Sony WF-SP800N Review | Best Buy
Sony is back with a bang again, their earbuds models are proving that they once again catch the market.
Sony has entered the True Wireless earbuds segment in India thereby expanding its audio portfolio beyond headphones, earphones, and Bluetooth speakers.
It has announced two TWS in India, the WF-XB700 and WF-SP800N.
As we saw in the previous model Sony WF-1000XM3 in our blog.
Sony claims to have fixed all three with the WF-SP800N earbuds, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Are they worth the $99 asking price, or should you skip these for something else?
The new battery has a very excellent battery life with these earbuds and there is also quick charging.
To enhance the overall experience, you also get an app which can be used to customize and control the earbuds. These earbuds are targeted at folks who are into sports and fitness.
Its design does not make it portable, It still fits big in your ears. The rubber wing tips on the earbuds move too easily and prevent the from getting into place properly.
One of the first things I always take note of when I open the box of a new product is the charging case.
Products like the Apple AirPods and the Google Pixel Buds mastered the charging case by making it small and pocketable, without feeling cheap
It’s just something to keep in mind, so you don’t open the case to go for a run only to realize that the left earbud was never charged.
I assure you, it’s very annoying. The buds have touch-sensitive pads that let you control playback and toggle between ambient mode and active noise cancelling.
Active noise cancelling and a transparency mode are two of my favorite features and these earbuds have both, which is a huge plus. If you’re mid-conversation and need to answer a quick question, just hold your finger over the earbud.
The headset will lower media volume, and use the embedded mics to let you hear what someone is saying.
Moving on to the design of the earbuds, these come in an ovular in-ear design with interchangeable ear tips along with ear fins for a better fit.
You get four pairs of eartips and two pairs of fins in total. On the outside of both the earbuds, there is a fairly large touch-capacitive control area along with Sony branding and the microphones.
There are also three magnetic pogo pins on the bottom that are used to charge them up. The snap and click of the earbuds and the case is very satisfying. The earbuds are also IP55 rated for dust and water resistance.
I took them out for a quick run when it was drizzling and had no issues with them. Over at the bottom, you get a Type-C port for charging.
The Sony WF-SP800N earbuds are well built and have an IP55 rating, protecting them from sweat and dirt particles, to prove it.
Sony even claims that you can rinse them off under a faucet after your workouts and while I didn’t personally do this, it’s nice to know that you can. My one issue with using these as your primary workout earbuds is fit.
The key feature of the Sony WF-SP800N is the active noise cancellation. The TWS doesn’t come with Sony’s powerful QN1e processor which is used in WF-1000XM3 but features the same drivers.
Understandably, the noise cancellation isn’t as good as those. But, you do get solid noise cancellation.
We mentioned it many times but, the facts is Sony continues to make a noise about its 360 Reality Audio format, which intends to put you in the centre of the sonic action — so a 360 Reality Audio master of a Tribe Called Quest’s via Tidal seems as good a place as any to start.
There’s no denying the effectiveness of this spatial audio format compared with the stereo alternative.
Sounds have a far greater variety of origin-points than they do in a regular stereo mix, and as a consequence the sonic effect is a lot more enveloping.
Personally, we think it is very appropriate to use these active noise-cancelling earbuds when going to the gym.
While listening to Rock music, many users often complain about the Bass quality of the AirPods/AirPods Pro, the EDM should not have complemented the gym, here the SP800N would be an effective option.
His bass is enough to make Airpods/Airpods Pro’s bass lively and magical in trance, house, and trap tracks.
It sports a 6mm drivers and harnesses Bluetooth 5.0. The range is said to be about 10 meter/33 feet. I could walk across the hall and a couple of rooms without any hassle.
I started losing the audio once I moved to a different floor, which is usual. Overall the connection stayed quite stable throughout my testing and there were no random disconnections. It misses out on NFC though.
Sony has a facility with broad-strokes dynamics that’s matched by their ability to deal with smaller harmonic variances and dynamics, and they carry a lot of rhythmic energy.
Every element of the recording hangs together nicely and sounds unified in a natural and convincing way.
The importance of battery life is dependent on your listening habits and headphone choice.
If you’re often on the move and do not have a lot of opportunities to charge your active headphones, then a long-lasting battery may be more suitable.
Likewise, if you use your headphones sparingly or rarely find yourself in need of additional noise cancellation, then a short battery life may not be much of an issue.
However, the ideal active headphones should deliver the full set of their active features, without requiring multiple charges throughout the day.
Certainly, sports headphones must be waterproof, and Sony has equipped the WF-SP800N noise cancelling earbuds with IP55 water and dust resistance standards as we said before.
This means that it will not be wet by soil and rain and sweat, and this is very important for hardcore athletes, such as people who like to go for trail running, mountain climbing.
Sony Claims that WF-SP800N battery lasts for 9 hours. With noise cancellation on and 13 hours with noise cancellation turned off. The included case should double the battery life in both scenarios.
So, with the case, you get an additional 9 hours and 13 hours of battery respectively.
To charge the earbuds there is a Type-C port at the bottom of the case. A quick 10 minutes gives you 60 minutes of playback, which held true in our testing.
A full charge takes around 2.5 hours, which charges both the earbuds and the case to 100%. However, there is no wireless charging here. We’d have liked the case to pack in more juice to back up though, considering its size.
Let’s talk about the audio experience that I tested. Overall, the sound clarity on them was excellent. You get clear vocals, good mids and highs. I could distinguish between the vocals and instruments.
The bass is excellent here, it is punchy and I enjoyed it very much. The music gets loud and clear, there is no distortion or any disturbances.
The soundstage on these buds is wide and music is enjoyable with that additional punchy bass.
The earbuds come with Google Assistant built-in. If you have an Android device, you can take the full advantage of it. For starters, you can long-press the left earbud and access the Google Assistant.
It will respond back with a greeting and current time and will read up if there are any notifications/events on your calendar.
What’s more, the inconsistency in touch controls is a real deal-breaker, and while noise cancelling and transparency mode is cool, not knowing whether they’re going to work or not detracts from the experience.
On top of that, I never got comfortable with how these fit, which is one of the most important aspects of a pair of earbuds. Throw in the weird issues I was having with connection stability, and it was one strike too many.
The earbuds also support Sony’s 360 reality audio.
If you really want to get the best sound out of these buds, switch the EQ over to the Bright setting in the Sony Headphones app.
This makes a huge difference and equalizes the soundstage so that mids and highs aren’t lost in the background.
You’ll also enjoy better bass performance when listening in standard or ANC mode, which gives songs some extra oomph.
However, in India, since there are no such streaming services available yet, you won’t be able to use the feature.
If the app has been optimized then you’ll be able to listen to songs that have been mixed specifically for Sony 360 Reality Audio.
There are some other intuitive listening features programmed into these buds such as Advanced Adaptive Sound Control, which automatically adjusts the ambient sound settings based on your environment or what you’re doing.
It’s been a challenge testing this thoroughly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so I’m hoping to provide an update in the coming weeks on how well the technology works.
Of course, not every song is going to be compatible but as more get added in the future, it’s going to be a really cool feature to have.
Types of headphones may vary for your comfort.
There are a couple of different types of headphones: over-ears and on-earshave frames that sit on top of the head and ear cups that rest around or on the ears, while earbuds and in-ears are inserted into the ear to a varying degree of depth and sometimes have neck bands to keep them in place.
Regardless of the type, comfortable headphones shouldn’t cause stress, fatigue, or pain, even after prolonged periods of use.
The WF-SP800N is incredibly comfortable and fits well on the ears. The real question is how well? I can say these buds will remain safely in place when speed walking or during light jogs around the neighborhood.
Any other lateral-heavy activities will cause them to slip out on occasion.
Also, Comfort is subjective and tends to vary between individuals; however, there are certain design elements that most people tend to keep an eye out for.
Weight, padding, headband tension, and frame tightness tend to influence how comfortable over-ear or on-ear headphones are, especially over long listening sessions.
For earbuds and in-ears, how soft and flexible the earbuds are, how deep they protrude into the ear canal, and how much pressure they exert on the ear generally impact comfort as well.
But the only setback is its enlarged shape of these buds isn’t practical for exercises that require lifting your arms; they got in the way many times when raising dumbbells above my head.
When factoring in their extra weight and some moisture, the buds are prone to slip out as well, especially during side planks.
I prefer the Elite Active 75t or Beats Powerbeats Pro for a more secure fit.
( Image Credit : soundguys.com )
One of the best features of the Sony WF-SP800N is the companion app support. With the help of Sony Headphones, which is only available for selected Sony audio products, the user experience is taken to the next level.
Connecting to the app is simple, open the app and connect with the earbuds with just one click.
Sony has a codec called LDAC which is capable of sending large amounts of data between devices resulting in better sound quality, but as our testing shows, sending more data can result in a weaker and less stable Bluetooth connection.
In this context, my issues with stuttering make sense, except that the Sony WF-SP800N aren’t even compatible with LDAC.
While there is plenty to be thrilled about here, I would be remiss not to mention what is missing, which in this case, are some surprising exclusions.
The first is touch-to-pair NFC, a signature feature that’s become synonymous with most of the brand’s wireless audio products.
Second is multipoint connectivity to pair two devices simultaneously. Third is wireless charging, something that many modern wireless earbuds with charging cases are adopting.
When using Sony’s budsfor calls, volume was great and I could hear people loudly and clearly. I also liked how well the buds performed indoors, which made video chats with friends more fun.
Some claimed that my voice sounded a bit cracked, but still understood what I was saying.
While not up to the caliber of Sony’s own WF-1000XM3, or the AirPods Pro, the ANC on these buds is serviceable to at least enjoy peaceful runs in your neighborhood with minimal distractions.
You’ll just want to stay away from super-rowdy environments to get the best performance. Ambient Sound is also a great feature to have on hand for practicing better social awareness.
With a combination of good design, useful specifications, and clean, enjoyable sound, the WFSP800N pretty much gets everything right considering its price. It offers an overall experience that several options that cost twice as much struggle to give. If you’re shopping for a very affordable new pair of truly wireless earbuds, this should definitely be on your list.
Originally published at https://monitortomouse.com.
