So these are the Sony WF-C700N, they are Sony’s newest entry level ANC earbuds. And personally, I really like these earbuds cause I feel these are the most comfortable earbuds that Sony has made so far cause their sculpt is super sleek. But today we’re going to see how the Sony WF-C700N stack up to the Beats Studio Buds and the Galaxy Buds 2.
Regarding pricing, the WF-C700N have a retail price of $120… but knowing Sony, I am willing to get that they will go on sale from time to time. But compared to the Beats Studio Buds, these retail for $150 and then there are the Galaxy Buds 2 which also have a retail price of $150 but they like to go one sale for $110. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these earbuds up, they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the design of these cases. Now the Sony’s have a cylindrical case, this lid has a very satisfying snap to it whenever you open or close it and it has some strong magnets in it. Over all, I like this case. And when compared to the Galaxy Buds 2 and Studio Buds case… I feel that Sony’s case is the least noticeable when its in your pocket. Now the Galaxy Buds 2 case isn’t super noticeable either… but then there is the studio bud’s case which just has a very large surface area to it. But unfortunately, Sony’s case the studio buds don’t have wireless charging, where as the Galaxy Buds 2 do. So from a features standpoint, the Galaxy Buds 2 have the best case here… but from a convenience standpoint, I think the Sony’s have the best case here cause its the least noticeable when its in your pocket.
But when it comes to battery life, this is an area where the WF-C700N do struggle to keep up. Now these earbuds have an advertised combined battery life of 15 hours with their active noise cancellation turned on. The earbuds themselves can go for 7 and a half hours and the cases can supply one additional charge. And if you use them with their active noise cancellation turned off, they can have a combined battery life of up to 20 hours.
But with the Studio Buds, if you use them with their active noise cancellation turned on, they have a combined battery life of up to 15 hours, and it you use them with their active noise cancelation turned off, they can have a combined battery life of up to 24 hours. But just given the sheer size of their case, I do expect these earbuds to have good battery life.
And finally there are the Galaxy Buds 2 which have an advertised combined battery life of 20 hours with their active noise cancelation turned on… and with their active noise cancellation turned off, they can go for as long as 29 hours. So even though Sony’s case is very small and I really like the snap of the lid… the Galaxy Buds 2 are the clear winners here cause they have the best battery life and their case has wireless charging.
But now lets talk about fit. Now all three of these earbuds are in ear ear buds… but with both the Sony WF-C700N and Galaxy Buds 2, these are standard fitting in ear ear buds. As in they go into your ear canals a decent amount. Where as the Beats Studio Buds, these are a pair of shallow fitting in ear earbuds… as in they don’t go in as deep into your ear canal like with these other two earbuds. This means the Studio Buds feel more comfortable than these other two earbuds cause they don’t feel as intrusive… but the trade off here is that they do like to wiggle out a lot more than these other two earbuds. So if you’re looking for the earbuds here with the most comfortable fit, then you do want to go with the Studio Buds, but if you’re looking for the earbuds here with the best lock down then you do want to go with the Sony’s.
Now when it comes to connectivity, with all of these earbuds, they’ll all each establish a connection with your phone. So if you just want to use one earbud at a time, you can use either one it doesn’t matter. And this is the connection setup that we expect to see from our earbuds nowadays.
But for right now, the Sony’s can only be connected to one device at a time… but Sony promises that in a future firmware update, these earbuds will be able to be connected to any two devices at the same time, which is great if your a power user with devices from different eco systems.
Where as with the Galaxy Buds 2, these are a good option if you’re a Samsung power user cause you can hot swap from one device to another, and the Studio Buds are a good option if you’re an apple power user cause you can hot swap from one device to another.
But I feel that once the Sony’s get their firmware update, which is due in the summer of 2023, these will be the better option for your power user that isn’t loyal to just one eco system. Cause with these, if you have an android device and a MacBook, you’ll still be able to hot swap.
But when it comes to overall performance, all of these earbuds have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. And when it comes to audio codecs, all of these earbuds have support for SBC and AAC, which is a very standard stack for entry level earbuds like these.
Now when it comes to actually listening to music with these earbuds. First off, the Galaxy Buds 2 have the brightest all around sound signature here. As in they like to put and emphasis on the Mids and treble. But they do have an adjustable EQ, and I like to use them while they are in their dynamic EQ. Cause in their dynamic EQ, their mids and treble get relaxed a little bit and the bass comes in stronger. But the thing about these earbuds, this app only works on android. So if you’re an iPhone user you’re not going to be able to adjust their EQ and you’re going to miss out on many other things as well.
But then there are the Sony WF-C700N. Now these have a warmer sound signature to them cause they do have a lot of bass to them, but the vocals are also pretty strong on these earbuds. Where these earbuds do struggle is when it comes to giving some detail to the instrumentals. Nonetheless, these earbuds sound good enough to get the job done… but more importantly, their app works on both android and iOS. So whatever phone you’re using, you’re going to be able to go in and adjust their EQ to your liking. If you want more bass you can do that or if you want a brighter EQ you can also do that.
And finally there are the studio buds. Now whether youre and iPhone or an android user you’re going to be able to mess around with the settings on these earbuds. On iPhone these settings are found in the bluetooth menu and with android, there’s a separate app that you can download. But the point is, you can’t directly adjust the EQ on these earbuds… but personally I really don’t care cause I really like how these earbuds sound. Now the studio buds have a very dynamic sound signature to them. They have strong vocals and they have very strong bass which resonates much deeper than these other two earbuds and it also has a good punch to it. But even though these earbuds have a lot of bass to them… the vocals and instrumentals are still very clear on them. And more importantly, these ear buds have better instrument separation than these other two earbuds. So overall when it comes to sound quality, the Studio Buds are my top pick here, but the Sony’s are my second choice, plus you can change their EQ to your liking whether you’re an iPhone or an android user.
Now when it comes to controlling your media, both the Sony and Studio Buds are using physical buttons. And this can actually be a deciding factor for some people cause some people just don’t want to have to deal with touch pads on their earbuds. But then there are the Galaxy Buds 2 which are using touch pads. Now overall these touchpads are very accurate and they’re very easy to use. But with these, if you go into their app and activate the touch touch the edge feature… if you have these earbuds properly set up, then you’re going to be able to control your music, adjust your volume and switch between your ANC settings. This giving the Galaxy Buds 2 the most robust media controls on them.
But also, the Galaxy Buds 2 are the only earbuds here that have proximity sensors. So they will automatically play and pause your music when you take them out of your ears or put them back in. Where as with these other two earbuds, they don’t have proximity sensors. Which I do feel is very inconviente.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds. Now since these are entry level ANC earbuds, don’t expect them to block out as much noise a more premium ANC earbuds out there. Cause right now when it comes to overall ranking, the AirPods Pro 2 are currently my number one ANC earbuds, closely followed by the Bose QC Earbuds 2, right below them are the Momentum 3’s, below them are the WF-1000XM4’s, below them are the Linkbuds S, below them are the Jabra Elite 85T’s, Below them are the Jabra Elite 7 Pro’s, below them are the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, and below them are the Pixel Buds Pro.
Now below the Pixel Buds Pro are the Sony WF-C700N, below them are the jabra elite 4’s, below them are the beats studio buds, below them are the Galaxy Buds 2, and below them are the Sennheiser CX plus. So like I said, don’t expect these entry level ANC earbuds to block out as much noise as more premium ANC earbuds… but the Sony WF-C700N’s do block out a little more noise than both the beats studio buds and galaxy buds 2
But like I have said in the past, I only use the ambient mode on my earbuds when I have to and what’s more important to me is the quality of their ambient mode. Now all of these earbuds have an ambient mode… but I do feel the galaxy buds 2 have the most artificial sounding ambient mode… where as the studio buds have the most natural sounding ambient mode and their microphone array does the best job of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors. And the Sony’s are in the middle. But with these you can adjust their ambient mode to your liking, which is something that you can’t do with the studio buds.
Mic studio buds quiet room
But finally here’s the microphone test. Now overall, I feel that the studio buds have the worst performing microphone here
Mic sony quiet
Now with all of these earbuds, I do sound a little robotic and my voice isn’t super focused.
Mic galaxy quiet
But with all of these microphone’s they’re all decent enough to take phone calls with while in a quiet room.
Mic galaxy road
But what separates these earbuds is the way that they deal with noise pollution. Cause in this line up, the Galaxy Buds 2 are blocking out that most road noise here while still keeping my voice front and center.
Mic Sony road noise
Now the Sony’s are trying to reduce this road noise, but there is some interfenrce going on with my voice.
Mic Studio Buds road noise
But then there are the studio buds where you can barely even hear my voice.
Mic Studio Buds Coffee shop
Now when it comes to blocking out chatter, the studio buds are doing a better job here, but there’s still a lot of interference going on.
Mic Galaxy Buds coffee shop
Now the Galaxy Buds 2 are also trying to block out this chatter, but there is also a noticeable amount of interference going on with my voice.
Mic Sony Coffee Shop
But finally here are the Sony WF-C700N’s which I feel are doing the best job here of dealing with this chatter. So overall, if you plan on taking lots and lots of phone calls with your earbuds, you’ll might want to go with either the Sony or Galaxy Buds 2… personally I do lean towards the Sony’s… but I would defeneitly stay away from the Beats Studio Buds.
So with all of that being said, the Galaxy Buds 2 are still the earbuds here where you get the best bang for your buck. They have the most features here cause they have wireless charging, they have proximity sensors, and they have those touch pads which give you a lot more control over your media and earbuds, directly from the earbuds themselves. Plus they also have the best battery life here. Which is a huge deal. However if you want to get the most out of these earbuds you do have to be an android user. Now the Studio buds are the best sounding earbuds here cause of their very dynamic sound signature… but they also have the largest case here, which is super inconvenient, and they don’t have wear sensors. But then there are the Sony WF-C700N. Now these block out a little more noise than both the Studio Buds and Galaxy Buds 2. They also play nice with both android and iOS. And they also have the smallest and most convenient case here. But where the Sony WF-C700N really struggle here when compared to these other earbuds is their battery life. 15 and 20 hours is fine… but it is lagging when compared to these other two earbuds.