These are some of the most easy to wear, comfortable earbuds I've ever had the pleasure of wearing, a fact which shouldn't be a huge surprise given the Sony LinkBuds S are another firm favorite for my smaller ears. While a little fuller over the body, they fit without having to stretch my ear or screw them in, in any way. And thanks to the new material (which Sony says "holds on to the inner cup of your ear") they stay put for hours on end. The sweet spot for anyone looking to dip their toe into the world of noise-cancelling wireless earbuds.” Both the C700N earphones and the LinkBuds S work with Bluetooth 5.2, while the XM5 supports version 5.3. Of course, your typical listening volume and codec choice will affect your real-world results. Out of the three, only the case for the XM5 supports wireless charging.

When Ambient is deployed, you can select from 1-20 on a slider (I keep mine at around 12 when 'Walking' to my train and 20 when 'Running') and these work very well indeed. When ANC is on, at my desk, all but the loudest noises are softened, leaving me immersed in my playlists. It's a feat and no mistake.When it comes to battery life, the earbuds should be good for seven and a half hours of playtime on a single charge with BT and ANC turned on (this rises to ten with ANC off). We think that’s perfectly acceptable at this level. Did I mention that the build quality and battery life are bang-on too? There's less protrusion than with Sony's more affordable buds ( Sony WF-C500, all eyes on you), because they're37% lighter and 38% smaller than the top-tier WF-1000XM4 .

Our own voice comes through sounding natural, and clear. During testing, we had to compete with the occasional gust of wind but it didn’t seem to affect the clarity of our conversations. In fact, compared to something like the JBL Live Pro 2 TWS, our voices sound more refined and more dynamic coming through the Sonys. The C700N are rated IPX4 splash-proof like the WF-C500, but also sport Wind Noise Reduction Structure to render calls less distorted in blustery weather, plus Multipoint Bluetooth that allows you to connect wirelessly to two Bluetooth devices at once and then seamlessly switch between them.There’s a fantastic sense of power and drive on display that grabs your attention and hooks you into the song. But it’s not all about the bass. The WF-C700 still favour a balanced presentation overall. There’s still percussion and a vocal to fit into the mix and the Sonys are more than generous with the amount of exposure they give across the frequency range. The available operating time is short, the battery power does not last long, the battery life of the left and right headset units is different. The indicator (blue) on the charging case repeatedly flashes twice in a row and the headset goes into pairing mode.

What you do get with the WF-C500 are the essentials and then some – namely Bluetooth 5.0 (compatible with SBC and AAC codecs), 10 hours' worth of earbud-only charge, an IPX4 waterproof rating and even voice-assistant control. Considering the price point, that's a Swiss-army-knife level of kit. Okay, if you're prepared to spend over three times the money, there's more detail and sonic insight (through the higher frequencies) to be gleaned from the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2, but those earbuds don't have the battery life or ANC talent of these inexpensive Sony earbuds. If [ WF-C700N] does not appear on your computer screen, try again from “To connect without using the Swift Pair function” of step .Tested for two weeks, listened against the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus, Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 and even the Audeze Euclid They all have an IPX4 water-resistance rating, which means they can resist light rain and sweat, but nothing more intense. Sony WF-C700N Said button is a great solution. Depress it, and you know you've done something (unlike so many touch-based solutions) and I find myself neglecting my phone to answer calls, scroll through ANC profiles (on the left earbuds) and pause my music (on the right, but this can be customized in the app).