The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are budget-friendly neckband in-ear Bluetooth-only headphones. They have a very lightweight, portable, and flexible neckband design. These are decent all-around headphones without added features like a companion app in a crowded market of similarly designed wireless neckband in-ears. If color isn't a concern, the step-down Sony WI-C200 Wireless offer similar performance.
Our Verdict
The Sony WI-C310 are good for neutral sound. While they have a good audio profile for this purpose, their bass is a bit boomy. Overall, mid-range instruments and treble frequencies offer detail and clarity. Unfortunately, they don't have a dedicated companion app with an EQ to customize their sound to your liking.
- Excellent frequency response consistency.
- Good battery life.
- Slightly cheap build quality.
The Sony WI-C310 are satisfactory for commuting and travel. They're very portable, can easily rest around your neck, and have a long battery life for trips. The isolation performance is decent, but they don't do well against deep engine rumbles because they are passive isolation-only. On the upside, they don't leak too much audio to your neighbors.
- Excellent frequency response consistency.
- Portable and flexible around-the-neck design.
- Good battery life.
- Slightly cheap build quality.
- Mushy control buttons.
- No IP rating.
The Sony WI-C310 are very good for sports and fitness with the caveat that there's no IP rating against moisture or dust. These headphones are very portable and easy to carry around to the gym. Their bud design is very small and doesn't trap heat inside your ear, which is great since you won't sweat more than usual wearing them. They are also stable enough for working out, but since the cables are very long, they create big loops, and pulling the headphones out of your ears is easy.
- Excellent frequency response consistency.
- Portable and flexible around-the-neck design.
- Breathable design.
- Mushy control buttons.
- No IP rating.
The Sony WI-C310 are satisfactory for office use. The small buds are fairly comfortable to wear for a while, but the in-ear fit might not be for everyone. Their noise isolation blocks office work environment noises like ambient chatter and fans but doesn't impact low-pitched noise like active noise cancelling earbuds can. Also, they have a long 17-hour battery life, so they'll last you for a couple of work days before needing charging. However, they don't automatically turn off, so if you get up from your desk and leave them there, be sure to turn them off.
- Excellent frequency response consistency.
- Good battery life.
- Slightly cheap build quality.
- Mushy control buttons.
The Sony WI-C310 are inadequate for wireless gaming. The Bluetooth-only headphones have poor latency. The headphones won't be suitable for video games, and their in-line microphone recording quality won't be comparable to gaming headset boom microphones. Also, you can't customize them, and they don't have a feature-packed app like some headsets do.
The Sony WI-C310 are Bluetooth-only and aren't compatible for wired gaming.
The Sony WI-C310 are fair for phone calls. One of the upsides is that they have a sidetone for phone calls, but if you don't want to hear your voice, that's a downside because you can't turn it off. While adequate, the mic captures pretty thin-sounding speech and struggles to parse your voice from ambient noise.
- Excellent frequency response consistency.
- Sub-par microphone.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 16, 2024: We've updated this review's text to ensure it's up to date and accurate.
- Updated Aug 05, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony WI-C310 come in three color variants, 'Black,' 'Blue,' and 'White'. Previously, there was a 'Gold' model. We tested the 'White' model. We expect all color variants to perform similarly to our model.
If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Sony WI-C310 are pretty basic around-the-neck headphones that don't particularly stand out from the competition. They offer a neutral sound profile with some extra boom in the bass region, making them a good contender for budget-friendly wireless earbuds. While adequately stable to wear, which suits sports and exercise activities, the lack of an IP rating is unfortunate. In the neckband headphones niche, the Beats Flex Wireless are well-regarded with Apple-friendly features like the W1 chip for seamless pairing to Apple devices. Comparatively, the Skullcandy Jib Wireless are similarly comfortable to the Sony WI-C310, deliver more bass, and only have a single button for controls (unlike the Sony WI-C310's 3-button control module).
See our recommendations for the best headphones, the best earbuds, and the best neckband headphones.
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are better than the Sony WI-XB400 EXTRA BASS Wireless in mixed usage. They perform similarly in most aspects, but the WI-C310 have a more neutral sound since they don't have the extra emphasis in the bass. Also, the WI-C310 have better noise isolation, especially in the treble range, but the microphone quality is significantly worse.
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless and Sony WI-C200 Wireless headphones are very similar. The main difference between the two models is that the WI-C310 have flat cables, while the WI-C200 have thin cables. The WI-C310 are available in more colors and have slightly better isolation performance.
The Beats Flex Wireless and the Sony WI-C310 Wireless are similarly performing headphones; you may prefer one pair over the other. The Beats are more comfortable, better built, and have a more stable fit. They also have a W1 chip, so you can seamlessly pair them with Apple devices. However, the Sony headphones have a better balanced sound profile, which some users may prefer, and longer continuous battery life.
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are better neckband headphones than the Sony WI-C400 Wireless. Their flexible neckband is easy to fold into a more compact format that fits most pockets. The WI-C310's sound profile sounds significantly better, and the headphones take less time to charge. On the other hand, the WI-C400 have NFC pairing and a Bluetooth sync button with the older Bluetooth 4.2, but the WI-C310 are Bluetooth 5.0 and have noticeably better wireless range.
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