Sony WF-SP800N
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Mar 21, 2018 If your Bluetooth headphones are paired to MacOS, then on the System Preferences: Bluetooth panel, ensure that Show Bluetooth in menu bar is checked. From the Menubar, click the Bluetooth icon, and under Devices, locate your headphone name and follow its submenu. In faded gray, your remainder Battery Level will be shown as a percentage. I use my XM3s at my desk at work, switching between my iPhone and Mac. When connected to my phone I can use Headphone Connect app to see which codec is currently being used (AAC etc). However, how can I do this when connected via OS X? Sony Headphones Connect app lets you adjust your bass levels and gives you presets for outdoor stage, club, hall, or arena-style sound.
Pros
- Powerful audio performance with deep bass and sculpted highs
- Excellent battery life
- Water-resistant build
- App has ANC and EQ controls
- Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support
Cons
- Limited controls
- Large charging case offers less extra battery life than usual
Bottom Line
Solid noise cancellation, powerful audio performance, and a water-resistant build make the Sony WF-SP800N a strong contender in this price range
The field of true wireless earbuds with ANC (active noise cancellation) is still relatively new, but Apple's AirPods Pro aren't the only game in town. Sony's WF-SP800N earphones offer solid ANC and several other features that ought to put them on the radar of any prospective Airpods Pro buyers. At $200, the wire-free in-ears are aimed at gym goers and runners, with a better water-resistance rating than the AirPods and a super-secure fit. A companion app provides user-adjustable EQ, in addition to built-in support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Throw in the best battery life we've seen in this category yet, and the you get a fantastic value that doesn't quite unseat the AirPods as our Editors' Choice.
Design
Available in black or blue (with orange and white models in the works), the chunky earpieces feel like they actually have some weight to them, but they come equipped with earfins to help stabilize the fit. The in-ear fit is comfortable and secure, ideal for the gym or jogging. We’ve seen higher IP ratings for water resistance, but the WF-SP800N’s IP55 rating is strong enough to protect against dust and water projected from any direction, so rain and sweat won't be an issue. Sony includes four pairs of silicone eartips, two pairs of earfins, and a USB-C-to-USB-A charging cable (there’s a USB-C port on the back panel of the charging case).
A single tap on the touch-sensitive surface of the left ear’s outer panel cycles through ANC modes. The right ear’s panel handles playback, track navigation, and call management, depending on how many times you tap. There’s no volume control on the earpieces. Tapping and holding on the right ear will default to summoning Siri on iOS devices, but the earphones can be programmed to work with Alexa or Google Assistant. Setting them up is easy, and then a simple left ear tap summons Alexa, for instance—but this replaces the cycling through of ANC functions. You can restore those to the right ear, but then you lose playback controls, so there’s a bit of sacrifice to adding Alexa or Google Assistant control. On the plus side, Alexa had no issues hearing our commands once we set it up.
The Sony Headphones Connect app offers plenty of superfluous features like 360 Reality Audio (which promises an audio experience “as real as a live performance”), but it also brings a number of genuinely useful functions. For instance, a five-band EQ allows you to customize audio settings or choose from a list of presets.
The app’s approach to ANC (labeled Ambient Sound Control) is also useful. When it’s on, there’s only a single slider: far left is full ANC mode, while far right is full monitor mode (which allows you to hear your surroundings), and you can blend the two by setting the slider anywhere in between. For audio, the earphones connect via Bluetooth 5.0, and support AAC and SBC codecs, but not AptX.
The charging case is quite large compared with the competition. It has a flip-top lid and a front-facing status LED. And surprisingly, it only delivers a single extra full charge, which at first seems like a bummer until you realize the earphones themselves have the best battery life we've seen in this category so far. Sony estimates battery life to be roughly 9 hours with ANC on, or a truly impressive 13 hours with it off, which is around double what most wire-free in-ears claim. Keep in mind that these numbers will also vary based on your volume levels.
Sony's WF-SP800N charging case (left) is a lot bigger than the one that houses the AirPods Pro (right)Performance
The earphones deliver strong ANC performance. At maximum strength, it does a solid job of tamping down powerful low frequencies like the rumble of a train or a plane, and also manages to eliminate a wide swath of mids (someone speaking in the next room will be heard, but the voice will be whittled down to the higher frequencies). There's some faint added high-frequency hiss (akin to white noise), which is pretty common in most ANC models and not a deal breaker.
As mentioned, you can use the app to dial in your preferred mix of ambient room noise and ANC, choosing all of one or the other, and any mix in-between. The monitor mode is useful and effective, and you can also opt to turn both ANC and monitor mode off.
The mic offers decent intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we were able to understand every word we recorded, but there was typical Bluetooth distortion around the edges. The mic level was strong, however, so while the intelligibility isn’t amazing, the signal isn’t faint.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the earphones deliver powerful low-frequency response. At top, unwise listening levels, the bass doesn’t distort, and at more moderate listening levels, it’s still quite intense. Lovers of deep bass will be pleased, and those who want balance with their bass should be as well, as the highs are also quite sculpted.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the WF-SP800N’s general sound signature. The drums on this track pack some added bass depth, but they don’t veer into unnaturally thunderous territory. Callahan’s baritone vocals receive plenty of low-mid richness, but also an ideal amount of high-mid presence to keep them crisp. The acoustic guitar strums and higher-register percussion also benefit from sculpting in the high-mids and highs. This isn't necessarily an accurate sound signature, but the boosting is balanced between lows and highs—and, of course, you can adjust it with the in-app EQ.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for the attack to retain its punchy presence, but it could use a dash more in this department. The vinyl hiss and crackle that’s usually relegated to background status, however, takes a step forward in the mix, so we have a little more high-frequency than high-mid boosting, but the sound signature is still crisp and defined. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with powerful depth, while the vocals are delivered with excellent detail and no added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get an extra helping of bass response, which brings the lower-register instrumentation forward in the mix somewhat, but not to an overwhelming degree. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are delivered with excellent high-mid and high-frequency clarity and presence. The lows may be dialed up, but they don’t upset the mix’s balance.
Conclusions
Sony's WF-SP800N earphones get many things right, including powerful audio performance with full bass depth (and EQ to adjust it), a solid water-resistance rating, a secure in-ear fit, and strong ANC performance for the price. This makes them an enticing alternative to the Apple AirPods Pro. We still slightly give slight preference to the AirPods for their sleeker design and superior noise cancellation performance, but if you're looking for a pair better suited for use at the gym, the WF-SP800N are worth considering. We’re also fans of the $150 JBL UA True Wireless Flash and the $200 Jabra Elite Active 75t for use at the gym, but neither offers noise cancellation.
Sony WF-SP800N Specs
| Type | In-Canal |
| Wireless | Yes |
| Wire-Free | Yes |
| Phone Controls | Yes |
| Connection Type | Bluetooth |
| Water/Sweat-Resistant | Yes |
| Removable Cable | No |
| Active Noise Cancellation | Yes |
| Boom Mic | No |
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Further Reading
Download Sony Headphones Connect for PC free at BrowserCam. Find out how to download and Install Sony Headphones Connect on PC (Windows) which is certainly developed by Sony Video & Sound Products Inc.. offering amazing features. Let us find out the criteria for you to download Sony Headphones Connect PC on MAC or windows laptop without much fuss.
Sony Headphones Desktop App
How to Download Sony Headphones Connect for PC or MAC:
Sony App For Wireless Headphones
- Initially, you need to free download either Andy os or BlueStacks for PC making use of the free download link introduced within the beginning in this page.
- Once the download process completes click on the installer to begin the install process.
- In the installation process just click on 'Next' for the first couple of steps right after you begin to see the options on the monitor.
- While in the final step select the 'Install' choice to get started with the install process and then click 'Finish' when ever its finally completed.On the last and final step mouse click on 'Install' to get you started with the actual installation process and then you should click 'Finish' in order to complete the installation.
- Begin BlueStacks app within the windows start menu or maybe desktop shortcut.
- Before you could install Sony Headphones Connect for pc, it's essential to connect BlueStacks App Player with a Google account.
- Congrats! It's simple to install Sony Headphones Connect for PC with the BlueStacks emulator either by searching for Sony Headphones Connect app in google play store page or by using apk file.Get ready to install Sony Headphones Connect for PC by going to the Google play store page if you successfully installed BlueStacks Android emulator on your PC.