introduction
Sony has legendary status in the audio sphere, its WF-1000X series premium noise canceling earphones have been held as the gold standard for drowning out unwanted noise around you. Sony recently announced a more affordable pair of noise-canceling earphones dubbed the WF-C700N with promises of immersive sound, powerful noise cancellation and up to 15 hours of total playtime for a grand total of €130 / $120 / £100.
These new TWS earbuds offer most of the features found on the premium WF-1000X4 at a fraction of the price, and are also Sony’s lightest noise canceling earbuds to date, weighing just 4.6 grams per earbud. Can the WF-C700N live up to their lofty claims and how do they compare to the competition? Let’s find out.
Project
The C700N comes in a compact eco-friendly box made from recycled materials. You can get them in black, white, lavender and sage green colors which all have a nice pastel finish especially with the lavender and green pairs. The earphones live inside a fairly thin pill-shaped case with a flat bottom. Like the buds, their case is made from plastic and has a nice textured finish that reminds me of the back of a DualShock 4 controller. The case lid is well constructed and closes with a firm snap.
The retail package includes the buds, case, S and XL size replacement silicone tips, and a USB-C cable for charging. Moving on to the gems themselves, they feature a stemless design with an oval shape and two mics on each gem. Each bud features a large physical button that supports programmable single and double taps, as well as a hold gesture.
The C700N’s product page describes that their ergonomic design was developed based on Sony’s extensive experience in ear shape data, and I can confirm that they fit my ears perfectly and stay in place even after hours of use. The buds also create a great seal in your ears which helps with their noise canceling abilities. The whole package is IPX4 splash resistant.
Characteristics
The Sony C700N pairs via Bluetooth 5.2 and supports AAC and SBC audio codecs, but skips the higher bitrate aptX HD and LDAC versions. Here you also get support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DCEE) for compressed audio files. Buds supports Google Fast Pair on Android devices. There’s no multipoint pairing at launch, but the feature should arrive via a software update later this summer.
The main feature of the C700N is active noise cancellation with noise sensor technology and ambient sound mode. Sony’s Headphones Connect app for Android and iOS is your one-stop-shop for controlling the C700N. The app has an intuitive design and offers a great level of control for the audio equalizer, as well as noise cancellation and ambient sound modes. One thing to note is that the app requires constant location tracking to work properly.
Adaptive Sound Control automatically switches between noise canceling and ambient modes based on your surroundings. It has four profiles: stay, walk, run and carry. The middle two options have ambient sound turned on so you can hear your surroundings when you’re on the go while the other two are set to noise canceling mode.
WF-C700N features custom Sony 5mm dynamic drivers. You also get Sony’s attention to the voice setting that detects when you’re talking to someone around you and instantly activates ambient mode without pausing the audio. You can also adjust location-based adaptive sound control modes and EQ settings for the places you frequent, and the earbuds will automatically enter the specific mode you selected for the specific location.
The C700N lacks a wear-sensing sensor, which is disappointing given that this is a standard feature on even the least expensive earbuds we reviewed. There’s no wireless charging either, so you’ll have to make do with USB-C for top-ups.
Performance and sound quality
The Sony C700Ns offer excellent noise cancellation for their size – you can just put them in your ears and immediately feel the static noise level around you drop several notches. You don’t even need to listen to music to notice the difference, which is great for commuting on public transport or when you just want to focus without distractions. Testing these earbuds in an office environment was great for drowning out all the mundane noises like the air conditioning, water cooler, and constant workplace hustle and bustle.
On the street, the buds handled noisy cars and crowded pedestrian areas well without totally isolating you from reality like Sony’s more premium earphones and over-ear headphones. Noise cancellation on the C700N isn’t on the level of Sony’s premium WF-1000X4 earphones, but it’s still pretty good considering the C700N has a lighter and less expensive form factor.
We also found the fit of the C700N to be really comfortable even after hours of use. The seal created by the silicone tips felt really good and definitely helped the noise canceling performance.
The ambient mode works as advertised by letting in enough external noise from your surroundings, which is very useful when walking downtown or going for a run. You can also manually adjust the amount of sound let in via the Ambient Sound Mode’s 20-level slider.
The adaptive sound control feature that switches between noise cancellation and ambient mode based on your activity also worked well during our tests. It usually takes a few seconds to activate ambient mode when I get up to walk around and then switch back to ANC mode shortly after I sit down.
Moving on to audio performance, the C700N offers a balanced sound profile advertised to hit the standard 20Hz to 20,000Hz hearing range. The default EQ setting is flat and packs decent midrange sound reproduction, but that’s where they come in. I play custom EQ settings. There are a total of eight presets here, and you can create up to three custom profiles as well.
I’ve found the Excited EQ to be good for most types of music, but you’re also free to tweak all eight modes to your liking. This level of control over the EQ is rarely seen at this price point and is a very welcome addition. The CN700N can also get very loud if you need to. Sony’s DSEE audio upscaling didn’t make a noticeable difference when testing lower bitrate audio sources.
Call quality is a step up from similarly priced earbuds with people on the other end reporting clear, natural reception of my voice. Stronger winds would dull the experience, but that’s the case with premium earbuds as well.
The physical button control on the buds worked flawlessly every time, which isn’t always the case with competitors that rely on touch-sensitive controls. Being able to reprogram button actions and having volume controls on the buds was great. Connectivity performance was perfect with no interruptions in testing on iPhones, Android tablets, and MacBooks.
Battery life
Sony is advertising up to 7.5 – 8 hours of playtime for the earphones (with ANC on) while their charging case extends the total runtime to 15 hours. These claims played out during our tests, but it falls well short of competitors that can last up to twice as long. The charging case provides a full charge of the earphones after the batteries run out.
A full charge cycle for the earbuds takes around 90 minutes while the case needs three hours to get back to 100%. A 10-minute quick charge will get you up to an hour of playback.
Verdict
The Sony WF-C700N masters the three core pillars of a great pair of wireless earphones: good sound quality, powerful noise cancellation, and a comfortable fit. The buds and their case look well made and are light enough to carry in your pocket and on your ears for hours at a time. The level of noise cancellation is superior to competitors in the price range and is even competitive with more expensive options from Sony, Samsung and Apple.
Sound quality is good, and the EQ control added by the Sony Headphones Connect app is stellar. Battery life is shorter than competing earbuds which can last up to 30 hours with their charging cases. The lack of wear detection is a shame, and we would have liked to see wireless charging here as well. We also hope to see the promised multipoint mating software update here as soon as possible, which will make these buds an even sweeter package.
If you’re after a pair of wireless earbuds in the €100/$100/£100 range, you should seriously consider the Sony WF-C700N as they’re a great overall package.
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