I did not expect this... 😲 Sony WH-CH720N review

The Sony WH-C720N is a lot more gentle on the wallet if you’re in the market for something that doesn’t cost as much as Sony’s flagship models, the WH-1000XM4 or WH-1000XM5 headphones. At the time of this writing, it costs $148 on Amazon, but of course, for that relatively lower price point you can expect some trade offs in terms of features and build quality.

The Trade Offs

Right off the bat, these don’t have Hi-Res audio support, so no Hi-Res LDAC codec streaming. It doesn’t have touch controls or Speak-to-chat, and no wear-detection either to save battery by automatically pausing your music when you take the headphones off. This is a feature that the XM4s and the XM5s have.

You do get DSEE upscaling which upscales your old music files to get them to sound more ‘Hi-Res’. But only the base version, not the AI-powered ‘Extreme’ version included on the more expensive models.

And compared to the flagship Sonys, these do feel a lot more light and brittle. Like, if I were to stretch the headband beyond a certain point, it feels like the yoke assembly might snap. It really does feel like a different grade of plastic from that used in the XM4s and XM5s which can take a bit more punishment.

No carrying case is included either. So it’s pretty clear that Sony is going quite far in trying to make these as affordable as they can.

Headphones Connect App

But, what it does have that the flagship models do, is the same Sony headphones Connect app support. It gives you the usual EQ settings, 20 levels of ambient mode, it also has multipoint pairing, which allows you to connect up to 2 devices to the headphones at the same time, and the same Integrated V1 noise cancelling processor as the flagship models. So its noise canceling power could actually be quite close to the top shelf Sonys.

The question is, how close is it going to be to the WH-1000XM4 or XM5 in terms of noise cancelling, sound, or call quality?

Sound Quality

In terms of sound quality, testing them on flat EQ settings with DSEE upscaling turned on, what I did like about its sound is its bass response. It hits all the right buttons for me in terms of punch and bass extension. It even gives the mid-range vocals in my music a nice undertone of gravity. It’s overall an energetic sound, and if you dig that, these will sound just fine.

But vocals and instrumental tracks also sound quite a tad more dull than the flagship Sony headphones. It makes them sound a bit more muffled in the midrange. Comparing their frequency sweeps with the flagship Sonys seem to show a significant dip in the 3-4 kHz region, which could explain why.

Its sound staging also sounds quite narrow and compact, which is a contrast to the open and airy sound staging delivered by the flagship Sonys. Otherwise the CH720Ns seem to follow a similar tuning pattern to the WH-1000XM5. Listen to the following sound samples and see if you can hear the difference between these headphones.

Call Quality

In terms of call quality, in quiet conditions my sound sounds pretty okay. It was a little muffled, and maybe a tad too bloaty, but it’s still quite intelligible.

However these will struggle with voice pickup in very noisy conditions. Comparing their call quality to the flagship Sonys using some really loud cafe style background noise (and wind noise from a fan), it wasn’t able to cut the noise very well, which a far cry from the flagship Sonys. Listen to the call quality samples here.

Active Noise Canceling

In terms of active noise cancelling, I have to say that these are pretty awesome. When I first tried it, I thought it was very close to the XM4’s noise cancelling. And it doesn’t seem to have the variable ANC nonsense of the XM5 either. So as far as noise canceling goes, these are really good for the price, as you can hear in these sound samples.

Transparency Mode

In terms of Transparency mode, I was equally impressed, to be honest. It sounded very transparent, almost like you’re not wearing headphones. Although there still is a little bit of screen-door effect, there was very little hiss. Overall, very close to the transparency of the WH-1000XM4.

Should you buy the WH-CH720N?

Yes, many corners have been cut to make the CH720N more affordable for folks who don’t want to spend that much on headphones. That is reflected in its build quality and features. Plus, I wasn’t particularly impressed with its sound quality either. It’s good, but as someone coming from the flagship Sony headphones and earbuds, I do prefer its track separation to sound cleaner, and to be more crisp in the mids and highs.

However it does have noise canceling that’s very close to the best headphones Sony has to offer, while retaining many important aspects like Headphones connect app support and multipoint pairing.

It’s also quite lightweight and comfortable to wear. Its cushions are not the most plush or soft, but if you’re looking for something that’s nice to use on your daily commute, this is definitely comfortable enough. A couple of hours every day, not a problem at all.

So if you want something that does not require a large investment, you should definitely look at the Sony CH720N. Overall, these are pretty nice.

I’ve got some Amazon links to the WH-CH720N and the other Sonys below. Click on them if you want to check the latest prices.

Sony WH-CH720N - https://amzn.to/3owiugF
Sony WH-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/3yIrnqr
Sony WH-1000XM4 - https://amzn.to/3a4Vk5E