Are Sony’s new WF-C710N the best earbuds under $120?
The successors to the WF-C700N truly wireless noise canceling earbuds, upgrade almost all aspects except the solid design and $120 price tag.
Sony has just announced the successor to their popular WF-C700N earbuds. The new WF-C710N include improvements in most key areas. Priced at $119.99, the WF-C710N are Sony’s mid-range earbuds, double the price of their budget WF-C510, which retail at $60, and less than half the price of their flagship WF-1000XM5, which launched at $300.
One of the areas the WF-C710N stay the same compared to their predecessor is the overall shape of the product. The earbuds follow the same ergonomic design, while the case remains compact. The earbuds and matching case come in four colors – Black, Pink, White and an all-new translucent Glass Blue option. IPX4 water resistance will protect the earbuds from splashes. The charging case is not waterproof.
Noise canceling in the WF-C710N has been improved thanks to Dual Noise Sensor technology, which uses a dual microphone array to detect and reduce noise. There’s also an Ambient Sound mode, which picks up and passes through exterior sound to help you stay connected to your surroundings, great for exercise.
Focus on Voice is an optional setting which enables you to chat without removing the earbuds, by detecting you talking and automatically switching to Ambient Sound mode. Adaptive Sound Control adjusts ambient sound setting based on where you are and what you’re doing. This can automatically switch the sound setting whether you’re at home, work or the gym.
Audio in the WF-C710N is handled by 5mm drivers and Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), which enhances compressed audio for overall well-balanced tuning. Sound output can be tailored in the app. The earbuds also support 360 Reality Audio. This analyzes your ear shape to provide an immersive music experience optimized to you. When paired with a BRAVIA TV, the earbuds support Dolby Atmos.
Call quality is improved over the previous generation. Sony has developed their voice pickup technology with AI machine learning using over 500 million voice samples. Sony says Precise Voice Pickup Technology, combined with the microphones on the outside and inside of the earbuds, surpresses ambient noise and extracts the users’ voice, for clear conversations, even in noisy environments.
Touch controls replace the physical buttons on the previous model. You can play, stop and skip tracks, as well as adjust the volume and answer calls. Controls are customizable in the app. There’s also voice control from the paired device, such as Google Assistant and Siri. Music automatically plays or pauses when the earbuds are inserted or removed from the ear. Quick Access gives users a shortcut to their favorite music streaming service, with support for features like Spotify Tap and Amazon Music Play Now.
The WF-C710N connect via Bluetooth 5.3, while supporting multi-point to connect to two devices simulateously and seemlessly switch between the two. They also support Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, to quickly pair with an Android or Windows device. For lost earbuds, you can also see where the earbuds were last paired on a map.
For customization and settings, use the Sony | Sound Connect app. You can adjust the amount of ambient sound with 20 levels. You can also customize the features, touch controls, select sound presets or use the EQ Custom feature to fully take control over the sound.
The WF-C710N have a longer battery than their predecessors. With noise canceling enabled, the earbuds last for 8.5 hours on a single charge, an extra hour over the WF-C700N. When paired with the charge case, the total battery life is increased to 30 hours of listening, double the previous generation. With noise canceling switched off, these numbers are increased to 12 hours and 40 hours repectively. A quick charge gives listeners an extra 60 minutes of play time from just five minutes of charging. Unfortunately the charging case does not support wireless charging. Top up the case via USB-C. A short USB-C to USB-A cable is included in the box.
Sony’s WF-C710N are available to pre-order today on Amazon for $119.99 and will start shipping March 31. This is the same starting price as the previous generation, however launched two years ago, the WF-C700N have seen steep discounts. The predecessors are currently on sale on Amazon for $75.95.
