Sony WF-H800 Bluetooth Headphones Review: Youthful in Appearance, Steady in Performance

Since Apple launched AirPods, wireless earphones have become the new favorite in the market. However, due to technical limitations, we rarely see truly eye-catching products. Most brands only focus on the appearance, and the actual experience is even worse than AirPods.

However, this does not prevent various brands from launching their own wireless products. Sony, which has been in the headphone industry since the 1970s, certainly will not miss this trend. Now, with the launch of Sony WF-H800 Bluetooth headphones, this situation has changed.

As Sony's flagship color WF-H800, youthfulness has become the new expression in the h.ear series. Judging from the color scheme of black, blue, red, gray-green and orange, this headset obviously wants to seize the market of young groups.

In terms of color matching, the model in hand is a relatively plain but versatile black model. Usually, black represents business and formality, but the WF-H800 does not have such a serious feeling. The frosted plastic material on the outside and the reflective material on the inside form a wonderful sense of layering. It is conceivable that without the sparks created by the collision of two different materials, this headset will definitely become boring.

In addition, perhaps because a single earphone weighs only 7.4G, or perhaps because of its compact streamlined design, the WF-H800 feels like two carefully polished bracelet beads in your hand, making you want to rub and play with them inadvertently.

The same design sense is also applied to the wireless charging box. The overall frosted material makes the surface less likely to get dirty, and it feels very comfortable in the hand. The weight of the whole box is about 48g, and the earphones do not exceed 80g. The rounded design of the box makes it very convenient to carry around, just slide it into your pocket.

Open the charging box, and you will find a magnetic base inside. When you put the earphones in, you can hear a click, which is crisp and pleasant to the ears. There is an indicator light at the joint of the box cover, which shows the charging status of the earphones. After closing the box cover, the indicator light will shine through the gap, adding a touch of red to the all-black shell, which looks very futuristic and technological.

The charging effect of the charging box is still good, because it supports fast charging. After connecting to the Type-C port at the bottom, it can provide 70 minutes of usage time in 10 minutes, and provide 16 hours of battery life when fully charged, which is basically enough for commuting, business trips, and travel.

In terms of suitability, as an in-ear earbud, WF-H800 may not be suitable for everyone. The foreign body feeling of the earbuds in the ears may take some time for first-time users to get used to. Some brands of earphones will put some effort into the earbuds to make the in-ear feeling more comfortable. WF-H800 focuses on weight and structure.

With its light weight and three-point fixing structure, the WF-H800 just disappears after being put into the ear. There is no sense of pressure at all. The earphones are firmly attached to the ear without displacement or looseness. You may even worry that the earphones will fall off. However, during the test, the WF-H800 is also very firm. It will not fall out even if it turns over on the ground.

However, because it is equipped with a light sensor, once the earphones fall out, the music will stop immediately, alerting the user to find the earphones.

In terms of earplugs, WF-H800 is equipped with four earplugs of different sizes and shapes: SS, S, L, and M. It can be suitable for people with different ear shapes.

There is a small control button on the side of the headset. The left and right buttons have different functions. You can switch tracks, control the volume, and perform other daily operations by pressing them different times.

Although this button looks very convenient, it is not very satisfactory in practice. The control button is difficult to press due to the small size of the outer side of the headset. You often need to take the headset out a little before you can press it. In actual use, it is not too troublesome, but it is definitely not smooth.

If WF-H800 wants to capture the younger generation, it can basically achieve its goal just from the appearance. But we all know that appearance control is only the entry-level consumer of headphones. More people buy headphones for the sound quality, and Bluetooth headphones also need to have a stable connection. Given that Sony had a not-so-good performance before, can WF-H800 make up for the past shame and fight a comeback?

As a compact headphone, its driver unit is destined to be not too big. WF-H800 uses a 6mm micro-dynamic coil as the driver. Although it is enough for listening, don’t expect a high level of sound quality. Thanks to the small size of the unit, the 6mm micro-dynamic coil is definitely an advantage in terms of easy driving, but it will definitely be insufficient in terms of sound field.

However, the driver size is not the fundamental factor that determines the sound quality of a headset. The overall cavity design, shape, and even the material of the earmuffs may affect the sound quality. So the driver size is just the starting point. How much power can be produced depends on Sony's technology.

As for WF-H800, the earphones are most unexpected in terms of detail performance. Whether it is a musical instrument or a human voice, it is very clear and transparent. The gong is a gong and the drum is a drum. It's just that the sound field is a little narrow, the sound field of different levels is not complete, and there is a lack of a certain bounce between the transitions. The overall sound is cold. However, for those who love this kind of sound, it is an advantage.

And, just like the usual characteristics of micro-dynamic coils, the WF-H800 also stands out in bass performance, with strong impact, fierce elasticity, and no excessive pressure on the ears. It can be said that it sinks just right, and it is also crisp and powerful when it turns to the mid-frequency. However, when it comes to high frequencies, the WF-H800 seems a little weak, but this is also expected.

Let's take Lady Gaga's "Applause" as an example. There are highs and lows in this song, and it's easy to hear the difference. In the first 40 seconds of the song, the WF-H800's advantage in processing details is obvious. Lady Gaga's singing, drums, and the "ha" harmony in the background can all be distinguished clearly.

From 40 seconds to 54 seconds, the bass performance of WF-H800 is also very good, the drums are crisp and powerful, the vocals are very detailed, and the bass accompaniment is also very heavy. However, you can actually hear that the sound field is narrow here, and the singer's voice and the bass drums seem to be on the same plane, lacking layers and three-dimensionality.

After 54 seconds, the high notes of the WF-H800 seem weak, and it sounds like knocking on an iron plate instead of clapping. In contrast, when listening to Ed Sheerande's "Shape of You", a song that focuses more on vocals and has little rhythm change, the whole song is very clean. From beginning to end, the WF-H800's good detail processing ability is demonstrated, and the accompaniment, vocals, and harmony are always separated, just like a small spring of water, refreshing and smooth.

Therefore, WF-H800 is more suitable for listening to music with a strong sense of rhythm or focusing on vocals, such as pop and classical music. It should also be good to listen to some hip hop, but as long as the high notes are played, the listening experience will definitely be greatly reduced. If you really have this need, you may need to adjust it in the equalizer on your phone. Sony's own APP has relevant adjustment settings, and some mobile phones with related function support can also turn on the DSEE HX digital sound enhancement engine to further improve the sound quality.

In terms of connection, WF-H800 supports Bluetooth 5.0 and NFC technology, which makes it very convenient to connect. Just touch the charging box with your phone. In addition, WF-H800 uses dual transmission mode, which transmits the sound signal to the left and right earphone units at the same time. Compared with the previous single-side receiving and relaying method, it can greatly reduce the delay, and you can also take off one side and use it as a single earphone. It is very useful in some special scenarios, such as driving or at a meeting.

The official price of WF-H800 is 1499 yuan. As the latest wave of Sony h.ear products, this price can not be said to be high, but it is not low either. If you are just a looker and have many years of faith in Sony, then this money is definitely not wasted.

For general users who just want a convenient daily use, the WF-H800 may be worth considering. If you see a certain discount, it will be even more worthwhile.

Of course, for those who have high requirements for sound quality, want to enjoy the purest side of music, and feel the music surrounding their brains anytime and anywhere, why should you choose to buy Bluetooth headphones? Sony has a lot of audiophile headphones for you to choose from.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.