Get Them Here
The Razer Opus are a pair of very well built $200 ANC headphones that really give the Sony WH-CH710N and Sennheiser HD 450BT a real run for for their money. But when it comes to their performance… there are some real key differences to keep in mind if you’re looking into getting any of these Entry Level Headphones. So lets see which ones right for you.
Now first off when it comes to price, all of these headphones retail for $200. But the Sennheiser HD 450BT’s do sometimes like to go on sale for $150 and so do the Sony WH-CH710N’s. And sometimes the Sony’s might go on sale for a little less. And I’m just going to flat out say it, I would not pay full price for the Sony’s… I only recommend that you get these headphones if they’re on sale. But with all that being said, if you want to pick any of these headphones up they’ll be linked down below.
But next we gotta talk about the included carrying cases that come with these headphones. Unfortunately, the Sony’s don’t come included with any kind of case… they don’t even come included with a carrying pouch. Then there are the Sennheiser’s that come included with a soft shell case where you can keep your cables stored. But then there are the Opus that come included with a very premium hardshell carrying case. This is the same type of case that you would get if you were to buy a pair of premium ANC headphones. So this case is definitely a big plus for the Opus.
And another big plus for the Opus is their build quality. The Razer Opus are built more like a pair of $250 headphones than $200 headphones. They have smooth plastic body panels, there’s a very satisfying click when you extend their headband and the leatherette on these headphones feels great. The leatherette on these headphones is soft, smooth, and there’s a slight grain to it, and like I said in the full review this leatherette puts the leatherette that you’ll find on the $350 Sony 1000XM3’s to shame. Now the Sennheiser’s also have really good build quality and these headphones are built like a tank. But the build quality on the Sennheiser’s is more in line for what you’ll expect from a pair of $200 headphones. But then there are the Sony’s now even though these headphones have very little cracking or squeaking whenever you handle them which is a big improvement from their predecessors… these headphones feel very flimsy and cheap, and then there’s the leatherette on these headphones. The leatherette on these headphones feels very coarse… and you can really feel that coarseness when you’re wearing these headphones. So to me the Sony WH-CH710N feel more like a toy than anything else. So plainly said, the opus have spectacular build quality, and the Sennheiser’s also have decent build quality but the opus are just better.
And when it comes to fit, again the opus are the flat out winner’s here. These headphones have very little clamping force so they’re big head approved, their ear pads are the most spacious ones here so they should be able to accommodate most ear types and these headphones are also pretty light weight so you can wear the Opus for hours on end without any problems. Now the Sony’s fit okay and they also don’t have a lot of clamping force… but I can’t help but feel that these headphones rest a little awkwardly on your head and then there’s the matter of their ear pads. The ear pads on the Sony’s are very wide diameter but they have a very low ceiling. So for me these ear pads still end up pressing down on my ears which don’t really stick out all that much. And also like I mentioned earlier the leatherette on these ear pads is very coarse which doesn’t feel all that great when they’re pressing up against your head. And then there are the HD 450BT’s… objectively these are not the most comfortable headphones here. First off these headphones do have a firmer fit to them cause they do have more clamping force, but I would say that they’re still big head approved. But the biggest draw back about these headphones are their ear pads. These ear pads are pretty cramped and the padding on these headphones is pretty stiff. So personally for me, even though I can wear these headphones for hours on end… it does take me awhile to adjust these headphones until they finally sit right. So over all, when it comes to their case, build, and fit… the Razer Opus just decimate both the Sony WH-CH710N and Sennheiser HD 450BT.
But now lets talk about tech specs, all of these headphones charge via a USB C port so if you’re an android user you can charge your phone and headphones with the same cable. But just keep in mind, all of these USB C ports are stictly used for charging. You can’t use the USB C port on these headphones as wired connection like you can with some other headphones out there.
Now when it comes to battery life, all of these headphones have decent battery lives in general but the Razer Opus are only good for 25 hours with their ANC turned on where as the Sennheiser’s are good for 30 hours with their ANC turned on and the Sony’s are good for 35 hours with their ANC turned on. And you can always stretch out the battery lives on al of these headphones if you use them with their ANC turned off.
But now lets talk about bluetooth connectivity. All of these headphones have stable bluetooth connections but the Sennheiser’s are the only headphones here that can be simultaneously connected to two devices at the same time so that you can easily hot swap from one device to another. Now ultimately it isn’t a huge deal that the Sony’s and Opus can’t do this… but it is nice to be able to and its something power users might want to take note of.
Now when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone, the Razer Opus have zero latency across the board whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. Where as both the Sony’s and Sennheiser’s have a slight latency to them when watching YouTube videos on an iPhone… but everything else is perfectly fine on both of these headphones.
But when it comes to audio codecs, the Sennheiser’s have support for both APTX and APTX low latency, where as the Opus only have support for APTX. And then there are the Sony’s that top out at AAC. But if you want to you can always just use a wired connection on all of these headphones cause all of these headphones still have an audio jack.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these headphones. Without a doubt, the Sennheiser’s are the best sounding headphones here. Now even though these headphones have an adjustable EQ… I feel these headphones sound best when they’re set to their stock neutral EQ. Now in their stock EQ these headphones have strong mids so vocals are front and center and the bass on these headphones resonates nice and deep. Now the bass on these headphones is going to rattle your head but not all that much. But it's something. But performance wise these headphones have far better instrument separation and a much wider sound stage than these other two headphones. Plainly said if you’re looking for the headphones here with the best sound then the HD 450BT’s are the way to go. Now the Razer Opus also sound decent but these aren’t my favorite sounding headphones. First off the instrument separation and soundstage on these headphones just isn’t a good as the Sennheiser’s but more importantly the bass on these headphones just lack physicality. The bass on these headphones isn’t going to rattle your head and the bass on these headphones also doesn’t really resonate. Now even though these headphones do have 5 different EQ settings to choose from I feel these headphones sound best when they’re set to their stock THX EQ. Now in their stock THX EQ these headphones are somewhat similar to the Sennheiser’s cause they also have strong mids so vocals are very pronounced, but their highs are a little brighter. But keep in mind the bass on these headphones lack physicality to them and the sound stage on these headphones isn’t as wide as the HD 450BT’s . But these headphones get the job done. And finally there are the WH-CH710N which are my least favorite sounding headphones here. First off these headphones do not have an adjustable EQ like their predecessors do. And im really not a fan of the bass heavy EQ these headphones are rocking. These headphones sound very shallow and if you actually want to hear the mids on these headphones then you gotta turn these headphones all the way up. And even though these headphones have a bass heavy EQ… the bass on these headphones doesn’t really physically rattle your head like their predecessor do. The bass on these headphones is mostly on the audible side. So with the WH-CH710N’s all you really hear is a whole lot of bass, some vocals and then all of the instrumentals are just jumbled up in the back ground. So sound quality wise, the Sennheiser HD 450BT’s are top notch here, the Razer Opus get the job done, and personally I would avoid the Sony’s.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these headphones. Plainly said, the Razer Opus block out significantly more noise than these other two headphones. Its not even close, 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 Razer Opus block out significantly more noise than these other two headphones across the board. And like I said in the full review… with the Razer Opus you’re getting premium ANC performance for $200. But even though the Razer Opus block out a lot of noise especially for $200 headphones… they go about it with brute force. If you are not playing music through these headphones you’re going to feel a considerable amount of cabin pressure. Or if you’re watching movies with these headphones you’re going to feel to feel some constant pressure. Its not as bad as the Bose QC35’s which do give me headaches, but you’ll might have to pop your ears from time to time. And like I said in the full review the Razer Opus do have an above average amount of cabin pressure for ANC headphones getting released in 2020. Where as with these other two headphones you barely feel any cabin pressure which ultimately leads to better comfort. Cause personally for me, I only use the ANC on the Opus when I have to. So even though the yeah the opus block out way more noise than these other two headphones the major trade off here is going to be that cabin pressure.
But now lets talk about the ambient modes on these headphones. Unfortunately the Sennheiser’s don’t have an ambient mode, and with the Opus if you press and hold on this button they’ll mute your music and pump in all of the ambient sound around you like this.
And then when you let go they’ll go back to normal. But unfortunately with the opus you can’t have their ambient mode turned on and have them play music at the same time like you can with the Sony’s. So realistically the Sony’s are the only headphones here with an actual ambient mode which can be super useful for when you’re walking around the city or even for when you’re watching Avatar The Last Airbender at home. But just keep in mind, you can’t adjust how much noise these headphones let in like Sony’s other headphones. But performance wise the ambient mode on the Sony’s is really good cause it sounds very natural with zero hissing in the background, and this ambient mode does a really good job of rejecting wind noise when walking out doors.
But something that these headphones do have that these other two headphones don’t is that they have wear sensors. So when you take these headphones off they’ll automatically pause you’re music and when you put them back on again they’ll start playing again. Now personally im not a fan of wear sensors but at least these wear sensors are accurate so they aren’t going to randomly play and pause your music when you’re walking around and if you want you can always just turn their wear sensors off.
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now the microphone on all of these headphones isn’t great but I do think the microphone on the Sony’s is the worst here. The mic on the 710N’s have a lot of amplification to them but they still sound shallow.
Where as the Microphone on the Sennheiser’s don’t have nearly as much amplification but I still sound a little shallow. But I think this microphone is at least usable.
Now the microphone on the Razer Opus isn’t amazing either cause I do sound a little muffled. But I think its at least usable as well for like a quick phone call.
But with all that being said… going with any of these headphones does have their pros and cons. The Razer Opus absolutely decimate the Sony WH-CH710N and Sennheiser HD 450BT when it comes to build quality and fit. And the fact that these headphones also come included with a premium carrying case is a big plus. But sound quality wise these headphones sound good enough but I dont think that these headphones are going to please everyone cause their bass lacks physicality. And also even though these headphones block out a lot of noise, they also have considerably more cabin pressure than these other two headphones which can be uncomfortable. And finally there’s the fact that these headphones don’t have an actual ambient mode… which when I first got these headphones I assumed they did cause these headphones have an NC Slash Ambient Button on them. But nonetheless the Razer Opus are still a very solid pick if you’re looking for a pair of $200 ANC Headphones. But personally for me, hands down I do prefer to listen to music with the Sennheiser HD 450BT’s cause they have that rich deep resonating bass, and wide sound stage. The thing to look out about these headphones is that they might not fit everybody perfectly cause of their cramped ear pads and firm fit. And finally there are the Sony’s… personally I would not pay more than $150 for these headphones cause they feel so cheap… and their bass heavy EQ isn’t my favorite. But if you are looking for decent active noise cancelation with minimal cabin pressure and if you really need or want an ambient mode for commuting the Sony WH-CH710N’s are the way to go here.