Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have had to return two Open Box Excellent products the past two weeks! The first return was an absolute nightmare in store and I had to end up returning through mail. And to add to it, I ended up having to pay out of pocket for additonal packing materials at UPS. As I was wrapping gifts today I made a concious decision to check the condition of the other Open Box Excellent item I ordered, these earbuds. I was shocked to open them and find earwax in and all over the earbuds. I have never had issues like this with Open Box Excellent items in the past. Never! So disappointed in the quality of these items I ordered. I will be returning these too.

I’ve been messing around with the Sony INZONE Gaming Earbuds for almost a week. I’ve used them primarily for PC gaming, but I have broken them out to use with my Switch and phone. These are true wireless ANC buds that are focused on gaming performance. For gaming I typically use over the ear headphones with a boom mic, but I was willing to take a look at these buds to see how they stacked up. Features The INZONE buds are an ‘in-ear’ style without any ear hooks, and look almost like Bluetooth headsets from years ago. They come with a USB-C transmitter, charging case, USB-A to C cable, and 4 different ear tip sizes. The buds are held in entirely by the grip of the bud tip inside your ear. Each bud has flat outer surface which has a touch interface and the microphone inlet. The material used on the buds is a soft touch plastic that has a nice feel to it. The buds themselves are easy to grip and put in your ear, and the touch interface isn’t difficult to interact with. The buds use a USB-C transmitter that functions over the 2.4GHz band to deliver around 30 feet of range. The buds can also connect to devices using a Bluetooth 5.3 radio. Battery life is dependent on the connection type – transmitter based connections get 12 hours while Bluetooth gets 24 hours. The case provides an extra 24 hours of charge (48 if using on Bluetooth), and charges to full in 2 hours. This battery life will drop if using ANC or Ambient Noise processing. I am easily able to walk around my house and remain connected to audio and voice chats. The case itself is a little chunky and reminds me of an engagement ring box. It holds the USB transmitter in the middle and the buds pop in with a magnetic hold. The rear of the case has the charge port as well as the sync button used for Bluetooth pairing Using the buds with the transmitter was as easy as it gets on PC, Switch, and mobile. Plug it in, toggle the slider on the transmitter to the appropriate setting, and you are good to go. On PC there is the companion INZONE hub which lets you adjust and finetune the sound of the buds. Mobile and Switch are left with the default sound setup. I tried my hand at Bluetooth pairing but ran into issues. I paired it with my Pixel 7 Pro, but I couldn’t get any audio to play through it. I tried a couple different ways but was never successful. In doing all of this though I screwed up the buds. I unpaired the buds and deleted the connection – no huge deal for me since I have other buds to use with my phone. However, I found the next time I used the buds I was left with one bud stuck in transmitter mode and one bud in Bluetooth mode. I placed them back into the case thinking that would fix things – no change. I then did a full reset of the buds which requires putting them in the case and holding the rear sync button for 10-15 seconds. No change still. After messing around a bit I decided to pair them both to my phone again, which set both buds into Bluetooth mode. Once connected I switched the buds back to transmitter mode (press and hold both bud touch points for a few seconds). After they switched I was able to use them normally again. Sound The buds themselves have a great seal in my ear so the sound pressure generated by the drivers isn’t lost. That means that the sensation of bass is better felt and crisper. The listening modes affect sound quality to an extent, but its really dependent on your ambient noise levels. I found the ANC to be excellent. Fan noise from my tower, talking, dogs playing, keyboard clacking, etc. were successfully muted. I got jump scared a few times by my kids showing up right next to me with the ANC on – I could not hear them coming even if they were talking while they approached my work desk. With the buds in Ambient mode I felt the sound quality was just as good, but lighter sounds were starting to gets lost in the ambient noise. With ANC off as long as your ambient noise levels were low the sound reproduction felt the best. You don’t feel as isolated as you do with ANC on, and you are needing any extra sound processing going into audio in order to tune out your surroundings. The buds do a solid job of isolating you with just their fit alone, so the ANC is really only needed if you want absolute silence or if your ambient noise is elevated. Sound quality/reproduction I would break into two categories – INZONE hub supported or not. The buds don’t have INZONE support on mobile or Switch, even with the transmitter. Without INZONE support you kind of fly blind, and you will need to rely on your devices EQ controls. The Default EQ for the buds is flat, which is what you want when using a device with its own EQ. My phone has a built in EQ so it can be tuned, but the Switch will be stuck with a flat EQ. Sound quality is great when adjusted on my phone’s EQ, and listening to music is enjoyable. The vocals are really clear and sound clarity across the range is great. Bass reproduction has a nice level of punch without sounding hollow. The highs and mids are handled well without sounding overexposed or thin/tinny. At the flat EQ level the music sounds a little brighter than I prefer, but its not a bad setting if that what you had to level with (like on the Switch). On PC with INZONE hub support the sound processing gets a little more involved. You have settings for your EQ ranges with Custom or default profiles. There are toggles for spatial audio, dynamic range control (DRC), Ambient volume tuning. You can also configure the microphone settings like sidetone, mic volume, and gain control. Like I do for any other headset I have a few custom EQ’s depending on the game or media I am consuming. The INZONE hub lets you store these different EQ’s under sound profiles that you can cycle through. With the INZONE hub the sound quality for music and videos/movies remained similar to what I could manage with my phone’s EQ. The difference being the addition of DRC and spatial audio controls. The DRC worked great in instances where there are a lot of vocals were mixed with big loud events. DRC takes the punch out of those dynamic events, but it enables you to hear the dialogue without needing to adjust the volume up and down manually. Gameplay with the buds was pretty good. I played some Starfield and Armored Core 6 with them. Both of these games have a large amount of dynamic and frantic audio at times. The buds kept up well and didn’t detract from the immersion. I tried out the spatial audio on both – Armored Core sounded better than Starfield, and I thought it added to the experience in that game while Starfield felt a little muted. Bass was still punchy on explosions and the streaking of gunfire and rockets whizzing by were evident. The ambient game sounds in Starfield were crisp, which can be hard to hear with desktop speakers and a spun up GPU fan. Branching out into Discord I was able to test out the mic and get some feedback. The mics do a good job of filtering out my noisy keyboard strikes and the sound of my computer is filtered out. They picked up some louder background noises – especially random ones. My HVAC blower coming on gets picked up initially, but the mics eventually tuned it out. Background voices get picked up a bit, but they are pretty minimal. The sound, however, is that of an earbud mic. Its nothing special and it certainly falls short of headset boom mic with the wind sock. Compared to other earbud mics it does hold up a little better than most, and that’s thanks to some good background filtering that Sony has come up with. Fit/Comfort The buds are OK on the comfort. I’m not a huge fan of buds that rely on the friction of the tips to wedge them into place in your ear. I found that after wearing for an hour or 2 I needed to take them out to get a little break. I did the INZONE pressure check which found I had the correct tips installed (large). I tested the next smaller bud size and they were falling out of my ear. The buds come with 4 different sizes S, M, L and XL. I have an average sized ear. My girlfriend has a decently smaller ear opening, so I always check the fit on her as well. I had her try the smallest size and although they fit she felt they were very uncomfortable to wear. Her complaint revolved around the earbuds need to wedge itself into your ear canal to hold itself in place. Controls The controls are a little funky without the INZONE hub. Default is the volume up is a single tap on the right ear while a press and hold lowers the volume. Single tapping the left ear cycles through the ANC settings (On, Ambient, and Off). The volume controls affect the buds volume, and not the system volume. On PC in the INZONE Hub I changed my settings to more closely match my other earbuds. There are a couple of pre-configured defaults depending on the activity you plan to use the buds for. You can use the buds one at a time, but you will lose the controls assigned to the inactive earbud. Overall I’m kind of on the fence on the controls. The touch pad is very responsive and it works great. I’m more meh on the act of tapping buds that are compression fit into my ear – its liking a drumming straight onto my ear drum. I have to make sure I tap lightly, which again the responsive touch pad allows. Overall I liked the INZONE buds for what they bring to the table. The sound quality is really good, and the ANC is top notch. I wish these were a little more comfortable for long term wear, but I can work around that. I was disappointed in the Bluetooth pairing, but I honestly wouldn’t plan to use these for phone connection. As an Xbox user I am jealous that these buds exist because I would love to use them for console gaming and as a chat headset.

As a gamer with a small hearing disability (in my right ear, only around 15% hearing), I've always wanted a great pair of gaming earbuds. I've looked into the IEM (in-ear monitor) scene, as those have gotten popular for gaming, but none really got my interest. Gaming earbuds have always been so few and far between. When I heard about these, as well as the new ones coming out later this year by Sony, designed for gaming and PlayStation, I was super excited. I actually did not know that Sony had two official gaming earbuds lined up - these INZONE ones and a new "PlayStation Earbuds", as they're calling them - I think their real name is the "Pulse Explore" and is in partnership with Audeze, which Sony recently acquired. I kinda feel it's unnecessary to launch two very similar earbuds, which I will touch on later. For now, let's see what these new INZONE buds are about! The unboxing is pretty standard - you get what you expect. Inside, you have your charging case with the earbuds and USB-C transmitter (which has a PC/PS5 switch), a rod with various sized ear tips included. I believe the Medium are on there by default, so on the rod, you get SS (Super Small), S (Small) and L (Large), as well as a very short USB-C cable. I didn't even take the cable out, as I have other USB-C cables that I use for charging things. However, I do wish they'd have included a USB-C to USB-A dongle/extension, as depending on what I'm using these on, an available USB-C port isn't convenient. Like my laptop for example, I had to plug the transmitter into a regular USB-A port with a spare A to C dongle I had from one of my other gaming headsets. A small niche complaint, but I feel it's valid. The setup was pretty straight-forward. I set them up on my laptop (I fully intend to only use them on my PS5, however) and installed the Sony INZONE program/app. After plugging in the transmitter and launching the app, I was actually surprised to see that there was NO firmware update available. Very weird in this day and age where just about everything has a Day-1 update, haha. Anyway, the app is pretty simplistic and basic. You can do things like set your EQ (I changed it to Bass Boost, as I felt they didn't have enough bass by default), update your firmware and configure your Touch Sensor Function Settings. I left the sensor settings to default, but I'll have to reconnect them to change this as with this default, it doesn't NOT include the option to change your Game/Chat mix balance on the PS5 - they really should have had this defaulted in there. See the picture I included in the review - my PS5 says "To adjust the voice chat balance, try using the buttons on your headset". Initially, this was very confusing, as for the life of me, I could not figure out how to do this. So, I did some research and found the online manual and discovered I have to establish this via the INZONE appl. A minor annoyance. The touch sensors on the headset are pretty good. Tap the right bud to raise the volume and hold the right bud to lower it. On the left bud, you take it to cycle between Noise Canceling, Ambient and Off and then hold it to turn the mic on and off. As far as the Noise Cancelling goes, I'm gonna be honest...outside of cycling between the 3 modes and hearing a different tone for each, I could not tell ANY difference whatsoever between the 3 modes. I guess I'm just spoiled by Airpods Pro, perhaps, with how they do their Transparency mode? Not sure, but I found it a little weird that I couldn't tell the 3 modes apart from one another. As for sound and audio quality, I was actually a bit more impressed than I expected. Let me say up-front - do NOT expect a large amount of bass in these, even with the Bass Boost EQ. Other than that, as I believe these drivers are very similar to the Sony XM series earbuds. Music sounds pretty much "OK" on these, as you can tell they are clearly tuned for gaming, as a priority. I wasn't necessarily "wowed" by anything music related. However, I can verify that gaming is where these shine! I tried them on quite a few games: Diablo IV, Lords of the Fallen, Lies of P, Modern Warfare II and Mortal Kombat 1 and Cyberpunk. All of the games sounded great and the overall volume of this headset, which I think surprised me the most, is quite loud! I've noticed PlayStation headsets in the past have generally had an overall "lower" volume level than most others, which I why I never really used them much. All games I tried sounded great. Modern Warfare II was super punchy and footsteps were pretty good overall - you have your situations, like usual, where it can be hard to tell...but for most of the time, it works well. Cinematic games sound great and the combat sounds in Lords of the Fallen Diablo IV and Lies of P really shine! I never really felt that these sounded "tinny" in any way and everything had pretty equal volume, across the board. I've not yet encountered a game that sounded "lower" than the others. I also never experienced any drop-outs or stutters, etc. Latency is very much spot on and range is equally great! I also do love the fact that I can just use one earbud, if I want, since using one on my hearing impaired ear doesn't really make a difference for me, lol. I also love how they auto-disconnect from the PS5 when both are placed in their case and it just goes back to my audio system! Really, the only "con" I can think of, outside of some small gripes over the app/setup around the game and chat balance, and overall low bass is the market placement for these earbuds. At $200 retail price, these will share the same price as the new Pulse Explore PlayStation Earbuds, coming out later this year. It is my understanding that the Pulse earbuds were made in partnership with Audeze and this has me very, very excited. I love their Planar Magnetic driver technology and the Audeze Maxwells are by far, my favorite gaming headset EVER. But for the kicker...and this is what gets me on these INZONE's...unlike the new Pulse earbuds coming out later this year the INZONE's do NOT use the new "Playstation Link' wireless technology. This basically means if, like me, plan on getting the new PlayStation Portal (I have my pre-order in), these INZONE buds will not work on it. You have to get the Pulse earbuds that support the new Link technology. This is a major bummer for me because that means well, given I love Audeze and I want the new Link technology to use with my new Portal in November...I've got to shell out another $200 for those earbuds. Ugh...the market placement and timing on these are just terrible... So, overall - I'm giving these a 4/5 rating. Given the fact that I had to micromanage and set up the voice/chat game balance in the app and that it wasn't in there by default (which was very confusing when my PS5 prompted me to use the earbuds to adjust, but I couldn't figure out how), the lack of bass in the audio department and just very poor market placement on these earbuds - charging the same price, but not including the Link technology is a real stinker. My suggestion is: If you don't plan on getting the PS Portal at any time or if you do and just don't plan on using earbuds with it, then by all means, get these. I just hate getting the latest and greatest, only for them to feel obsolete in only a few months...

I’ve owned several types of gaming headsets in the past but I never delved into gaming ear buds. To me, it just didn’t seem ‘natural’ since all my gaming life, I’ve been accustomed to over the ear cups whereas I use earbuds when I’m riding on my skateboard or bike. Let me just say right here that I am now a believer in the gaming ear bud experience and I cannot think of a better way to jump in than with the Inzone Ear Buds. For a lot of us, gaming is about being immersed into a digital world that allows us to escape from the struggles of the daily life. Whether you are diving your umpteenth match in Call of Duty or taking a moment to marvel at the environments of Assassin’s Creed Mirage, games are escapism. For me, the highlight of this escapism is the sound. Hearing the footsteps of an opponent that is running around upstairs in a Warzone match gives the player an advantage, allowing him or her to plan accordingly. Maybe competitive online gaming isn’t your thing and you like single player games, the sound is just as important to be part of those set pieces. Set Up: Typically, when I have unboxed ear buds, there’s substantial battery life to them out of the box. My Inzone Ear Buds needed to be fully charged before I could connect them to my PS5. Once fully charged, I plugged in the USB-C dongle into the front of my PS5 and then I placed the buds into my ears. What was amazing was that there was no complicated set up! My previous wireless headset that also used a Bluetooth dongle, required me to access the system settings, find the headset and allow the PS5 to pair with them. The Inzone Ear Buds just connect without issue. What’s even better is that if I decide to remove the ear buds and want to listen through my soundbar, the Inzone disconnects on its own, allowing my PS5 to switch to the soundbar without requiring me to press the crossbar menu, scrolling over to sound and manually turning off the Bluetooth. I would be amiss if I didn’t appreciate the design of the charging case as it has a slot for the USB dongle which fits between the two buds. This allows you to carrying everything together if you should need to take your Inzone somewhere. Performance: Okay, this is where I gush about the sound delivery. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always used over the ear headsets for gaming and thought I had heard it all. I fired up Mortal Kombat 1 and let me tell you, I could feel that punches, kicks and Scorpion’s “Get Over Here!” in a more pronounced way than I had when using my reputable headset, the day before. Later, I decided to jump into the Modern Warfare III beta that was taking place over the weekend. Again, I was hearing footsteps, the different types of gunfire and other fun chaos that comes with playing Call of Duty. Muting my mic was easy as all I needed to do was tap on the left ear bud briefly and the mic muted. But the game that really exemplified the Inzone performance was Lords of the Fallen. Every drop of rain slamming against a brick wall, every groan from an enemy that thinks it’s cleverly hidden around the corner, and the howling winds as you push forward through a broken corridor are poured into your ears that doesn’t overwhelm the player. The Inzone Ear Buds really embrace the PS5 3D audio in a way that I haven’t experienced with over the ear headsets. I cannot wait to use these when playing the upcoming Spider-Man 2 game! Comfort: I should also mention how comfortable these earbuds are. It comes with several ear tip sizes that fit comfortably into your ear. I need to also mention how comfortable these ear buds are. I’ve worn them for several hours and not once did I experience any discomfort. I’ll admit, it felt weird not having an actual headset resting over my head and ears. And if you wear glasses (standard or gaming) then you will definitely love that there’s no pinching or having to carefully slide the glasses between your head and a headset. The earbuds don’t get in the way. Customize: You can customize your Inzone experience but currently, you can only customize via your PC by going to the Inzone HUB and downloading the app. It’s easy to navigate. Even without having access to the Inzone HUB, the sound performance is INCREDIBLE! Speaking of PC, you can use these if you’re a PC gaming. All you have to do is switch the dongle to PC instead of PS5 and you’re good to go. Do they work on other devices? The Inzone Buds work with devices that allow a USB-C dongle to be plugged it. They don’t work on their own with devices like my iPhone 14. No Regrets: These earbuds are amazing and if there are other gaming earbud competitors, then they have their work cut out for them. I would even say that over the ear headsets should be looking over their shoulders. You will not regret getting these gaming earbuds.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to headphones and entertainment. If I'm not watching movies with my home theater setup, I'll be using expensive over-the-ear cans that enhance the experience of watching a movie. This same idea is true for gaming. I've always assumed that earbuds should only be used for exercise, and when you're at your comfortable setup at home, you should use something that will bring you engaging entertainment. These $200 Sony Inzone Buds prove me wrong. While they're not as engaging as my 1K set of over-the-ears, they give you a comfortable experience in a minimal form factor. From the seal to the touch controls, I love these things. They pack a punch and rival any other Sony buds or popular PS5 sets of headphones. Currently, for music, I use Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay EXs. As far as sound goes, I've found nothing better on a pair of earbuds - and I've tried them all. These Inzone Buds sound as clear as the EXs but maybe lack a little in the bass. However, they have regular bass and are balanced more than I thought. They are not "artificial" sounding at all. You'll hear the directional audio and little details that keep you engrossed. The Inzone buds are nice because you can pair them with your phone and use them as you'd use regular music-listening buds. I may do that less because I have other, more expensive buds I use generally, but for many people, having a single set of buds for all needs is appealing. The noise canceling is excellent, too. The Airpods Pro could be more evident, for example, but these still keep outside noise out and the source's sound in. This is important if you have a setup in a home where others are around (especially kids). Back to the seal of these Inzone buds, they offer many sizes. It's basically a custom fit to your ears. I'd be surprised if you couldn't find one perfect option. A seal is important because you don't want any sound to leak. You want to match the sound of over-the-ear headphones as best you can. The case that comes with these are great. It's lightweight but has a subtle weight that reflects the quality. The great snap when it closes rivals a lot of my favorite cases. These are compatible with your PS5, PC, or Bluetooth. I've used them mainly on my PC, as I have a few other options on my PS5. These will be my go-to traveling solution when I travel with my gaming laptop. But again, for those of you who only want one option, these are an excellent option. They're very easily managed. If I had to give one criticism, it's the USB-C adapter. The way it's designed, you will clog up your input space on your PC by plugging this in. Instead of it being designed to have the significant portion straight back and away from other inputs, they decided to have the more prominent part protrude out left or right, so if you have an extra input next to the one you're plugging this into, it will block that input from being usable. I'm unsure if it's just how my PC's inputs are set up, but it was a bummer to discover when I plugged it in. Price-wise, $200 is fair. I've spent $400 on my current pair of earbuds, and the fact that these are half that price proves their value. I have the Inzone 9s for my PS5, and I've been super happy with those, so the idea that Sony is leaning into expanding their Inzone line-up is encouraging. They have already built quite an impressive collection of audio needs (as well as monitors). You'll be happy with these. While they're not as audio-enhanced as over-the-ear, they're the best option for earbud audio for gaming out. Trust the reviews.

These are by far, the best gaming earbuds I have ever tried. Believe me, I have used tons of gaming over the ear headphones. This blows them all out of the water. First, the fit is amazing, they include several in ear canal gel to fit your size, and make sure you tried them all and find the best fit, because the Inzone PC hub app has a test that will let you know if you are using the correct ones.. They go inside a charging cradle (it does not have wireless charging, sad to say) that charges via a small type C USB cable. They include a small type C usb receiver, which has a switch on it to switch from PC to PS5 mode. I'm using them with my PC, so I flipped them to the PC mode. Once plugged in my pc, I downloaded and installed the Sony INzone hub app. With it, you configure the earbuds to your pleasure. You can take measurements of your ears to setup the spatial audio (its an app you download to your phone and take pictures of your earlobes) so it customizes the sound depending of the shape of your ears. Each bud are touch sensitive and one press, two presses, long presses activate different functions on the fly (like increase volume, decrease volume, activate ANC, ambient sound etc.). You can alter these with the software too. The INzone hub also lets you setup different EQ presets and even customize and save your own (maybe people will share theirs online on gaming forums). The feel inside my ear canals is amazing, and don't hurt at all once I found the correct size gel pads. Sound is crisp and has tons of bass and all evolving if you use Sony's spatial audio (seems based on the PS5 one). The mic is super clear, even my friends told my I sounded better than before (I was using a top of the line gaming headphones/mic before). So i was amazed. You can also enable sidetone (were you hear your own voice so you don't yell at people). The earbuds also have a couple of nice modes: Ambient sound (so you can hear outside sounds or people talking to you without thanking them off) and also they have ANC (active noise canceling), which is nice but I could hear a faint hiss in this mode. I really didn't even need to use if since they totally cancel most of sounds. This maybe a nice feature if you game in noisy environments like tournaments or something like that. This earbuds have me convinced and I'm no longer using clumsy over the ear headphones anymore. The wireless range is great (I can walk to my living room from my room and still have signal), the battery life is amazing too. They are comfy, however I would recommend to take breaks if you are having long gaming sessions, like after a couple of hours take them off, let your ear canals breath for a few minutes and go back to fragging!!

I've been gaming for decades now and, more recently, have switched over to PC gaming. As usual, I've had a number of gaming headsets from Turtle Beach, Logitech to Astros. These are all over-the-ear style headsets which is what I, and most other gamers, have become accustomed to. I have earbuds for listening to music however I never entertained the thought of using gaming earbuds before. Being that these are from Sony, I was intrigued since I have a few of their Bluetooth earbuds already. As far as size/fit, these are pretty standard in terms of that. They're about the size of their normal music earbuds and are a comfortable fit. As usual, these earbuds come with various tips to get a better fit from these earbuds. Comes with a charging case that uses USB-C so you'll have power from the earbuds as well as from the case. Sound wise, these are mid range I'd say. With their music earbuds like their MX3s, they are geared for music and have their patented Extra Bass feature in them. With these, they sound like regular earbuds. Nothing about the sound really jumped out at me like with their music earbuds. You can download their Inzone application to your PC to fine tune the EQ as well as setup custom profiles. Even on full blast, they really didn't sound anything too special to me. I docked them a star because, for some reason, I'm not able to pair these with my iPhone 14 Pro Max. They seem to pair well/easily with Android phones but something about the iPhone it's a no-go. Contacted Sony support but they were pretty useless here. That said, I like these and plan on using them with my gaming laptop when travelling. Good that I won't have to lug my full size headsets anymore and can just bring these with me while abroad

Sony's new Inzone Buds are awesome. I got the White set and they look great, they match the color scheme of the PS5 perfectly. The sound quality is where these buds shine though. When playing games the audio is great, the sound and music is crisp and clear, with the bass being deep but not muffled/garbbled. The audio experience is further amplified by the Spatial Sound technology, which is the 3D Audio technology used for these buds. I tested it out on my PS5 by playing some RDR2, Dead Space, MW2, and RE4 Remake, and I've gotta say that the Spatial Sound is spot on, I could hear all the little details and was immersed in my game. The mic/chat audio is perfect, there is no chance you'll miss what your friends are saying online and they will hear you loud and clear. The buds have three usage setting: Active Noise Canceling, Hear Through, and Regular. The Noise Canceling is awesome, I had a box fan and an air purfier on full blast and couldnt hear anything other than my game. Its so good that I have to only assume Sony used the same ANC technology in these buds that they use in their WF-XM1000 line of buds, which is the best on the market. Controlling and customizing the buds is easy to learn by using the InzoneHub software on PC. The Inzone Hub lets you adjust all the audio EQ, Mic audio settings, Spatial Sound limits, ear fit, and more. I really like the perfect fit test, where you cycle through the different cushion sizes, hearing some audio samples, and then the Hub lets you know the ideal size for the perfect fit. I like these buds so much but I had to take away a star for one dumb reason. The InzoneHub has a basic on/off control for the Spatial Sound, but it also has an option to customize the field. However in order to do this you need to download the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app, sign in, and pair it to the InzoneHub, but when I tried to do this I kept getting an account merge error page that had no solution. Despite this dumb issue I still love the Sony Inzone buds and would absolutely recommend them for any gamer that wants or needs a wireless headset but doesnt want to deal with an over the head set.

This is my first experience with earbuds designed for gaming specifically so I can’t compare them to others. With that said, comparing them to over the ear gaming headphones I’m pretty impressed so far. Using these on my ps5 playing COD, I was impressed by the depth of sound you get and the situational awareness. Since my days of gaming starting with the Xbox 360 all I’ve ever used is over the ear headphones and though I still use them, it’s nice to have a set up earbuds that can do the same thing. Earbuds such as these are my go to for everything else when it comes to music on my phone or calls. At this time I plan to only use these for my PS5, but its nice to see when you’re using these with a phone they can be used independent of each other for music or calls as they both have mics. When using them on the PS5 you can’t use the mute button on the controller to silence chat, this is the same with the Sony Inzone H9 headphones. I really don’t understand this with a first party headset/earbuds as you can with third party headsets. To turn the mic off with voice chat you simply hold on the right earbud. The touch controls work really well so that makes it a little better. When turning off or on the noise canceling or ambient sound, it would have been nice if it announced what it did, instead it just makes different tones. Sony claims up to 12 hour battery life without noise canceling and up to 11 with while gaming, that’s pretty impressive battery life in my opinion. I really wish Sony would make an Inzone app for the PS5 that allowed the customization you can get when on pc. Overall, aside from not being able to silence your mic from the controller, the Inzone buds are a great alternative when gaming on my PS5. I get the sound, depth and situational awareness without the bulk of a headset. If you want the gaming experience without a big set of headphones these are a great alternative.

Get ready, Sony is bringing their A-game with these! I have never been a huge fan of earbuds in general, though I have found some that manage to be either comfortable or sound good but ALWAYS there have been significant trade offs. These INZONE earbuds, while not perfect, are VERY close to it. Finally! For starters, these are incredibly comfortable. Sony included 4 different sets of ear cones so that you can find the right size for your ears. I have used these for several hours straight and I genuinely do not have any issue wearing them for that long or longer. I could probably wear these all day. Perfect. Next, the sound is quite good, it’s very crisp and “sorted” with the distinct sound that high quality earbuds/headphones have over cheaper options. Bass is good, midrange is strong with a lot of weight and treble is nice and crisp without overshadowing the rest of the sound range. Everything plays together nicely to present a high quality sound profile. It sounds like you’re listening through a high quality headset and sound direction is very good for a true surround sound experience. Something else that impressed me greatly was the quality of the mic, both from the standpoint of capturing my voice AND sorting between it and outside noise. Sony did a masterful job of calibrating these earbuds to sort through noise and let only your voice through. By far the best mic experience I’ve ever had gaming. On top of this, the noise canceling is superb, it is as good as anything I’ve ever experienced. I played a long session one evening with a fan in the adjacent room. After I turned off the PS5, it became immediately apparent just how loud that fan was and how well the earbuds did at canceling it. Finally, the controls are fantastic. Right out of the box, they make sense are very intuitive. Download the INZONE app on PC and you can map the controls to your liking as well as tweak the sound profile to your taste. I really appreciate the charging dock and the very small profile of the whole package. Lastly, the USB-C dongle makes it very easy to switch between PS5 and PC mode. This is BY FAR my most enjoyable experience with any pair of earbuds and absolutely competes with and, in my opinion, beats any gaming headset I’ve ever owned and I have owned plenty of them.

I am surprised more than I thought I would be with the sound quality on these earbuds. I have used multiple different brands of earbuds from Bose to JVC to other Sony ones and theae are by far the best ones I have used so far. I don't have a PS5 test them on but I do a lot of gaming on multiple gaming laptops and my gaming desktop. The sonund quality while playing Halo Infinite or racing games like Forza was unmatched by any other headsets or earbuds I've used so far. The audio is extremely crisp and clean with solid low bass that you could really feel in your ears. Plugged the receiver into my laptop and was immediately recognized by Windows 11 as my default audio device. Installed the Sony Inzone app and was able to make multiple customizations to the earbuds as well. You can modify and edit what the different taps do to your own liking or stick with the default setup to raise or lower the volume or to turn the ambience modes on or off. When gaming I could hear people coming up from behind me in Halo or I could more easily pinpoint locations on the maps when they would shoot. As I was driving I could hear the different sounds of other cars passing by and the in game sound effects where outstanding. The settings in the app also let you change for the different types of games or music or movies that you're watching and even allows you to set dynamic audio off or up to a high setting if you do not like the loud ranges in movies. I tested these with a few movies as well and listened to one of my favorite scenes in Jurassic Park when the helicopter first approaches the island as well as the matrix scene where they walked into the lobby and have the shootout trying to save Morpheus. Both movies sounded amazing with these earbuds on I even picked up on other audio sounds that I did not hear previously watching these movies numerous times on multiple different surround sound systems. These earbuds are a great option for audiophiles who are into gaming or watching movies on the go. They are very versatile and can easily be plugged into a PS5 or laptop or cell phone. I tested them on both a laptop and my cell phone and they worked flawlessly without any issues. Comfort-wise they are very comfortable as well as looking very sleek.

Sony came out with the new INZONE Buds to fix help bridge a gap of the need for earbuds for the PlayStation 5. And although they are aimed to fix that, they offer a lot of functionality and flexibility and are a lot of fun using! PROS: - The all black design is really sleek and the case looks great! Overall they are light and the design is unique but straight forward. I did have to charge them via USB-C before using as an FYI. - There is really no setup needed and they are ready to go right away! You can use the inzone app on your computer to do some fine tuning if you want to, but I really thought they were ready to go right away. - Using them on my PlayStation 5 I was really impressed! They have some built in UX pieces with the PS5 like showing if they are connected, volume level, and battery level. And I used them while playing Horizon Forbidden West and the sound was incredible! They really push the spatial audio 360 feature and the sound is clear and really feels immersive. Seriously they were fantastic to game with on the PS5! - Along with that I did use them on my PC and iPad which they work great for on both! Just pop in the USB-C dongle and you are good to go. - The microphone is also very nice on this mics and Sony has added tech that makes sure your voice is heard amongst the sound while gaming with friends or streaming. - The battery life is great on these too! 12 hours of battery life and they charge up very quickly in the case when you are out of juice. CONS: - These Buds do not have Bluetooth so your only way of connection is via the USB-C dongle. They make that very clear in the advertising for this because the dongle provides a faster connection for gamers, but regardless it would be nice to have Bluetooth to use with other devices. BOTTOM LINE: - If you are an active PlayStation 5 player and are looking for some buds, these are the play for you! The spatial 360 audio is really fantastic along with the noise cancelling aspect of them. You can use them on your PC or iPad as well which makes them useful but overall are a can’t miss for PS5 usage!

When I originally got the Sony INZONE Buds, I had planned to use them with my tower gaming PC. I recently moved it and the corded headset I was using is right at its limit so having wireless gaming buds was going to be the solution. Lo and behold, my 8 month old gaming PC does not have USB-C! I knew there weren't any on the top panel but I assumed there was at least one on the back for the transmitter, but I assumed wrong. So remember kids, be sure your hardware can handle your tech before you get it. It was then that I remembered that I actually had a MUCH better option for using the INZONE buds anyway, my ASUS ROG Ally, duh! Sure enough, I plugged the transmitter into the Ally, fired her up, downloaded the INZONE Hub, made a few tweaks and I was ready to go. The first thing I noticed about the INZONE buds is that Sony did a nice job on the design of these things. The only thing actually touching my ear is the eartip itself so I'm not getting any 'hot-spot' or rubbing from the earbud itself. The second thing I noticed (and the most important), is that these sound REALLY good! I was playing Disco Elysium and the dialogue, music, and ambient sound all came across crisp and refined. It was much better than playing using the built in speakers on the Ally. I played for about an hour and that was when I did have my only real problem with the INZONE buds and it is just like many other in-ear headsets and that is discomfort from the actual ear tip. I had already swapped out the medium tips that were on it straight out of the box for the extra smalls since that is always where I need to start. I'm a normal sized guy but I have really weird ears on the inside. I used to drive the life-support guys nuts in the Air Force trying to get earplugs that fit. My right ear was perfect with the XS tip but for my left ear it was just a bit too small. I ran the ear-fit diagnostic from the INZONE Hub (which is a nice feature), and sure enough it said there was not a good seal for that ear. This was causing me to constantly press in the left earbud to keep a seal and it began to hurt after a while. I moved that ear up to just the small eartip but unfortunately that is just a little too big. I can get a seal and the earbud stays but it begins to hurt almost as fast as it did when it was loose. I'm going to keep on playing with the eartips and see if anyone comes up with some foam tips that might be a bit more comfortable and still give me a good seal. The good news is that I like the INZONE buds enough that I want to make them work and so I'm going to keep trying. My only other complaint is that Sony really could have put in a small startup guide in the documentation box. They gave me INZONE stickers, so a small sheet with the basic touch commands for the earbuds wouldn't be too much to ask. I had to look in the INZONE Hub to see what commands were tied to which bud. If you are looking for some cool gaming earbuds for your mobile gaming or at home, the Sony INZONE Buds deserve to be on your short-list.

Started getting headaches from a Logical Pro headset so I looked at gaming buds. I was skeptical about wireless buds for PC gaming as almost all Bluetooth buds have latency. These don't because they use 2.4ghz wifi with the included USB C dongle. Flawless sound and I would say even better sounding than the Logitech Pro I was using. The only con I have is the mic quality isn't that good, borderline just bad though I would expect that from any earbuds with an integrated mic. Battery life has been awesome with my use, mic disabled and anc on. I've worn them for several hours straight, tho I don't recommend that as it will cause your ears discomfort after that long if you haven't found the right tips, that they provide plenty of. Software is lack luster but it's perfectly functional and straightforward. I recommend these for anyone that can't find a comfortable over the ear headset, you won't be disappointed.

These are good earbuds. I like them because they are comfortable and easy to wear. The sound quality is good for earbuds. Playing call of duty I can hear footsteps and directional sound really well. The bass is slightly lacking but that is expected since they are nut full cover headphone, there is only so much they can do. I would recommend these over the Pulse earbuds.

Awesome gaming earbuds for PS5! Won’t be disappointed. The battery life is what sold me (12 hours). Sony audio is top notch. However the price is expensive. If you can catch it on sale. Definitely jump on them. It comes with a charging case and multiple earbuds for sizes.

So this is the first time using actual gaming stereo earbuds compared to using headsets that have some weight and slight odd feeling if you wear glasses. I have unboxed and read the documentation which supposedly would be the directions, but couldn't find much but a QR code so I have scanned the code which brought me to that page on my iPhone (which I can print out later). The controls are more of tap vs hold and differ from the left and right earbud. Tapping on the left bud toggles ambient noise and noise cancelling while holding down turns the mic on or off - right earbud tapping is increasing volume, holding is decreasing volume. I have a ps5 and so I have unwrapped and opened the headset and did charge for a half hour. I have plugged in the usbc dongle (which I had to switch to console as it was default onto PC), into the only one available usbc port on the PS5 on the front, and turned on the system. I have played a number of games and.. on low or decent volume it seems the bass isn't enough punch for me. I'll experiment with the different ear-tip pieces but I have just used the default tips that were already on there and the felt fine enough. The earbuds do feel premium and has that PS5 matching color scheme; they have left and right ear labels with contrasting colors of green and red. The case feels solid and has the charging indicator led, similar to apple AirPods with green for fully charged and amber for still charging; they hold both earbuds and the usbc dongle. The many earbud tip sizes are "on a stick" and theres quite a number of sizes to choose from. A usb to usbc short cable is included for charging (no 2 prong charging block included). The controls are good, right side earbuds are alert tones for volume up and decreasing volume - while tapping the left side earbud there's two different levels of tones/alerts for toggling ambient noise and noise cancelling which I'm unsure is which but its best to just listen during the gameplay and if theres an outside noise nearby - and holding has a female voice saying Microphone on or off which is pretty neat. When I have upped the volume loud and I think its a safe amount of loud that doesn't hurt any hearing (of course to each their own), the bass can be felt; I don't know if theres any support or update soon to up the bass. I haven't tinkered on PC though I do have an ASUS Rog Ally (which only has one avail USBC port and I'd have to get a hub to expand ports), I think theres more options on PC especially with the customization app of the levels of bass. For now, I could play with the decent of loudness on the PS5 which adds enough bass, and enjoy gaming especially multiplayer FPS games as well as survival horror; hearing your surroundings help in achieving certain levels in the game and eventually winning and beating it

With only a few minor complaints, the Sony INZONE buds are just about the complete package. Below are my thoughts: [PROS] The Audio Tech: The Spatial Sound (PC) and Tempest 3D Audio (PS5) gives the best of both worlds when it comes to sound detection. Regardless of the platform, the INZONE Buds provided definitive sound feedback that aided me in the different combat environments. Battery Life: Battery life is solid. As a small test, I left my buds sitting out for a couple hours and placed them back in the case to see if that had juice and sure enough they worked fine. From my observation, 12hr battery life may not be average for most users, but it is certainly achievable. Excellent Microphone: Simply put, this microphone has better quality than some bulkier and pricier headsets that I have used in the past. My friends could hear with great clarity while gaming, and the audio playback was excellent. Comfortable: I must admit that I was a little put off by the odd shape the "Buds", but found them immediately comfortable from the time I placed them in my ear canal. They're lightweight, and they remained comfortable throughout my 2+ hour gaming session. [CONS] No IP Water Rating: Accidents happens and every gamer gets hungry/thirsty. I would have desired if the buds to offered some type of protection against water or at least sweat. These buds attract lint and can get get dirty like any other pair of earphones so handle with care. Dongle Shape: The dongle should work fine for most gaming desktops. The narrow shape should not block other ports on a desktop panel. Unfortunately, the dongle is wide enough to where it would obstruct the ports on gaming laptops unless the USB C port is the on far side of your laptop. Furthermore, there's not an adapter included or available to remedy this situation. Bluetooth compatibility: The INZONE buds are compatible with some phones, but not all. If your device does not support Bluetooth LE audio then the earbuds won't work. [CONCLUSION] I've reviewed dozens of earbuds, and I've used a lot more. Decent sounding earbuds and headphones usually come at the expense at having subpar microphones. The Sony INZONE Buds are not that. It's great sounding audio and microphone experience wrapped into one. I love using them and would highly recommend them.

If you can manage to find these anywhere, you need to at least give it a try. The fact that not a lot people have covered this product is so strange to me considering the amazing experience I’ve had. I have been using these for PS5 and they have been great so far. Sound has easily felt high quality and the noise cancellation is solid and did well to block out things like fan/ac unit noises. The overall design and comfort was some of the most comfortable sets of earbuds I have ever put on. The only area that I feel like takes away from these being perfect is the mic quality. Its not terrible by no means and my friends were able to clearly hear me with no problems so its decent but not great. Also another area where I feel like it may effect mainly PS5 users is that you NEED a PC/laptop in order to fully customize the earbuds for both PC gaming and PS5. The main importance of this is that it lets you customize the different tap commands on the earbuds. Once you set it up on the app to your liking you can plug them back in your PS5 and the settings will save. Overall I give these a certified must try rating especially if you’re trying desperately to avoid an over-the-head headset

Pro's: 1. Good Quality case and buds 2. Very Comfortable to wear 3. Good Game Audio Con's: 1. Muffled Chat Audio ( anyone talking to you sounds quite even when they are maxed on audio slider) 2. Price