Mid-range Sony WH-XB910N and WF-C500 announced

Sony has just upgraded its mid-tier line of headphones and true wireless earbuds. The new models are the Sony WH-XB910N and the Sony WF-C500. While these headphones and earbuds are cheaper than Sony’s flagship models, they include premium features like Sony 360 Reality Audio and built-in intelligent assistant access.

Bring bass-heavy sound anywhere with the XB910N noise canceling headphones. These aren’t just for bass enthusiasts, though: they include handy features like an advanced microphone array for conference calling and Sony’s DSEE technology, which the WF-C500 also features. DSEE scales low quality compressed audio files, particularly enhancing treble reproduction, which is often lost during compression.

Just like its predecessor, the WH-XB900N, the WH-XB910N also has Active Noise Canceling (ANC). While we don’t yet know how well the ANC performance works with the WH-XB910N, it should be better than before, so the mid-range hum will sound at least half as loud as it would without a headset. Adaptive Sound Control intelligently adjusts the ANC intensity to suit your environment, making it more powerful in a noisy environment than when studying at home.

The headphones use Bluetooth 5.2 and support the Bluetooth codecs SBC, AAC and LDAC. To control playback, the listener must interact with the touch panel on the right auricle. The headphones support multipoint connections, so you can connect to two devices at the same time. As with other Sony headphones, these support Google Fast Pair and Swift Pair for seamless pairing with Android and Windows devices. When streaming via AAC, you get 30 hours of battery life and can quickly charge the headset – just 10 minutes of charging time equals 4.5 hours of playtime.

The Sony WF-C500 True Wireless Earbuds use Bluetooth 5.0 and are compact in design and comfortable fit, making them a great choice for everyday use. They sit almost flush with your ear and don’t attract too much attention. You can only use the left or right earbuds in mono mode, which is great for keeping an eye on your surroundings and is suitable for some people with hearing impairments.

Instead of touch controls, these earbuds use buttons to control playback and access to the digital assistant. You get 10 hours of playtime from the earbuds and an extra charge cycle from the case. If you put the earbuds in the case for 10 minutes, you will get 60 minutes of playtime. Like the higher quality Sony WF-1000XM4, the WF-C500 has a waterproof IPX4 construction, which makes it a good set of training earphones.

These earbuds contain an advanced bluetooth chip that transmits sound to your left and right ears at the same time, so you are unlikely to notice any latency. Like the over-ear WH-XB910N, these earbuds support Sony 360 Reality Audio for a rich spatial music experience, but you need to subscribe to a compatible service such as Tidal or Deezer.

The Sony WH-XB910N and WF-C500 are available for pre-order now and retail for $ 249.99 and $ 99.99, respectively. The XB910N is available in black, blue and gray (Best Buy only) and the WF-C500 in black, white, green (Best Buy only) and orange (Target only).