STEREO GUIDE verdict
The Sony WF-C710N Bluetooth earbuds offer discreet ANC and many functions. They are convincing all-rounders in terms of sound quality, but are neither audiophile nor level wonders for dynamic range enthusiasts.
Pros
- Balanced sound for all genres
- Very good spatiality
- Top telephony features
- Top app with many functions
Cons
- Could play a little more transparently
- Level-limited, loud, somewhat compressed sound
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Tonal balance / transparency8.4
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Bass / Dynamics8.2
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Ease-of-use / Connectivity9.4
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Price/Performance9.4
After a comparatively short time, the Sony WF-C710N replaces its predecessor, which we reviewed just two years ago shortly after its release. At the time, the Sony WF-C700N proved to be a good all-round TWS with active noise canceling (ANC) suitable for everyday use. The Japanese company is now launching its successor, which has jumped in price from 100 to 120 euros. The most obvious change is the elimination of the characteristic “click” buttons with a pressure point, which have been replaced by touch surfaces on the WF-C710N. The news editors of various tech blogs also declared the new “transparent blue” color to be the real novelty, which brings a touch of 1990s iMac feeling to the ears. We opted for the pastel pink version, as the previous season’s fashion colors, sage green and lavender, have been removed from the range.
We focus on the manufacturer’s claims regarding improved sound, battery life and higher quality materials as initial questions for a practical test. The charging case in particular has improved significantly. The relevant data, such as the battery life with recharging, has been significantly extended.
Sony WF-C710N: Ergonomic successor to the WF-C700N
The manufacturer states 8.5 hours without recharging, and even 12 hours with ANC deactivated. The charging case adds more than two full charges, giving up to 30 hours with ANC activated . Respectable, especially considering the low weight of the charging case of 38 grams, which comes in the shape of a thicker lipstick and fits easily into pockets.
The IPX4 splash protection is sufficient for most applications; nothing has changed here compared to its predecessor, the WF-C700N.
When inserting the WF-C710N, we had the choice between three different silicone seals. As with the predecessor, there is no real S version, the middle one was already quite large. So listeners with very narrow ear canals should definitely consider a fitting before buying!
Insertion is much easier than with its predecessor, which required a rather rough pushing/screwing motion to get its favorite fit far into the ear canal. The Sony WF-C710N sits a little looser and more comfortably, and can be placed tightly in the ear canal immediately without much trial and error. A clear improvement. However, the presence of the new Sony is still noticeable at some point during long-term use when traveling.
Practical test: How the ANC of the Sony WF-C710N works
The first practical test of the ANC provided a surprise: in “off” mode, the isolating feeling due to the passive attenuation in the mid and high frequencies is somewhat clearer than in active noise-canceling mode. The latter comes with a barely perceptible hiss and remnants of ambient noise. It concentrates more on good bass attenuation with the cancellation. This is not ideal in windy conditions, but is fine because road and aircraft noises in particular are well attenuated and the noise from outside appears quite inconspicuous as it is balanced. In everyday use, the Sony WF-C710N is therefore more in line with headphones with more subtle ANC, which suppress noises such as road traffic or similar, but allow speech to pass through clearly.
Transparency mode is therefore only needed in a train station or on an airplane for announcements that are difficult to understand. The WF-C710N no longer sounds as tinny as its predecessor and can be adjusted in 20 levels in the app. However, prolonged use is not recommended because high-frequency, sudden noises come through quite clearly.
The Bluetooth in-ear from Sony delivered an excellent performance when making calls. Even in reverberant rooms and in windy conditions, it was very easy to hear, which is by no means a matter of course for TWS.
Technology and more
With Bluetooth 5.3, the connection technology for pairing with the smart device is state of the art. After reviewing, we can confirm that the Bluetooth connection was very stable throughout. SBC and AAC are offered as codecs. Higher quality with aptX devices is still denied to the small Sonys, as is the in-house, but less widespread LDAC.
Some really useful features can be found in the overview: The Mini Sonys support pairing with two Bluetooth devices at the same time, for example. The noise cancelling can be adjusted in 20 levels of effectiveness and the Sonys also remember the desired ANC intensity via location detection. Of course, this is only possible in the app.
A very small 5 mm diaphragm is used as the actual driver. Quite a small diaphragm area for active noise canceling, where the diaphragm also has to produce sound components to cancel out the bass range.
The touch control is intuitive and accurate. In the standard setting, the right-hand WF-C710N accepts phone calls with a simple tap, while the left-hand one switches between noise-canceling and transparency mode.
The Sony app is now called Sound Connect
We initially searched in vain for the application for iOS or Android devices formerly known as the Sony Headphones Connect app . It has simply been renamed Sony Sound Connect App, but contains almost the same functions as the WF-C700N.
The app itself is initially confusing with its many settings and complex menu structure. However, it offers some really useful hidden features. The equalizer is not a graphic EQ, but has 5 narrow-band intervention options that are often used for in-ears. The bass control goes extra. In practice, however, the very good EQ will only be used in fine doses due to the balance of the listener.
Many features sound useful, but in practice require some app permissions and setup procedures. The adaptive location detection, for example, is supposed to adapt the noise-cancelling to the environment. Because of the strong passive insulation, we hardly used it. We left the alleged sound improvement with significantly data-reduced material, called Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) by Sony, deactivated after we noticed a slight tendency towards harsher highs during the first sound test.
The Sony can be automatically personalized using two methods: The measurement of the ears for a virtual 360-degree sound is likely to be dismissed by most as a gimmick. More practical is the optimization of the equalizer after a preference comparison with sound examples. In practice, this delivered less convincing results than manual EQ optimization, but is also much more intuitive for sound engineering novices.
Sound test of the Sony WF-C710N: Better than its predecessor?
The Sony developers seem to have taken the criticism of the WF-C700N seriously: The new TWS in-ear was tuned similarly in terms of sound, but showed a clearly improved performance in a number of areas. The first impression was neutral and unspectacular with a rich bass that was neither dominating nor kicky. The spatiality, which is quite wide for an in-ear, was retained, which should please fans of acoustic music such as folk, jazz and classical music in particular.
From the point of view of pop and rock lovers, it was also more balanced than its predecessor: the trebles may have lacked audiophile transparency and melting, but they remained sibilance-free, balanced and of good resolution. The Sony WF-C710N could really cope with any genre, it was only at rather noisy live concerts that the treble became correspondingly harsh, especially at higher listening volumes. These are not its strong point anyway, even if it seems a little more dynamic than its predecessor. Even at maximum level, the 710 didn’t produce any real punch or kick, sounding rather more strained and tempting us to reduce the volume.
We were already familiar with the stately, well-integrated bass foundation from the predecessor. Despite a decent depth and correct timing, the bass remained more on the background side. In other words, it didn’t deliver the ultimate hardness for electronic music, but was definitely fun at medium to high levels.
Conclusion and alternatives to the Sony WF-C710N
The strongest competitor comes from within the company: as is usual with Sony, the predecessor Sony WF-C700N is sold at a significantly lower price than the new WF-C710N. The new model only justifies the extra price for music lovers who really appreciate the longer battery life of the charging case or the more balanced and dynamic sound quality. Otherwise, the differences remain small and you can save money with the predecessor without hesitation.
If sound quality alone is important, there are alternatives anyway: the Teufel Real Blue TWS 3 (German text) is available in a price range above this with audiophile qualities. But as a complete package with great telephony and many functions, the Sonys are still an attractive offer.
Technical specifications Sony WF-C710N
- Manufacturer’s recommended retail price: 119 euros
- Type: In-Ear
- Transducer principle: Dynamic
- Weight: 5.2 g each, case 38 g
- Special features: Active noise-canceling, water-repellent according to IPX4, app control, 6-band EQ, headset microphone
- More at: www.sony.com
