Sony has a ton of options for headphones and a release like the WH-CH710N can get lost. It won’t receive nearly as much acclaim as its flagship WH-CH710. If you’re looking for budget active noise-cancelling headphones, the WH-CH710N should be on your shortlist. Sony has been the class leader in ANC in recent years overtaking Bose. The WH-CH710N is Sony’s attempt to provide good noise-cancelling at a much lower price point. In our WH-CH710N review, we’ll cover why it’s such a great value. Don’t assume you’re missing out on a lot by saving some money.
Sony WH-CH710N Bluetooth Headphones
Table of Contents
Design and Build
The WH-CH710N is pretty lightweight at 218 grams. Sony took some shortcuts with the WH-CH710N to hit a low price point. The plastic build quality here is one of them. They don’t feel cheap. They also don’t feel as premium as the more solid WH-1000XM4 (or even the WH-XB900N). The cups do swivel 90 degrees and can lay flat on a desk or hard case. The adjustable headband feels solid. The padding on the ear cups is soft enough and felt very comfortable during long listening sessions. Style-wise, the WH-CH710 breaks slightly from Sony’s recent design. The overall design is still attractive and somewhat minimal/subtle.
Sony also skipped their usual touch controls with the WH-CH710N wireless headphones. Playback and volume on the headphones are completely controlled by buttons. I’m pretty neutral on touch controls and prefer buttons in some ways. The buttons on the WH-CH710 have good feedback and the controls are intuitive. On the left earcup, you’ll find the power button. Holding it for seven seconds will put the headphone in pairing mode. On the right, there is a button that controls ANC. Pressing it will cycle through ANC (active noise-cancelling), ambient/transparency mode, and normal listening. There is also a playback button between 2 separate buttons to adjust the volume up and down. Pressing the playback button once will pause/play audio. Pressing twice will skip the track forward, while three clicks will skip the track backward. A two-second hold of the playback button will activate the voice assistant.
Battery Life and Connectivity
The WH-CH710N has an extremely impressive, long battery life. They are rated at 35 hours of battery life with ANC. It exceeded that time by multiple hours at moderate volume in our testing. Quick charging is also available although not very impressive. A 10-minute charge will get you just an hour of battery life. A full charge will take 7 hours. Battery life altogether is great. Charging (via USB-C) on the WH-CH710N does leave a little to be desired.
Unfortunately, only SBC and AAC codecs are supported on this pair of headphones. There is no support for Sony’s LDAC codec. LDAC is a high-fidelity codec that improves sound quality. It seems like Sony is fine restricting LDAC support to their higher-end headphones. These headphones do have Bluetooth 5.0 and I found the connection stable in testing. They also have NFC capability. A 3.5mm cable is included to utilize the headphone jack on the left ear cup. There is also a microphone for phone calls and voice assistant usage. The microphone performance was solid. I had no issues through multiple zoom calls where coworkers were able to hear me clearly.
Sound Quality
Sound quality on the Sony WH-CH710N wireless headphones is good overall even if it’s not always dynamic. Mids and highs come through with solid detail. Low-end is slightly emphasized, but not to the extent of the WH-XB900N. Even the WH-1000XM4 has more bass to my ear. Without a boost to the mid-range or higher frequencies, the WH-CH710N EQ can make audio feel flat at times. It will likely be more noticeable for those who listen to bass-heavy music genres. Some will enjoy the sound signature. Bass heads should definitely look elsewhere.
Unfortunately, the WH-CH710 does not have app support. It can not be used with the Sony Headphones app. That would typically allow you to adjust the EQ to your liking. For some reason, Sony decided not to allow this functionality for the WH-CH710N.
How is the active noise cancelling for the Sony WH-CH710N?
The Sony WH-CH710N performs solidly when it comes to active noise-cancelling. Between the passive noise-cancelling of the earpads and ANC, they’re able to block out a good amount of ambient noise. This is true even at higher frequencies other noise-cancelling headphones struggle with. For example, while at a coffee shop, the sound of nearby voices was somewhat muted with ANC activated. They didn’t perform as well as the Sony WH-1000XM4, but those are also in a much higher price range.
As usual, the biggest noise cancellation will be seen with lower frequencies. These almost completely remove the low hum of the fan in my home office at low volumes. This means these headphones have active noise cancellation that should perform well for travel and commutes. In addition to normal active noise-cancelling, there is an ambient mode. Pressing the ANC button on the right ear cup will cycle through active noise-cancelling mode, ambient mode, and normal listening. Ambient mode or transparency mode will allow more external sound to be heard. This is helpful if you want to be more aware of your surroundings.
In Conclusion
It can be difficult to find an affordable pair of good noise-cancelling headphones. The WH-CH710N has solid active noise-cancelling capabilities, good sound quality, and long battery life. Add the fact that you can purchase these Bluetooth headphones for less than $100 and you have a great value proposition.
Sony WH-CH710N Review: FAQs
Does the Sony WH-CH710N have app support?
No. Unfortunately, these headphones are not compatible with Sony’s Headphone app.
Is quick charge supported?
Yes. A 10-minute charge will get you 1 hour of playback.
How much battery life do the Sony WH-CH710N headphones have?
Long battery life is a key benefit for these headphones. They are rated at 35 hours with ANC enabled. It exceeded that time in our testing.
Keith Collins has been writing for over 15 years for various publications. He’s a lover of music, home theater, and excellent sound quality. His fondness for technology in addition to his non-stop curiosity fuels his writing ventures.