Can Sony strike gold two years in a row while offering a more affordable product to the masses? Based on our time with the WH-ULT900N over-ears, that’s just possible. But there are a few items to consider before you put your money down.

Looks are everything

These over-ears are definitely products of Sony’s design lab. In appearance, they come across as a hybrid of the WH-1000XM4 overs from 2021 and 2022’s WH-1000XM5.  The headband resembles the XM5’s but the whole unit folds up in the same manner as the XM4 set. Visually, it’s attractive, but picking them up immediately shows that these aren’t the top of the range. The heft and weight we’d expect are replaced by a slightly hollow feeling that still feels sturdy enough. But it’s not premium.

Our review set was a pre-production model but everything we encountered should be in place in the final retail units. The left ear cup hosts three physical buttons as well as a 3.5mm jack and USB-C charge port. The right cup doesn’t have any external additions but the right-hand panel acts as a gesture panel for play, pause, and navigation.

The three buttons are further indicators that the WH-ULT900N overs aren’t quite for the premium market. The power button also sets up Bluetooth pairing and there’s a key for turning on noise cancelling or ambient modes. The third key is marked ULT. Giving it a poke plays a little sound effect inside the cups and drops listeners into one of three preset audio modes. We found ourselves favouring the default setting but there’s a satisfying bass jump in the middle setting that deepens into an aggressive rumble in the third option.

Sound decision

Whatever the WH-ULT900N’s faults, and we’ll get to a few of them in a second, there’s one thing they do extremely well. The audio is top-notch. As mentioned, we stuck mostly with the default setting which, in our opinion, didn’t need tweaking at all, but there are a couple of bass-enhancing modes available via the ULT button. The first is just a little more bassy. The second would give a speaker-laden taxi a run for its head-rumbling money.

But the ‘ULT’ portion of these cans isn’t really required. Those with more precious audio tastes can lovingly craft their own personal EQ settings in Sony’s app. Others, the folks Sony seems to be after with these over-ears, can simply jack up the bass until it’s capable of crumbling concrete foundations.

If, like us, you’re one of the world’s more or less normal people, at least as it pertains to audio, then Sony’s default setting is an excellent experience. There’s clear separation of lows, mids, and highs, excellent clarity throughout, and whatever you’re playing, from classic 90s thrash metal to more sedate offerings from the softer side of Spotify, sounds as fresh as the first day you heard it. There’s even a little space for nuance in complex melodies if that’s your thing.

Sony claims a solid 30 hours of battery with noise cancelling and Bluetooth enabled and a serious 50 hours with noise cancelling off. We… didn’t get to run them all the way flat before the review was due but that was partly due to their arrival in South Africa, partly the admittedly excellent battery life, and partly the fact that we gave these cans a brief charge about midway through the review that added 15% to the battery total. Not bad for ten minutes’ work.

The catch

Obviously, you won’t purchase a R5,000 set of headphones (the planned retail price for Sony’s WH-ULT900N overs in South Africa when they land) and expect perfection. It would be nice, but there were a few sacrifices made to get there. One of the main ones we’ve already mentioned — the build falls short of being truly premium but it’s quite far above ‘seriously budget’ as well.

There are other aspects that we weren’t thrilled with. The physical controls could have been slightly better placed. A button always seemed to be under a thumb as we raised and removed the WH-ULT900Ns, switching us to a bassier profile or ambient mode without consulting us first. The touchpad on the right side also took some getting used to. Swiping between tracks always worked but convincing it to pause or play on command was another sort of mission.

Noise cancelling… works. We’ve experienced better from Sony itself but even from similarly-priced headphones. Sony chose to focus on one main aspect with these overs. As a result, these will cancel noise well enough but they’re unlikely to blow you away with their stunning silence. It’ll mute the office and traffic and almost everything else in your immediate vicinity. But others have done that task better.

Finally, there’s the audio cutoff when removing the headphones. Initially, it didn’t work at all and now, following a few days with these headphones, it’s still a little iffy. Power management is also a little iffy. Sony’s cans will turn themselves off if you put them down for a while, which is great. But you’ll have to physically turn them on again in order to resume listening. That’s very much a first-world problem but Sony’s pricier headphones have spoiled us somewhat.

Sony WH-ULT900N verdict

Sony’s headphones, at the time of publication, aren’t in South African stores just yet. When they do drop, at that RRP of R5,000, you’d be doing yourself a favour by checking them out. They’re aimed at folks with middling budgets who like some rumble with their tunes but that doesn’t mean that Sony has skimped on the sound. The WH-ULT900N headphones have plenty to offer where it counts and a handful of properly premium features to explore. The few cost-cutting aspects can easily be forgiven when the sound is as good as it is.

There’s a lot to be impressed by here. The fit and finish belies the price and the noise cancelling tech definitely does too. The audio doesn’t quite reach these heights but it’s close enough that you’ll want to consider these before dropping twice the price on something else.

The Core of the issue

Anker’s Soundcore range has previously been a bit hit and miss for Stuff, especially in the budget category, but a couple of years makes a serious difference in tech. The design of the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC isn’t especially novel but the fit has seen considerable improvement over the last set of stem-wielding in-ears we tried from Anker. They nestle inside the ear in just the right way to all but disappear — which is also what background noise will do. More on that in a second.

The buds are… well, buds. The build quality is notable. They’re lightweight at under six grams per bud but they don’t feel like they’ll crush under pressure. This carries over to the case, which is one of the better efforts we’ve seen in any set of in-ears in a while.

There’s a fair weight and bulk to the case that translates over to the hinge, which snaps closed without any hint of wobble. The LED button that pops the lid open also functions as an actual button, setting up pairing with a long press.

This goes rather neatly with the other almost premium features of the Liberty 4 NCs — the touch controls along both stems are welcome, there’s an IPx4 rating so you can sweat on them without worry, and the case will charge wirelessly and via the USB-C port. Not bad for buds that occupy the R1,700 to R2,000 price bracket.

Key performance indicators

The real star of this concert is the Liberty 4 NC’s noise cancelling. The company’s promo material claims that it blocks “up to 98.5%” of external noise and we’re more or less convinced there. Sure, you’ll get better noise cancelling from other (more expensive) devices but the silence produced by the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC buds is almost eerie.

Turning on active noise cancelling results in almost total silence. Less ANC produces a low-level hiss but here there is only a smooth emptiness and the very edges of spoken words. Pop on your favourite playlist and you might as well be on an orbiting satellite. Nothing reaches you unless it’s combined with physical contact like a whack on the shoulder.

The Liberty 4 NC buds offer audio in keeping with the rest of this reasonably-priced package. It’s almost universally great, though a touch heavy on the bass in some of the default EQ settings. Audio maintains clarity through most genres and, while you can get better budget audio, these are good enough that we wonder how Anker manages to justify the price of the Soundcore Liberty 4 buds. Must be the presence of 360° audio jacking up the cost in those buds because there’s not a whole lot of room for improvement in other areas.

Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC verdict

We’ve barely touched on the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC’s battery up till now. That’s because it was so far from being an issue that we almost forgot about it. There’s an advertised 10 hours in a charge and a total of 50 hours with the case taken into account and that sounds about right to us. We couldn’t kill them on any single work day and the case certainly has the bulk needed to provide the legs Anker’s advertising here. So are the Liberty 4 NC’s the perfect in-ears?

Well… no. But they’re a serious value proposition for anyone with designs on excellent audio and features with less than two grand in their pocket. It’s possible to get better performance, better noise cancelling, and better battery life from your in-ears. It’s probably not possible to get all three at this price point. Or, if it is, we just haven’t had a chance to give those headphones a spin just yet. That time will come, in that case. For now, consider these.

The Aonic 50 Gen 2 isn’t perfect. You can look toward more notable brands if your conditions include a slice of perfection in your headphones. But it’s got loads to offer for folks looking for an alternative to the same old faces scrabbling for a space at the top of the audiophile audio pile.

Built to beat expectations

One thing a newcomer has to do is look the part. That’s something the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 manages effectively. The build, from the sturdy earcups to the stubby curve sections connecting the whole to the padded headband, doesn’t necessarily scream ‘quality’ but it’s certainly talking at the top of its lungs. Seriously, it’s all very premium, right down to the physical buttons on the right-hand earcup that will do most of the controlling for you. Or you could use the app but who’s got time to fire up a smartphone every time they need to skip a track?

The Aonic 50 Gen 2’s right cup has a USB-C port, a button for setting up Bluetooth 5.2 connections, and then a main rocker that handles everything from answering (and rejecting) calls, playing and pausing tracks, and adjusting volume. You’ll figure all of this out in minutes and we don’t have to explain it here, but it’s important to note that the Bluetooth button is multifunction too. By default, it also controls noise cancellation, if you need it physically present on your cans, but this function can be altered via Shure’s app. It’ll shunt your ANC options to the app but gives you more freedom when using the headphones in public.

Using a physical button on something mounted on your skull can be a hit-and-miss affair, especially when the button is operated via a stabbing motion. Some companies overcome this by opting instead for touch controls. Shure simply ensures that these are seriously clamped onto the top of your dome. Sure, you can tear them off but it’ll take a passing bus or a ‘roided up crossfitter in the gym to do it. On the downside, it also made the Aonic 50 Gen 2’s a little uncomfortable over long periods. This isn’t universal (the other folks at Stuff had no such complaints) but you should be aware of the possibility.

There’s one last physical annoyance to get out of the way and it’s almost personal. The Aonic 50 Gen 2’s fold flat into their hardshell case but don’t fold down as compact as we’d like them. Noise cancelling as a feature makes the most sense on an airplane and space is at a premium in cabin luggage. The case is only just too large to be properly comfortable in an airplane seat or an overhead bin. It’s not a problem everyone has but those who have it wish they didn’t. It’s not a serious issue but it’ll bulk up your laptop bag more than you’re expecting.

Cancel culture 

Speaking of noise cancelling, the ANC in the 50 Gen 2 cans is… okay. We’ve heard better. Or, rather, we haven’t. That’s sort of the point. The spectrum of noise cancelled out by the internal microphones here is fairly broad but it’s not quite broad enough. Most of the time you’ll reside in blissful silence aside from the melodious strains of Now That’s What I Call Finnish Death Metal Vol. 665 but occasionally this contemplative state will be broken by intrusions from outside.

This isn’t an occasional thing, either. This exact scenario played out on a few occasions at the Stuff offices, which are not especially raucous (usually). Okay, so there’s also a bloody great big generator outside our window that causes serious mental health damage whenever it’s load shedding (and it’s always load shedding) but the point is that noise intrudes. Turning up the volume will work but that can’t be good for your ears.

Audio ointment

The rest of the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2’s aural features most certainly are good for your ears. If you’ll let them be and are willing to fiddle. Out of the box, you’ll find that highs and lows are well-emphasised. If you’re in favour of dubstep and its descendants, you’ll be pretty well served by these over-ears. Fire up the app’s EQ and you’ll be greeted with enough options to make Tony Maserati twist a knob off in happiness. It also made resident audio nut Duncan Pike a beaming ray of sunshine for at least five minutes.

It’s not all about the electronica, of course. With the right tweaking, you’ll find yourself greeted with a soundscape wholly in keeping with the almost-R10,000 price tag. This is just as well because… well, there’s an almost R10,000 price tag.

There’s plenty of room for the highs, mids, and lows to roam around, though it’s also possible to overemphasise one over the others. Vocals, after a session with the EQ, are crisp and clear enough without drowning out the rest of the musical arrangement. This depends on what you’re listening to, but that’s on you.

There’s just one more fly in this audio ointment, however. The Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 overs are priced at R9,500 in South Africa. That’s about right, based on the features and performance found here. But there’s something else in South Africa at that price point (or lower) with better features and performance — the Sony WF-1000XM5 over-ears. You might want to give the new guy a shot but the old stalwart is a known (and better) quantity.

Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 verdict

The sum of our concerns with the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 overs are that they can get uncomfortable, they might be a teeny bit too enthusiastically priced, and the noise canceling needs work. Okay, and they might not be the best airplane headphones but that’s a design complaint. Balance that against excellent audio, a better app (which you’ll need to use for the best listening experience), and a brilliant build and Shure is on track to chew on some of the market currently going to more established brands. As long as Sonos keeps its rumoured headphones under wraps (or prices itself out of Shure’s demographic), we’re sure to see more from the American outfit in the very near future.

The trio marks a new chapter for the company’s headphone and earbud ranges as they replace the discontinued flagship Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, the QuietComfort 45, and the QuietComfort Earbuds II which were only launched around twelve months prior.

We’re kicking off with the QuietComfort Ultra headphones, the new flagship wireless over-ear active noise cancelling headphones from Bose that replace the four-year-old NCH 700. Thankfully, Bose hasn’t spent the last four years diddling about and has produced something that edges out the competition in most areas. The only problem is you’ll need deep pockets to experience it.

Room for improvement

With the QuietComfort Ultra, Bose has chosen the safe non-descript headphone look over whatever the NCH 700 was doing. Not that it matters when they’re on your head unless you’re the type of person who wants their headphones to stand out. It does matter when they need to fit in a bag and thankfully the QC Ultra have a travel-friendly folding design. Just as well because travelling is one of the major use cases for headphones like these and being able to fold them up should be required. We hope Sony is taking notes.

The design is not only a boon for travellers but office workers too – they’re supremely comfy. We have the light clamping force and generously padded headband and earcups to thank for that and at only 250g, neck strain shouldn’t be a problem. Unlike their perceived value.

While they are reasonably well-built we were expecting more for this kind of money. We don’t mean opulent diamond-crusted earcups but a bit of class wouldn’t hurt. They’re mostly made of plastic, presumably to keep the weight down, with some aluminium and synthetic leather thrown in. Again, we’re not saying they’re poorly built but lush headband and earcups aside, their design and build quality don’t match their price tag.

Immersed in features

What it lacks in premium feel, the QuietComfort Ultra makes up for with its performance and stack of features. The headline feature here is ‘Immersive Audio’ – the company’s proprietary spatial audio tech that is supposed to add depth and immersion to your content to make it seem like you’re there. It’s similar to Dolby Atmos and Apple’s Spatial Audio but this was developed by Bose in-house… for some reason. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work in its favour. But we’ll come back to that.

Bose’s CustomTune technology is also present here in the form of a “thwomp” sound, a few internal microphones, and algorithms or mathematical trickery. The changes to the “thwomp” sound are measured as it reflects off your ears and neutralised so you end up with a sound “as close to the original recording as possible.” The headphones also use this data to personalise their ANC performance.

Then there are the usual high-end headphone features you’d expect. Bose’s active noise-cancelling tech helped define it as a major player in the headphone space and the QC Ultra continues that legacy. These have the best-performing ANC in any headphones we’ve tested to date. They edge out our previous best, Sony’s WH-1000XM5, in terms of passive isolation and active noise cancellation.

That means, if you’re switching between them, you’ll hear even less of the cars outside, the hum of the aircon, or the drone of your colleagues when you’re wearing the Bose. As is standard, they also have a transparency mode which Bose calls ‘Aware’. Its performance is on par with other top performers but the on-board mics and audio processing don’t do enough to stand out as notable.

There’s an app for that

If you want to get the most out of your QC Ultras, you’ll want to connect them with the Bose Music App. This allows you to fiddle with settings, give them a nickname, or tweak the audio via the three-band EQ or the four presets.

The app also provides some control over the headphones’ general use but you’ll probably want to familiarize yourself with the two onboard buttons and capacity strip. A single button handles power and Bluetooth, the other does almost everything else like switching listening modes and playback controls while the touch capacity strip raises and lowers the volume.

You’ll mostly use Bluetooth 5.3 to connect to the QC Ultras via the standard SBC and AAC codecs unless your source supports the aptX Adaptive codec. Sadly, that’s the highest-quality streaming available, which is a shame. It may be possible for Bose to introduce support for the new LC3plus Hi-Res codec later on but we wouldn’t hold our breath for that.

Rounding out the premium headphone features is a stellar battery life. It seems Bose was being conservative when it rated the QC Ultra for 24 hours of listening with ANC on and Immersive Audio off. We found ours lasted a while longer, around 27 hours of listening in Quiet mode (ANC on, Immersive Audio off). That dropped to just under twenty hours with both ANC and Immersive Audio enabled. A full charge takes between two and a half to three hours while a 15-minute sip will get you about two and a half hours of playback time. You’ll need to plan when you charge them because they’ll be unavailable during that time – no offline listening allowed.

Booms with the best of them

Bose has recycled the 35mm dynamic drivers from the NCH 700 for the QuietComfort Ultra so if you already have those and are looking for an upgrade, you’ll need to wait. That also means that if you liked the sound of the former, you’ll probably like these too. They have a broadly appealing sound signature that isn’t looking for any trouble.

The audiophiles might describe it as ‘dark and warm’, meaning the low end is overemphasised for extra thump and boom, the mids are flat and neutral (exquisitely so) giving vocals wonderful presence, and there’s a curious treble roll-off which made them sound dull when listening to highly detailed mixes.

Coming back to the Immersive Audio feature, like other implementations, its performance depends on what you’re listening to. However, unlike other implementations, it doesn’t matter if what you’re listening to has been mixed for spatial audio or not, Bose’s tech treats them all the same. Spatial Audio is still relatively new and therefore still a mixed bag. If you’ve got the time to hand-pick your Immersive content then go ahead. Otherwise, you’ll probably leave it off save for the few times you want to whip out your QC Ultras to flex on your poor friends.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones verdict

With the QuietComfort Ultra headphones, Bose has proved that it still knows how to make premium wireless ANC headphones (and milk money from its customers).

The return of the travel-friendly design is welcome but despite their high level of comfort, plethora of features, commendable battery life, best-in-class ANC performance, and inoffensive sound profile, they’re still a hard sell for most people at R12,500.

If they’re within your budget and you don’t mind a plain-looking headphone, you won’t regret getting these. But if you’re trying to stick to a reasonable budget and don’t need all the new bells and whistles, you’ll be better off with something else.

These, along with the Elite 8 Active, are the latest silicone-wrapped in-ear headphones from the Danish company and supplant the previous flagship, the Elite 7 Pro. This time Jabra has tweaked the design and crammed more features into these tiny earbuds.

Adding more features doesn’t always improve a product but at least it doesn’t (always) make it worse. Does that mean the Jabra Elite 10 warrants a purchase? That depends on who’s asking and what they’re looking for.

Newfound aural comfort

If it’s you who’s asking and you’re looking for earbuds with a comfortable fit, we have no problem recommending the Jabra Elite 10. These are some of the most comfortable things we’ve put in our ears. That’s due in part to their 5.7g weight, the redesigned ovular ear tips, and the fact that they don’t probe your ear canals as deep as Jabra’s other ‘buds. Whatever the cause, the result is you may forget you’re wearing them. When you eventually take them out, you don’t get that feeling of relief as your ear hole returns to its normal shape. That’s a good way to tell how comfortable earbuds are.

Jabra said it scanned over 62,000 ears to develop this design and that’s apparent. Having said that, we all have differently shaped ears so you’ll need to find the size that fits your holes best. Jabra provides four pairs of tips so you’re bound to find one that suits you.

The charging case has also changed. For one, it is better constructed – the lid doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall off in a strong breeze and delivers a satisfying snap on closing. It’s taller and thinner instead of the short, squat shape of previous iterations. It’ll still make a bulge in your pants but it’s a flatter bulge and easier to explain. The USB-C port lives on the rounded bottom and Qi wireless charging is found on the rear. That means you can forget about standing it upright unless you also happen to balance pebbles in your spare time.

What do your ears tell you?

With new 10mm drivers inside, the Jabra Elite 10 is the biggest of the company’s in-ears to date. They have a well-balanced sound profile when using the default ‘Neutral’ EQ setting meaning they’ll do fine for most music genres, although we did find this preset a little too bright for our liking. The low range sounded a little underemphasised, particularly in the low-mids – not something we’re used to from Jabra. Mixes still have punch to them but they lack warmth due to muddy low-mids and overly emphasised highs.

If you’d like a little more (or less) punch to your tracks, or maybe you can’t get enough of the mid-range and feel like boosting it even more, you can with the 5-band equaliser in the Jabra Sound+ app.

Like with any in-ear headphones that bypass your outer ear, you can’t expect much from their sound stage. The music sounds like it’s coming from directly inside your head, even with the ‘Spatial Sound for media’ setting enabled.

This spatial needs work

Speaking of which, that’s one of Jabra’s new draws with this year’s Elite 10 and Elite 8 Active ‘buds. Both support Dolby Spatial Sound with any kind of audio, whether it was created for it or not. But, while it does widen the sound stage a little, it’s added digitally by Jabra via the app so it can be hit-and-miss with some sources and can’t compare with the directionality of audio created using Dolby Atmos.

Luckily, unlike the Elite 8 Active, Dolby Atmos is also supported through the ‘head tracking’ feature in the Sound+ app. This feature uses sensors in each earbud to measure your head movements and then adjusts the audio as you move. When you’re listening to proper Dolby Atmos content, like streaming a compatible movie on Netflix or music from a service that supports spatial audio, it adds a noticeable depth to the mix but it does come with a drop in audio quality.

Furthermore, the ‘buds don’t know what you’re listening to so they apply their processing of whatever you’ve set to everything. If you only want head tracking enabled at certain times you’ll have to get used to toggling it on and off manually.

We like the direction Jabra is going here but the implementation needs more work before we can recommend these in-ears based on their spatial audio capabilities.

Juicing up

Luckily, the Elite 10 offers more than just a spatial audio gimmick. They also offer decent active noise cancellation (ANC) thanks to the six microphones and their new nozzle and ear-tip design. Those microphones also provide better-than-expected call quality.

An earbud’s fit can make or break its ANC performance so it’s worth the effort of trying the included tips to find your best fit. With a good fit, these were able to eliminate the drone of an aircon, the hum of aggressive laptop fans, and a chatty colleague. Add music to that and everything else fades away.

You can enjoy that solitary bliss for around six hours before the ‘buds will need a charge and up to eight hours if ANC is off. We found real-world performance lay somewhere around seven and a half hours but your results will vary. If you keep ANC off the case will provide an additional 36 hours. That drops to 27 hours with ANC enabled.

If you tend to use your devices until they’re dead, a full charge can take up to 3 hours. That’s not good for devices with lithium batteries so it’s a better idea to keep them above 20% with occasional top-ups – five minutes nets you one hour of use.

The Jabra Elite 10 earbuds use Bluetooth 5.3 for their connections between your smartphone and other devices and Bluetooth Multipoint means they can switch relatively seamlessly between them when they need to.

High-res audio fans will be happy to know that while the Elite 10 only supports SBC and AAC codecs for now, Jabra says they will support the new LC3 and LC3 Plus codecs with a future firmware update.

Jabra Elite 10 verdict

Despite its flaws, the Jabra Elite 10 still feels like a step forward for the company. These are some of the most comfortable earbuds we’ve tested. The fact that part of what makes them so comfortable is also what makes them great for workouts is ideal for people looking for their next workout buds. Although, if you don’t mind sacrificing a few features, the Elite 8 Active and their IP68 rating might suit you better.

If you don’t plan on working out much, the Elite 10 can still make an attractive purchase. For around R5,000 (depending on when and where you look) you get a durable set of ‘buds with a sound profile that probably won’t offend anyone and that you can tune to your liking.

The Dolby Atmos head-tracking feature is present but it isn’t the deal-maker Jabra makes it out to be. Other than that, they have a great set of features including decent ANC and a companion app that won’t make you pull your hair out. You should seriously consider the Jabra Elite 10 if you’re looking for in-ear headphones that you plan to wear for extended periods.

The Voyager Surround 80 UC overs are marketed as work headphones. Anyone who has worked in an open office is aware of the importance of a great set of office cans. We were expecting… well, office cans – something serviceable enough to keep the surrounding din out and optimised for Zoom meetings but nothing special otherwise. To our surprise, these might be some of our favourite over-ears of 2023. They’re not without their faults, of course, but we’re laying that at the door of Poly not having a massive amount of experience with this format.

Pretty Poly

Poly is HP’s audio division. The company is used to making the sort of headset that makes office workers look like fighter pilots ordered from Wish.com. This attractive set of headphones is a little outside their usual style but the solidly padded but still lightweight earcups, padded headband, and integrated controls make for comfortable wear.

The left earcup (they’re both marked inside the cup so you don’t mix them up) features little in the way of controls. That’s the fun ear. The right earcup does all of the work. The charge port, power button, and Bluetooth sync control are here. The outer panel of the cup also acts as a touch control. Optimised for Microsoft Teams, you can also use it to play, pause, and navigate your music when not listening to someone with a PowerPoint presentation talking about company overheads.

Charging is via USB-C but there’s a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable included in case you’d like to go old school with a little wired listening. You’re more likely to use this than you think, thanks to an error that we’ll get to now. Also included is a C-to-C charge cable and an adaptor so you can also charge via USB-A.

Actually wearing the Voyager Surround 80 UCs is comfortable enough, even if the headband seemed a little iffy at first, but there is one small problem with the headphones. It might be the only real issue with the Voyager Surround 80 UC, in fact. That would be the power button. It’s entirely and wholly manual, meaning you’ve got to turn this thing off when you stick it into its compact hardshell case. Call us spoiled but for around R8k (these cans aren’t widely available in SA yet) we’d expect them to automatically shut down when the earcups are twisted for storage. Still, HP isn’t that used to this game. We’re sure they’ll get it next time.

Time at the office

You don’t get to demand large sums of money for headphones unless they’re something special. As these are business-focused, the ‘something special’ is Poly Lens, the customisation app that lets you control most of the functions and features. Whether that is the touch controls or the vocal feedback you get when turning on and connecting the Voyager Surround 80 UC, you’ll have plenty of options. Really. The app is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, meaning you should be able to use these with any device you own.

You’ll get better results if you use the included BT700 USB-C dongle. It offers a better Bluetooth connection and extended range if you’re the sort to get up from your desk to perform other tasks but are loathe to leave your tunes behind.

Sounds like we need a raise

Audio performance is the really surprising factor here. We didn’t expect much initially, based on the box and the fact that we’d barely heard of Poly before it turned up on our desk. If you’re an audiophile, you can put down the oscilloscope. It’s good but it’s not that good. Audio is bright and clear but it’s obviously biased toward vocals. See above, where we mentioned that these things are optimised for online meetings. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck, particularly if you’re fond of muddier music like the various shades of metal. It’s not over-heavy on the bass, and you can hold it against them if you’re a techno freak, but there’s decent separation in most music genres without being overbearing.

You can get a little creative with the EQ in the Poly Lens app but we didn’t do much to alter the default sound profile. It handles most of what you can throw at it, from meetings to music to podcasts, without requiring intervention but you might feel the need to adjust the curve a little. You do you.

Adaptive active noise cancellation is a thing here and the Surround 80 UCs are good at what they do. Not as good as Sony or Bose or Jabra, perhaps, but effective enough to (mostly) cancel out the drone of a load-shedding generator.

Circling back to that power button, the Poly Voyager Surround 80 UC cans support up to 24 hours of uptime. That’s an optimistic figure and it’s cut shorter if you’re using the ten-microphone array but you should get at least twenty hours on a charge. If… and that’s a big IF, at least at first… you can remember to turn the bloody things off before you return them to their case.

Voyager Surround 80 UC verdict

Sure, you can repurpose any number of excellent over-ears as office headphones. But with the Voyager Surround 80 UCs, there’s a small chance that you can convince your IT department to pay for them. They’re intended for audio clarity while in online meetings, whether that’s via Teams or Zoom or… you know what we mean. But they’re also a solid choice for all-day use. You’ll get most of a work week from a charge if you remember to turn them off when you’re done. At least they charge to full in about an hour. Plug ’em in when you go on lunch and you should be ready to tackle that mountain of TPS reports without interruption.

We’ve spent a couple of weeks with these R3,500 in-ears and the brand might well make Samsung and Sony nervous with its combination of (relative) affordability, features, and audio quality. The fact that these are designed to withstand a human body moving, sweating, and swearing is almost a bonus. We switched to the Elite 8 Active ‘buds as everyday headphones thanks to their performance but they’re really intended for the gym.

An unusual case

Which, if you get right up close, is an obvious place for them to be. The Elite 8 Active’s two headphones weigh just five grams apiece and are entirely sheathed in the textured silicone covering Jabra likes to call ShakeGrip, a term that’s usually presented with a at the end. The buds themselves are similar in design to previous outings, right down to the company’s budget lineup. The deep fit might be essential for keeping them in place but if you’ve got even a hint of ear issues they quickly become uncomfortable. A selection of different tips in the box provides for whatever shape your earhole happens to be.

Jabra’s changed up the case for the Elite 8 Active, correcting one annoyance we had but introducing another. The case’s lid feels more secure and less like it’ll be torn off but the increased size and design alteration makes it less convenient to handle. The case itself is now almost palm-sized and the base, where the charge port lives, has been rounded so that it no longer stands on its own. It’s only a minor inconvenience and many users will probably accept it in exchange for the extra couple of hours of charge time it offers.

Sounds like it’ll work out

Normally we’d dive into the various durability features that would protect the Jabra Elite 8 Active when in use but, for a change, the audio performance is more important than its other skills. Expect a detailed soundscape with a decent bass punch even without resorting to Jabra’s Sound+ app.

We stuck to the standard equaliser setting throughout, though we did fiddle. The presets do what they claim to but we wouldn’t say they improved anything we were listening to. You’ve probably got your own ideal EQ curve so start with that. Stock clarity was enough to convince us that a few favourite albums had been remastered (in one case that was actually the case) and, generally, whatever you’re listening to won’t trip over itself. If something sounds muddy, it’s the artist and not the hardware. Usually.

Unless you’ve chosen to activate the Spatial Audio option inside Jabra’s companion app. In that case, the earbuds will do their best but unless you’re working with a service or presentation designed for it, it’ll sound like you’re listening to musicians doing their thing at the end of a very long metal pipe. It’s more suited for media consumption.

Podcasts and movies benefit but those designed with spatial audio in mind will obviously leave the greatest impression. Take some advice, though. Watch an older Arnie movie on your phone with the Elite 8 Active connected. It’s not the greatest feature — your results will vary — but it’s certainly worth a listen. It’s also not bad for something that’s handled between the buds and the app.

Highs and lows

Beyond audio, there’s loads to like. There are also a few aspects that could be better. The fit is secure and comfortable and the buds themselves are grippy enough that we had no issues during workouts. The eight hours of battery life per charge isn’t an exaggeration. Nor is the additional 24 hours in the case for a total of 32 hours before you’ll charge the whole lot again. We wound up using these Jabras for so long that that length seemed shorter than usual but you’ll finish out a work day without taking them out.

The buds have an IP68 rating and the case is rated IP54. In other words, our constant desire to shower with the Elite 8 Active buds in would be fine as long as we left the case in another room. Bluetooth 5.3 makes for speedy connections and represents a substantial improvement over less capable models. Voice calls take advantage of the six internal mics for decent clarity. Those same mics are responsible for the Adaptive Hybrid ANC (another feature that’s just ‘active noise cancellation made by Jabra’) and the HearThrough (ditto) features.

Active cancelling is more than good enough but we found that, at the volume we listen to music, passive cancelling and HearThrough was enough to silence the office while leaving just enough room for emergencies to get through. Wearing the buds without anything playing and HearThrough active seemed to amplify some background noise. That was more pronounced when the noise is constant — rainfall or a large truck idling somewhere — but the effect is entirely muted when ANC is turned on, so there’s that.

Jabra Elite 8 Active verdict

Great workout headphones are essential if you’re lifting more for the effect than to silence the noise of your own inner demons. In that case, you’ll want to drown out your inner child with something that sounds great and which will also survive the bodily fluids you’ll extrude while moving lumps of metal from one spot to another and back again. Jabra’s Elite 8 Active are expressly designed for this, able to last through a marathon in a rainstorm with enough battery left for you to listen to some tunes in the doctor’s waiting room afterwards. The incremental price increase over the last model isn’t unexpected and you should give these a chance before Samsung or Sony’s efforts if you’re planning on sweating in them extensively. Just don’t be surprised if they follow you out of the gym and into the office.

Sony isn’t being coy about its new buds, even going as far as calling them “The best truly wireless noise cancelling headphones on the market.” We’ll be the judge of that. Thanks.

An earbud by any other name

If you didn’t know any better you might get the impression that the folks at the Japanese company aren’t very good at coming up with names for their products. But now we know better. While the names might be a mouthful, it kinda makes sense.

The ‘WF’ here stands for ‘wireless free’ while the ‘WH’ of their WH-1000XM5 over-ear headphones stands for ‘wireless headphones’. Go figure. Sony uses a numbering system for its product tiers so that ‘1000X’ in the middle signifies that these are the flagship of its WF range, with the ‘M5’ (short for Mark 5) telling you they’re Sony’s fifth attempt to make the perfect set of ‘buds. The M4 set the bar rather high but they’re not long for this world. Is the M5 a worthy replacement? Should you upgrade if you’ve got the M4? In that order – yes, and probably not.

The immediately noticeable difference between the M4 and the M5 is size. Sony’s taken a significant step in the right direction with the small, lightweight construction of the WF-1000XM5. Its engineers have also shaved down the bulbous-shaped M4, making the M5 more ergonomic and comfier to wear. Each bud only weighs around 6g with the case adding another 39g.

As you’d expect from a premium product, the plastic feels adequately classy. Perhaps Sony thought adding a glossy sheen would elevate the M5’s classy look. Unfortunately, while some people might agree with that, this decision is the source of our biggest complaint.

It makes the buds so slippery that removing them from the case can be hazardous. We opted to squeeze each bud towards the sides of the case instead of trying (and repeatedly failing) to pinch them out. Their IPX4 rating might mean they won’t drown in workout-induced ear sweat but we’d strongly advise against handling them near a toilet bowl or swimming pool. This really shouldn’t be an issue for a premium product but the fact that it’s our biggest gripe with the M5 says a lot.

Juiced up in a jiffy

With all the shrinking and reducing Sony carried out on the WF-1000XM5, we were impressed to find battery life remained the same as the M4. The company reckons you’ll get eight hours of music playback from the buds with ANC enabled or 12 without it. There are two extra charges from the case for a total of 24-36 hours before you need to plug them in via the USB-C port or plop them down on a wireless charger. The former happens a bit quicker too, with a 3-minute charge providing an hour of playback.

Read More: Sony WF-C700N in-ear buds review – Little green monster

The new ergonomic shape, lightweight construction, and Sony’s proprietary foam tips all add to the M5’s comfy fit which we had no problem keeping in for six to eight hours a day. Sony has included an additional pair of super small tips in the box for a total of four sizes, making a good fit possible for a wide range of ears. We’d recommend taking the time to try them all, using the ‘Optimal Earbud Tip’ feature in the app to find the one that fits best. It can make a big difference.

One man’s noise is another’s music

The combination of a comfy fit with the tip’s foam material makes for really good isolation. That’s not generally something most people pay attention to but when it’s done poorly, it’s noticeable. Not here. These do it well, and give whatever you’re listening to the best chance of sounding great. It also means you won’t often miss the other end of your phone call in a noisy environment.

Although, most of the heavy lifting in that department is handled by Sony’s excellent active noise cancelling system. It’s comprised of six microphones in total, three per bud, and a second dedicated processor which Sony calls the HD Noise Canceling Processor QN2e. These work together to monitor and lower the volume of the world around you whether you’re commuting on noisy public transport, walking through a busy shopping centre, loitering around a construction site, or standing in a windy field. The improved mics and new processor garner better results than the outgoing M4 and certainly place the WF-1000XM5 among the best buds available but don’t yield the generational leap you might expect.

The same is true for the WF-1000XM5’s sound quality. They feature a generously warm consumer-friendly sound signature that we’ve come to expect from Sony. They have a downsloping response, meaning the low-end is emphasised the most – which gives extra thump to kick drums and bass synths, great for fans of EDM and hip-hop – followed by the mids, with the highs being relatively recessed. That’s not to say they’re especially dark, the mids and highs are still present with enough clarity and detail for the average listener but these weren’t made for critical studio listening.

Similarly, the new 8.4mm dynamic drivers are 2.4mm larger than those in the M4 which should theoretically result in a wider sound stage, making it easier to pick out specific instruments or sounds. We thought they fell short of being discernably different in that regard, even if you have Sony’s LDAC Hi-Res Bluetooth codec enabled (which you can now do over a multipoint connection). Luckily, if there’s something you don’t like about the sound, you can modify it to your taste with the equaliser settings in the companion app.

Feature-rich

The Sony Headphones Connect app is packed full of the same features as seen with the WF-1000XM4 and the WH-1000XM5 that we reviewed last year. You can create custom EQ profiles, pick from a few presets, and use the recently added third option called ‘Find your equaliser’ that attempts to do the same thing but without the sliders.

Adaptive sound control returns as does 360 Reality Audio, Sony’s in-house paid-for spatial audio solution. Android owners get access to a new head-tracking feature in supported video apps – something the previous buds lacked. Although, there are a lot of toggles and steps involved to get this to work properly. Slightly related are the head gestures for accepting and rejecting incoming calls or triggering an autoplay feature.

Controlling the buds is done via touch sensors behind the matte part of the bud. While the app does allow for minor customization, it was too limited for our liking – our second biggest gripe.

Read More: Sony WF-1000XM4 review – The best there is at what they do

By default, the left bud controls ambient sound modes. A single tap switches modes, two- and three-taps do whatever you’ve set in the quick access menu, repeated taps lowers the volume, and a sustained hold enables a quick attention mode so you can listen to an announcement or pretend you’re a not-so-secret government agent. The right bud defaults to playback control offering play/pause, next track, previous track, volume increase, and summoning your preferred voice assistant.

If you don’t like the defaults you can swap them to the other bud but that’s about all the customisation you get. Would it be too much to ask for some choice? Want play/pause to be a two-tap action? Too bad, says Sony.

Sony WF-1000XM5 verdict

All things considered, Sony’s made another stellar set of noise-cancelling buds with the WF-1000XM5. They are the logical next step for the company’s flagship range with improvements, however slight, made in all the right places.

Are they “The best truly wireless noise cancelling headphones on the market”? It turns out the answer to that isn’t as straightforward as we thought it’d be. They certainly aren’t bad, by any means. But they don’t stand out from the competition as much as the M4 did when they were released two years ago. Admittedly, that probably isn’t Sony’s fault. The competition also wants a piece of the premium in-ear headphone pie and has improved their products to compete with Sony.

Should you buy a pair? Maybe. If you’re coming from the M3 then yes, Sony’s in-ear buds have come a long way in the four years since they launched. You could even make the argument that these warrant an upgrade over the M4s. But, considering the price of R8,500, that’s only if your M4s are broken or you’re not one to care about prices.

Sony’s WF-1000XM5 in-ear headphones will be available in South Africa from September 2023.

Briefly, these are an affordable (for Sony) pair of in-ears that don’t sacrifice much audio quality in the quest for more money for the Japanese company. There are a few sacrifices made elsewhere, most notably the battery, but overall there’s plenty to like from these R2,500 in-ears.

Light of your life

The Sony WF-C700N in-ears can be summed up in one word: light. The buds themselves are, at less than five grams a piece, lightweight enough that you’ll forget they’re there. The case is similarly feathery. It’ll slip into a pocket or bag with only a slight bulge to remind you that it’s even in there. This could work for or against you, depending on how easily you lose small items.

The earbuds, as the weight suggests, are compact. They’re made from a lightweight plastic that doesn’t have much presence in your ear canals. Indeed, the bud sits almost entirely inside your ear, with the circular button protruding enough to let you get your play/pause or noise cancellation levels on. But the fit isn’t perfect. If your silicon tips are too small, you’ll know about it as natural mouth movement will dislodge the WF-C700N buds from their ideal placement. They should withstand more jarring movements, however. Workouts shouldn’t cause any losses.

The pill-shaped case features a single indicator light and a USB-C port for charging. The lightweight nature of the whole thing is such that you’ll almost never get it to lie down flat while charging if the cable decides it wants to do something else. Just accept it. There are more important things to worry about.

At the high end

When it comes to audio quality, these obviously aren’t going to sound quite as good as Sony’s WF-1000XM4s but they’ll surprise you with their detail, clarity, and range. The CN700s use one of Sony’s own 5mm drivers. That’s how they achieve their size and weight but it’s also responsible for the excellent audio you’re jamming into your ears.

Without any sort of tweaks, you’ll experience a solid range across music genres, from synthwave to metal to classic rock. Even audiobooks come across as sounding rich and full, though your mileage varies according to whoever’s doing the narration. The Witcher‘s Doug Cockle (who narrates a certain set of Judge Dredd novels) will sound better than, say, Police Academy‘s Bobcat Goldthwaite. Again, though, that’s a matter of personal taste.

While the hardware is a step down from the top shelf, the software… isn’t. Sony’s Headphones app, which controls all of its wireless kits, does the same work for the C700Ns. Expect adaptive sound, ear-canal analysis, support for 360 Reality Audio (or Spatial Audio, depending on where you park your mobile phone), a full equaliser, and digital sound enhancement. You really don’t need to use any of it for an impressive audio experience, but you’ve got the choice.

Going low

You can’t have affordable tech without making a few sacrifices and that’s also the case here. Sony isn’t staffed by actual wizards, after all. 7.5-hour battery life is what Sony claims for the CN700 buds and that’s… mostly accurate. We found it closer to seven hours but that’s a single marathon session with active noise cancelling enabled. Bud performance is great. It’s the case that’s the issue. There’s enough room inside the lightweight pill to completely top Sony’s in-ears once. You get a total of around fifteen hours of uptime from the buds and case before everything needs to be charged. It’s not awful, but it’s lower than you might expect at this price point.

Noise cancellation also wasn’t foremost on Sony’s mind. It’s present but the buds’ build and the limitations imposed by their size mean that cancellation isn’t as excellent as you might be used to from the high-end lineup. It’s no reason to disregard the CN700 in-ears as a possible purchase but it’s something to keep in mind. If you’re intent on blocking a noisy office, you might opt for over-ears or a pricier set of buds instead.

Sony WF-C700N in-ear buds verdict

You’ll certainly get your money’s worth from Sony’s WF-C700N earbuds but you’ll have to be prepared to make a few sacrifices. The important stuff — audio quality, software features, and other smart functions — stick around. The battery, at least as far as the case is concerned, takes a knock but you can wear them uninterrupted for an entire workday. That’s not a small achievement. And the noise cancelling? That’s as much a victim of the lightweight build as it is of the reduced price point.

As with the VolkanoX Silenzo headphones, this Bluetooth speaker combines some budget and higher-end features with a solidly budget price point to produce something that’s worth checking out. If you’re an audiophile, you can check out now. We haven’t discovered a unicorn or anything. But if you’re a fan of portable tunes, you might want to listen a little longer.

No need to swallow this pill

The Python Series speaker from VolkanoX doesn’t ship with much in the box. When we get to the price, it’ll immediately be clear why this is. There’s the speaker itself, which offers bulk but doesn’t overdo the weight. Then there’s a packet containing a small user manual, the strap that connects to the two anchor points at the top of the Python, and a USB-A to USB-C charge cable.

The pill-shaped audio box — it shares a shape with the pricier JBL Flip 6 — features a power button up top, and an array of buttons moving down the front face to the battery charge indicator, which sits just about the VolkanoX logo. Users can activate TWS, if they have two speakers, access the microphone, play, pause, switch tracks, control the volume, and also control the LED lights embedded in the sides of the unit. There are only two options there: On and off.

What it lacks is a visual indicator of which of the various input methods you’re using. There’s Bluetooth, an aux option (and a cable in case you plan to use it), and then plain ol’ FM radio. But you’re left guessing which of these you’ve selected until a) FM static kicks in, b) the speaker wirelessly connects, or c) nothing happens.

Light on sound

But a VolkanoX speaker, even if it’s the brand’s ‘high-end’ line, isn’t expected to be up to much in the audio stakes. At least, that’s what we thought going in. After all, if they’re going to drop the ball on the connection options, what else have they messed up? Turns out, not that much.

You won’t get a decent 360° spread of sound but that’s fine because you’re not paying for that. The Python will cost you about a thousand bucks (give or take a few hundred) so, despite its shape, you can expect the audio to sound best when the speaker is facing your ugly mug and is somewhere on your level (more or less). If you’re somewhere off to the sides or behind the speaker, audio quality drops off fairly quickly. That said, the volume controls can take up some of the slack. Seriously, the VolkanoX Python can get loud.

But volume and quality aren’t really in the same ballpark. Yes, you’ll hear this one from several rooms away (and through walls) but there’s not much warmth to the output. It’ll handle conventional stuff fairly well — blast some 90s skatepark punk or even modern-day synthwave and you can be sure that the music will hold together for quite a while. Stick on something more challenging — like Cradle of Filth’s Crawling King Chaos — and you’ll immediately see the speaker lose detail. It’s also how you’ll see just how dependent the Python is on positioning.

Extras (not optional)

In other words, you can be certain of volume but your music quality might not always hold up. At that point, you should consider if the price is right for you. Since it probably is, let’s sweeten the pot a little. There are a couple of other features you should know about.

The Python charges via USB-C, if that’s something you’re interested in (you are). It’s also packing an IPx6 rating. Technically, you could spray it with a hose and it would still keep working. Don’t leave it in a urinal, though. It won’t survive that. And when it comes to the battery – it’ll run for hours. Up to ten, if you believe Volkano. In this case, we do. You’ll squeeze more time out if you turn off the RGB. Which is fine. It doesn’t do anything besides look vaguely cool.

Finally, it’s actually packing a microphone. There’s a dedicated button that lets you summon the digital assistant on a connected mobile device if that’s your thing. And you can actually receive and complete calls on this speaker, though the mic isn’t sensitive enough to let you do so from across the room. You’ll find yourself standing close to this hulking big pill-shaped speaker when chatting with whoever is calling you.

VolkanoX Python Series verdict

Could you buy a better speaker? Sure. Could you buy a better one for the same amount of money? Maybe (and that’s a big ‘maybe’) but it’ll be far smaller. Can you buy a better one, at this size, for this money? We’d honestly be surprised if you could. As with the VolkanoX Silenzo headphones, this offers surprising audio quality for the money. And since you don’t have to wear this on your head, it’s far easier to forgive the compromises in build quality. There’s only one aspect of the speaker we weren’t thrilled with — the lack of even a small LCD — but at just over R1,000 for something this loud, it’s an aspect we’re willing to overlook. We weren’t planning on using the aux function or FM radio anyway.