Credit: TechRadar
Verdict
Yes, making the Sony WF-C500 so inexpensive necessitated some concessions, but Sony reduced them to a bare minimum and produced a lively sound from really comfy earbuds. They’re not your only option, though, since there are plenty of other low-cost wireless earbuds on the market.
Pros
- The sound is informative, well-organized, and energetic
- Stylish and relaxing
- App for proper control
- Playback time is 10 hours
- Instrument separation is excellent
Cons
- Features that are as simple as possible
- The sound may be excessively bright
- There are no transparency or ANC modes available
- There are plenty of competitors
To join the cheap wireless headphone market, a company must be either brave or very confident. Are you able to figure out which one is Sony?
The Sony WF-C500s are well-designed, light, and comfy, and offer a variety of control options that all perform well. The all-in-one battery life isn’t very amazing at 20 hours, but 10 hours from the heads alone isn’t terrible. But their sound, which is quick, detailed, and highly engaging, demonstrates some genuine expertise.
Sony WF-C500 Affordable Wireless Earbuds
- Sony WF-C500 Price and Availability
- Specifications: Sony WF-C500 Review
- Design and Performance of Earbuds
- Audio
Sony WF-C500 Price and Availability
Credit: Reviewed
A Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds are available now for $79 / ÂŁ89 / AU$149.95, which is a great deal.
The rise of excellent true wireless in-ear headphones for around $100/ ÂŁ100/ AU$150 hasn’t slipped Sony’s notice, and the firm wants a piece of the pie. Sony is up against some pretty competent competition while having the cachet and some much more costly true wireless models with which to sprinkle some reflected glory over the WF-C500.
Cambridge Audio, Jabra, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sennheiser all make similarly priced and extremely good true wireless earbuds, and some of these models have certain benefits over the WF-C500, at least on paper.
Credit: Amazon
Specifications: Sony WF-C500 Review
| Dimensions | 3.9 x 2.2 x 2.9 inches |
| Weight | 4.8 ounces |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium-ion battery is required. |
| Noise Canceling | N/A |
| Battery Life | 10 Hrs |
| Hands Free Call | Yes |
| Water Resistant/Splash Proof | Yes / IPX4 |
| Special Features | Button Control |
| Volume Control | Yes |
| Notification & Voice Guide | Yes |
Design and Performance of Earbuds
Credit: What Hi-Fi?
We don’t get to criticize Sony for the way its products are designed and manufactured very frequently, and we’re not about to start now. The WF-C500 are incredibly small and light earbuds that are easy to position securely no matter what size or shape your ear. With three sizes of ear tips to choose from, getting comfy is a breeze.
Despite their compact size, Sony has included a big physical control surface on each WF-C500 earbud: a ‘push/push’ button that covers ‘play/pause, “skip forwards/backward,’ ‘volume up/down,’ ‘answer/end/reject a call,’ and ‘wake up the voice assistant.’ Each earbud also has a mic hole for voice assistant interaction and telephony – Google Assistant and Siri are both supported.
Credit: Aroged
Control is also available via Sony’s excellent ‘Headphones Connect’ app if you want. This is where you may modify EQ settings in addition to dealing with all of the other features, set your Bluetooth priority, give the app a great look at your ear shape, and turn in or out of the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine. Standard audio files are meant to be ‘upscaled’ by DSEE till they’re ‘nearly’ high-resolution. That ability to switch it on or off in the app allows you to determine for yourself how effective it is.
The total battery life is an ordinary 20 hours. However, the 10 hours retained in the earphones isn’t terrible. A fast 10-minute charge will give you another hour of listening; a small USB-C to USB-A adapter is included in the box for this reason. The WF-C500 employs Bluetooth 5 for wireless communication, and a pair of 6mm full-range speakers transmit your digital audio information once it’s onboard.
They’re IPX4-rated, which means they’re resistant to dampness and water splashes, and they come in four different colors. When you add on ‘quick pair’ connectivity for Android devices and swift pair’ for Windows 10 PCs, you have a product that is quite well-specified.
That’s all, it is very clear where Sony had to make concessions to keep the WF-C500 under $100 / ÂŁ100 / AU$150. And there is no active noise cancellation, no wireless charging, and the charging case isn’t very impressive, but as long as the Sony has wherever it counts, that’s perfectly OK.
Audio
Credit: Reviewed
The WF-C500 is capable of handling large MQA-enabled TIDAL Masters digital audio files – listening to You Must Be Out Of Your Mind by The Magnetic Fields sounds like a nice place to start. The Sonys, on the other hand, don’t seem to find it all that difficult.
When it comes to headphones, talking about stereo focus and separation may seem superfluous, but there are enough designs out there that can’t adequately represent the architecture of a soundstage to show that these things aren’t a given. Although the song is packed with instruments all occupying more-or-less the same section of the frequency range, and despite Sony lacking the out-and-out scale of other competitors, tracking individual components is straightforward.
Low-frequency noises aren’t quite as long as they could be, but they’re well-shaped and instructive. They also don’t linger in the middle or crowd it, implying that rhythms and tempos are properly expressed – the WF-bass C500’s notes are pleasingly straight-edged on their journey into and out of bass notes. The other end of the frequency spectrum has been rolled off slightly, probably for politeness’ sake, but it still has enough bite and gloss to keep things interesting.
When it comes to vocalists, the midrange is quite dexterous in the middle. Stephin Merritt’s baritone voice oscillates between bass and middle, yet it’s dense with information from his vocal labor and, as a result, full of personality. It’s also contained in that little space, thus makes it feel even more urgent and conversational.
Switch to Kanye West’s Jail for a more wide-ranging, albeit less pleasant, sound, and the WF-C500 is more than capable of describing the recording’s dynamics. They also do a wonderful job of making the song’s silences and gaps as important as the actual sounds – and they display a beautiful clean noise-floor while they’re at it.
It should be noted that all of this is based on an EQ that is consistent across the board. You may play with the sound in the app to your heart’s content, but we think ‘flat’ is the ideal setting for Sony. By all means, examine the ‘clear bass’ setting – but be assured, it’s far from clear.
Should You Buy Sony WF-C500 Wireless Earbuds?
OF course, with a tight fit and water resistance, the WF-C500 are among the most comfortable earbuds available. These earbuds do a fantastic job of describing a soundscape. Thanks to the superb WF-1000 earphones, Sony has a stellar reputation for genuine wireless in-ears.
But, also low-frequency extension may be found here, so if you like a bass to listen to your music and want to enjoy with peace then you can buy some else alternative earbuds( Sony WF-1000XM4)
Reviews
- Sony WF-C500 Wireless Earbuds
Summary
You place a premium on convenience. With a compact fit and water resistance, the Sony WF-C500 Affordable Wireless Earbuds are among the most comfortable earbuds available for $99.
