Now that its the second half of 2020, most of Sony’s ANC headphone line has been refreshed.
First we got the WH-H910N’s AKA the H.ear On 3’s, then we got the Sony WH-CH710N’s,
and most recently we’ve gotten the Sony 1000XM4’s. But now, the Sony XB900N’s
which were released in the summer of 2019 are the oldest headphones here and they’re
the most likely to get upgraded next. So here’s my wish list for what I would like to see
on the next version of these and when I think we’ll get them.
Now first off when it comes to names I think the replacement for these will be called the
Sony WH-XB910N’s. Sony has just been adding tens to the majority of their products. They
did it with the WH-H900N’s AKA the H.ear on 2’s and they also did it with the WH-CH700N’s.
Which hot take, I prefer these to the current 710N’s. Now when it comes to availability,
I think that we’ll see the Sony XB910N’s either in the Spring or Summer of 2021. As
of the recording of this video Sony hasn’t put out any new FCC applications recently
referencing any pair of headphones… and besides I feel sony is going to want to push
out as many units of the XB900N’s this holiday season as they can. The XB900N’s have a
retail price of $250 but sony constantly likes putting these headphones on sale for $178
and at that price these headphones are awesome. So if you’re watching this video in 2020
or maybe even early 2021 I would say yeah go ahead and pick up the XB900N’s if they’re
on sale. They won’t disappoint. And they’ll be linked down below.
Now even though the XB900N’s are still one of my favorite pair of mid teir ANC headphones
to recommend… something thats really starting to become a problem is that these headphones
come included with a carrying pouch. Cause now there are plenty of other $250 and $200
ANC headphones out there that come included with a hard shell carrying case. Like lets
say either Surface Headphones 2 or the Razer Opus. So sony get your act together lets get
a hard shell case for the XB910N’s.
Now when it comes the build quality these headphones… the XB900N’s are all around
great for mid teir ANC headphones. They’re very well built, they’re sturdy, they have
zero cracking or squeaking when ever you flex them and their leatherette feels decent. I
actually prefer the feel of this leatherette over the leatherette found on the 1000XM4’s.
And when it comes to fit, these headphones should fit most people just fine. They’re
big head approved cause they don’t have a lot of clamping force… they’re very
light weight weighing in at 254 grams so these headphones are easy to forget that you have
on and they aren’t super noticeable when you’re walking around with them on. And
when it comes to their ear pads these ear pads should fit most people just fine. Now
these ear pads aren’t as spacious as the ear pads found on Bose’s headphones or the
Sennheiser PXC 500-II’s or surface headphones 2 but they are fairly spacious. However what
sony does need to do here is that they need to reduce the amount of surface area coming
in contact with your skin. Now these headphones don’t have an over heating problem… but
these ear pads do heat up a little faster than all of Sony’s other headphones especially
when you’re walking around with them on. Cause for comparison, the ear pads on both
the H.ear On 3’s and 710N do stay color for longer cause they have less surface area
coming in contact with your skin.
But besides a minor tweak to the ear pads on the XB900N’s I would also like to see
sony make the headband on the XB910N’s a little more low profile. Cause the headband
on the XB900N’s is a little rounder than the headband on the 1000XM4’s and the lower
profile the headband on any headphones just make them look sleeker. So over all the build
quality and fit of the XB900N’s is fine but I would like them to reduce the surface
area on these ear pads and make this headband a little more low profile.
Now when it comes to tech specs, obviously I think the biggest change that most people
want to see here is being able to connect to 2 devices at the same time like you can
with the 1000XM4’s. Its not a huge deal if your headphones can hot swap from one device
to another… but it is nice to be able too. And it could be a big deal for power users.
And besides this is a very standard feature found on a lot of other headphones out there.
However something that I do want to point out is that it's very likely that we'll see
the removal of APTX and APTX HD on the XB910N's cause Sony is currently phasing out APTX support
on their newer headphones. So I think it's guaranteed that the XB910N's will only have
support for SBC AAC and LDAC just like the 1000XM4's and h.ear on 3's.
Now when it comes to sound... I really hope that Sony dosent change the drivers on the
XB910N's. Now i say this cause the 710N's are using 30 millimeter drivers and the h.ear
on 3's are using 25 millimeter drivers which ultimately really did end up reducing the
amount of physical bass these headphones have. So I just hope Sony continues to use 40 millimeter
drivers like they do in both the 1000XM4 and XB900N. Now personally I don't think Sony
needs to increase the amount of bass these headphones put out but I think they will given
that there are other bass head headphones out there with more bass like the Skullcandy
Crusher line. But when it comes to sound quality improvements like sound stage or instrument
separation… I doubt sony will improve that on the XB910N’s cause they didn’t improve
it on the 1000XM4’s.
However something that Sony does need to improve on these headphones sound quality wise is
their audio codec. Now if you use these headphones with an iPhone they're going to use AAC no
matter what. However if you use these headphones with an Android device and use your own EQ
they're going to go from using LDAC to using SBC. And unfortunately these headphones just
don't sound as good when they're using SBC versus Ldac. They just don't sound as rich
or as full. Now the 1000XM3's also used to do this but now with the new 1000XM4's they
continue to use AAC or LDAC on an Android device not matter what EQ you use. Which is
great. So I hope we see the same thing with the XB910N.
now another new feature on the 1000XM4's is that they have wear sensors. Now personally
I'm 50 50 on whether Sony will add wear sensors to the XB910N's. On one hand they'll might
want to reserve this feature for their more premium headphones but on the other hand there
are other mid tier ANC headphones like the surface headphones 2 that have wear sensors.
So I don't know if the XB910N will have wear sensors... But if they do I'm just going to
turn them off anyways
But something that Sony really does need to improve on these headphones is going to be
their ANC. Now the ANC on the xb900n doesn't have a lot of cabin pressure and it doesn't
change how your music sounds which is good. But Sony does need to increase the amount
of noise these headphones block out cause the XB900N's block out the least amount of
noise in Sony's whole ANC headphones line up. But so that you can see for yourself were
going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen the xb900ns block out the least amount of noise here.
And the entry level 710N's actually manage to block out more noise than the xb900n. Now
I'm not saying the XB910N will block out as much noise as the 1000XM4's... But I would
like to see the xb910n to block out as much noise as the h.ear on 3.
And the last thing sony really needs to improve on these headphones is their microphone. This
microphone sounds very muffled and it also isn’t doing the best job of blocking out
ambient noise. Cause right now ive got this AC unit turned on and if we were to switch
over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear that AC unit. But if we were
to switch over to the XB900N’s even though it is reduced a little bit you can still hear
it.
And even if you were to take phone calls with these headphones in a quite room… your voice
is still going to sound a little muffled.
Cause for comparison, even though the microphones on the 1000XM4’s isn’t the best… it
is an improvement. And something this microphone is doing very well is blocking out ambient
noise. Cause again ive got this AC unit turned on and if we were to switch over to my lapel
microphone you’re going to clealery hear that AC unit. But if we were to switch back
over to the 1000XM4’s its gone.
But with all that being said the Sony xb900n are still one of my favorite pair of mid tier
ANC headphones to recommend. They have great build quality, they fit well, they sound good,
and their Extra bass feature is a lot of fun. And if you're thinking about picking these
headphones up in late 2020 or even super early 2021 I say it's safe. And if they're on sale
for $178 then I would definitely pick them up. But I do think the XB910N have the potential
to be a meaningful upgrade. Physically I would like the XB910N to have slimmer earpads so
that they stay cooler for longer and they should make their headband be a little more
low profile so that they look sleeker. And tech spec wise I think the most basic thing
people want from the XB910N is simulations multi-device connectivity so that you can
hot swap and I think improved active noise cancellation is a must cause the XB900N's
are being beat by the entry level 710n's. But now for the stuff I'm not sure Sony will
add. I'm 50 50 on whether Sony will increase the amount of bass these headphones have,
I don't know if they will add wear sensors and I doubt that they are going to add speak
to chat. But personally I don’t care about speak to chat cause thats host another feature
I just don’t use. And when it comes to a release date personally I think that we can
see the Sony XB910N come spring or summer 2021. But bare minimum the XB910N’s better
come with a hardshell case.