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Sony’s new midrange headphones borrow the premium WH-1000XM5's V1 chip
The WH-CH720N offers 35 hours of advertised battery life for $150.
Sony is launching a pair of midrange headphones that borrow some tech from the company’s $400 WH-1000XM5. The new WH-CH720N is an over-ear pair using the same V1 chip from Sony’s flagship model, which should help provide high-quality sound and active noise cancelation (ANC) for a much lower price.
The company says the WH-CH720N’s battery will last up to 35 hours with ANC enabled. The headphones also include Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) support, Sony’s audio upscaling tech that may improve the sound of compressed music files on services like Spotify. It also has multipoint connectivity and two microphones in each ear cup, which assists it in offering 20 levels of noise-canceling / ambient sound. Of course, you can tweak its settings with the companion Sony Headphones Connect app.
Sony has a good track record with its mid-range headphones. Like with this model, the company typically carries over a few features from its premium cans while skimping in enough places to keep the price down. (In this case, it lacks the second ANC processor from the WH-1000XM5.) So although they’ll have lesser noise canceling than their more expensive siblings, the V1 chip should still make for terrific ANC for their $150 price. The WH-CH720N will be available in black, blue and white when it begins shipping this spring.
Sony also announced a new entry-level pair of on-ear headphones, the WH-CH520, which will skip ANC but offer an impressive 50 hours of battery life. They will also include DSEE and multipoint connection. The WH-CH520 will also launch this spring in black, blue and white. They will cost a mere $60.
