Sony WH-CH730N Review: the most balanced mid-range headphones

There are products that are born with the aim of wowing and others that, much more simply, seek to find the right balance between price, quality and features. And in my view the new Sony WH-CH730N belong exactly to the second category. They are wireless over-ear headphones that sit in the mid-range of the company’s catalog and that try to bring some of the features that made Sony’s most expensive models famous at a decidedly more affordable price.

This year Sony has focused mainly on the points that really matter in daily use. The new WH-CH730N finally become foldable, improve battery life and call quality, weigh just 207 grams and, above all, integrate an active noise-cancellation system based on the Dual Noise Sensor technology, with two microphones per ear cup. To all this are added DSEE, 360 Reality Audio, a 10-band equalizer, LE Audio, multipoint connection and an Ambient Sound mode adjustable over no fewer than 20 levels.

In short, on paper the Sony WH-CH730N basically have everything I would expect from a modern mid-range wireless headset. Of course, they cost €119 and at this price the competition is already very strong, but after using them daily I have come to the conclusion that their strength is not necessarily a single feature, but rather the overall balance of the product.

Sony WH-CH730N Review: lightweight wireless ANC headphones with 50 hours of battery life

Design and comfort

Let’s start probably with one of the features that convinced me the most about the Sony WH-CH730N: they weigh only 207 grams. And believe me, for over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation, that is a really light weight which, in daily use, makes a huge difference. The ear cups fully surround the ears and the light headband distributes the weight quite well, making them suitable even for especially long listening sessions.

And it is precisely comfort that is one of the aspects on which Sony seems to have worked the most. The cushions are soft, lateral pressure is well calibrated and the ear cup design has been optimized to improve fit. They don’t give the feeling of two huge ear cups on the head and, especially after a few hours of use, the 207 grams are quite appreciated.

The build remains predominantly plastic and, when you pick them up, it’s quite evident that we are looking at a mid-range product. They do not have the premium feel that the WH-1000XM6 convey and the materials are not particularly refined, but I think in this case the choice should be evaluated from a practical standpoint as well: using plastic helps keep the weight very low and personally, on headphones meant to be used for many hours, I prefer a less noble material but greater lightness.

One of the most important new features compared to the previous generation, however, is the folding structure. Finally the Sony WH-CH730N can be folded, a feature that makes them much easier to carry in a backpack or bag and which I personally consider almost indispensable on headphones designed also for commuters, students and travelers. They are available in five colors: black, white, pink, blue and beige, so there is also a good amount of stylistic choice.

Sony has also kept the physical buttons on the ear cups and this is a choice I continue to appreciate. After a few days you quickly learn their location and you can manage playback, volume, calls and the noise-cancellation mode without having to grab the smartphone. It is a less flashy solution than touch controls, but in daily use I think it remains extremely practical.

Audio quality: you can feel the 1000X series experience

From a sonic point of view the Sony WH-CH730N follow a fairly clear philosophy: they don’t want to be audiophile headphones, but a pleasant product to listen to with practically any music genre. Sony itself states that it has leveraged the acoustic know-how developed with the 1000X series and, although there is clearly a noticeable gap compared to top-of-the-line models, the overall result is convincing.

The sound signature is fairly balanced, but keeps that slightly warm character that makes listening pleasant for several hours. The bass is present and full without becoming overly intrusive, voices stay well distinguishable, and the higher frequencies have a rendering more than decent for the price range. With pop, electronic, hip-hop, rock, podcasts and more generally music streamed from the main platforms, the WH-CH730N perform very well.

Of course you should not expect the same precision, soundstage and instrument separation as models that cost three or four times as much. When the track becomes particularly complex and many instruments are overlapping you start to notice some limits, especially in the ability to perfectly separate all elements of the sound scene. But this is precisely where you should remember the €119 asking price from Sony: within their price range, the performance is absolutely convincing.

There is also DSEE, Digital Sound Enhancement Engine, Sony’s technology that attempts to recover some of the high frequencies lost during compression of audio files. Do not expect miracles, but especially when using heavily compressed sources its intervention can help make the sound slightly more complete.

There is also support for 360 Reality Audio, although personally I continue to see it more as an interesting feature to try than as a primary reason to buy these headphones. Much more important, in my view, is the ability to adjust the sound signature in a fairly thorough way through the equalizer.

Sony Sound Connect really makes a difference

One of the things Sony keeps doing better than many rivals, even when stepping down in price, is the software. The WH-CH730N are managed via Sony Sound Connect, available for Android and iOS, and the app allows you to adjust virtually all the main aspects of the headphones.

The 10-band equalizer allows you to adjust the sound signature quite precisely and there are also several presets available, including dedicated Game EQ profiles. And in my opinion it is precisely by fiddling a bit with the equalizer that these headphones manage to perform at their best: the standard profile is already pleasant, but a few minutes are enough to obtain a result that is significantly closer to your tastes.

The app also lets you manage the noise cancellation, the Ambient Sound mode, the multipoint connection and 360 Reality Audio. It is also possible to set a maximum volume limit by choosing among five different levels, a feature that might seem secondary but I find particularly smart, especially if the headphones are used for many hours in a row or purchased for younger users.

In short, Sony Sound Connect isn’t one of those apps that you install just to perform the first pairing and then never open again. It’s an integral part of the WH-CH730N experience and represents, in my opinion, one of the product’s advantages over some cheaper alternatives.

Noise cancellation: good, but you must remember the price

Naturally one of the central elements of the Sony WH-CH730N is the active noise cancellation. The system uses the Dual Noise Sensor technology and Sony has integrated two microphones in each ear cup with the aim of analyzing external noise and reducing distractions during listening.

And here you must be clear about one thing immediately: the noise cancellation is not bad, but it remains proportional to the price range. Do not expect the effect of the WH-1000XM6, and above all do not buy them thinking you’ll get the same isolation at 119 euros as the top-tier Sony models, because clearly it isn’t the case.

That said, in daily use the ANC works well. It mainly tones down the more constant noises and the low frequencies: the hum of an air conditioner, the background noise of an office, the engine of a bus or a train are reduced in a noticeable way and listening becomes decidedly more pleasant. The over-ear format also contributes to passive isolation, so ANC and the ear cup design work together to create a good level of separation from the surrounding environment.

From a connectivity standpoint, Sony has updated the WH-CH730N with technologies that make them a decidedly modern product. First of all, there is support for LE Audio, designed to make the connection more efficient and reduce latency with compatible devices. And it’s an interesting feature especially for those who use the headphones not only for music, but also for watching films, videos or gaming.

Much more useful in daily use is the multipoint connection, which allows the headphones to stay connected to two devices at once. So you can work with the WH-CH730N plugged into your laptop while keeping your smartphone active at the same time and switch, for example, from a meeting on the computer to a call without having to disconnect and reconnect the headphones manually.

There are also Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair, so the initial pairing with Android smartphones and Windows PCs is particularly quick. They are all features that taken individually may seem like small details, but added together they make the WH-CH730N much more practical in daily use.

And I think this is precisely one of the most successful aspects of these headphones: there is no need to constantly think about which device they are connected to or enter Bluetooth settings each time. Once configured, they simply do what you expect.

Calls: AI really helps

Sony has also worked quite a bit on call quality. The WH-CH730N use the Precise Voice Pickup technology, which combines beamforming microphones, optimized microphone placement and a noise-reduction system based on artificial intelligence.

Specifically, AI processing via a deep neural network is used to try to distinguish voice from surrounding noises, so that our interlocutor can hear us more clearly even when we are not in a completely quiet environment. Sony has also worked on reducing wind noise, which remains one of the main problems when using wireless headphones for outdoor calls.

In my tests the result convinced me. The voice remains sufficiently clear and natural and above all the system manages to quite effectively suppress background noise. They will not replace a dedicated microphone in a very noisy environment, but for calls, video chats, Teams or Meet meetings and online classes they perform very well.

And this is an aspect I would not overlook, because the WH-CH730N are clearly designed not only to listen to music, but also as headphones to use throughout the day between smartphone and computer. In this sense call quality becomes almost as important as audio quality.

Battery life: 50 hours even with ANC on

If there is one aspect where the Sony WH-CH730N have very little to envy from more expensive products, it is the battery. Sony states up to 50 hours of playback with active noise cancellation. And that’s a lot.

It means that even using them for several hours every day you could comfortably go for several days before needing to plug them in. And it’s precisely that these 50 hours are quoted with ANC active that makes the figure particularly interesting: you don’t have to give up the main function of the headphones to achieve good battery life.

Compared to the previous generation Sony has thus improved one of the aspects that most affect everyday experience. Because having effective noise cancellation is worth little if you constantly have to remember to recharge the headphones.

There is also fast charging: 3 minutes of charging will give you about an hour of playback. It’s one of those features that seems secondary until you realize you have dead headphones a few minutes before leaving or starting a meeting.

Sale price and considerations

The Sony WH-CH730N cost €119, and it is precisely starting from this figure that I think they should be judged. They are not cheap headphones in absolute terms, but they do not aim to compete with the premium tier of the market either. They sit right in the middle, trying to offer some of the technologies Sony has developed for higher-end models at a decidedly more affordable price.

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