So for awhile now the Sony XB900N’s have been one of my most recommended pair of mid
range ANC headphones. They have good build quality, they fit well, they have decent active
noise cancelation, their ambient mode is good, they sound good and they also have a lot of
head rattling bass if you want it. But then there are the Sony H.ear On 3’s which are
also a good pair of headphones and they’re slotted above the XB900N’s… but which
one of these should you actually get?
Now the Sony XB900N’s retail for $250 where as the H.ear On 3’s retail for $300. But
the XB900N’s routinely like to go on sale for $178 and the H.ear On 3’s can routinely
be found on sale for $200 at Costco. Now at those prices both of these headphones are
a bargain and you can’t go wrong with either one but I do think one is overall superior
to the other. But nonetheless if you want to pick either of these headphones up they’ll
be linked down below.
Now first off I do have to point out that both of these headphones come included with
a carrying pouch rather than a hardshell carrying case. Which is a rather big let down on both
off these headphones. So definitely if you plan on traveling or commuting a lot with
either of these headphones I do advise that you invest in a hardshell carrying case.
Now one area where the h.ear on 3’s definitely out shine the XB900N’s is when it comes
to build quality… now don’t get me wrong, both of these headphones have really good
build quality and they both stay silent whenever you handle them. But what really makes the
H.ear On 3’s standout here is that their whole body has a soft touch feel it. Even
the outer portion of the headband. Where as XB900N’s entire body is just this textured
plastic… which does feel good but soft touch feels better. But another area where the h.ear
on 3’s really outshine the XB900N and even the 1000XM3’s for that matter is when it
comes to their leatherette. The lethetterette on the H.ear On 3’s just feels much smoother
and softer than the leatherette on the XB900N. Now the leatherette on the XB900N’s still
feels good and ive also said in the past that it feels better than the super synthetic leatherette
found on the 1000XM3’s… but again the leatherette on the H.ear On 3’s jut feels
better.
But when it comes to fit. I personally prefer how the XB900N’s fit over the H.ear On 3’s.
Now both of these headphones fit well and they’re both big head approved cause they
don’t have a lot of clamping force… but the H.ear On 3’s do fit a little more firm
than the XB900N’s do. So I do prefer the XB900N’s loser fit. Now when it comes to
the ear pads, keep in mind that both the XB900N and H.ear On 3 have more spacious ear pads
than than the 1000XM3’s. Now the ear pads on the XB900N should have no problem accommodating
most ear types… but if you have really large ears or ears that stick out a lot then you’ll
might be better off with the H.ear On 3’s. But personally for me I prefer to wear the
XB900N’s over the H.ear On 3’s. And just putting it out there I do think the XB900N’s
are more comfortable than the 1000XM3’s as well.
Now when it comes to tech specs, both of these headphones charge via a USB C port. But keep
in mind these USB C ports are strictly used for charging. You can’t use these USB C
ports as a wired connection like you can with some other headphones out there. But when
it comes to battery life, the H.ear On 3’s have an advertised battery life of 35 hours
where as the XB900N’s have an advertised battery life of 30 hours. Nonetheless both
of these headphones have really good battery lives for headphones in 2020.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… unfortunately both of these headphones can
only be connected to one device as time. You can’t easily hot swap from one device to
another like you can with like the Bose NC 700 or the Surface Headphones 2.
But when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone… both of these headphones
have zero latency across the board whether you using an iPhone or an android device which
is good. But I do have to point out that the H.ear on 3’s only have AAC and LDAC support
where as the XB900N also have APTX and APTX HD support as well as AAC and LDAC.
But you can always just use a wired connection with both of these headphones cause both of
these headphones still have an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack. Now I know this
sound basic but some companies are starting to remove the Audio jack on some of their
products. My only complaint here is that both of these headphones do come with some cheap
audio cables.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones cause this is where
these headphones really differ from one another. Performance wise these headphones sound the
same when it comes to sound stage and instrument separation. And since both of these headphones
have a fully customizable EQ you can make them sound how ever your want. If you like
a neutral EQ you can do that or if you like a bass heavy EQ you can also do that. But
what really separates these headphones from one another is their bass. Now the H.ear On
3’s have a decent amount of bass that will rattle your head a little bit… but the bass
on the H.ear On 3’s is noticeably less than the bass on the 1000XM3’s and its way less
than the kind of bass that you’ll find with the XB900N. The XB900N are a part of Sony
Extra Bass Headphone line up meaning these headphones have a lot of head rattling bass
to them. Which can be pretty fun sometimes. And having the clear bass slider on the H.ear
on 3’s set to 10 is like having the bass on the XB900N set to 2. And like I mentioned,
all of this head rattling bass can be a lot of fun especially if you listen to a lot of
rap and hip hop like I do. And that extra bass feature on the XB900N does bring an extra
level of emersion when you’re watching movies with these headphones. But that extra bass
on these headphones can sometimes get old or some people just don’t like a lot of
bass on their headphones. And thats perfectly okay cause you can always just lower the bass
on these headphones and you don’t even have to use their extra bass feature if you don’t
want to. So even though both of these headphones sound decent… I do prefer and recommend
the XB900N over the H.ear On 3’s cause they have that extra bass feature if you want it.
Now when it comes to controlling your music, both of these headphones have touch pads which
are very accurate and easy to use. But I do want to point out that I do feel that the
touch pad on the XB900N is a little easier to use than the touch pad on the H.ear On
3’s. I just find that my finger glides much easier on the XB900N’s than the H.ear On
3’s cause the H.ear On 3’s soft touch surface does add some friction. Nonetheless
both of these touchpad are fine, but I do prefer the XB900N’s.
But finally lets talk about the active noise cancellation on these headphones. Just as
you’d expect, as you move up the latter the active noise canlcetion improves on these
headphones. Since the H.ear On 3’s are slotted above the XB900N’s… the H.ear On 3’s
have slightly better active noise cancelation. But so that you can see for youreself we’re
going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the H.ear On 3’s block out a little more noise than
the XB900N but just slightly. But neither of these headphones stack up to the 1000XM3’s
which is to be expected. Now even though the H.ear On 3’s block out a little more noise
than the XB900N, the H.ear On 3’s have a much higher pitch to them when blocking out
road noise than the XB900N. But nonetheless the ANC on both of these headphones is decent
cause they both have very little to no cabin pressure which does contribute to their over
all comfort.
But somewhere where these headphones are identical is when it comes to their ambient modes. Both
of these headphones have a fully customizable ambient mode so that you can adjust how much
sound these headphones let in. And the ambient modes on both of these headphones sounds very
natural, they have zero hissing in the background and they both do a very good job of blocking
out wind noise when walking outdoors. But just keep in mind, unlike the ambient mode
on the 1000XM3’s which actively block out sudden spikes in loud noises the ambient modes
on these headphones let in everything. But besides that, the ambient modes on both of
these headphones is great.
And both of these headphones also have quick attention so that you can quickly talk to
someone without having to take your headphones off like this.
And then when you uncover their touch pad they’ll go back to normal again.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now I have this AC unit turned on cause I
want to show what kind of a job these headphones do isolating your voice from any ambient sound
you might have around you. Now the XB900N’s do an okay job of isolating your voice and
these headphones do sound very similar to the 1000XM3’s
But the H.ear On 3’s does do a slightly better job of focusing on your voice and they
block out that AC unit a little better. Cause if we were to switch to my lapel microphone
you’re going to clearly hear that AC unit. But if we switch back to the H.ear On 3’s
not so much. But over all, the microphone on these headphones isn’t the best out there
but they can get the job done for a quick phone call.
So with all that being said, I do think the H.ear On 3’s are the better built and better
looking headphones here. I really like their all soft touch body, I really like their super
spacious ear pads, and I really like their great feeling leatherette. But personally
I still prefer and recommend the XB900N’s over the H.ear On 3’s. The biggest reason
why I recommend the XB900N over the H.ear On 3’s is cause of their extra bass feature.
Its is a lot of fun to listen to and if you want to use it, its there. But if you don’t
want to use it you don’t have to. But also I do prefer the XB900N’s slightly loser
fit and their lower price tag is the cherry on top. And at the end of the day, ANC performance
difference between these two headphones is very marginal. Like I said in the full review
im not really sure why the H.ear On 3’s exists. If I were sony I would get rid of
the H.ear On 3’s and I would just bring some of those design elements and build quality
improvements to the XB900N and continue to dominate that Mid Range ANC headphones market.