Sony WHCH700N Bluetooth Headset MDR-XB950B1

If you can get the right price on these, they’re excellent value. For instance, I jumped on Prime Day 2019 and got a pair in black for $90 – for that price they’re an unequivocal bargain. If you’re looking to buy at full list (i.e. $200), their apparent value is much more debatable; even at $150, I think they’re pushing the limit of their worth.

But let’s start with positives:
1. Serviceable noise cancellation (NC) – These aren’t going to rock your world in terms of sound isolation, but for normal commutes, airplanes, and office use, I think they’re fine. You’re not going to completely tune out the outside world as soon as you place them on your head with NC on, but once you have music playing at a normal volume, they’ll drown out most other sounds and mute conversations to a decidedly “ignorable” level, and with much hum/hiss or pressure to boot. The one thing holding them back from their full potential in this regard is the lackluster seal the OEM earpads provide (more on that in the cons).

2. Decent sound quality – Again, these aren’t top of class, but I think they do a pretty decent job for closed-back headphones. Bass isn’t especially punchy, but can be tuned in the Sony Headphones app to provide a little extra low-end output if you so desire. All told though, they produce pretty even-keeled sound, but probably sound best with music that’s heavier in mids and highs (so maybe not as great if you’re into punchier-sounding hip hop). They remind me of the sound from the AKG K72, maybe a little better even, but not as good as the K275s – but that’s still a compliment.

3. Excellent battery life – These take a solid over night plugin to charge, but they’ll easily last me all week with both commuting and plenty of daytime use for work. Better than average in this regard for sure. The ability to use NC without Bluetooth (through the 3.5mm jack) can extend the already solid battery life even further, which is very nice indeed.

4. Good, intuitive controls – That Sony went with simple buttons and toggles is a blessing. There’s also enough variation in the control points (e.g. size, dimples/nobs on buttons, toggle switch for track skipping, etc.) that it’s easy to keep the various controls separate. The ability to re-map the NC button to get full Google Assistant compatibility for answering messages, calls, asking questions, etc. is also very nice (and you can still turn NC off in the app once it’s re-mapped).

5. Solid build (for the price) – Not many corners were cut here, and despite being mostly plastic, the headphones feel very solid in hand and on head. The padding on the headband is ample (but not excessive), the ear cups/driver housings swivel enough to accommodate different head shapes, and the actual headband adjustment has a metal build, which makes the clicks between lengths solid and tactile. Clamping force is also moderate, so only those with very, very small/large heads will find it lacking.

And now for the negatives:
1. Those stock ear pads – They just aren’t very good. I have a decidedly average sized head and ears, and the OEM pads aren’t comfortable for long stretches. Not only are they not quite deep enough to prevent the tips of my ears from touching the inner driver housing, there’s also not enough foam across the plastic of said housing to actually provide cushioning there either. Likewise, there’s not enough plushness in the pads to provide a truly good seal, and the cushioning in general isn’t that comfortable, and the faux leather material Sony chose doesn’t breathe at all – a bad (read: hot) mix in a closed-back set of headphones. Add in a pair of glasses (I wear mine pretty much all the time), and the level of comfort as well as the effectiveness of the seal goes down yet another notch. The stock ear pads are easily the biggest let down of the headphones as a whole. You can certainly buy better pads (the Brainwavz for the Sony MDR-7506/V6/CD900ST cans fit these as well), but that’s another 20-ish USD on a pair of headphones that already list at $200 and don’t come with a case…

2. Proprietary 3.5mm cable – I hate to complain about the inclusion of something as nice/handy as the auxiliary 3.5mm jack and cable being included, but I really don’t get why Sony had to make it so that NC only works with the included cable. It’s a fine enough cable, but I’m pretty anxious about losing it (I think it’s unavoidable in the long run…). It just detracts from the overall utility, and for no real reason.

3. Lack of folding/compactness – It’s just that much harder to get these in a bag for their lack of folding above the driver housings. They swivel enough to lay flat, but that doesn’t shrink their overall footprint enough to be truly helpful. Consider that they also lack a case in the box (good third party options exist for around $15) and the idea of them floating around in the big “everything else” pocket of a backpack is less than ideal.

4. Value – As decent a set of headphones as these are, I think they need to be evaluated at their standard price, which seems to hover around $150 at the lowest and $200 at the highest. If these were consistently $125, there’d be very little in it in terms of shopping around; having picked them up on Prime Day for $90, I can easily forgive them the poor ear pads and any other faults – in part because a decent set of ear pads and a case only set me back $35, bringing the total in at $125, and as I said above, they’re worth every penny at that price. At $200, though… cutting corners on comfort and a case is harder to stomach.

Conclusion:
A good set of noise cancelling cans if you can find them under $150. I think that you should at least factor in an upgraded set of ear pads, so anywhere from an additional $15-25 depending on your desired level of luxury (the Brainwavz sheepskin option I listed above are very nice, fwiw), which of course drives the price up a bit. As decently constructed as these are, if you travel a lot (or are just hard on your things), a case is a good idea as well, so yet more expense.

I don’t think it’s unfair to say that something that lists for $200 can still be considered a “luxury” item, even if it’s only mid-range within the luxury headphone field. And if something occupies part of a more premium space, there’s no reason to skimp on things like ear pads or a basic case.

That said, Sony did tick a lot of the right boxes with these. I think the combination of noise cancellation and sound quality is admirable for the price, and you’ll have to do some searching to find something better without spending more than $150.

Conversely, if you’re not quite as picky about critical sound quality, something like the Anker Soundcore Life 2 ANC headphones are a much better value; my wife has a pair, and the noise cancellation is only marginally worse, and same goes for the sound quality, but they are more comfortable by far with much better ear pads that are cushier, isolate sound better, and breathe more/better. Those headphones have similarly good battery life and come with a 3.5mm cable/jack, but also fold and come with a decent zippered hard case. Oh, and they cost $80. For headphones that cost less than half as much as these Sonys, the Anker Soundcore 2s are much more compelling.

But if you really want sound that approaches more “audiophile” levels of quality (and I really think you need to be someone who’s used to something like studio-style headphones regularly to appreciate what these offer compared to the Anker headphones mentioned above), these are a good choice. Otherwise, there are better headphones for the money out there. Indeed, for $150+ I suspect that there are better (or at least more comfortable) competitors in the same price range from the likes of Sennheiser or AudioTechnica (among others). For the $90 I paid on Prime Day, though, these are golden.

I have tried a lot of headphones but since I wear spectacles and have ears with above-average size, most of them often don’t fit me. Instead, they are painful. But these are something else. I have no use of noise cancellation so didn’t look more into that area but the sound quality is amazing and the fit is very comfortable, even with glasses on. This could be attributed to the over-ear thing since my ears are completely inside the device. I haven’t had a problem with wearing these 1-2 hours straight, don’t know about more than that. Maybe I would update my review later.
And as usual, before time delivery and good packaging from Amazon.

The noise cancelling is pretty rudimentary but are otherwise good