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So for awhile now, Sony has really been killing it with their headphones. Right now the 1000XM3’s and XB900N’s are some of my favorite headphones to recommend. But their earbuds on the other hand are not the best. Sony had moderate success with their WF-1000XM3’s… But then after the AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds Plus, Jabra Elite 75T and Sennheiser Momentum 3’s came out and the WF-1000XM3’s fell back a little bit.
Sony has obviously found a formula that works for them when it comes to their headphones… but their earbuds not so much. Sony is constantly churning out new earbud designs hoping that something sticks… And now we’ve got the new WF-XB700’s… the earbuds themselves have an all new sculpt, they have a brand new case thats completely different from the WF-1000XM3’s… And these earbuds have extra bass to them.
So im going to start off by saying that yeah these ear buds are okay, and if you like a lot of bass to your music then these earbuds will might be up your ally. But I definitely wouldn’t pay their full $130 retail price cause plainly said I highly recommend that you spend the extra 20 bucks and get yourself the Galaxy Buds Plus. But if these earbuds are on sale for sub $100 then yeah I think these will might be worth considering. So if you want to pick these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below.
Alright, so lets talk about this case… I think this case is fairly decent but it is a little bit on the larger side cause this case is noticeable when you’ve got it in your pocket and it is fairly larger than other cases out there like the Pixel Buds, AirPods, Galaxy Buds plus and Jabra Elite 75T’s. But at least this carrying case is significantly smaller than the WF-1000XM3’s carrying case. Like I’ve said in the past, I just really think the WF-1000XM3’s case is just way too big and it really does handicap them when you’re trying to choose from other wireless earbuds on the market. So technically the XB700’s case is an improvement over the WF-1000XM3’s cause it is smaller. The case itself feels very durable cause its made of some really dense plastic, the lid on it feels sturdy, and my favorite part is that this case has some really strong magnets on it. So you don’t got to worry about these earbuds falling out their case and these stronger magnets make putting your earbuds back into the case itself cause the case itself essentially just sucks them in.
So even though I do prefer this carrying case over the WF-1000XM3’s case mainly cause its smaller… its size reduction does mean reduced battery life. These earbuds have a combined battery life of 18 hours… the earbuds themselves can go for 9 straight hours and the case can supply one additional full charge. And these earbuds having a combined battery life of 18 hours is little below average in 2020 cause right now most earbuds have a combined battery life of around 24 hours.
The Galaxy Buds Plus have a combined battery life of 22 hours, both the AirPods and pixel buds have a combined battery life of 24 hours, the Jabra’s has a combined battery life of 28 hours and the WF-1000XM3’s can go for as long as 32 hours if you have ANC turned off on them. So even though the XB700’s 18 hour battery life is okay… its not all that impressive given that these other earbuds have smaller cases but larger battery lives.
But when it comes to charging these earbuds thankfully they charge via a USB C port. So if you have an android device you can charge your phone and earbuds with the same cable. But just keep in mind even though these earbuds do have a rather large case… they don’t have wireless charging. Which personally I don’t care for… but just wanted to point it out.
Now when it comes to fit… I'm really happy to say that the XB700’s fit like a standard pair of in ear ear buds like the Jabra Elite 75T’s or Galaxy Buds Plus do. The XB700’s don’t fit like past sony earbuds like the WF-1000XM3 or WF-SP700N which like to go in really deep into your canal. Which personally im not a fan of cause it feels unnatural and they also tend to get itchy very quickly. But like I said, the XB700’s have a very standard fit to them. And when it comes to the earbuds themselves… they’re made of the same dense plastic as their carrying case so they feel very durable but they’re also very light weight so they do a really good job of staying in place when you’ve got them in your ears even though these earbuds don’t have any ear fin accessories.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, Sony claims on their site that each earbud establishes a connection with your phone… but my earbuds behave as if they are using a hero and side kick set up cause in order for the right earbud to connect to my phone the left earbud needs to be out of its case. Cause if im listening to music with these earbuds and if I put the left earbud back into its case the right earbud also loses its connection with my phone. And ive tried everything to pair just the right earbud with my phone but no luck. So for now I gotta say that if you just want to use just one earbuds at a time you gotta use the left earbud.
Now when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone with these earbuds… these earbuds have zero latency on both iPhone or android devices when youre using apps Netflix, Disney plus or HBO Now. Where as these earbuds have a slight latency to them when you try to watch YouTube videos on an iPhone. And when you try to watch YouTube videos on an android device… sometimes there is latency and some other times there isn’t.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these earbuds. Like I mentioned earlier these are a part of Sony Extra Bass product line up… so these earbuds have a lot of bass to them. And when it comes to bass these earbuds definitely deliver… actually the bass on these earbud is quite impressive cause it punches really hard. But in order to balance out all of that bass the mids on these earbuds are noticeably extenuated and so are the highs a little bit. Sony obviously increased the mids on these earbuds so that the vocals aren’t muddled out by the bass but this does leads the vocals on these earbuds to sound a little tinny some times. And even though vocals do manage to keep from being drowned out by the bass on these earbuds, the rest of the instrumentals do end up getting buried. So what you mainly hear with these earbuds are vocals and bass. If you’re someone that like a bass heavy sound signature you’ll might enjoy these earbuds but if you’re someone that like a neutral EQ or wants better clarity then you definitely want to stay away from these earbuds. And also these earbuds don’t connect to Sony’s headphones app like the WF-SP700N or WF-1000XM3’s do so you can’t directly customize their EQ. So you are stuck with the bass heavy EQ these headphones comes included with.
Now when it comes to controlling your music with these earbuds… each earbud has single button on them. The right earbud is used to play, pause, and skip through your music and if you press and hold on it you can activate your voice assistant. Where as with the lest ear bud if you press on it you can raise your volume and if you hold on it you can lower your volume. Technically Sony’s system does work and you can control your music playback without having to use your phone but its not the sleekest out there.
But two major features that are really missing on these earbuds is that they don’t have proximity sensors so they won’t pause your music when you take them out of your ears and they also don’t have an ambient mode. Which is something that I feel is very important to truly wireless earbuds especially plan to wear them a lot when you’re walking around the city.
But finally here’s the microphone test… its not the worst but its definitely not the best. It sounds a little tiny and a shallow but I think its still usable.
But regardless, sony really does struggle with the microphones on their products cause even the microphone on the new WH-CH710N sounds pretty bad too.
So with all that being said, the WF-XB700’s are fairly decent but I definitely wouldn’t pick them up for their full $130 retail price… I would only recommend that you pick these earbuds up if they’re on sale. Their lack of an adjustable EQ, lack of proximity sensors, and lack of an ambient mode and fairly sizable case just make it very hard for these earbuds to compete against the Galaxy Buds Plus which cost just $20 more. And all of these missing features that I just listed off are definitely worth it in the long run. But I do appreciate that sony is trying to change things up with these earbuds cause the WF-XB700 have a much smaller carrying case then the WF-1000XM3’s and their ear tips don’t go in as deep into your ear canal making them a little more comfortable. Now if you’re watching this video cause the WF-XB700’s are on sale for some ridicules price… keep in mind these earbuds aren’t for everyone. They have a lot of bass which is a lot of fun to listen to but if you like a neutral sound signature or want better clarity you’re better off staying away from these earbuds. These earbuds are meant for people who like a lot of bass in their music.