Sony WH-CH720N Review Over-Ear Headphones Review – View From The Cheap Seats
Bose may have marginally better ANC and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 perhaps sounds a little better, but the Sony WH-1000XM4 (review here) is still my top recommendation for wireless over-ears, and I’ve been slightly curious to see how much of the flagship’s features carry over into Sony’s cheaper model WH-CH720N. So when my trusty workhorse Jabra 45 (review here) went mysteriously missing, I used it as a pretext to snap up a like-new, nominally $149 WH-CH720N for $30 on Ebay.
Right off the bat, the WH-CH720N look and feel less substantial than the XM4, with creaky cheap (non-folding) plastic shells and thin earcup padding. They’re also quite a bit lighter at 190g, and utilize control buttons (which I actually prefer and which work flawlessly) instead of the touch panels of the higher-end model. I found the WH-CH720N to be ergonomic and comfortable—they have enough clamping force to keep ‘em from sliding around, but feel cooler and less constricting than more premium phones. Passive isolation isn’t as good as the better-padded XM4, but the ANC works well and doesn’t radically alter the sound. The accompanying app has a very effective custom EQ feature.
Predictably for this lower-tier type of offering, Sony opts for an energetic bass-heavy, V-shaped signature with a lot of emphasis in that 80-200Hz midbass region. Compared to the quick, sculpted bass on the pricier XM4, bass is wooly/loose; it can get boomy but doesn’t veil the lower mids. In their stock tuning, mids are pushed back (femme vox in particular sound a few feet in back of the other performers), and treble is reasonably well-extended and detailed, although drum and cymbal hits are slightly muted and lacking in snap. Soundstage is wide, but shallow; instrument separation and placement is surprisingly good, and (at least after cranking up the mids in the app) imaging is quite accurate.
Tonality, these actually get close to the XM4—warmish, reasonably thick-textured and free from shrillness—though these lack the uncolored realism of price peers like the 1More Sonoflow or the AKG NC60NC; at least on compressed sources you remain conscious of listening to a recording rather than a performance. However, the 720 present more detail and are more frenetic and lively than the aforesaid, which works well for uptempo genres. Where these really trail the premium players is coherence—the low end sounds overdubbed and not well-mixed with the rest of the spectrum. That said, I found myself enjoying these despite their sonic flaws—they have that elusive quality of PRAT that more polite peers lack.
At or near their SRP, there are better-built, more cohesive choices. If you find a cheap pair used, however, they are a damn near perfect gym piece—well isolating, hard rocking and unobtrusive, plus you won’t fret too much when you drop that 400lb dumbbell on them.
Specifications Sony WH-CH720N Over-Ear Headphones
| PRODUCT TYPE: closed DRIVER: dynamic, 30 mm WEIGHT: 192 g IMPEDANCE: 325 Ohm (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on). 31 Ohm (1 kHz) (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off). FREQUENCY RESPONSE (Active Operation): 7 – 20000 Hz FREQUENCY RESPONSE (Bluetooth Operation): 20 – 20000 Hz SENSITIVITY: 108 dB/mw (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned on). 99 dB/mw (when connecting via the headphone cable with the unit turned off). VOLUME CONTROL: yes CORD LENGTH: 1.2 m BLUETOOTH VERSION: 5.2 EFFECTIVE RANGE: 10 m FREQUENCY RANGE: 2.4 GHz band PROFILE: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP SUPPORTED AUDIO FORMATS: SBS, AAC BATTERY CHARGE (via USB): approx. 3.5 h BATTERY LIFE (Continuous Music Playback Time): max. 35 h (NC on); max 50 h (NC off) BATTERY LIFE (Continuous Communication Time): max. 35 h (NC on); max 40 h (NC off) |
