Sony's 2018 Wireless Sports Series(WI-SP500N, WI-SP600N, WF-SP700N) Hands-on Review

Sony recently announced their new lineup of sport series headphones for India. These headphones or earphones are designed to be used during activities like running and at the gym. The new sports series headphone range starts from Rs 4,990 and goes all the way up to Rs 12,990.

The new range of Sony's sports series headphone includes three models. Namely, WI-SP500 (Rs. 4,990), WI-SP600N (Rs. 9,990), and WF-SP700N (Rs. 12,990). All of these headphones are completely wireless. Also, they come packed with active noise cancelling. They are optimized to work with Google Assistant. No Siri optimisation though. However, these come packed with NFC for easy connectivity. Also, standard connectivity is via Bluetooth.

Design

Sony WI-SP500N

The design of the Sony WI-SP500N is pretty basic and advanced at the same time. The earphones consist of only a cable between the earbuds. However, both the earbuds have a noise cancelling unit attached to it. The NFC module and inline controls are mounted on the right side. The battery is on the left side. This makes the earphones look a little bulky. However, due to the grip fit material Sony used in the ear tips and surrounding area, the earphones are surprisingly grippy in the ear. Overall, the design is pretty neat. However, some may not like it due to ear mounted units.

Sony WI-SP600N

The design on the Sony WI-SP600N is the most basic out of the whole sports series lineup of the company. The earphones consist of traditional wireless earphones design. This included two earbuds connected via a cable. The cable has the inline controls along with battery and NFC module mounted on it. However, the ear tips aren't the basic design. The ear tips are fitted with specially designed tips what help hold the earbuds to your ear. This enables them to stay one even during vigorous exercise. Overall, this is the best earphones design wise. At least, this is what I think.

Sony WP-SP700N

The design of Sony WP-SP700N is the most unique and trending at this time. These are the company's flagship sport series headphones. It consists of fully wireless earbuds. It also comes along with a case that has a battery of its own to charge the earbuds. The earbuds are very light and comfortable to wear in everyday situations. The case is also quite small and easy to open and close with just a light swipe. Also, these are the world's first splash proof fully wireless earbuds. So, kudos to the design team on this one.

Sound Quality

All of the three, sport series headphones are designed to be fully wireless and offer active noise cancelling. Along with, they can offer ambient noise modes to offer sounds in when you need it. We tried all three of the above-mentioned earphones for a couple of minutes. Our first impression of the sound quality is really good. The active noise cancelling works really well. Pairing them using NFC was easy and convenient. The base of the headphones is extremely good. Also, these headphones get really loud if you decide to turn up the volume. However, the few minutes of testing isn't enough to completely tell us the quality of sounds these earphones will put out in all genres. However, the first impression makes us feel it will be pretty good.

Conclusion

The WI-SP500 (Rs. 4,990), WI-SP600N (Rs. 9,990), and WF-SP700N (Rs. 12,990) are greatly designed wireless earphones by the company. These look and feel very good. Also, they sound good by the initial testing. These make the earphones completely worth the money spent on it. However, missing Siri optimization might put some iOS users down. However with the smartphones killing the headphone jack, buy a sports series wireless earbuds from Sony is a great decision right now.