expensive and have traded away ANC in exchange for high performance bass. The bass ends up burning through a lot of power, drawing down the battery lifespan. But if you’re someone who puts bass tones ahead of others, it’s hard to deny these things outperform the WH-XB900N when it comes to deep and warm bass.
Sony WH-XB900N vs 1000XM3
The 1000XM3 are a tad more high-end. They’ve taken the calling experience a bit further for what you might consider “business quality calling”, it might only be improved by the addition of a detachable boom mic of some sort. Thhe XN900N has much better rapid charge battery features, but you should avoid rapidly recharging batteries anytime you can get away with doing it. So it’s not clear that’s much of a boost.
The ability of the XM3 to accommodate high-res audio is something that 90% of listeners won’t care about, since it means you’d have to start streaming / playing files that are much larger than the ones you regularly listen to, it’s still kind of a hassle to make good use of high-res on wireless headphones.
Verdict – Sony WH-XB900N
Sony releases many types of headphones. These aren’t exactly a huge standout — but they do have some things to offer. The wired/wireless operation is fantastic. Smooth calling support could swing a person’s decision and the WH-XB900N certainly has that. Moreover, their battery performance is well above average.
When it comes to sound quality — that’s sort of subjective. For people who love bass, it’s quite clear these headphones will deliver. If you were interested in noise isolation, you’d be better off with something like the Bose QC35. They’ve got a similar price point, but offer far greater protection from noise, and may be a better choice for people who prefer a more neutral sound profile.
Duncan Gumaer