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So for awhile now sony has been dominating the Premium ANC headphones market with their Sony 1000XM3’s and they’ve been dominating the Mid range ANC headphones market with their XB900N’s. But then there are the Sony WH-H910N or also known as the H.ear On 3’s which sit in the middle between these other two headphones. And even though the H.ear On 3’s do have their pro’s… im not really sure why they exists.
Now first off I want to point out that these headphones are very hard to get in the states. For me, I had to get them from Costco of all places. Now even though these headphones have a retail price of $300, they like to go on sale for $200 at Costco which definitely make them a bargain at that price. And for comparison, the 1000XM3’s retail for $350 but they routinely go on sale as well expsially cause the 1000XM4’s are right around the corner and the XB900N’s have a retail price of $250 but they sometimes go on sale for $178 on Amazon. So if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
Now even though there is a lot to like about these headphones…. One of the things I don’t like about these headphones is that even though they have a retail price of $300… they still come included with a carrying pouch instead of a hardshell case. So if you do decide to pick these headphones up and plan on traveling a lot with them I do advise that you invest in a hardshell carrying case.
But one of the things I like about these headphones is their build quality and design. I think these are one of Sony’s best built and best looking headphones to date. Now the entire body of these headphones have a soft touch feel to them similar to the ear cups found on the 1000XM3’s but that soft touch feel also extends across their headband. So these headphones feel extremely gripy in your hands. And also the leatherette on these headphones feels way better than the leatherette found on the 1000XM3’s which feels very synthetic and I can only hope sony uses a similar leatherette on their upcoming 1000XM4’s. And it also doesn’t hurt that these these ear pads have this etched design to them which does look pretty cool. And these headphones stay silent when ever you handle them. The only thing that is a little bit of a draw back on these headphones compared to Sony’s other headphones is that these headphones can’t be laid flat. But other than that I feel comfortable saying that these headphones feel more premium than the 1000XM3’s.
Now when it comes to fit, these headphones fit very well but they do have their ups and downs. Now they are big head approved cause they don’t have a lot of clamping force but I do feel these headphones have a little more clamping force than both the 1000XM3’s and XB900N. But these headphones definitely have less clamping force than the Surface Headphones 2. But regardless I can wear these headphones for hours on end with out any discomfort but they do have a slightly firm fit to them. But the stand out feature on these headphones are their ear pads. The ear pads on the h.ear on 3 are huge compared to the 1000XM3’s and they’re also a little more spacious than the ear pads on XB900N. The ear pads on the H.ear On 3 is on both Bose’s and the Surface 2’s level. So the ear pads on the H.ear On 3 should have no problem accommodating all ear types. Unlike the 1000XM3’s which fit me just fine… but if you have larger ears or ears that stick out a lot then your ears will feel a little cramped. But remember, the H.ear On 3’s do fit a little firmer than the 1000XM3’s. So personally I still prefer to wear the 1000XM3’s over the H.ear On 3’s.
Now when it comes to tech specs, the H.ear On 3’s charge via a USB C port. But just keep in mind this USB C port is strictly used for charging. You can’t use this USB C port as a wired connection like you can on some other headphones. But these headphones have an advertised battery life of 35 hours and if you charge them up for 10 minutes from a dead battery they’ll get you 2 and half hours of playback time. So these headphones have really good and above average battery life for headphones in 2020.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity… even though these headphones are using bluetooth 5.0 they can only be connected to one device at time like Sony’s other headphones. So you can’t easily hot swap from one device to another like you can with the Bose NC 700 or even the Surface Headphones 2.
But when it comes to listening to watching movies or videos with these headphones… they have zero latency across the board whether your using an iPhone or an android device which is great. But I do have to point out that these headphones no longer have APTX support like the 1000XM3’s of XB900N. But these headphones still do have ACC and LDAC support.
But if you want to, you can always still use a wired connection with these headphones cause they still have a 3.5 millimeter audio jack. Which I know does sound basic to point out but some companies are starting to remove the audio jack on some of their headphones.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones… for the most part the H.ear on 3’s sound identical to the Sony 1000XM3’s when theyre both using their stock EQ’s. With their stock EQ’s both of these headphones have a very balanced sound signature but there is a very slight emphasis on the mids so vocals are pushed a little forward from everything else but just slightly. But just like the 1000XM3’s, the H.ear on 3 have a fully customizable EQ so you can make them sound how ever you want. If you like a neutral EQ you can do that or if you like a bass heavy EQ you can also do that. But where the H.ear On 3’s and 1000XM3’s really differ is when it comes to their bass. If you raise the clear bass slider on the H.ear on 3’s to 10 its like having the 1000XM3’s set to to 4. So the 1000XM3’s are going to physically rattle your head noticeably more than the H.ear On 3’s. And personally I think the reason the 1000XM3’s have more physical bass than the H.ear On 3’s is cause they’re using 40 millimeter drivers where as the H.ear On 3’s are using 30 millimeter drivers. Now the h.ear on 3’s have a decent amount of physical bass but the 1000XM3’s just rattle your head way more if you’re interested in that.
But when it comes to controlling your music the h.ear on 3’s have a touchpad just like their older brother. You can swipe up and down to adjust the volume and you can swipe forward and back to skip through your music. And just as you’d expect this touch pad is very accurate and very easy to use.
Now when it comes to the active noise cancelation on these headphones… the ANC on the H.ear on 3’s is definitely lacking when compared to 1000XM3’s which is to be expected but its also a little behind when compared to the Surface Headphones 2. But so that you can see for yourself we’re going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the active noise cancellation on the H.ear on 3 is lacking when compared to both the Surface Headphones 2 and 1000XM3’s. Now it is expected that the ANC on the 1000XM3’s would out perform that of the H.ear On 3’s cause Sony’s obviously want their more premium headphones to have the most effective Active Noise Cancellation. Now even though the Surface 2’s block out noticeably more noise than the H.ear On 3’s… I personally prefer the ANC on the H.ear On 3’s over the Surface 2’s cause the ANC on the H.ear On 3’s has very little to no cabin pressure… where as with the Surface 2’s you do feel a little bit of cabin pressure when you’re watching movies with these headphones or if you’re not playing music through these headphones. So overall the ANC on the H.ear 3 is good cause they block out a decent amount of noise but more importantly they have very little cabin pressure.
Now regarding their ambient mode… the ambient mode on the H.ear On 3’s is very similar to the 1000XM3’s but there is one major difference. Now the ambient mode on the H.ear on 3’s is very good cause it sounds very natural and there’s zero hissing in the background and these headphones also do a very good job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. But the major difference here is that the Ambient mode on the H.ear On 3’s let in everything, they don’t actively block out sudden spikes in loud noises like how the ambient modes on both the 1000XM3’s and Surface 2’s do. Over all the ambient mode on the h.ear on 3 is very good but again the 1000XM3’s have that little extra something that make them better than the H.ear On 3’s.
But also, the h.ear on 3’s have quick attention just like Sony’s other headphones where if you cover their touch pad they’ll lower the volume of your music and let in all the ambient sound around you so that you can quickly talk to someone like this.
And then when you let go of the touch pad they go back to normal.
But finally here’s the microphone test… now I have this AC unit turned on cause I want to show of what kind of a job these headphones do isolating just your voice. Cause if we switch over to my lapel microphone you’re going to clearly hear that AC unit. But if we go back to the H.ear On 3’s you’ll hear that they do a decent job of isolating your voice. And I also think the microphone on the H.ear On 3’s sound slightly better than the 1000XM3’s.
Cause the microphone on the 1000XM3’s does sound a little more muffled when compared to the H.ear on 3’s.
But in general the microphone on the H.ear On 3’s isn’t the best but they might get the job done for a quick phone call.
So with all that being said, the H.ear On 3’s are a decent pair of headphones. They have great build quality, they have the most spacious ear cups out there for Sony headphones, they sound decent, they block out a decent amount of noise with very little to no cabin pressure and their ambient mode is very good cause its sounds very natural and they pick up very little wind noise. But these headphones still get out shined by their older brothers. The 1000XM3’s fit a little better for me, they give you more physical bass if you want it, they block out significantly more noise if you need it, their ambient mode is the active kind and they also come included with a hardshell case. Now don’t get me wrong, the H.ear On 3’s are a really good purchase if you can get them on sale, but there still is an incentive to upgrade.