The Sony WH-CH510 are a reliable set of inexpensive headphones that demonstrate Sony’s capabilities as an audio brand to produce both some of the most astounding headphones available today and top-notch, budget-friendly headphones that won’t break the bank.
See our reviews of the Sony WH-1000XM4 for our top over-ears and the Sony WF-1000XM4 for our top in-ears if you want to see the finest of Sony’s audio technology. Both provide the best sound quality and noise-cancellation in their respective classes.
Sony’s WH-CH510 isn’t built to compete, thus it can’t. This set of inexpensive on-ear headphones has a straightforward design, superb sound quality, and minimal frills. These are one of our top choices for the finest inexpensive headphones available right now because of this.
Design of the Sony WH-CH510 review
These headphones are on-ear rather than over-ear, so their cups will rest on your ears rather than surround them. This significantly reduces the size of the Sony WH-CH510, yet it may also make it slightly less comfortable (it also impacts the audio quality, but more on that later).
These Sony cans aren’t very attractive, but considering that accessibility is the goal, their understated and understated design greatly increases their appeal. Its form profile is as near to “a straight line with a circle on either end” as you can get, and they come in stylish black, white, or navy blue.
The only additional decoration, aside from the Sony logo on both cups, is a straightforward diamond grid pattern that covers much of its exterior.
The structural integrity of the Sony WH-CH510 may be the most visible and startling indication of its price. The headband, swivel joints, and ear cup housing are all made of plastic, thus it would be negligent of us to suggest “chucking” them in your bag or otherwise mistreating them.
We really didn’t want to test this notion too far, but the headband does appear to have some flex, suggesting that it may be more forgiving than we initially thought. While the cups do swivel 90 degrees and flatten, it doesn’t fold or compress much further to create a more compact package. But, in this situation, the fewer hinges, the better since we anticipate that will be the first point of failure.
It’s important to note that the Sony WH-CH510 barely extended halfway before fitting comfortably on both ears, despite the fact that this specific reviewer frequently extends headphone bands to their maximum size due to his exceptionally wide head. We anticipate that this will be especially welcome news for those of us with big heads and those who enjoy donning hats and cans together.
The end result of this is, of course, that they are exceedingly lightweight, which, when combined with their small size, makes them highly portable. Fortunately, the cushioning in the ear cups seems to be of a better level than the rest of the device, so despite their on-ear form factor, they are pleasant to use for lengthy periods of time.
Features of the Sony WH-CH510 review
The Sony WH-CH510 has a sparse control layout with three sizable buttons that are simple to find, distinguish, and use. They control the standard range of play/pause, volume up/down, and skip forward/back choices, but they also let you use the voice assistant on your smartphone.
While it is undoubtedly functional for both this purpose and accepting calls, the embedded microphone adjacent to these buttons is not the most obvious solution available.
The only connector for USB-C charging is next to the controls and microphone (audio over USB is not supported from what we checked). We’re very thrilled to see a low-cost device switch to this future-proof connector from micro USB.
We are blown away by the 35 hours of listening duration that these Sony headphones claim to have. Moreover, if you’re in a bind, you may recharge for 90 minutes from empty in only 10 minutes.
You won’t have much success if your batteries run out while you’re using it because there isn’t a 3.5mm headphone jack or audio through USB, but the long battery life and reasonable price point more than make up for it.
Contrary to popular belief, the Sony WH-lack CH510’s of functionality really works to its advantage. In order to focus on more important features, such battery life and audio quality, expenses have been reduced for those that its target audience could do without (active noise-cancelling prime among them).
Review of the Sony WH-performance CH510’s
On-ear headphones like the Sony WH-CH510 won’t quite provide the same level of audio quality as over-ear competitors. The smaller cups’ inability to seal and reduced sensation of space are the main causes of this.
That said, considering their low cost and constrained design aspect, it’s amazing how solid these Sonys still sound. The bass was present and audible to us, but not at all overpowering. The profile was generally acceptable, however the upper frequencies were a touch more dominating than we’d like and the mids a little too muted.
The sound these on-ears generate clearly defies their size and affordability, even if they won’t have the same exceptional clarity, balance, and feeling of space as their WH-1000XM3 brothers. The majority of genres sound good here, while tunes with low mids and bumping treble may sound uncomfortable overdone.
The Bluetooth 5.0 connection never dropped throughout our testing, and we had no issues with interference or drop-out. There isn’t an app companion that we could locate, but given the unit’s inherent simplicity, we couldn’t see why there would be a need for one.
Review of the Sony WH-CH510: final thoughts
You’re probably already prepared to give up some things if you’re looking for the finest budget headphones.
Fortunately, most of the trade-offs Sony made with the WH-CH510 weren’t all that significant. While the lightweight, plastic build increases their mobility and comfort, the elimination of analog input reflects the loss of the 3.5mm connection on most recent smartphones.
If you’re looking for something that’s significantly more durable or includes a 3.5mm connection, you probably won’t find a wireless option at this price that both has good battery life and sound.
