I tested affordable Sony headphones with ANC, powerful bass, and plentiful battery life — here’s whether I’d recommend them after weeks of use | Daily Reports Online

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Sony WH-CH730N review

If you want affordable wireless headphones with a lot of the fancy features and design elements found on Sony’s flagship cans, then the Sony WH-CH730N might just be perfect for you.

With ANC, highly customizable and energetic sound, and a neat folding design, there’s a lot to like about the WH-CH370N right off the bat. I’ve spent hours upon hours listening to music with Sony’s latest affordable cans, so here’s whether I think they’re worth picking over some of their fiercest rivals in this competitive segment of the market.

Of course, if you want to stand out against the best headphones in the budget category, you need to do one thing above all: provide great sound quality with as few sacrifices as possible. And all in all, I think that the WH-CH730N do just that.

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(Image credit: Future)

If I’m honest, these headphones didn’t make an amazing first impression on me. They have a somewhat strange tuning out of the box that makes them sound unbalanced, with a slightly restricted soundstage and both vocals and drums in the treble-range are especially held back. But this can be solved. Just hop onto the Sound Connect app and switch to the Clear EQ (that enhances treble), or create your own Custom tuning. After doing this, you’ll be able to experience far more open and revealing audio that’s genuinely impressive for budget headphones.

When tuning into Just Gets Better by TJR and Xavier, I was impressed by the WH-CH730N’s ability to provide pumping bass that sounded satisfyingly deep yet controlled, never obscuring vocals or higher-pitched percussion in the process. Sure, bass doesn’t have the level of texture and warmth that Sony’s pricier WH-1000XM6 headphones supply, but it’s far more impactful and regimented than I’ve come to expect from most affordable over-ears.

In Miracles by Change, the WH-CH730N continued to impress, with clear guitars in the mid-range beautifully weighted against smooth, punchy bass, tight and expressive drums in the treble-range, and expressive, well-defined vocals. Again, you’re not going to get the grand expansiveness and expert instrument separation that Sony’s flagship headphones plate up, but the clarity and balance available is commendable for the price.

It certainly feels like these headphones have a preference for the low-end, and as a result, you get a really energetic, exciting listen out of them for certain genres — think house, funk and hip-hop. But they’re more than capable of handling more stripped-back tracks too. For instance, with Yuta Orisaka’s Yureru, I was struck by the tonal accuracy and tastefully forward vocal performance, but emotive strings were also given plenty of room to express themselves.

Yes, the WH-CH730N require a bit of tuning to sound their best, and they’re not quite serving up flagship-level audio. But they do sound great for the price. And considering you gets DSEE upscaling (which you’ll need to activate in the Sound Connect app) to elevate lower-quality files, as well as 3.5mm audio for wired listening and highly customizable EQ, there’s a lot to love about these, sonically speaking.

(Image credit: Future)

Some may have wished for LDAC support, which enables you to stream in higher-res quality over Bluetooth — especially as it’s Sony’s proprietary technology. There’s also no USB-C audio passthrough (though this is common for Sony headphones). But aside from this, there are plenty of features for you to dig into — both related and unrelated to sound.

Most of these features can be found in Sony’s Sound Connect app, which is easy to use, with no sign of bugs or faults during my testing. Other than what I’ve already mentioned, you’ll be able to switch between your devices (with multi-point available), customize the function of the noise cancelling button, activate a voice assistant and more.

Although some features (including wear detection, which is one you may miss) are absent, there’s so much to explore on the WH-CH730N. There’s an option to prioritize sound quality, stability, or use a Bluetooth LE connection. Then, there’s the ability to activate a background music mode, turn on battery life conservation modes, and to switch between ANC or a transparency mode (there’s also an option to turn these off altogether).

And while we’re on the topic of ANC, let’s talk about how effective it is. The WH-CH730N make use of four microphones in total — which isn’t all that many in 2026 headphones. And the noise-cancelling capabilities are, in my view, fairly middling. They dull external sounds pretty well, meaning harsher noises (the roar of traffic and the like) aren’t too invasive. But when typing in the office, or when playing a video out loud, I could still hear the clicking and clacking of keyboards and the video presenter’s voice, even when listening to music above 50%. If you just want to dampen the world around you, these are up to the task — but if you want to shut it out completely, you might be left wanting more.

The four mics do handle calls pretty well though, and whether I was taking a video call or listening back to a recording, my speech was clear and articulate.

Something else that I liked about the WH-CH730N was their battery life. You get 50 hours with ANC on, and up to 75 hours when it’s switched off. While some budget rivals, like the Nothing Headphone (a) outdo it here, that’s still an awful lot of playtime, and more than double of what you’d get from Sony’s most premium wireless headphones, the Sony 1000X The Collexion.

In terms of design, the WH-CH730N aren’t quite setting the world alight, but I do like how they’re fully foldable, which is useful if you’re on the go and want to tuck them away in a small-sized bag. They’re pretty plasticky, and the headband isn’t the sturdiest around, but the WH-CH730N do have plush ear cups which feel nice and comfortable in use. They’re also available in an enticing set of colors, including Pink, Blue, Beige, Black, and White.

So, are the Sony WH-CH730N worth the money? I think so. They supply good sound quality, a boatload of features, a practical design and strong battery life. The ANC is by no means bad either, even if it’s not the most impressive I’ve experienced. So, as long as you don’t expect the most expansive soundstage and intricate detailing, sonically speaking, and you don’t need top-tier noise cancelling, you’ll almost certainly be satisfied with the Sony WH-CH730N.

(Image credit: Future)

Sony WH-CH730N review: price & availability

The Sony WH-CH730N were released in September 2026, about three and a half years after their predecessor, the Sony WH-CH720N. The previous model was $149 / £99 / AU$259 at launch, meaning that the WH-CH730N are a bit pricier than their predecessors at the point of release, but there’s been no change in the UK, and an actual decrease in Australia.

These headphones sit in the budget camp, but are a little costlier than the Sony WH-CH530, a cheap pair of on-ear headphones that launched alongside the Sony WH-CH730N. Still, they’re considerably cheaper than the flagship model, the Sony WH-1000XM6 and ultra-premium Sony 1000X The Collexion. Price-wise, the WH-CH730N are in competition with models like the Nothing Headphone (a), the Sennheiser Accentum Plus, and the Anker Soundcore Space 2.

Sony WH-CH730N review: specs

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Drivers	30mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Battery life	50 hours (ANC on), 75 hours (ANC off)
Weight	0.5lbs / 207g
Connectivity	Bluetooth 6.0, 3.5mm
Frequency range	20Hz-20kHz

(Image credit: Future)

Sony WH-CH730N review: should you buy them?

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Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	Great EQ options, control app, DSEE upscaling and battery life, but ANC could be better, and no LDAC or wear detection.	4/5
Sound quality	Impressive bass and clear all-round sound, but need some tuning to sound their best.	4/5
Design	Not the most premium, but foldable and nice color options.	4/5
Value	Great price for the all-round quality on offer.	4.5/5

Header Cell – Column 0	Sony WH-CH730N	Nothing Headphone (a)	1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51
Price	$179 / £99.99 / AU$229	$199 / £149 / AU$329	$89 / £99 / AU$130
Drivers	30mm dynamic	40mm dynamic	40mm dynamic
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	50 hours (ANC on), 75 hours (ANC off)	75 hours (ANC on), 135 hours (ANC off)	65 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
Weight	0.5lbs / 207g	0.7lbs / 310g	0.5lbs / 246g
Connectivity	Bluetooth 6.0, 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C, 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.4, 3.5mm
Frequency range	20Hz-20kHz	20Hz-40kHz	20Hz-40kHz