Sony WH-CH510 wireless on-ear headphones deals
Sony has done very well in making a name for itself in the personal audio industry.
WH-1000XM4 in-ear headphones and WF-1000XM4 in-ear headphones are the best in its class when it comes to noise reduction and sound quality, but
How heavy are Titanic brand budget audio products?
Looking at the Sony WH-CH510, it's frankly insane that wireless headphones can cost so little, let alone a pair that has decent sound, a USB-C port, and 35 hours of battery life. Therefore, when reading this review, make sure to keep its price in mind (as we should) when you notice any shortcomings or glitches.
Price and release date
(Image credit: Avenir) No matter what region you are in,
the WH-CH510s are an affordable setup. These wireless in-ear headphones will only set you back €59 in the US, €50 in the UK and €89AU in Australia and are available for purchase right now.
Integrated
First thing to note: These are over-the-ear rather than in-ear headphones, which means their covers won't go around your ears, but will rest on them. This makes them considerably more compact, but possibly a little less comfortable (this also affects audio quality, but we'll get to that later). Aesthetically, there's not much to say about these Sony cans, but their clean, understated appearance does wonders for broadening their appeal since the goal here is accessibility.
They are available in a stylish black, white or blue color and its shape profile is as close as possible to a "straight line with a circle at each end". Other than the Sony logo on both mugs, the only other decorative element is a simple diamond grill texture that covers most of its exterior. Perhaps the most obvious and surprising reflection of the WH-CH510's price is its structural integrity. The plastic headband, swivel joints, and shell of the earcups don't seem very sturdy, and we'd be remiss to recommend "throwing" them in your bag or treating them roughly. The headband does seem to have some flex, so maybe that's more forgiving than we thought, but we really didn't want to push this theory too far. It doesn't bend or collapse further to create a more compact package (although the cups rotate 90° and flatten out). It should be noted that while this particular reviewer has an unusually large head and often pushes headphone bands to their limits,
the WH-CH510 only extended halfway before it sat comfortably on both ears. We think this will be good news for the ringleaders among us, as well as those who like to wear hats and cans at the same time. Of course, the upshot of all this is that they're incredibly light, which, coupled with their small size, makes them ultra-portable. Fortunately, the padding on the earcups seems to be of a higher standard than the rest of the unit, so they're comfortable to wear for long periods of time given their on-ear form factor.
(Image credit: Avenir)
Features
For a control interface, these boxes have a spartan set of three large buttons that are easy to locate, differentiate, and interact with. They're responsible for the usual play/pause range, volume up/down, and skip forward/backward, but they also allow you to activate your device's voice assistant. There's a built-in microphone next to these buttons for this purpose and for taking calls, and while it can certainly be used, it's not the clearest option out there. Along with the controls and
the microphone is the only USB-C charging port (Audio over USB is not supported in what we tested.) We are disproportionately excited to see a budget product adopt this scalable port via micro USB. These cans of
Sony offer 35 hours of playback, which impresses us a lot, and if you're in a hurry, you can top up 90 minutes of juice with just 10 minutes of flat charging. The lack of a 3,5mm headphone port and no audio over USB means you're out of luck if you run out of batteries while you're on the go, but the impressive battery life and affordability this affords probably makes up for it. . It may seem counterintuitive, but the WH-CH510's lack of features is one of its strengths. By focusing on more important attributes, including battery life and audio quality, they lowered costs on features their target audience could do without (including active noise cancellation).
As we mentioned above, the fact that these headphones are in-ear format means that you won't get the audio quality that the in-ear competitors offer. This is largely due to the fact that smaller cups don't create as strong a seal and have less of a feeling of space. That said, it's remarkable how well these Sony manage to sound despite their low price and limited form factor. We found that
bass is clear and present, but certainly not dominant. The higher frequencies were a little more overbearing than we'd like, and the mids too suppressed, but the profile was nice overall. Although they lack the
excellent clarity, balance and sense of space boasted by its WH-1000XM3 siblingsHowever, the sound produced by these headphones definitely belies their size and price. You'll find that most genres work well here, though tracks that already have swollen low-mids and highs can be uncomfortably overplayed. In our tests, the Bluetooth 5.0 connection never failed and we found no interference or dropout issues. There's no companion app that we could find, but we couldn't think of a need for it, given the unit's innate simplicity.
(Image credit: Avenir)
Final verdict
If you're looking for headphones at this price, you're probably already willing to make some sacrifices. Fortunately, most of the compromises Sony made with the WH-CH510 weren't overly critical: the lack of analog input reflects the loss of the 3,5mm port on most modern smartphones, while the plastic construction lightweight enhances portability and comfort. For those looking for something much sturdier or with a 3,5mm port, you're unlikely to find a similarly priced alternative that's also wireless, let alone with solid battery life and sound. Price - Sony WH-CH510 Wireless Open Headphones: ▼
