So even though the Sony XB910N’s are technically meant for bass heads because they have an above
average amount of bass… they're also a solid pair of mid tier ANC headphones that you really
can’t go wrong with. So today we’re going to see how the XB910N’s stack up to the Surface
Headphones 2. Now I know this might sound like an odd match… but I have always felt that the
surface headphones are a great pair of mid teir ANC headphones that most people just slept on.
Now regarding pricing, both of these headphones retail for $250. Putting them squarely into the
mid tier category. However, sony does like to put their headphones on sale on a regular basis. But
nonetheless if you want to pick either of these two headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about these cases. Now thankfully the XB910N ’s now come included
with a hardshell case. And this is a pretty big deal cause their predecessors didn’t.
Now the surface headphones also come included with a hardshell case… but this case is pretty
big. Its not thick… but it does have a large footprint. So if you plan on traveling or
commuting a lot with your headphones then you’ll might want to go with the XB910N.
But now lets talk about the headphones themselves. Regarding build quality both of these headphones
are mostly made out of plastic and they both have really good feeling leatherette.
The only major difference to point out here is that the Surface headphones have slightly
padded silicon underneath their headband… where as the XB910N’s have leatherette. But
nonetheless both of these headphones have really good build quality for mid tier ANC headphones,
they both feel really solid in your hands, and they both have zero cracking or squeaking
whenever you flex them. Build quality is not an issue on these headphones.
However, when it comes to their designs… personally I am not the biggest fan of how
the XB910N’s look… specifically cause I don’t like their new bulbs headband.
Where as the Surface Headphones have a much more low profile headband. Just making them
look sleeker. However, the Surface Headphones do have a rather peculiar design to them.
I like how they look… but some other people… not so much.
But when it comes to their overall fit and comfort… the XB910N’s are the winners here.
Now both of these headphones are big head approved… shirts down below. But the XB910N’s
have less clamping force. So if you have a bigger head, or if you like wearing hats, or if you just
want a looser fit, then you’ll want to go with the Sony’s. But also there’s their padding…
the surface headphones have very little padding underneath their headband. So this headband does
like to create a hotspot on the top of your head at around the 1 hours mark. Where as the Sony’s
don’t create a hotspot cause this headband has a lot more padding to it. But then there’s also
their weight. The XB910N’s weigh in at 252 grams, where as the Surface Headphones weigh in at 293
grams. So in general the XB910N’s are just less noticeable when they're on your head. They’re
easier to forget that you have on if you’re sitting at your desk working or watching a movie
in bed… and they're less noticeable on your head if you’re walking around with them on. And finally
there are their ear pads. Now both of these headphones have very spacious ear pads and they
should be able to fit most ears just fine. Even if you have really large ears. However since the ear
pads on the surface headphones have a lot more surface area coming in contact with your skin…
these ear pads do like to heat up fairly quickly if you’re walking around with these headphones.
Where as the ear pads on the XB910N to stay cooler for a little longer. But
like I have mentioned in past videos… the ear pads on the XB910N’s do heat up a little faster
than the ear pads on the 1000XM4’s. Now these headphones don’t have an overheating problem…
but you’ll might want to take that into account. But nonetheless,
like I said. The Sony XB910N’s are the overall more comfortable headphones here.
But now lets talk about tech specs. Regarding battery life, this is an
area where the surface headphones really struggle. With their active noise cancelation
turned on the Surface Headphones 2 are only good for up to 20 hours if not less. And
that is pretty weak. Where as the XB910N’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours
with their active noise cancelation turned on and if you were to use them with their
active noise cancelation turned off they can go for as long as 50 hours.
Now regarding connectivity… both of these headphones 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 on the XB910N’s then
you are going to have to sacrifice LDAC. Now if you’re an iPhone user you should definitely turn
this feature on cause iPhones top out at AAC. LDAC really only matters for android users.
However when it comes to performance both 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… But when it comes to audio codecs… the Surface Headphones only have support for SBC
and APTX. So if you’re an iPhone user you're going to be stuck with SBC.
Where as the XB910N’s have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony’s own LDAC.
But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection with either of
these headphones cause they both have an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack
and they still come included with an audio cable. However you can’t use use the USB
C ports on either of these headphones as a wired connection… but you can use the Surface Headphones
while theyre charging. But you can always use either of these two headphones passively.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Now both of these
headphones have a fully customizable EQ so you can make them sound how ever you want.
But I do feel that the Surface 2’s are the worst sounding headphones here.
Now with their stock EQ the Surface 2’s sound decent and they should be able to please your
average user. They have pronounced vocals and they also have a decent amount of bass to them.
And the bass on these headphones is going to rattle your head a decent amount.
But the problem with these headphones is that if you listen to a lot of bass heavy music
or if you have the volume set too high then their bass will occasionally bottom out. And if you were
to go into these headphones app and raise the lows and mid lows then they’re going to bottom out even
more frequently. So personally I just recommend that you use these headphones with their stock EQ
or if you are going to adjust their EQ then I wouldn’t raise the lows or mid lows too
much. But nonetheless these headphones are better suited for someone who likes a more bass heavy EQ.
But then there are the XB910N’s which overall sound better than the Surface Headphones.
The XB910N’s have slightly better instrument separation and a slightly wider soundstage. So
if you’re someone thats looking for a more neutral or vocals focused EQ then you’ll might want to go
with these. However the XB910N’s claim to fame is their bass. The XB910N’s have way more bass
than your average pair of headphones. These things are going to rattle your head a lot more than the
surface headphones which is just a lot of sheer dumb fun and it really does add an extra level
of immersivness when you’re watching movies with these headphones. But if you don’t want to use
this feature you don’t have to. But its there if you want it. However I do feel that its important
to note that the XB910N’s do have a little less head rattling bass than their predecessors the
XB900N. So if you’re someone thats really after that bass then you’ll might want to go with those.
But nonetheless the XB910N’s do sound better than the Surface Headphones 2. They sound more open,
their bass never bottoms out no matter what, and they have that head rattling bass if you want it.
Now when it comes to controlling your media… this could actually be a deciding factor.
Now the Sony’s are using a touch pad. And this touch pad is very good. Its very accurate and its
easy to use. However the surface headphones have a hybrid set up. You’ve got these big
physical dials to control your volume and since these touch pads are strictly tapped based
they're even more easier to use than the sap based touch pad on the Sony. And there’s also
the fact that both ear cups have a touch pad. Which could be attractive if you’re a lefty.
And there’s also the fact that the Surface Headphones have wear sensors. So these headphones
will automatically play or pass your music when you put them on or take them off. Now personally
I don’t really care for wear sensors on my headphones and I just turn that feature off…
but I am just mentioning this for the person that just needs to have all of the features.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones.
And for the most part I’ve got to say that the ANC on both of these
headphones is evenly matched. They block relatively the same amount of noise… expect
the XB910N’s do a slightly better job of blocking out low frequency sounds than the
Surface headphones. But so that you can se for yourself we’re going to jump into the ANC test.
Now for starters I included the AirPods Max in this ANC test because they currently block out
the most amount noise because they brutally go after constant low frequency sounds.
However, the AirPods Max are not my favorite headphones when it comes to active noise
cancelation because they have a lot of cabin pressure. Thats why I still prefer both the Bose
NC 700 and Sony 1000XM4. But nonetheless you can defiantly see that the XB910N’s
are blocking out a touch more low frequency noise than the Surface Headphones. However I do gotta
point out that the XB910N’s manage to block out a little more noise than the Surface Headphones
with a little less cabin pressure. Now the cabin pressure on the Surface Headphones is really only
noticeable when you’re not playing music, and its nowhere near as noticeable as the cabin pressure
found on the Bose QC45. But over all I am going to have to say that the XB910N’s do
manage to edge out a win here cause they block out a touch more noise and with less cabin pressure.
However, when it comes to the ambient modes on these headphones… the XB910N’s
are the clear winners. The ambient mode on the Sony’s just sounds a lot more
natural where as the ambient mode on the Surface headphones doesn’t do the best job
of picking up people’s voices. This ambient mode sounds a little shallow by comparison.
But also the microphone array on the Sony’s does a much better job of blocking out wind
noise when walking out doors. Where as the surface headphones do pick up a considerable
amount of wind noise which does interfere with your music if you’re walking out doors.
And also the XB910N’s have quick attention where if you fully cover their touch pad
they're going to lower the volume of you’re music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you
so tat you can talk to someone without having to take your headphones off like this.
And then when you let go the headphones will go back to normal again. Now I feel that quick
attention should be locked after you fully cover the touch pad for 2 seconds or so so that way
you don have to keep the touch pad covered the whole time you’re talking to someone… but hey,
what do I know… but nonetheless I think quick attention
is a useful feature especially for my constant commuters and frequent flyers.
But finally here’s the microphone test… now I think that both of
these headphones have decent enough sounding microphones for phone calls.
But I do feel the XB910N’s sound a little better. They don’t sound
as shallow and they have a little more amplification on my voice.
But also the XB910N’s try to block out noise pollution.
Now when it comes to blocking out this road noise they are interfering with my voice…
But at least the XB910N’s are doing something cause the Surface Headphones
don’t block out all that much noise and my voice sounds even more shallow.
Now when it comes to blocking out chatter… the Surface Headphones don’t sound too bad.
But you can still hear a noticeable amount of chatter in the background.
Where as the XB910N’s are doing a better job of blocking out chatter here. So overall
both of these headphones have decent sounding microphones for phone calls…
but the XB910N do manage to edge out a win here again cause it does sound a little better and they
do a better job of dealing with noise pollution.
So with all that being said… both of these headphones are good mid tier ANC headphones
to consider. However the XB910N’s are the better option here because they just constantly manage
to edge out ahead of the surface headphones in basically every category. For starters
the XB910N’s perform better than the Surface Headphones 2 sound quality wise because their
bass never bottoms out. But they also sound more open and they have better instrument separation.
And again they have that extra bass feature if you want it.
But also the XB910N’s have a much longer battery life, they have a better sounding
microphone, they have slightly better active noise cancelation and they also fit much better as well.