Evaluation: Sony ULT WEAR is a love letter to the sound of the streets

After I was 14 years outdated, I had an older good friend, Danny, who had a Volkswagen Scirocco. He was the eldest of our good friend group and the one one on the time who had a license and a automotive. He had one thing else none of us had on the time: a boomin’ system. Two 10-inch subwoofers in a fantastically crafted speaker field, full with amps, crossover, and every other know-how the late 80’s needed to supply. The bass his twin tens put out was so aggressive when maxed that you can virtually really feel it messing along with your coronary heart rhythms whenever you sat within the again seat. That isn’t hyperbole.

After I first donned the brand new Sony ULT Put on wi-fi noise-canceling headphones and pressed Play on my “Bass Check” playlist, I instantly began smiling just like the Cheshire Cat. The ridiculous (in a great way) bass response instantly evoked nostalgia for that late 80s and early 90s trunk-rattling growth bap. *In case your system was excessive caliber, your trunk didn’t rattle btw.

Bass like this isn’t for everybody, so it’s an excellent factor that Sony put some thought into ULT Put on, making a pair of noise-canceling headphones that very seemingly will work for many listeners. Concern not bass curmudgeons, I’ll drop bars on why you continue to could wish to take a hear.

Sony ULT WEAR: Value and availability

Sony’s ULT Put on headphones are extensively out there not solely on Sony.com but additionally on Amazon, B&H Picture, and brick-and-mortar shops like Greatest Purchase and Walmart. They value $200 and can be found in Black, Forest Grey, and Off-White. As a lover of all issues camo, the Forest Grey variant is looking my title!

Based on value tracker camelcamelcamel.com, the previous-gen WH-XB910N headphones could possibly be bought for lower than MSRP fairly incessantly, so it’s an excellent wager that the ULT Put on (WH-ULT900N) will quickly be out there for lower than $200.

Sony ULT Put on: What’s good

The place do I start? Thinkin’ of a grasp plan. With nothin’ however bass inside these cans.
Consuming fish, which is my favourite dish, I started my evaluation with a bass playlist!

Okay, sufficient riffing on Rakim and “Paid in Full,” which simply occurred to be one of many first songs I had banging by way of the specifically designed 40mm drivers on these closed-back over-ear headphones. What makes these headphones totally different from Sony’s venerable WH-1000XM5 is their give attention to earth-shattering bass response, however in addition they share some options with the XM5, just like the V1 Processor chip. The mannequin for these headphones is WH-ULT900N, so technically, they’re the successor to and share some DNA with a product in Sony’s ExtraBass lineup, the WH-XB910N.

I’m glad Sony moved the main focus away from a mannequin quantity and went with ULT, which is brief for “Final.” That makes remembering the title rather more simple. To assist in giving you a memorable expertise, Sony packed the $200 ULT Put on with options. They’re operating Bluetooth 5.2, and together with Bluetooth audio codecs like SBC and AAC, you’ll get Sony’s LDAC codec carrying your tunes. If you wish to slip into one thing greater decision, you may join through aux cable to your audio supply, supplied you have got the correct dongle or cellular DAC. 

The ULT Put on have lively noise canceling onboard, which Sony says is improved over the earlier technology. Just like the ULT modes, you may entry and alter ANC modes with a button on the left earcup. You may additionally discover the facility button and all ports there. The big, thick, thermo-foam earpads on the ULTs are fairly snug and do a good job offering passive noise cancellation. The companion app additionally has a characteristic that may select your degree of noise cancellation based mostly in your location and exercise, which I discovered to be spot on in its changes to my atmosphere. 

Caveat emptor: You’ll have to be okay with giving Sony that degree of location-based entry to your life. 

Along with noise-canceling, you additionally get an adjustable ambient sound mode so that you could preserve your situational consciousness whereas listening if essential. I preserve all of it the best way up as that gives a degree of amplification to my environment. Nonetheless, for those who solely want transparency when speaking with somebody, Fast Consideration makes that doable by putting your hand over the fitting earcup, which quickly prompts ambient sound mode on the fly till you take away your hand. 

I haven’t totally vetted the battery life claims simply but as a result of these appear to go and go, however Sony says you’ll stand up to 30 hours of playback with ANC on and 50 with it off. Speedy charging through USB-C offers you 1.5 hours of playback on a three-minute cost, whereas 10 minutes offers you 5 hours of playback.

Extremely bassy, with out being fundamental

With some specs out of the best way, let’s discuss what makes these headphones the “ULTimate.” I used to be grinning ear-to-ear as I listened to LL Cool J’s “Going Again to Cali,” adopted by N.W.A. and “Dopeman.” Masta Ace’s “Born to Roll” remix was an anthem recognized for being bumped from high-octane sound methods again within the day, however I additionally wished some extra closely engineered sonics to sip from, so I loaded up Skrillex’s “Mumbai Energy” and The Roots’ “Do You Need Extra?!!!??!” For severe jeep-beat nostalgia, I even nodded my head to L’Trimm’s “Automobiles That Go Increase.” 

What’s nice concerning the ULT Put on is that none of those songs sounded muddy due to the hyped bass response. Enable me to qualify that assertion, although. Whereas not muddy, bass on ULT2 mode positively upstages the opposite frequencies, however that is sort of the purpose right here. The rise in bass additionally had punchy mids, which helped deliver ahead vocals. Excessive frequencies weren’t washed out both, as I found whereas listening to “Mumbai Energy.”

The massive characteristic right here is the ULT button on the left facet of the headphones, which supplies you three ranges of bass amplification: ULT Off, ULT1, and ULT2, however there’s extra customization available. You’ll be able to fine-tune the bass response with the CLEAR BASS slider as you play with the varied EQ presets or create your customized preset utilizing the five-band EQ at the side of the ULT and CLEAR BASS settings.

Earlier than you do all of that, I like to recommend hitting the Discover Your Equalizer menu and tuning the general sound to your listening to. Choose a tune with an excellent steadiness of vocals and instrumentation, then play that whereas selecting from two screens of various EQ choices. In my testing, this made a distinction in how bass and mid-forward the general sound signature was.

With my customized EQ and ULT1 with CLEAR BASS set to +3, listening to different genres of music is satisfying. Artwork Blakey’s “Moanin’” is vivid and pleasant, with a extremely strong sound separation within the stereo picture. Highs are restrained because the shrill horns on this monitor weren’t a tad uncomfortable like they are often. Different tracks, like a remastered “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie, are immersive, and Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Footwear” remains to be ethereal, although a bit restrained in nuance as properly. 

To my level about customization, merely altering to the Treble Enhance preset, the place CLEAR BASS is ready to “0” and bass enhancement is ready to “ULT1,” restores some nuance again to the combo. Readability is added to your sound by activating Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) know-how, and I really feel it does a strong job of delivering simply that.

Whereas watching films and movies, there isn’t any latency with dialogue whereas linked through Bluetooth. The EQ characteristic set right here makes it straightforward to customise sound in order that these boomy bottoms do not hinder your enjoyment of movie scores and dialog. The taiko drum scene in episode two of “Blue Eye Samurai” is unquestionably “hotter” by way of the ULT Put on, however my EQ customization retains dialog and sword sounds vivid and crisp.

Final, on the sound entrance, know that the upgraded microphone array within the ULT Put on will even provide you with a strong calling, Zoom, or Google Meet expertise. They do a effective job of canceling background noise for these you are talking to, and whenever you’re silent, they do a strong job of muting your atmosphere for those who’re out right here on these streets.

Bass by wire

The Bluetooth LDAC expertise gained’t depart you wanting, and the analog expertise with the three.5mm cable can be strong. Bonus factors for with the ability to use it whenever you run out of juice!

I linked the ULT Put on to my Pixel 7 Professional utilizing the included aux cable hooked up to the most effective small DACs below $100, Fosi Audio’s mini DS2, and was not disillusioned. Listening to hi-res audio by way of this highly effective USB-C DAC introduced vivid, ethereal, and full-bodied music for closed-back $200 headphones. I listened to Tidal tracks, in addition to FLAC recordsdata, by way of VLC media participant. Simply so you recognize, you’ll be capable to use the three.5mm aux with the headphones powered on or off, and also you’ll get two totally different sound signatures relying on that energy state. Powered on, you get the bass-heavy profile, however the sound is extra impartial when powered off.

One of many points with bass-heavy recordings revealed by the ULT is how properly producers and engineers grasp tracks. Listening to some hip-hop tracks, I see that there’s a little bit of mud within the combine, whereas others have deep, resonant bass that’s tight with out muddying mids or highs. The Roots, Dr. Dre, Skrillex, and a number of other different producers of heavy bass and sub-bass tracks clearly present they know how you can deliver the thump with out dulling the vibrance of the remainder of the picture. Others, not a lot. DSEE helps these tracks out a bit, however when actively listening, you be taught the distinction between high quality technical engineering and rough-around-the-edges compositions from totally different creatives.

Talking of high quality technical engineering, I’m not an enormous fan of contact controls on headphones, however the ULT WEAR’s controls are responsive and intuitive. Not solely that, however the proximity sensor, answerable for controlling the flexibility to pause music whenever you take away the headphones, was equally responsive. There’s a split-second latency when eradicating them, however they unpause play when positioned again in your head with no lag by any means. 

Sony ULT Put on: What might use enchancment

Sony has completed a effective job engineering these heavy hitters, so there are solely a few issues I discovered that might use some enchancment. First off, there isn’t any USB-C audio help. You gained’t get that on the pricier 1000XM5 both, so that basically is a Sony technical resolution I’d prefer to see it modified in its subsequent technology of headphones. That mentioned, I do choose utilizing a cellular DAC, in order that isn’t an enormous deal for me.

I attempted establishing head-tracking optimization, however I couldn’t get it to work. You need to maintain the cellphone degree in entrance of your face as you swivel your head up and down, not side-to-side, however I believe this wonderful beard is throwing that know-how off. One thing else that will get “thrown off” is the flexibility to make use of LDAC and multipoint on the identical time. I don’t know why that’s, contemplating that the WH-1000XM5 obtained an replace final yr, which made that doable.

Sony ULT Put on: Competitors

There aren’t many choices this heavy on options at $200. You’ll be able to have a look at the JBL Stay 770NC, Sennheiser Accentum Plus, and even Beats Studio Professional, which initially retailed for $350 however can incessantly be discovered for below $200. 

You need to positively try our Sennheiser Accentum Plus evaluation to see if these are a greater match for you. Having personally examined Beats Studio Professional, I’d say that you just’ll must take a tough have a look at the 2 merchandise. With the ULT, you’ll get LDAC, EQ customization, and different options not discovered on the Studio Professional. Nonetheless, some customers will discover that Beats has a way more balanced, nuanced sound profile with out sacrificing satisfying bass response.

Sony ULT WEAR: Must you purchase it?

You should purchase Sony ULT Put on if…

• Bass is life.
• You need snug, long-wearing headphones
• You need a number of options for a good value.

You should not purchase Sony ULT WEAR if…

• Impartial sound is life.
• You want USB-C audio.

Although a bass lover’s responsible pleasure, Sony’s ULT Put on current a much wider worth proposition at this value level, which ought to enchantment to fairly a number of folks. The ANC is strong, the app is feature-packed, you may hearken to your music over the wire for those who drain the battery, and you’ve got help for LDAC on board. 

Sony packs a number of punch into this booming set of headphones, making them a tricky act to comply with for the small pool of choices at or round $200.