So a few weeks ago, there was a new FCC filing from Sony for a pair of ANC headphones.
Now naturally a lot of people started speculating that these were the Sony WH-1000XM5’s…
but its way to soon to be thinking about the 1000XM5’s.
Personally I think this new FCC filling is for the successors of Sony’s entry level
ANC headphones… the WH-CH710N… which personally I feel have a lot of room for improvement
and I really feel that these are a set back from their predecessors the WH-CH700N…
so here is my wish list of what I would like to see from the WH-CH720N.
Now first there’s pricing…
now Sony’s entry level headphones usually have a retail price of $200… however, Sony
usually likes to put their entry level headphones on sale for around $180 to $150 dollars…
and on major shopping holidays like on Prime day, Black Friday, or during Christmas…
they’ll might put these headphones on sale for $100.
So what I am trying to say here is… if Sony does release their WH-CH720N’s sometime
soon…
I guess either late spring or early summer…
don’t rush out and buy them.
They will probably go on sale a couple of weeks after they’re released.
Even with these supply chain shortages.
Now design wise, the WH-CH710N’s are decent…
they have a subtle design to them with relatively good build quality.
However, these headphones are not as sturdy as their predecessors and they surly aren’t
as steady as Sony’s mid tier ANC headphones the XB910N or the more premium 1000XM4’s.
However, one design element that I really hope sony address other WH-CH720N is their
leatherette.
Personally I hate the leatherette found on the WH-CH710N.
Its is very rough and it is very corse.
It feels way worse than the leatherette found on their predecessors, the WH-CH700N.
Which feel pretty decent.
So if Sony were to just change the leatherette on their entry level headphones to something
like what the WH-CH700N’s had…
I would be super happy.
Cause everything else about the WH-CH710N design wise is fine.
The WH-CH710N have decently large ear pads, these headphones rest very naturally on your
head, they’re relatively light weight weighing in at XXX and they have very little clamping
force…
making them big head approved.
New leatherette on the WH-CH720N is literally all that sony needs to do…
however after the release of the Sony XB910N…
I feel that these headphones are giving us a preview of what to expect from Sony’s
new headphones and their new design language.
Overall, the XB910N are very well built… but personally I am not a fan of this headphone’s
very bulbous headband.
And personally I fear that the the WH-CH720N will also get a bulbous headband.
As well as the 1000XM5’s.
So overall, I feel that the WH-CH720N’s are going to have an all new design to them…
and I am afraid that myself and a lot of other people out there are not going to like this
new design language from sony… cause a lot of people don’t like the look of the XB910N’s…
myself included.
Now when it comes to tech specs… the WH-CH710N’s are decent.
Battery life wise this headset has an advertised battery life of 35 hours with their ANC turned
on.
And with their ANC turned off they can go for as long as 45 hours.
And this headset charges via a USB C port, as it should.
However, I feel that sound could improve the fast charging on the WH-CH720N.
Cause right now with the WH-CH710N… these headphones will only get you one hour of playback
time if you charge them up for 10 minutes from a dead battery.
And if you plan on using these headphones for working out… then I feel fast charging
is very important for these headphones.
Now connectivity wise… this is an area the WH-CH710N’s really need work.
Right now these headphones can only be connected to one device at a time.
Making them not the best for power users.
However, sony’s newer headphones like the 1000XM4’s and XB910N’s can be connected
to two device at the same time.
However, you do have to sacrifice LDAC.
Now personally I don’t think the WH-CH720N’s will have LDAC period…
cause sony does reserve that for their more premium headphones and earbuds… but I do
think the WH-CH720N’s will be able to be connected to 2 devices at the same time cause
this is a very standard feature at this point that sony just can’t not have anymore.
But now we have to talk about listening to music with these headphones.
Now personally I don’t really like how the WH-CH710N’s sound cause these headphones
have adopted a very bass heavy sound signature.
In order to hear the instrumental on these headphones… or in order the hear the dialog
if you’re watching a moive with these headphones…
you gotta use them at max volume.
And unfortunately, you can’t directly adjust the EQ on these headphones… cause unlike
their predecessors and all of Sony’s other headphones… the WH-CH710N’s don’t connect
to Sony’s headphones app.
So you can’t fix the awful EQ on the WH-CH710N’s.
So definitely with the WH-CH720N’s I would like for sony to bring back app support on
these headphones… cause the WH-CH700N’s had it.
But next up lets talk about the active noise cancellation on the WH-CH720N… now personally
I don’t expect there to be a major ANC performance difference going from the WH-CH710N to the
WH-CH720N.
I doubt Sony is going to let the WH-CH720N block out more noise than their mid tier ANC
headphones, the XB910N.
So like you may have just heard…
there could be some marginal ANC performance improvement on the WH-CH720N… but I don’t
except them to block out as much or more noise than the XB910N.
But overall, the ANC on Sony’s mid tier ANC headphones is useful if you’re in a
somewhat noisy coffee shop and it can help reduce the constant humming of road noise
if you’re on the bus.
But if ANC is very important to you… then you’ll want to upgrade.
However, the ANC on these headphones doesn’t have any cabin
pressure, and it doesn’t affect how your music sounds… which is good.
Now one feature the WH-CH710N’s have that the WH-CH700N’s don’t have is an ambient
mode.
Which is super useful for commuters or even if you’re using these headphones while at
home.
However, with the WH-CH710N’s you can’t adjust how much noise these headphones let
in.
So hopefully with the WH-CH720N’s… if they bring back app support, then hopefully
you’ll be able to adjust their ambient mode to your liking.
But finally there’s the microphone on these headphones.
Now in general, sony does struggle with their microphone for phone calls.
And its just not these headphones.
Both the XB910N and 1000XM4 headphones have bad sounding microphones.
And so do the WF-1000XM4’s and the new Linkbuds.
So I don’t expect the microphone on the WH-CH720N to sound amazing… but please…
do better.
But with all of for me the WH-CH710N have always been a disappointment given that the
WH-CH700N were really good.
Sony really took a step back with the WH-CH710N… almost like they were forcing you to upgrade
to their mid teir ANC headphones.
Now don’t get me wrong…
I wouldn’t completely avoid the WH-CH710N’s… these make for great workout headphones in
the gym…
I just wouldn’t pay more than $100 for these.
Hopefully with the WH-CH720N, sony will bring back app support for these headphones, I would
like improved fast chargning and I would also like better feeling leatherette.
But personally I am nervous that Sony will be rolling out a new design language for their
upcoming headphones that will feature a very bulbous headband.
But I guess we will have to wait and see… cause I expect the WH-CH720N’s to be released
in late spring or early summer of this year.