Sony WH-XB900N Wireless  Headphones Review

The Sony WH-XB900N look like a less premium version of the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. They're made out of plastic, which doesn’t look as good as the material used for the XM3s. They also don’t have the same elegant vents with copper accents. Instead, under the hinges, you can see wide vents with glossy-finish plastic that looks cheaply made. They come in a sleek all-black design, a slightly flashier blue color, or in gray.

The Sony WH-XB900N are very comfortable headphones and feel quite like the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless and Sony WH-XB910N Wireless. The cups are deep and the padding is thick and plushy, which make them comfortable to wear for a while without feeling too much fatigue. The headband is also well-designed and distributes the weight of the headphones well. While they feel slightly heavier than the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018, the difference is fairly minimal.

The Sony WH-XB900N have good controls. Just like the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, they have a touch-sensitive control scheme on the right earcup. You can swipe up and down to control volume, swipe left or right to skip tracks, and double-tap the surface to play/pause your music as well as manage calls. There's also a 'CUSTOM' button that lets you cycle between ANC on, ambient mode, or a mode where both features are disabled. You can map that button to directly trigger your voice assistant or turn this feature on by tapping and holding the touch-sensitive surface. Additionally, putting your palm on the right ear cup activates the talk-through mode, which lowers your music and enhances ambient noise.

The touch surface is easy to use. However, there are reports online that the XM3’s touch-sensitive surface can’t work properly in colder climates. We will monitor online reviews until we can test this ourselves to confirm if this issue also happens with these headphones. We will adjust the review if needed.

The Sony WH-XB900N aren't very breathable headphones. It shouldn’t be an issue for casual use, but these headphones won’t be suited for more intense physical activity as they can trap in heat, causing you to sweat more than usual.

Like most over-ear headphones, the Sony WH-XB900N are quite bulky and aren't easy to carry around. However, they can fold in a more compact form, and their cups swivel to lay flat, which makes it easier to carry them around your neck or to slide in a bag. They also come with a small pouch, which doesn’t add too much bulk to their design but doesn’t protect the headphones when you’re on-the-go either.

The Sony WH-XB900N come with a soft pouch. It can protect the headphones against light scratches but isn't ideal for protection against water exposure or physical damage from falls. On the upside, it doesn’t take much extra space like a case would and is easy to store in a bag.

The Sony WH-XB900N are well-built headphones but don’t feel as premium as the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. Instead, their build material feels more similar to that of the Bose QuietComfort 35 II/QC35 II Wireless 2018. They still seem durable, but since they're made of plastic, some users may find them to feel a bit cheap. The padding is comfortable and plushy and the cups are dense, which shouldn’t break with normal usage. The headband is reinforced by a thin metal sheet as well. The yokes are very similar to other models like the XM3, which are also prone to cracking like the original Sony MDR-1000X Wireless.

The Sony WH-XB900N are decently stable. Their wireless design and slightly better fit make them feel a bit more stable than the Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless. However, since the ear cups are moderately heavy and stick out a bit, they can sway a lot depending on the intensity of your workout routine. On the upside, since they're wireless, you don't have to worry about the cable getting caught on something and snagging the headphones off your head.

• Sony WH-XB900N headphones
• USB-C to USB-A charging cable
• 1/8" TRS audio cable
• Carrying pouch
• Manuals

The Sony HW-XB900N have a bass-heavy sound profile. They pack a lot of thump, punch, and kick, which fans of EDM and hip-hop should enjoy. However, some users may find this sound profile a bit overwhelming and intense. Luckily, the companion app offers a graphic EQ and presets to help tweak their sound to your liking.

The Sony XB900N's frequency response consistency is sub-par. These headphones are prone to inconsistent bass and treble delivery. Users who have thick hair or wear glasses may especially notice a drop in bass. Treble delivery is also dependant on the headphones' fit and positioning on your head.

The Sony WH-XB900N's bass accuracy is poor. It's overemphasized across the range, resulting in intense thump, punch, and boom. However, some users may find this sound overwhelming. That said, bass delivery can vary depending on fit, seal, and positioning. This response represents the average, and your experience may vary.

The Sony WH-XB900N have excellent mid accuracy. The range is mostly flat and neutral, resulting in present vocals and lead instruments. The small bump in the high-mid adds a bit of intensity to vocals and lead instruments.

The Sony WH-XB900N's treble accuracy is decent. The low-treble is fairly neutral so the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments sound detailed and articulated. However, the mid-treble is overemphasized, which makes sibilants like S and T sounds piercing. Note that treble delivery varies across users, and your experience may vary. If you want headphones that follow our target curve more accurately, especially in the treble range, check out the JBL TUNE 750BTNC Wireless.

The Sony WH-XB900N's peaks and dips performance is satisfactory. There's a dip on the low-mids, which thins out vocals and lead instruments. A peak in between the high-mid and low-treble makes the upper harmonics of these instruments harsh while the following dip in the low-treble veils their detail. Another peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.

The Sony WH-XB900N have excellent imaging. Their weighted group delay falls entirely beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. The L/R drivers are also well-matched in regards to phase, frequency, and amplitude response, meaning that objects like voices and footsteps are accurately placed within the stereo image. That said, these results are only valid for our test unit, and your own experience may vary.

The Sony WH-XB900N have a sub-par passive soundstage. The soundstage is perceived as large, but it feels a bit unnatural and as if coming from inside your head rather than if coming from speakers all around you. Their closed-back design also makes their soundstage seem less spacious than open-back headphones.

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

These headphones are compatible with Virtualphones Technology (VPT). You can control this feature in the app, and it lets you adjust the sound position and use speaker modeling. They're also compatible with 360 Reality Audio, which the manufacturer advertises to give you better audio quality. However, this feature only works with compatible subscription services and files.

The Sony WH-XB900N's weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent. There are a couple of peaks at a normal listening volume in the treble range, but this can be hard to hear with real-life content. All the ranges otherwise fall under good limits at high listening volumes, ensuring clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones and our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The Sony XB900N's noise isolation performance is just okay. They have an ANC feature, but unlike the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless, it struggles to cut down bass-range noise like bus and plane rumbles. It does better with mid-range sounds like ambient chatter, and it can cut down a large amount of high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit.

The Sony WH-XB900N have a passable leakage performance. A significant portion of their leakage is spread over the mid and treble ranges, resulting in a leakage that's fuller-sounding compared to that of in-ears and earbuds. The overall level of the leakage is relatively low, and you shouldn't disturb people around you if you're listening to your audio at a high volume. That said, if you want headphones that leak less noise, consider the Sony WH-CH710N Wireless.

The Sony WH-XB900N's integrated microphone has an okay recording quality. Your voice sounds a little thin, noticeably muffled, and lacking in detail. This is a limitation of the Bluetooth protocol, and a performance like this is expected on Bluetooth microphones.

The microphone is mediocre at noise handling. It struggles to fully separate speech from ambient noise in moderately loud places, like a busy street.

The Sony WH-XB900N have decent battery performance. Although they're advertised to last 30 hours with their ANC on, we measured over 38 hours, which is outstanding. However, they take quite a long time to charge up again, and you can't use them while charging. Battery life also varies according to use, so your real-life experience may differ. On the upside, you can still use them passively if you run out of battery. They also have an auto-off timer, but this feature is only trigged when they're disconnected from their audio source. We don't consider this to be a feature that prolongs battery life, as you could still be connected to your PC or phone without audio playing, and this could still drain the battery.

These headphones have great app support. They're compatible with the Sony|Headphones Connect app and have most of the same features as the Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless. There's a great graphic EQ with presets and an in-app media player, as well as room effects and sound position options. They also provide a customizable auto-off timer for when the headphones are disconnected from a Bluetooth source. The main difference is when it comes to ANC control, as you won't be able to adjust the level of noise cancelling. You can still control the amount of ambient noise being fed in.

The Sony WH-XB900N have decent Bluetooth connectivity. They support NFC pairing, so it's very easy to link them to NFC-compatible devices. Unfortunately, unlike the Sennheiser HD 450BT Wireless, they can’t be paired with multiple devices simultaneously. They also have high latency on PC and iOS, which isn't ideal for streaming video. Their latency on Android is much lower, and they also support aptX codec, which helps reduce their latency. That said, some devices and apps compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.

The Sony WH-XB900N can be used passively with an audio cable, which is included in the box. This 1/8” TRS cable doesn’t have an in-line microphone and only allows you to receive audio. On the upside, you can use them passively even if their battery is dead. These headphones also come with a USB-C to USB-A cable for charging the headphones.

These headphones can connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs with full audio and mic compatibility. However, they can only receive audio if you want to use them via analog.

These headphones only support audio via analog on PlayStation consoles.

The Sony WH-XB900N are only compatible with the Xbox One when using their analog cable. You can only receive audio with this connection, and you won't be able to use their mic.