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Sony launched three pairs of headphones on Monday:- the WH-1000XM4C at $299.99, the WH-CH730N at $179.99, and the WH-CH530 at $69.99. All three are listed on Amazon. We covered the CH-series leak and the XM4C design images before the announcement, so here is where they actually land on price.
Sony WH-CH530 – $69.99
The one to buy. It is ten dollars more than the WH-CH520 launched at in 2023 and for that you get 55 hours instead of 50, multipoint, and a three-minute charge that returns an hour and a half of playback. Swivel design, DSEE upscaling, recycled plastic in the body. At seventy dollars that is a lot of headphone.
Amazon and Sony split two exclusive colours between them – Coral and Mint – alongside the Black, Cobalt, White and Pink you will find anywhere.
The trade-off is that it is on-ear, not over-ear. If you wear glasses or you are sensitive to clamping pressure over a long flight, spend the extra and go over-ear. There is no ANC either, which at this price is not surprising.
Sony WH-CH730N — $179.99
Here is the awkward one. The CH730N is genuinely improved: 50 hours with ANC running, Dual Noise Sensor, multipoint, a foldable frame, better call handling than the 720N managed. Oat is the Amazon and Sony exclusive colour.
But the WH-CH720N it replaces launched at $149.99 is still around. Unless you specifically want the extra fifteen hours of battery or the new colours, the old one at half the money is not a bad buy.
Buy the 730N if you are coming off something with no ANC at all and you want one pair that lasts a working week between charges.
Sony WH-1000XM4C – $299.99
Sony has brought the 2020 XM4 back. Same swivel-fold design, same four-mic array, same QN1 noise-cancelling chip. What is new is a 10-band equaliser in place of the original five-band, a retuned sound profile, and a Lavender finish that Sony and Amazon have to themselves. Pre-orders are open with delivery quoted between 23 September and 1 October.
You get 27 hours with ANC on and 34 with it off, against 30 and 38 on the original XM4. That is a strange thing to find in a 2026 relaunch.
At $299.99 it also runs into the XM5. If you can find the XM5 near that number, buy that instead.
There is one real reason to choose the XM4C, and it is the hinge. The XM5 does not fold – it only swivels flat, and the case is a slab. The XM4C folds into something you can drop in a backpack pocket. If you travel constantly and that has annoyed you about the XM5, this is the answer, and the QN1 is still a very good ANC chip.
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