Sony WH-XB910N
While not at the absolute top of Sony’s headphone range, the WH-XB910Ns still boast excellent sound, premium build quality, and some of the best active noise cancellation the industry has to offer. Considering how good they are, their Prime Day $118 sale price feels practically criminal.
It’s no secret that Sony makes some of thebest wireless headphoneson the planet, especially in terms ofactive noise cancellation. The problem is, that kind of quality usually comes at a price. Despite all the press that various top-of-the-line over-ears with ANC get, some high-end headphones also slide in under the radar and perform nearly as well. In fact, a lot of people won’t even notice an appreciable difference between the absolute industry leaders and cheaper offerings a tier or two below in cost.
The Sony WH-XB910Ns mark one of the best examples of this. They originally listed for $100 less than theflagship Sony WH-1000XM4sthey’re modeled after. In comparison, their price-to-performance ratio is pretty similar, but if you knock 53% off the XB910Ns' $250 sticker price, they turn into one of the best deals in recent memory — and there are many moreheadphone and earbud dealsto be had.
Why you should get the Sony WH-XB910N ANC headphones
A couple of Sony’s headphone lines occupy the upper midrange between its ultra-expensive flagships and more affordable but decidedly less nice entry-level options. I used a pair of WH-H900Ns, also known as the h.ear on 2s for three years, and they worked like a charm until they were, sadly, stolen. The XB910Ns aren’t identical but very similar in many ways. For starters, they’re a generation newer than my beloved over-ears and incorporate welcome modern features like USB-C fast charging.
High-end headphones live and die by sound quality, connectivity, build quality, and active noise cancellation. The XB910Ns excel in all of these areas, even at full price. The build quality and noise cancellation, in particular, are the first reasons I’m attracted to them. They look and feel like premium cans, as opposed to the cheaper materials that a lot of $100 headphones use. And while they don’t actively cancel noisequiteas well as Sony’s top-shelf offerings, the XB910Ns come pretty darn close and are easily better than most midrange competitors.
However, they have a small quirk sound quality-wise, and it’s by design. They’re designed to amplify bass responses for popular genres like hip-hop and electronic dance music. In objective, hands-on testing, this can make some genres sound a little muddy, especially compared to the flatter response of their peers in the Sony h.ear on series. But that’s not the end of the world because mostgood Android music playerssport capable equalizers. Plus, there are a variety of standalone equalizer apps that apply their effects to your phone or PC globally.
The real kicker here is that for just a few more hours, these really great Sony headphones are still 53% off. That’s an absolute steal, and if my cabinet weren’t already overflowing with headphones, I’d be adding these to my collection because you just can’t go wrong with industry-leading music playback, phone call clarity, and active noise cancellation for just $118 thisPrime Day.
