So a few months ago, Sennheiser released their updated HD 450BT ANC headphones… And now
we’ve got the updated Sony WH-CH710N ANC headphones. And if you’re looking for a
pair of $200 ANC headphones these two are perhaps the most popular options. So if you’re
looking into getting a pair of entry level ANC headphones… lets see which ones right
for you, cause these headphones are very different from one another.
So like I just mentioned, both of these headphones retail for $200. But both of these headphones
predecessors like the HD 4.50BTNC and the WH-CH700N routinely went on sale for around
$150 or $130 and they both also went on sale for ridiculous on major shopping holidays.
So I do expect both of these headphones to get the same treatment as well. So if you
want to pick either of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below, and if you
want to learn more about either of these headphones please watch their full reviews cause we’re
only going over their main differences.
Now the first most obvious difference between these two headphones is that the Sennheiser’s
come included with a carrying case where as the Sony’s don’t. Now I think that this
is a real shame cause the WH-CH710N’s are one of the few $200 ANC headphones out there
that don’t come included with any kind of case. Now granted the carrying case that comes
included with the HD 450BT’s isn’t a hardshell case… but at least its something. But even
if you do plan on commuting a lot with the HD 450BT’s I don’t even think that need
a hardshell carrying case cause these headphones are extremely rugged.
And that brings us to the build quality of these headphones. The build quality on the
HD 450BT’s simply put the 710N’s to shame. These headphones have very dense and sturdy
plastic body panels… they’re silent whenever you handle them, and over all they’re just
very durable. Where as with the 710N’s… they do have improved build quality from their
predecessors cause the 700N’s really liked to crack and squeak a lot whenever you would
handle them… which is no longer a problem with the 710N’s. But I can’t help but
feel that the 710N’s feel a little flimsy cause their body panels are just so thin.
But the most important build quality difference between these two headphones really comes
down to their leatherette. Like ive mentioned in past videos, the leatherette on the 710N’s
feels very course and it feels significantly worse than the leatherette found on the 700N’s…
which actually felt decent. And this course feeling leatherette on the 710N’s can sometimes
get itchy when you wear these headphones which is a problem that I never had with the 700N’s.
Where as the leatherette on the HD 450BT’s just feels way better. Its a lot smoother
and a lot softer, so these ear pads don’t get itchy.
Now when it comes to fit, both of these headphones are big head approved but they both do have
a slightly firm fit to them. But the Sennheiser’s are a little more firm fitting than the Sony’s.
But I can still wear the Sennheiser’s for long periods of time with out having them
feel like they’re squeezing my head. They don’t have an exaggerated amount of clamping
force like the Beats Solo Pro… those headphones are definitely not big head approved. Now
when it comes to ear pads themselves… the ear pads on the 710N’s are significantly
wider than the ear pads on the HD 450BT’s… so if you have larger ears you’ll might
want to go with the Sony’s. But unfortunately since the ear cups on the 710N’s are a little
shallow they’ll might press down on your ears a little bit if you’re got ears that
stick out a lot. Even though my ears don’t stick out all that much the 710N’s still
press down on my ears. Where as the HD 450BT’s fit me just fine but they do feel a little
cramped. Ultimately I do prefer to wear the HD 450BT’s over the Sony’s mainly cause
of their better feeling leatherette… but if you’ve got larger ears or ears that stick
out a lot you’ll might want to look into getting a pair of headphones with larger ear
cups like the Sony XB900N. Now when it comes to tech specs, both of these
headphones charge via a USB C port which is great if you’re an Android User. And both
of these headphones have above average battery lives. The Sennheiser’s have an advertised
battery life of 30 hours where as the Sony’s have an advertised battery life of 35 hours.
None the less both of these headphones usually last me about 2 weeks in-between charges.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity both of these headphones have been upgraded
to bluetooth 5.0. But more importantly, only the Sennheiser’s can be connected to two
devices at them same time so that you can easily hot swap from one device from another,
which could be very important for power users.
Now when it comes to audio codecs, the Sennheiser’s have APTX low Latency, APTX, and AAC support
where as the Sony’s top out at AAC. Now if you’re an iPhone user this doesn’t
really matter cause you’re going to be using AAC anyways… but if you’re android user
you’re going to have APTX at your disposal.
But more importantly when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone… both of
these headphones have zero latency when using apps like Netflix, Disney Plus or HBO now.
But both of these headphones do have a slight latency when watching YouTube videos. The
710N’s have latency when watching YouTube videos on both iPhone and android devices
where as the Sennheiser’s only have a slight latency when watching YouTube videos on an
iPhone.
But finally I do want point out that both of these headphones still have audio jack.
Now I know this is simple but I do want to point it out cause some companies are starting
to get rid of the audio jack on their headphones. Specifically, Sennheiser got rid of the audio
jack on their HD 350BT’s which is a non ANC version of these headphones.
And finally, the USB C port on both these headphones are strictly used for charging.
You can’t use the USB C port on either of these headphones as a wired connection like
you can with the Sennheiser Momentum 3’s.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones cause these headphones
sound very different from one another. First off I want to point out that the 710N’s
no longer connect to Sony’s headphones app like their predecessors did. So now you can’t
customize the EQ on the 710N’s to your liking. Which ironically, now the HD 450BT’s do
connect to Sennheiser’s app so that you can somewhat customize their EQ which is something
their predecessors didn’t do. So the 710N’s losing app support is a step backwards especially
in 2020. But nonetheless… the 710N’s have a very bass heavy EQ to them which personally
im not a fan of. If you want to actually here your music with these headphones or hear what
people on saying when you’re watching movies with these headphones, you gotta crank their
volume all the way up so that you can actually hear the mids and vocals. Cause if you use
these headphones at a lower volume the bass on these headphones can be very over powering…
And even though these headphones have a bass heavy sound signature, the bass on these headphones
isn’t going to physically rattle your head all that much like their predecessors do.
The bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. So for me I am not a fan
of how these headphones sound cause they sound a little too shallow for my taste. Where as
the HD 450BT’s sound all around better when it comes to both their Sound Signature and
over all performance. Now even though you can adjust these headphone’s EQ… I actually
think they sound best when they’re set to their stock EQ. With their stock EQ the HD
450BT’s have prominent vocals and mids, and the bass comes in when it has to. But
again the bass on the HD 450BT is mostly on the audible side like with the 710N’s…
these headphones are going to physically rattle your head but not a whole lot. But the HD
450BT’s not only have a brighter EQ where you can actually hear the mids and vocals…
but they also have better performance cause they have much better instrument separation
and a much wider soundstage than the 710N’s. With the 710N’s everything sounds very close
together, all you really hear is just the bass, some vocals and then all of the other
instrumentals are just jumbled together. So plainly said, the HD 450BT’s sound way better
than the 710N’s its not even close. If you’re a casual listener and if you like a bass heavy
sound signature then the 710N’s will might do. But if you appreciate detail and clarity
then the HD 450BT’s are a no brainer.
So I think its pretty obvious that I am not a fan of how the 710N’s sound. And like
I mentioned earlier, the build quality on the WH-CH710N is nowhere near as good as the
build quality on the Sennheiser’s. But one area where the 710N’s really out performs
the HD 450BT’s is when it comes to their active noise cancellation. But so that you
can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
Now first off I want to address why I decided to include the 1000XM3’s in this ANC test,
cause I know its not a fair or an Apples to Apple comparison. I included the 1000XM3’s
here for the people that like saying that these entry level ANC headphones block out
just as much noise as premium ANC headphones for half the price… no they don’t. But
with that being said the 710N’s block out noticeably more noise across the board than
the HD 450BT’s. And for now the 710N’s have above average active noise cancelation
performance for entry level $200 ANC headphones cause they also manage to out perform their
older brothers the Sony XB900N. Ultimately the ANC on these headphones is useful for
like when you’re on a bus or in a chatty office or mess hall… but if you’re looking
for a pair of ANC headphones to constantly fly with then you’ll might want to look
into getting yourself a pair of premium ANC headphones. But nonetheless the ANC on both
of these headphones perform very well cause they have zero hissing in the back ground
and they also do a good job of blocking out wind noise… but more importantly both of
these headphones have zero cabin pressure. Which is actually one of the biggest improvements
found on the HD 450BT’s from their predecessors.
But one feature that is entirely lacking on the HD 450BT’s that is found on the 710N’s
is an ambient mode. With the 710N’s you can have them pump in some of the ambient
sound around you so that you can still be aware of your surroundings when your walking
around the city, or if you’re watching ozark… you can still hear when someone calls your
name. Just keep in mind that you can’t customize how much ambient sound these headphones let
in like you can with Sony’s more premium headphones. But nonetheless the ambient mode
on the 710N’s is really good cause agin they do a really good job of rejecting wind
noise… but more importantly it sounds natural and theres zero hissing in the back ground.
But finally here’s the microphone test. The microphone on both of these headphones
aren’t amazing but I do think the Mic on the 710N sounds the worst here because they
have a lot of amplification to them and they still sound shallow.
Where as the HD 450BT’s don’t have nearly as much amplification to them but they still
sound a little shallow. But I do think the mic on the HD 450BT’s are at least usable.
So with all that being said… these headphones are very different from one another. The Sennheiser
HD 450BT’s have way better build quality and they sound much better. Where as the 710N’s
have far better performing Active Noise Cancelation and they also have an ambient mode. But the
710N’s don’t sound all that great in my opinion and you’re stuck with their stock
EQ. Over all the 710N’s are decent but if I had to choose one then I would go with the
Sennheiser’s cause of their better sound and build quality.