Sony - WH-XB700 Wireless On-Ear Headphones - Black

The quality of your headphones can make or break your listening experience. I have found several sets of wireless on-ear headphones in the past few years that I use on a regular basis and this pair from Sony has made the cut. I look at several factors when I test out headphones including battery life, comfort level, and listening experience with different types of media. From the moment I took these headphones out of their box, I knew they were something special and as I was to find, they will stand up against more premium brands with no problems. Battery Life: While I didn’t test out the full 30-hour claim for the headphone’s battery life, I did find them to have an above average lifespan. I had several long-length listening sessions with these headphones and didn’t have them die on me once. I love that they charge using USB-C instead of the ‘old standard’ of Micro USB. After several days of use (probably at least 2 hours of listening time each day), the battery is still at 50%. Comfort: Because of their light weight, these headphones are some of the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. I was surprised at how easy they are to wear. The band is easily adjustable and it has ample padding in the headband. Even though the ear cups are ‘on-ear’ style, my ears never seemed to get overheated and sweat wasn’t a problem. The controls are easy to reach and the tactile buttons make operation simple. I do like that there is a separate button for the voice assistant. Music: I’ve listened to several different styles of music using these headphones and found that tracks sound rich and full. The ‘extra bass’ feature of these headphones is unmatched without a separate EQ. One of my favorite tests for straight music listening is to listen to Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The revolutionary album has a lot of different sounds mixed into the tracks and a very pronounced heartbeat drives several parts of the album. This is where the extra bass feature really shines. I’ve listening to this album many times before and found it to be much more intense using the Sony headphones. I loved the stereo effects of the headphones in conjunction with this album. I also listened to my Pandora station that features 90s hip-hop music and thought it was remarkable how deep the bass was. As far as music goes, I think these are the headphones to have. Spoken Word: After listening to several different types of music, I switched to my podcast app to see how the headphones would fare against spoken word. Voices were clear and precise. It didn’t matter what timber the person’s voice had, the headphones made them sing. I really enjoyed listening to podcasts with these headphones just as much as — if not more than — music. For one thing, podcasts typically require a longer listening session than music. For example, one of the podcasts I listen to is one hour in length. So, the fact that these headphones are so comfortable makes spoken word pieces wonderful to listen to. Soundtrack/Mix: I’m a big nerd when it comes to movie soundtracks and audio editing/mixing. So, I always use a few movie clips to test out headphones. One of those clips is the intro sequence to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s a vibrant soundtrack/mix that includes spoken word, music, score, and of course, sound effects. While there were definitely some bright spots in the soundtrack, I have actually had a better listening experience from a different set of headphones. I would say these are a solid 7 out of 10 for watching a film with an advanced soundtrack. You’ll get a lot out of them, but not everything. Final Thoughts The WH-XB700 are amazing headphones. I do wish they features Active Noise Canceling, but I’ve been happy with the amount of noise isolation I get from my ears being covered by the ear cups. The exceptional battery life and comfort level paired with an above average sound quality make these a wonderful choice for their price point. I would recommend these to all types of users. They are easy to operate and their listening experience rivals more premium wireless headsets.

I consider myself a medium-budget audiophile. From traditional bluetooth corded ear phones, to truly wireless to earbuds and let’s not forget the wired ones - I love them all. I can honestly say, I love these on-ear headphones. Usage: Pairing was a snap with my S8+ and found myself tinkering a bit with the settings in the App. A simple change to the Bass forced me into a “Priority on Stable Connection” setting - which I found odd, as I wanted to tune the sound for the “Priority on Sound Quality.” Only once did the switch between the two modes fail; I found myself on the 2nd mode making sound changes, however it showed me on the default mode. Toggling it a few times got it back to the setting displayed so no big deal to me. Very fast bluetooth acquisition on power-up (another bonus) - however found inconsistent sounds on my Linux Mint laptop. It was an echo chamber sound, where I had to disconnect the headphones, disable bluetooth, enable bluetooth & reconnect the headphones to restore the sound quality. It happens on every boot up (every morning) but that simple process gets me into great sound in around a minute. I was able to sit at my desk, put the sound up to an immersion volume and type away. Even though they aren’t ‘noise cancelling’ - I was unable to hear my wife right around the corner. I also found this the case in the office, where the only thing I notice was a body in my peripheral vision and not that they were talking to me. I found it very easy to concentrate, head-down, with these on. I listened to some Hard Rock, Classic Rock and Reggae. Each one of them sounded fantastic. I’m also a Google Assistant user. Tapping the Assistant button and pretending I’m talking to the Home Hub or even the JBL Link 20 was exactly the experience I was looking for - seamless. The battery life is fantastic and I didn’t ever come to a point that I was running out, just that I didn’t want to run out, so I charge them overnight. Observations: After an hour or so, the on-ear part gets a bit tiring. Getting up and taking them off, I found myself rubbing the tops of my ears - but hey, you’re putting pressure on your ears so that’s to be expected. I bet an ‘over’ the ear version would be even more immersive and less on the pressure. The headphones come with a very short USB-C cable, so a longer one would be nice to have (and I ended up using a longer one from other devices). I tried the wireless calling part using the good ’ol Skype (not for Business) audio tester. I found it to be quite distant / muffled so I elected to *not* use it for any real Skype for Business calls, I went back to my Jabra for those calls. Overall: I love these things. I also love the sub-$150 price point and Google Assistant integration. Well done Sony!

Good sound, not great. My teens don’t mind. I myself got the XM4. Good quality at an affordable price.

First impressions: -Well padded (leads to some hot ears tho) both on the ears and the head band -Good quality sound especially for pop & hip hop--a little dull for rock but tweakable via the app -Very good battery life (listened for two days in the office for 15 hours total--still says I have about 70% battery life) -Normal bluetooth distance and solid (no drops) within 10 feet -Lightweight -Very plastic, makes me worry about durability, squeaks a bit when taking on/off but no squeaks while wearing Speaking of the plastic... I owned two pair of Sony XB950B1 headphones. Why two? Because the muffs cracked off the first pair, and eventually the second pair. Although nearly all plastic, they actually feel a bit more durable than the XB950B1 but I would still treat them with caution. These are comparable in sound quality to the XB950B1 at a lower price. They have a slightly smaller muff and although my ears get hot, they don't get sweaty like they did with the XB950B1 headphones. It is also worth pointing out that they do not fold down for compact storage, nor do they come with a case or bag like some similarly priced over-the-ear headphones. The muffs do rotate so you can set them down "flat," however. The Google Assistant setup requires the app and setting of the "CUSTOM" button on the muffs. It is not overly intuitive so you should read the instructions. Once I had it configured correctly it worked just fine. "Hey Google, shuffle my Pearl Jam mix" "Hey Google, what's today's weather like" "Hey Google, send a text to Jeff." After all, the headphones are just an activation, mic and speaker device for Assistant. The real work is happening on the phone. One of the cooler Google Assistant features is that when you hear an alert tone from your phone interrupt your music, you can press the CUSTOM button and Assistant will tell you what you missed. For example, my phone dinged while listening to music. I pressed the custom button and Google Assistant said "Your front doorbell detected movement at 3:24p." Randomly pressing the Google Assistant button will let you know the time and whether or not you have missed any notifications. And don't worry, Alexa people, this is one of the FEW devices that comes with both Google and Alexa (bravo Sony for offering both!!!). As mentioned previously, good average sound. I listen to pop, hip hop, rap, alt, rock, and classic rock genres. I have higher end headphones that handle the alt, rock, and classic rock better (crisper, tighter). These are OK for the alt and rock genre. The are above average for the more modern dance, pop, rap, hip hop music. If that is your style, then these are a nice option. If you are not a bass-driven music fan you probably want to keep searching for something better balanced. Regardless, if you do stick with one type of music, you can configure these muffs using the app to tweak the amount of bass and spacial preference (arena, club, outdoor concert, etc. as well as up close, in the distance, behind you, etc.) that suites your ear. They get plenty loud. They don't block out much surrounding sound. At an average volume in the office I could still hear my fingers on the keyboard and my office phone when it rang. Noise canceling (these are not) headphones would have isolated office sounds out completely. Bluetooth and NFC connections are nice. Comes with a USB-A male to USB-C male charging cord as well as a 3.5mm wired cable option for those who like to plug into the headphone jack (or if you forget to charge the headphones). Overall these are good headphones. A true audiophile would want to jump up to the $350+ price range but for casual listening these are a safe bet with fun features and great battery life.

I'm giving this 4-stars because it does what it supposed to and nothing special. However, if you are looking for heavy-bass headphones (like me) this is a 5-star for you. Both for quality, simplistic style, and price.

I always own Sony products when it comes to music and sound systems. These headphones sound awesome and comfy, battery life is outstanding, NFC feature is useful for fast and seamless connection. The plastic materials used in these headphones are less grade than any Sony I have owned and currently using. For the price point is affordable versus all the high quality of sound and NFC and bulit-in mic. For my ears size its comfy and didn’t warm them up.

First off these headphones look amazing. They have such a nice clean and sleek look to them without being flashy and ugly. These are so comfortable with the proper cushioning and padding all around on the ear pads. Best Bluetooth 4.2 headphones I have ever owned. These headphones have that signature sound that Sony delivers with the oomph I love with the Extra Bass. The bluetooth connects easily and quickly on my iPhone XR so I’m pleased with that connectivity. The battery life is great and it’s stated at up to 30 hours. I used these over the weekend while doing yard work outdoors and got a solid 5 hours of listening with them so I’m sure they will live up to the Sony’s stated 30 hours. The microphone that’s built in works great and is just right for my phone calls to be heard clearly. These headphones also offer built in voice assistants paired with google assistant and Alexa. These headphones can make your life easier and simpler with this feature factored in. Be sure to download the Headphones Connect app from the iTunes Store to ensure you are customizing the sound on your headphones to what you like. PRO: Deep punchy bass Clear and crisp sound Excellent comfort and padding Stylish looks CON: None

Most of the time, when something wireless says it has XX hours of battery life, that is only at moderate volume levels. When using higher levels it usually turns out drastically less. However, with these I purposely played them at max volume, streaming music with a couple of calls in between and still managed an impressive 28 hours straight. Full charge took 4 hours, but if you must continue on, you can always connect the 3.5mm cable included. Playetime also depends on codec and DSEE feature enabled or not. These can only be checked by using the “Sony | Headphones Connect” app. The app is kind of essential if you want to make any sound settings to the headphones. Such as change the priority of sound quality over stable connection so you can use aptx or AAC codecs. Enabling DSEE, Sony’s feature to give high quality sound over the lower quality codec, and changing the bass levels. It also has some interesting features for changing surround effects and setting a position for the sound. The app also allows you to change the function of the “Custom” button from Google Assistant to Amazon Alexa or your own devices voice assistant. For instance, I can use Bixby through my Samsung phone instead of the Google Assistant. As for the assistant, it still requires setup through your phone, but it will easily read notification to you or allow you to ask it something while holding the “custom” button. If there are no notifications it will just read you the current time. Sound quality is pretty decent, however I felt like I was missing and crips highs. This headset is clearly focused on the “Xtra Bass” and do well at that. Using the app and increasing the Clear Bass to +10 actually provided ear tickling bass to everything. I usually don’t like on-ear design as my ears start to hurt from the pressure. However, the soft ear cushions and the light design didn’t give me any issues. I was able to wear these for several hours without discomfort. I made several calls with these and was always coming in clear. When you accept a call, the microphone provides a little bit of external audio to you through the headphones so you can hear yourself a little better. There is a little bit of sound isolation to them, so having that feedback helps. The construction of these feel pretty sturdy. I do kind of wish they could fold in a little for smaller storage, but the earpieces do lay flat. The real test of time will be as my teenage son puts them through his daily school routine.