Sony WH-CH520 Archives - Gizmochina

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones Review: Long-lasting and Feature-packed

Sudarshan Ravichandran — Wed, 24 May 2023 03:58:16 +0000

Recently, Sony launched the WH-CH520 headphones in multiple markets across the world. It is currently the most affordable wireless headphones from the Japanese company.

The WH-CH520 is the successor of the WH-CH510 from 2019. In other words, the brand took 4 years to introduce a newer model, which is uncommon in today’s fast-paced consumer electronics market.

The latest budget wireless headphones from Sony come with multiple upgrades over its predecessor. At the same time, it costs a bit more.

In India, the older CH510 was introduced at 3,990, whereas the newer CH520 retails at ₹4,490 on retailers like Amazon. So are these sub-₹5,000 Sony headphones worth buying? Let’s find out in our review.

Disclosure: This review is based on the author’s first-hand experience with a unit provided by Sony India. The brand had no early look or editorial input.

Functional Design

The Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones are on-ear type. The device’s body is entirely made of good-quality plastic with limited stretchability.

The headband is adjustable but it cannot be folded for better portability. However, the cans be turned.

The foam used on the cans is also present on the headband. So you don’t feel the pressure on the top of your head.

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Unfortunately, the earlobes could be hurting for some after wearing the headphones for a while. This depends on the shape of your ear, and therefore, I cannot call the product universally comfortable.

Further, the control buttons are located below the right can. The multifunction button is slightly raised to differentiate itself from the volume keys on either side.

Holding the multi-function button will turn on or off the device. Whereas, the volume keys can be held to skip forward or backward.

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The right can also includes a USB Type-C port for charging and a microphone hole. The product does not ship with a case. You only get a USB Type-A to Type-C cable.

The headphones come in four color options, namely Blue, Beige, White, and Black.

Ton of Features

The Sony WH-CH520 headphones connect wirelessly to devices via Bluetooth 5.2. It offers multipoint connection feature, and therefore, it can be connected to two devices at a time.

The headphones also support Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. So it’s very easy to pair with Android and Windows devices.

It automatically switches to the device playing media or receiving a call. You can also track the headphones through Google’s Find My Device service.

I did not face any connectivity issues. The connection was solid on all devices I used the headphones with. I used the product with multiple smartphones, tablets, a laptop, and a TV.

But I wish it had a 3.5mm jack for an optional wired connection. This would have allowed me to connect it to my gaming console through the controller. Instead, I had to rely on the TV connection with noticeable latency.

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Further, you can manage the product with Sony Headphones app, which is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The application lets you play with equalizer, manually switch between connected devices, update firmware, and more

Interestingly, the headphones offer support for Sony 360 Reality Audio. Unfortunately, I do not use any of the supported streaming services. So I couldn’t try it out.

Nevertheless, you could use the DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) feature on all streaming apps. This option enhances the compressed audio to some extent.

As for endurance, Sony advertises up to 50 hours of battery life. The headphones live up to the claim. You will find it hard to drain the battery as it can even last more than the claimed number with lower volume levels.

On the other hand, it takes up to 3 hours to charge fully. Anyway, that’s fine as you get a lot more playback time in return.

Good Sound for Price

The Sony WH-CH520 house 30mm drivers. It only supports basic SBC and AAC audio codecs. Being an entry-level model, it is targeted at the general public who mostly listen to compressed music offered by Spotify and other streaming platforms.

Regardless, it would have been nice if the headphones offered a better soundstage. The audio output is crowded and isn’t that immersive.

On the plus side, the mid-range frequency output from the headphones is really good for its asking price. Thus, the instruments and vocals sound detailed and clear. The headphones are well-suited to binge-watch TV series and movies.

Similarly, the bass is well-controlled. So the headphones are great to listen to rock tracks, especially songs like ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Queen. But treble could have been better. Instruments like cymbal sound unnatural.

Though the headphones have a single microphone, the call quality is good. Ambient noise is suppressed to a certain level to provide clear audio to the people on the receiving end.

Finally, since the product is on-ear type, there’s a noticeable sound leakage at higher volume levels. It could be disturbing to the people around you, especially in a quiet room.

Conclusion

As an entry point to Sony’s wireless headphones family, the WH-CH520 is a good product overall. It is feature-packed, unlike most products in the price segment.

It is not only long-lasting but also provides a sound signature the masses would love. Even the mic quality is good for calls.

Though it may not be comfortable for everyone, it can be availed in four stunning colors, which is something that most brands don’t offer. This is very crucial for some as headphones are a fashion statement and so is the brand ‘Sony.’

The Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones are more expensive than a plethora of cheaper offerings on the market. But you may not get a package like this.

You can get the Sony WH-CH520 via Amazon at INR 4500 or around $58 internationally.

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Sony WH-CH520 On-Ear Wireless Headphones Launched In India

Viraj Gawde — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 11:28:42 +0000

Last month, Sony launched WH-CH720 over-ear wireless headphones in India. Now the Japanese brand has announced a new headphone in India. The latest offering is the Sony WH-CH520 and it is a toned-down version of the previously launched model. Read on to know what it offers out of the box.

The Sony WH-CH520 is an on-ear wireless headphone with an adjustable headband and circular-shaped soft earpads for a comfortable fit. The right ear cup has power and volume buttons along with a USB-C port.

On the audio front, the Sony WH-CH520 is equipped with a 30mm dynamic driver. It features the brand’s DSEE technology that is capable of upscaling audio even when it is compressed. Users can customize sound and adjust settings via the Sony Headphones app. The audio device comes with a built-in microphone for hands-free calling and voice commands.

The Sony WH-CH520 is claimed to deliver 50 hours of battery life along with support for fast charging. It comes with Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity with Swift Pair and Google Fast Pair features for quickly connecting to devices. The headphones can also be connected to two devices simultaneously.

The Sony WH-CH520 carries a price tag of Rs 4,490. It is offered in Black, Blue, Beige, and White colors. The audio device can be purchased from Sony Exclusive Stores, Sony Online Store, major offline stores, and e-commerce portals starting today.

Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones to launch soon, live images revealed

Sean — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:48:06 +0000

Sony is apparently planning on unveiling new wireless headphones in the market soon. The new audio product is the WH-CH520, which was just spotted on FCC that revealed its full design through live images.

For those unaware, the Japanese tech giant had just recently launched its latest flagship WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, which recently made its way to India as well. Now, it appears that the company is also working on a new budget model as well. Looking at the FCC listing, the upcoming headphones could be launching soon and carried the model number YY2958. The certification also showcased that the device will feature support for Bluetooth LE, BDR, and EDR.

Notably, the online listing also included live images of this device as well, which revealed that it will arrive with an over the ear design. We can see that the Sony WH-CH520 will launch with at least one color option that is Beige. So, we can expect the brand to launch these new pair of wireless headphones in multiple other color variants.

Unfortunately, this was all the information revealed through the new FCC sighting. In other words, finer details regarding these new hearables is still unknown. But the FCC listing does hint at its launch being just around the corner and we can expect more information regarding this model to surface soon. So stick around for more updates.