The Sony WH-XB910N is a bass-focused headset that uses EXTRA BASS technology. This is fully revealed, so if for you “bass is life” – please continue reading.
Appearance and materials
Headphones look good. We can say that this is a classic, without excess. As a classic suit – always fits. Made of black plastic, which does not tend to collect fingerprints and feels good. The same applies to the materials of ear cushions – a quality substitute for leather. Nothing creaks, does not backlash. They sit voluminously on the head, there is a certain “Cheburashka effect”, not that they are not suitable for portable use, but full-size headphones are always a compromise.
The bass is voluminous, thick and very rhythmic. The sound at low frequencies is bodily, without unnecessary fuss. Bass reproduction is clear, rich. The beats of the drums are great, and the guitars have a deep sound.
What about the sound?
The midrange sounds clear, but slightly pressed down to the low frequency range. At the same time, the midrange has a good sound saturation, physicality and play bright. Medium volume playback. They sound at medium speed, in places slowly. In tracks, where they are additionally accentuated – generally cool.
The high frequencies are noticeably pressed down, so they do not sound very loud. The playback is intense, it feels like the sound has depth. They play well. The sound is not distorted, clear, no “sawing” effect.
The imaginary scene is large and has a great placement of instruments in space. The tools are well located and you can easily feel where and what is. Very nice.
The detail deserves special praise – you can disassemble almost all the tools, even those that the weather does not. The sound is “awaited”, it’s really good to hear the sound of all the instruments, where they start playing and where they end – it’s cool. The only caveat – where there is a lot of bass – it can overshadow all other sounds, and in this case the detail is somewhat reduced. Headphones have a clear “musical” and emotionally colored character, and this is not the best option for monitoring, despite the detail.
In terms of music styles – Sony WH-XB910N are well suited for rock, jazz and electronics.
Without the use of Headphones presets, the vocals sound good, but be sure to consider the following:
a) since the headphones are focused on the woofer, it often seems that the vocals play quietly and you want to increase the volume, although for other sound parameters of appropriate volume. In general, headphones lower the pitch of the vocals;
b) headphones interfere with the speed of the vocals, and this can be heard in songs where the vocals are low and slow – it is artificially slowed down, which attracts attention. If you remember cassette players – then when the batteries sat down, the music started to play slower. It’s the same with vocals. But in tracks with vocals of medium speed and above, it does not play a personal role and sounds unusual. Maybe it’s “not a bug, but a feature” 🙂
If you adjust the headphones via “Headphones” – these effects almost (80%) disappear. Be sure to adjust the headphones!)
Sound through the cable
It has the same character as written above. The only difference is that the sound becomes deeper and more pronounced. But in general, there is no critical change, so the headphones sound good in any case and the wire can be safely hidden in a box.
Sound insulation
The noise in the headphones is good – in the apartment of other people can not be heard, music can be heard) Sometimes when sharp turns make extraneous sounds, but nothing critical. Everything works well again, at the level of “turned on and forgot”. It is also worth mentioning the passive sound insulation – they are also good here, so the need to turn on the noise canceler is not always. On the street, the noise level, as in most models, best blocks low-frequency noise, which is quite enough. Still not the quality of the flagship Sony WH-1000XM4 , but the trend is positive.
Other points
The headphones hold the charge well. Type-c (pleases) is used for charging. It is possible to listen to them through a wired connection, which is cool. On board are all modern codecs: aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, SBC, AAC. Touch control was also delivered. Implemented interestingly, but you need to get used to it. Strange point – the physical keys are on the left bowl of the headphones, and the touch controls – on the right.
Conclusion
Sony WH-XB910N leave a very pleasant impression. “Out of the box” does not reveal the sound, so be sure to spend 5 – 10 minutes and adjust them to yourself – and you get a great experience.
