Rich sound on Sony’s new h.ear headphones, WH-H910N (update)

• 5 new colour options for the WH-H910N overband headphones and NW-A105 Walkman® so you can listen in style with a new and improved slimmer fit
• Boosted battery life and smart headphone features to make listening easier than ever on the WH-H910N headphones

Sony today introduces its new h.ear WH-H910N overband headphones. Fashion lovers are in their element with five new colour combinations teamed with high quality sound.

Update: So the Bluetooth certification has appeared for the headphones, the combined designs is identical to the WF-1000XM3 and WI-1000XM2. Here is the link to the chipset, my guess is we are looking again at MT2811SP, which might be a rebranded Airoha AB1552. I have an article about this explaining my reasoning. Check it out here.

Superior sound, your way

The WH-H910N headphones effectively cancel ambient noise around you so your full attention is on the music. Thanks to the Dual Noise Sensor technology, more ambient sound is caught, improving your listening experience. Adaptive Sound Control allows you to listen your way by automatically changing the headphone sound settings depending on your surroundings.

Paired with Quick Attention mode, it’s never been easier to lose yourself in music when you’re out and about. Simply hold your hand over the earcup to reduce music volume and temporarily listen to announcements around you without removing your headphones.

There are five bold colour designs available for the WH-H910N headphones so you can stand out from the crowd. Pick from red, black, ash green, orange or blue.

Update, the headphones are now up for pre-order on Amazon.de.

       

Be individual

Compact and lightweight, housing thickness is decreased on the WH-H910N headphones. The gap between the face and the headband becomes smaller for a sleeker look. The earpad shape has also been redesigned, maximising the contact area with the face to improve comfort and stability.

Along with Quick Attention mode, touch sensors allow you to control your WH-H910N headphones without getting out your device. Control your headphones via the earcup and surrounding buttons to perform a range of functions including skipping songs and activating the voice assistant. These headphones are also compatible with the dedicated Sony | Headphones Connect app so you can personalise your music as easily as your style.

Fashion-forward functionality

The WH-H910N headphones becomes smarter with voice assistant, which is complete with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Manage your day, just by asking your favourite voice assistant. While support for Siri probably is present, since it mentions Siri in the touch controls section.

The WH-H910N headphones have an impressive battery life of up to 35 hours for all day listening. If you do run out of power, the headphones have a Quick Charge function providing 2.5 hours of use with a 10-minute recharge. Battery life is improved from the previous model's 28 hours. Full recharge only take 5 hours versus 6 hours previously.

Unlike the previous model the new WH-H910N sports 25mm drivers versus the 40mm of the H900N. Not sure how this will affect sound quality but perhaps Sony has minimized the difference; below are the exploded views of the drivers. It will be a while before the new model goes on sale, so comparing them both will not be possible just yet. Frequency response is identical in both models.

When comparing impedance, the newer H910N are rated at 17 ohm (1kHz) and the older H900N at     32 ohm (1kHz) when turned on and 16 ohm (1kHz) when turned off. Not sure which state the H910N are on, it is not specified. From my basic understanding, anything below 50 ohm is ideal for portable use like with a phone or music player, so the difference may be negligible here. I cannot compare sensitivity as it is not shown for the new headset.

WH-H910N

WH-H900N

As with the WI-1000XM2, aptX has been dropped with only LDAC support remaining. This could mean that Sony has moved onto a new BT chip, again possibly the Mediatek MT2811 but no way to confirm that at this point in time. Unfortunately there is no mention of any S-Master amp, so I doubt one is present. Same for the NC chip, it is probably the same one as the H900N and not a special dedicated one like the QN1 unfortunately.

The WH-H910N model will be priced at approximately €300/£250 and available from December 2019. The new model looks like a decent upgrade to the current model but the December availability is a bit tough to swallow.