The Sony WH-CH720N Wireless are the next generation of the Sony WH-CH710N Wireless. The manufacturer has added a couple of handy features this time around, like companion app support, which offers sound customization features as well as controls and button mapping, and multi-device pairing. At the same time, their noise cancelling (ANC) system has gotten an upgrade, but it isn't anything to write home about and falls short of Sony's other noise cancelling headphones like the Sony WH-XB910N.
The WH-CH720N are Sony's latest alphabet soup wireless noise-canceling headphones. The CH-series is Sony's mid-range offering with a balanced feature set that sits under the more premium 1000X series and alongside more specialized models like the XB extra bass series.
The CH720N sits at the top of that range with a fairly broad feature set that makes it essentially a lite version of the 1000XM5. You get Sony's active noise-cancellation along with a claimed 'balanced' tuning for the sound, all powered by the dedicated Sony V1 processor, also found on the 1000XM5. Let's see how they perform.
Sony WH-CH720N review: Budget-friendly headphones with premium sound
Great audio and a comfy fit make these a compelling, affordable option.
Sony has a great track record when it comes to budget headphones. The company’s WH-CH710N were excellent, but overpriced initially. Sony made them an incredible value at $150 after it cut the price shortly after their debut in 2020. Great sound quality, capable ANC, good battery life and a comfy fit made the WH-CH710N a compelling, affordable alternative to the premium WH-1000XM3, which was the company’s flagship model at the time. Earlier this year, the company debuted the follow-up to that three-year-old set: the WH-CH720N.
On paper, the 2023 edition should keep Sony’s reputation for solid mid-range and budget headphones as alternatives to the pricey WH-1000XM5. The WH-CH720N houses the same V1 chip from the M5, which powers both active noise cancellation (ANC) and overall sound quality. There’s also an updated design and a lower price following another early cut ($130), but battery life remains the same at 35 hours. So, is the WH-CH720N another mid-range hit for Sony?
The Sony WH-CH720N offer great performance for the money, so I compared them to the older WH-1000XM3
Early Verdict
My impression so far of the Sony WH-CH720N is that they're an impressive mix of detail and features for the price. But don't think they're stealing flagship-level performance from the gods – there are clear limitations compared to Sony's step-up headphones.
The new Sony WH-CH720N noise-cancelling headphones are a direct replacement for the previous CH710N model, adding new features, plus sound and noise-cancelling upgrades. With a price of $129 / £99 / AU$259, they're aggressive from Sony, bringing a lot of flagship-level features from the best noise-cancelling headphones to lower budgets.
But do they bring flagship-level performance too? Well, I mean, obviously not the same as the Sony WH-1000XM5, which cost more than three times as much – but I've been using my trusty Sony WH-1000XM3 for years now, and they were the flagship back in 2018, and recently dropped as low as $180 / £160 in places where they're still on sale (they seem to be finally on the out, sadly).
So I thought there's a chance that the new headphones might be able to match this older model, which would be incredibly exciting at this price. I took them both out to play in the traffic of the city, because the noise cancellation is where there tends to be the biggest gap between models at different prices.
The WH-CH720N are Sony's latest alphabet soup wireless noise-canceling headphones. The CH-series is Sony's mid-range offering with a balanced feature set that sits under the more premium 1000X series and alongside more specialized models like the XB extra bass series.
The CH720N sits at the top of that range with a fairly broad feature set that makes it essentially a lite version of the 1000XM5. You get Sony's active noise-cancellation along with a claimed 'balanced' tuning for the sound, all powered by the dedicated Sony V1 processor, also found on the 1000XM5. Let's see how they perform.
Sony WH-CH720N review: Budget-friendly headphones with premium sound
Great audio and a comfy fit make these a compelling, affordable option.
Sony has a great track record when it comes to budget headphones. The company’s WH-CH710N were excellent, but overpriced initially. Sony made them an incredible value at $150 after it cut the price shortly after their debut in 2020. Great sound quality, capable ANC, good battery life and a comfy fit made the WH-CH710N a compelling, affordable alternative to the premium WH-1000XM3, which was the company’s flagship model at the time. Earlier this year, the company debuted the follow-up to that three-year-old set: the WH-CH720N.
On paper, the 2023 edition should keep Sony’s reputation for solid mid-range and budget headphones as alternatives to the pricey WH-1000XM5. The WH-CH720N houses the same V1 chip from the M5, which powers both active noise cancellation (ANC) and overall sound quality. There’s also an updated design and a lower price following another early cut ($130), but battery life remains the same at 35 hours. So, is the WH-CH720N another mid-range hit for Sony?
The Sony WH-CH720N offer great performance for the money, so I compared them to the older WH-1000XM3
Early Verdict
My impression so far of the Sony WH-CH720N is that they're an impressive mix of detail and features for the price. But don't think they're stealing flagship-level performance from the gods – there are clear limitations compared to Sony's step-up headphones.
The new Sony WH-CH720N noise-cancelling headphones are a direct replacement for the previous CH710N model, adding new features, plus sound and noise-cancelling upgrades. With a price of $129 / £99 / AU$259, they're aggressive from Sony, bringing a lot of flagship-level features from the best noise-cancelling headphones to lower budgets.
But do they bring flagship-level performance too? Well, I mean, obviously not the same as the Sony WH-1000XM5, which cost more than three times as much – but I've been using my trusty Sony WH-1000XM3 for years now, and they were the flagship back in 2018, and recently dropped as low as $180 / £160 in places where they're still on sale (they seem to be finally on the out, sadly).
So I thought there's a chance that the new headphones might be able to match this older model, which would be incredibly exciting at this price. I took them both out to play in the traffic of the city, because the noise cancellation is where there tends to be the biggest gap between models at different prices.
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