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The Complete Guide to Sony’s Wireless Headphones and Earbuds

Sony makes some of most popular headphones you can buy, but its naming convention is extremely confusing. Here’s what you need to know.

collage of sony wireless headphones and ear buds Courtesy

By Tucker Bowe

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Sony is one of the biggest names in headphones today. It makes some of the most well-reviewed and most popular headphones you can buy. In recent years, Sony has also emerged as the chief rival to Bose when it comes to noise-canceling headphones. Its current WH-1000xM5 and WF-1000xM4 are some of the best noise-canceling wireless headphones and earbuds, respectively, that you can buy.

Products in the Guide

The problem with Sony’s line is that there are a lot of different models to choose from, and their naming conventions don’t make it easy. We’re here to break it down so you can decide which Sony headphones are right for you.

  • Release Date: May 2022
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The Sony WH-1000XM5 are the company’s new flagship noise-canceling headphones and the direct successor to the Sony WH-1000XM4. They have a new lightweight design and larger earcups so that they’re more comfortable to wear. They have significantly improved active noise cancellation (especially for mid-to-high-range frequencies) thanks to an extra processor. And they have significantly improved call clarity. Additionally, they have many of the same features and sound that made the Sony WH-1000XM4 our previous pick for the best noise-canceling headphones for most people. The only real downside is that the Sony WH-1000XM5 are $50 more expensive.

Read our review of the Sony WH-1000XM5, here.

  • Release Date: August 2020
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The WH-1000XM4 were once the company’s flagship noise-canceling headphones (before the Sony WH-1000XM5). They are still some of the best noise-canceling headphones you can buy and, compared to the Sony WH-1000XM5, they have a more compact foldable design, which is actually a little better for travel. The kicker is that you can often get a really good deal on these since they’re a little bit older.

  • Release Date: February 2023
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The Sony WH-CH720N are the company’s newest mid-range pair of noise-canceling headphones. You can think of them as a budget alternative to Sony’s flagship WH-1000XM5, as they borrow the same V1 chip for noise-cancellation and sound, although they lack the M5’s second processor for further canceling out midrange and high frequencies. They have a cheaper design that’s similar to their predecessor, the Sony WH-CH710N, and their other standout feature is battery life: they promise up to 35 hours of battery life with ANC turned on.

  • Release Date: October 2021
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The Sony WH-XB910N are the company’s new pair of budget noise-canceling over-ear headphones (and the successor of the WH-XB900N). They have a sleek design that’s similar to the flagship WH-1000XM4 headphones and share many of the same features, such as USB-C charging, multi-device Bluetooth switching, a Quick Attention mode, and it works with the Headphones app (so you can tweak the EQ settings). However, don’t expect them to sound as good or have as excellent active noise-cancellation as those flagship cans.

  • Release Date: Mid-2020
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

If you’re looking for a more affordable way to get Sony noise-canceling over-ear headphones, get the WH-CH710N. That said, there are some considerable tradeoffs from the brand’s higher-priced options. The WH-CH710N don’t have the same audio or noise-canceling abilities and they lack compatibility with Sony’s Headphones app, meaning they don’t allow you to adjust the sound settings. Additionally, there’s no capacitive touch playback controls on the earcups (there are buttons instead), and headband isn’t foldable. On the plus side, they charge via USB-C and have the best battery life (up to 35 hours) of any of Sony’s wireless over-ear headphones.

  • Release Date: Mid-2019
  • Noise-Canceling: No

The WH-XB700 are entry-level wireless on-ear headphones that are in Sony’s “Extra Bass” line, as indicated by the XB in the product name. They lack any active noise-canceling abilities, but they are still compatible with Sony’s Headphones app which allows you to tweak sound settings. They also charge via USB-C, which is still a rarity amongst wireless headphones that fall below $100.

  • Release Date: April 2023
  • Noise-Canceling: No

The Sony WH-CH520 are the company’s most entry-level pair of wireless on-ear headphones. They look similar to their predecessor, the Sony WH-CH510 (now antiquated), but have a couple of key upgrades. The new models now work with Sony’s Headphones Connect app, which allows you to customization various settings (including EQ). And they support multi-point Bluetooth, so they can wirelessly connect to two devices at once. Like before, they have excellent battery life (up to 35 hours), and they charge via USB-C.

  • Release Date: Early 2020
  • Noise-Canceling: No

The Sony WH-CH510 are the company’s most entry-level pair of wireless on-ear headphones. Essentially, they’re a cheaper and more basic version of the WH-XB700 headphones. They lack compatibility with the Sony Headphones app, meaning you can’t toggle with the EQ audio settings. On the plus side, they do have a great 35-hour battery life and charge via USB-C.

  • Release Date: June 2021
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The WF-1000XM4 are arguably the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds you can buy. They are the successor to the nearly two-year-old WH-1000XM3, but Sony redesigned them from the ground up so they sound more vibrant, have better noise-cancellation and have improved mics for a superior call experience. They also look and feel different; they have a more rounded design and they’re noticeably smaller (each earbud is 10 percent smaller and the case is about 40 percent smaller). Finally, Sony gave them some new-age features like wireless charging and water resistance (IPX4) so they feel like the new hotness.

Read our review of the Sony WF-1000XM4, here.

  • Release Date: February 2022
  • Noise-Canceling: No

The LinkBuds are a different kind of wireless earbuds for Sony. They are absolutely tiny, but more significantly they have an open design — there’s literally a little ring hole that you can see right through — that allows them to let ambient sounds in. The idea is that they allow the wearer to better hear the outside world, sort of like an always-on transparency mode.

Read our review of the Sony LinkBuds, here.

  • Release Date: May 2022
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The LinkBuds S are mid-range wireless earbuds positioned between Sony’s entry-level LinkBuds and high-end WF-1000XM4 — but despite the name, they have much more in common with Sony’s high-end wireless earbuds. The LinkBuds S have noise-canceling and transparency modes, plus they support Sony’s high-resolution and immersive codecs, LDAC and 360 Reality Audio. However, don’t expect them to sound as good or have as great noise-cancellation as the Sony WF-1000XM4. They also lack wireless charging.

Read our review of the Sony LinkBuds S, here.

  • Release Date: April 2023
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

The Sony WF-C700N is the company’s most affordable pair of noise-canceling wireless earbuds. They have a similar fit (albeit are slightly smaller) as the more entry-level WF-C500N. They are compatible with Sony’s Headphones Connect app, which allows you to tweak various audio settings and controls. However, they’ve been upgraded with decent noise-canceling abilities and support for 360 Reality Audio tracks. They lack support for LDAC audio files like Sony’s higher-end wireless earbuds and, obviously, can’t deliver the same level of audio quality and noise cancellation.

  • Release Date: October 2021
  • Noise-Canceling: No

The Sony WF-C500 are the company’s newest pair of budget wireless earbuds. They cost less than $100 and deliver good audio without the bells and whistles of Sony’s higher-end wireless earbuds. They lack active noise-cancellation and support for 360 Reality Audio, but they are compatible with the Headphones app so you can tweak the EQ settings. They also charge via USB-C and support quick charging; a 10-min charge will get you roughly an hour of playtime.

  • Release Date: August 2019
  • Noise-Canceling: Yes

Despite being the predecessor to the WF-1000XM4, the WF-1000XM3 are still great noise-canceling wireless earbuds — and they’re also much more affordable now (they used to cost $249).
The WF-1000XM3 are compatible with Sony Headphones app, which allows you to adjust the audio and noise-canceling settings. They charge via USB-C but don’t support wireless charging like WF-1000XM4.

  • Release Date: Mid-2020
  • Noise-Canceling: No

Sony’s WF-XB700 ($130) are the company’s and most affordable wireless earbuds, and you can think of them as a direct AirPod alternatives. They’re a stripped-down version of Sony’s flagship wireless earbuds, the WF-1000XM3, as they lack the premium design and many of the premium features such as noise-canceling and transparency modes. They also aren’t compatible with Sony’s Headphones app. However, what they lack in features, they make up for in sound and price

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