Sony WH-H910N/h.ear on 3 Wireless  Headphones Review

The Sony WH-H910N are fairly conventional-looking over-ear headphones similar in appearance to the Sony WH-XB900N Wireless, though with slightly more rounded-off ear cups. They’re made of dense plastic that comes in a few colors, so you find a pair that better suits your sense of style.

The Sony WH-H910N are comfortable headphones. They’re not too heavy and have soft faux-leather-lined padding on the ear cups and headband, so they shouldn’t be too fatiguing to wear during extended listening sessions. That said, their ear cups are a little shallow, so the outermost tips of your ears can touch the inside of the cups, which can be uncomfortable. The ear cups also can't articulate to fit a wider range of head shapes and sizes.

The Sony WH-H910N have a very good control scheme. It’s very similar to other over-ears in Sony’s lineup, like the Sony WH-XB900N Wireless and Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, with a touch-sensitive surface on the right ear cup that provides a good amount of functionality. You can swipe up to increase media volume, swipe down to lower it, and swipe left and right to skip and rewind tracks. Covering the surface with your palm lowers the volume for quick conversations. Meanwhile, a quick double-tap pauses and plays media and also answers incoming calls. A programmable button can activate your phone’s voice assistant or enable ambient sound control to let you hear more of your surroundings. You can change the function of this button via the Sony| Headphones Connect companion app.

The Sony WH-H910N’s portability is mediocre. They’re a little on the bulky side, which is common for over-ear headphones. Their ear cups fold inward, making it a little easier to put them into their carrying pouch or another bag.

The Sony h.ear on 3 come with a double-lined carrying pouch that should protect them from scratches and minor water exposure but doesn't do much to keep them from being damaged by large impacts.

The Sony h.ear on 3 are well-built. They don't feel as solidly built as the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless, but their primarily plastic construction still feels dense and shouldn’t take too much damage from minor impacts. The ear cup hinges are sturdy, and their headband is reinforced with a flexible metal band. The faux leather lining on the ear cups and headband feels soft to the touch too.

The Sony WH-H910N are decently stable. They shouldn’t fall off your head if you plan on wearing them during a light jog, but anything more strenuous can cause them to shift around quite a bit and possibly slip off your ears completely. However, their wireless design eliminates the risk of an audio cable snagging on something while you’re on the go and yanking them from your head.

• Sony WH-910N Wireless headphones
• Carrying pouch
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• 1/8" TRS audio cable
• Manuals

Update 03/17/2022: After receiving user questions about noise isolation, we retested these headphones and were not able to match our original results. It may have been a result of an issue with our dummy head during the original testing. As a result, all sound and microphone tests have been retested, except for leakage, which stayed the same. The scoring of some boxes may have changed.

The Sony WH-H910N Wireless' sound profile is a bit bass-heavy with a touch of extra thump, rumble, and boom, suitable for genres like EDM and hip-hop. Vocals and lead instruments are clear and present, though they're slightly lacking in detail and liveliness. That said, their sound profile can be customized in-depth through a graphic EQ in the Sony| Headphones Connect companion app to suit your preferences.

The Sony WH-H910N’s frequency response consistency is mediocre. You shouldn’t experience too much of a difference in bass or low-mid response across different listening sessions unless you wear glasses or have especially thick hair, as this can affect the ear cups' seal against your head. Audio reproduction at higher frequencies can vary even more drastically depending on the positioning, fit, and seal.

The Sony WH-H910N have great bass accuracy. The low-bass range is slightly overemphasized, which adds a touch of extra thump and rumble to EDM and hip-hop tracks. The high-bass range is exaggerated to a more noticeable degree, adding boom. However, you may find this muddies your tracks.

The Sony WH-H910's mid accuracy is great. The range is mostly flat, resulting in clear and detailed vocals and lead instruments without sounding cluttered, boxy, or harsh. However, a dip in the mid-mid nudges these sounds to the back of your mix.

The Sony WH-H910N's treble accuracy is satisfactory. A dip in the low-treble range dulls some vocals and lead instruments, while the following peak causes a little bit of harshness in their upper harmonics. Sibilants like S and T sounds are slightly dulled but not lispy. Since the treble response is heavily dependent on the positioning and fit, your experience may vary.

The Sony WH-H910N's peaks and dips performance is alright. A peak in the low-bass adds additional thump and rumble to audio while a bump in the high-bass range causes a bit of boominess. A dip in the mid-mid pushes vocals and lead instruments to the back of the mix while a peak in the high-mid to low-treble affects the left driver more prominently and can give vocals and lead instruments a slightly harsh quality. The uneven low-treble range makes some vocals and finer instruments sound alternatively veiled and harsh. Another bump in the mid-treble range can make sibilants like S and T sounds overly bright and piercing.

The Sony WH-H910 have a good imaging performance. The group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, ensuring a tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers are well-matched in amplitude and phase response, which helps ensure a balanced and stable stereo image. That said, there are a couple of small bumps in phase response in the low-mid and in the low-treble. While it's audible during sweeps, it can be hard to hear with real-life content. There's some slight mismatch in frequency too, which can indicate holes in the stereo image. However, imaging can vary between units and can indicate a manufacturer's quality control and ergonomics.

The Sony WH-H910N have a poor passive soundstage. The soundstage seems wide. However, it doesn't feel very natural and sound seems like it's coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed in the room around you. It also doesn't feel as open or spacious as that of open-back headphones like the Philips Fidelio X3.

Update 02/25/2022: These headphones are compatible Sony's 360 Reality Audio feature, which can offer better sound quality. However, you need to subscribe to services that support this feature and use compatible files. The review has been updated to reflect these changes.

These headphones are compatible with Sony's 360 Reality virtual soundstage feature, which can offer a more immersive audio experience. It works with a few streaming platforms like Tidal and Deezer, and you need a subscription to access it.

The Sony WH-H910N have good weighted harmonic distribution performance. There are few spikes across the range at moderate and high listening volumes, but this can be hard to notice in real-world content. The frequency range falls within acceptable limits otherwise, resulting in mostly clean and pure audio reproduction.

This is the configuration we used to test the Sony WH-H910N. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

Update 03/17/2022: We have received user feedback asking us to look into our Noise Isolation score as our results didn't reflect real-life usage. We have retested these headphones, and the scoring of this box has changed.

The Sony h.ear on 3 have a great noise isolation performance. With their ANC system activated, they can block out some commuter noise, like the low rumble of bus and plane engines. However, if you're looking for more isolation in this range, it's worth checking out the Anker Soundcore Life Q30 Wireless instead, as they can block out more bass-range sound. That said, they do a better job when it comes to cutting down ambient chatter and high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit.

The Sony WH-H910N do a very good job of preventing audio from leaking out. Escaping noise occurs primarily in the high-mid to low-treble range, meaning that you'll perceive it as somewhat thin, but it should be lost below the noise floor of an average office.

The recording quality of the Sony WH-H910N’s integrated microphone is very good. Your voice should sound clear, fairly detailed, and be mostly clear of distortion.

The Sony WH-H910N’s integrated microphone does a mediocre job of isolating speech from background noise. People on the other end of the line may have difficulty understanding you if you’re calling from an even moderately noisy environment.

The Sony WH-H910N have excellent battery performance. At roughly 40 hours of playback on a single charge with ANC turned on, our unit exceeded the advertised battery life by five hours, though be aware that battery life can vary depending on your usage habits. They also have an auto-off timer feature to conserve their charge when not in use, which you can adjust in the Sony| Headphones Connect companion app. Unfortunately, they take quite a bit of time to charge, but you can use them with the included 1/8” TRS cable, which supports passive playback if you’re not willing to wait.

Like most of Sony’s headphone lineup, these over-ears are compatible with the Sony| Headphones Connect app. It’s quite feature-dense with a graphic EQ, audio presets, an ANC activation toggle, and a remap function for the headphones’ physical 'C' button that can be used to enable your phone’s voice assistant or to turn on the ambient sound control.

Update 10/19/2021: We have retested these headphones for multi-device pairing. New firmware from Sony allows the headphones to connect to one device for phone calls and another device for audio support. However, we don't consider this to be multi-device pairing as it doesn't offer full support on both devices at the same time. We also can't confirm this firmware version as we're using the most current firmware at the time of updating this review. As a result, there hasn't been a change in our review.

The Sony WH-H910N have good Bluetooth connectivity. They support Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC pairing, but not multi-device pairing, which can be annoying if you frequently switch between listening to content on your phone and computer. While you can connect to one device like a computer if you want to listen to audio and another device like a smartphone if you want to take calls, you won't have full support for both devices at the same time, which is a little disappointing. Wireless latency on PC is likely too high for gaming, playing video games, or streaming movies, but they perform a little better on mobile Android and iOS devices. It’s worth mentioning that different apps and devices compensate for latency to varying degrees, so your real-world experience may differ.

Update 03/15/2022: A user asked if switching the TRS cable for a TRRS cable with an in-line mic works. We connected these headphones to our PS5 console's controller via a TRRS cable with an in-line mic, and we were able to receive audio and use the mic. If you have this kind of audio cable, you shouldn't experience issues using its mic when wired. There hasn't been a change in our review as these headphones don't come with this cable, and you may have to purchase one separately.

The Sony H910N can be used for passive listening via the included 1/8" TRS cable. This cable doesn’t come with an in-line microphone, and you can’t use their integrated mic while they’re plugged into an AUX port. However, if you have a TRRS cable with an in-line mic, you can use it with these headphones for full mic and audio compatibility.

The Sony WH-H910N only provide audio when plugging the included 1/8” TRS cable into an Xbox One controller, with no microphone support. You can't use them wirelessly with an Xbox One console.