There’s something magical about over-ear headphones. It’s for those who want to immerse themselves in the music that’s playing. The drivers are larger vis-a-vis earbuds and there is a great comfort level because of the large comfortable earcups.
Over-ear headphones obviously fit more ear shapes but, there are times when it can make the user feel hot because the ears are completely covered and some headbands are not kind towards curly hair.
Sony has tackled most of the problems with the WH-CH720N. These are not the premium Sony WH-1000XM5 but it certainly offers great value for money. It’s a mid-range, over-ear, noise-cancelling headphone with everything one expects from Sony. Most importantly, it has the Integrated Processor V1, which is also found on the premium pair. It bumps up battery life and improves ANC as well as clarity.
Comfort all the way
There are some touches to the headphone that feel premium. The basic shell itself is of excellent quality and does justice to the adjustable metal headband, which comes with a matching coloured strip. The headband is flexible and no matter how much you bend it, the shape is maintained. There are no cracking noises when you try to twist the band. Even the external noise-canceling mics have a colour-coded mesh to protect them.
The buttons on the earcup are tactile and the set comprises volume up/down, play and pause while a long push on the play-pause button can wake your AI on whatever device you’re using. It supports Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa, so this means you can control the music with just your voice.
At less than 200g, the headphone is lightweight. The padding is excellent on the headband and earcups. It’s soft and the earcups are breathable. Sony has enlarged the earcups to ensure a perfect fit. I have Mr Bean ears but the headphone has been kind to me. The earcups are comfortable and there’s no pinching at the top of the head and the ears don’t get uncomfortably hot.
Impressive battery life
In case you are carrying this headphone for a weekend trip, you probably won’t have to charge it. Further, it’s perfect for long-haul flights. With noise-cancelling off you will get 50 hours of playtime and with noise-canceling on, it’s 35 hours. Plus, three minutes of charge will give you one hour of playback with ANC. One great feature about the headphone is that if you run down the battery, you can connect it to your smartphone with the wire in the box, provided the phone still has a 3.5mm headphone jack
It’s about clarity
When we talk about sound quality we can’t do so without talking about the Sony Headphone app; it really makes mid-range ANC headphones stand in a category of their own. In the app you can analyse your ear shape and it will use this data to tailor the sound signature. Further, this helps when listening to 360 Reality Audio tracks.
There’s a feature called DSEE or Digital Sound Enhancement Engine. Working in tandem with the Integrated Processor V1, DSEE helps produce a high-quality sound exactly as artistes intended.
Out of the box, the flat EQ profile is quite good, particularly the high-frequency range and the base output is substantial. Personally, I like to play around with the EQ and there is a mode called Excited EQ, which makes the bass a bit more bouncy without sacrificing clarity.
On Princess Nokia’s EP I Love You But This Is Goodbye genres collide, going from pop-punk on Closure to electro-pop on Complicated. The headphone is able to capture the rawness of the songs. Trying out the headphones with Cracker Island by Gorillaz also turned out to be a good experience. The virtual band goes from psych-fused pop to reggaeton and the headphones pick up the sonic snapshots quite well.
The one thing I found missing is the absence of wear-detect sensors but there is an auto power-down feature. On the flip side, there is multipoint connectivity, allowing you to pair the headphone with two Bluetooth devices at the same time. So when a call comes in, your headphones know which device is ringing and connects to the right one automatically.
And there’s one more thing. The activity tab on the app is where you can track your usage of the headphones and you can unlock badges. You can also activate Adaptive Sound Control. You will need to give the app permission to do this and when you do, the headphones can learn what types of sound signatures and what kind of noise cancelling is ideal for specific locations you visit often.
Should you buy it?
I haven’t spoken about ANC or active noise cancellation. On the mid-range headphone, it has one of the best ANC, reaching almost flagship level, cutting off all unnecessary noises. With two microphones in each earcup and Dual Noise Sensor technology to capture ambient sound, you can block outside noise everywhere you go, so the only thing you hear is your music. The ambient mode turns in a fantastic performance. In Ambient Sound mode, the feedforward and feedback mics come into play and users can adjust the ambient sound in 20 levels, or use the Focus on Voice setting to chat without removing your headphones.
Codec support is limited to SBC and AAC; on the more premium headphones you get Sony’s high-quality LDAC codec. Barring this, Sony WH-CH720N can easily be the go-to headphone in the mid-segment, thanks to its brilliant ANC performance. These are truly headphones with sonic brains.
(Left) The earcups are big and comfortable; The headband is strong and comes with enough padding (right)
(Lfet) You can connect the headphone to a smartphone that still has the 3.5mm audio port; The build quality is good for a mid-range headphone (Right)
AT A GLANCE
Device: Sony WH-CH720N
Price: Rs 9,990
HIGH NOTES
- Comfortable fit
- Great ANC performance
- Excellent app support
MUFFLED NOTE
- No support for LDAC
