Pros Excellent audio with deep bass responseGreat noise cancellation for the priceStylish design Cons Limited to AAC and SBC codecsFit could be more secure Sony WF-C710N Specs Active Noise Cancellation Connection Type Bluetooth True Wireless Type In-Canal Water/Sweat-Resistant Wireless All Specs Table of ContentsDesign: Transparency Stands OutBluetooth: A Codec ShortBattery Life: CompetitiveApp Experience: It Covers the BasicsNoise Cancellation: Better Than ExpectedSound: Premiere Audio for the Price The $119.99 Sony WF-C710N earphones deliver pleasing audio and excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) for their reasonable price. We like their bass-rich frequency response, competitive battery life, and above-average ANC. While the WF-C710N noise-cancelling earbuds are easy to recommend, Anker's $129.99 Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro earphones offer a better fit and high-res Bluetooth codec support, so they remain our Editors' Choice winners in this price range. Design: Transparency Stands OutThe WF-C710N earpieces carry over the same stemless design of the previous generation and come in black, pink, or white. New for this model is a colorway called Glass Blue, which gives them a colorful transparent build. It’s reminiscent of the old iMacs, and I quite like it(Credit: Christian de Looper)While comfortable, the earbuds don't fit as securely as I'd like, and I wouldn’t recommend wearing them for exercise. Sony includes several different-sized eartips, but no stabilizing fins or hooks to hold them in place. The earpieces have an IPX4 water-resistance rating, so they’ll survive the odd splash of water and sweat, but you won’t want to accidentally submerge them. The Liberty 4 Pro earbuds fit more securely and have a better IP54 rating, which protects them against dust and dirt. (Credit: Christian de Looper)The controls take a little getting used to and you can't do much to adjust them. By default, the left earpiece controls noise cancellation modes. A single tap cycles between noise cancellation and Ambient Sound (which lets you hear your surroundings), and a long-press turns on Quick Attention mode, which activates Ambient Sound for a short time. The right earbud controls playback. A single tap plays and pauses audio, a double tap skips to the next track, a triple tap goes back to the previous track, and a long press activates your voice assistant. Tapping either earbud repeatedly controls volume (down on the left, up on the right). You can change controls by group (not by individual function), but the options are limited to noise cancellation modes, playback controls, and nothing. I wish Sony made it possible to customize each gesture and tap.Sony includes two additional pairs of eartips for a total of three and a short USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable. A longer USB-C-to-USB-C cable would have been welcome.Bluetooth: A Codec ShortThe earphones have 5mm drivers capable of producing frequencies between 20Hz and 20kHz. They connect via Bluetooth 5.3 and support Google Fast Pair and Bluetooth multipoint pairing with up to two simultaneous connections. Disappointingly, the earphones only support the AAC and SBC codecs, not the higher-resolution LDAC codec like the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro (and Sony’s pricier earphones).Battery Life: CompetitiveThe charging case is the same color as the earbuds. It's small and compact enough to fit in most pockets. It's a standard clamshell-style case with a USB-C port on the rear for charging. It doesn't support wireless charging.(Credit: Christian de Looper)Sony says the earbuds can run continuously for up to 8.5 hours with noise cancellation on and 12 hours with it off. The case stores an additional 21.5 hours with ANC on, for a total of 33.5 hours of playback. Sony doesn't provide guidance for the total time required to charge the buds and case, but a five-minute charge will get you an hour of listening time. App Experience: It Covers the BasicsThe earphones use the same Sony Sound Connect app (available for Android and iOS) as the company's other headphones and earphones. The app handles most simple things, but it could have more features and be easier to use. The main screen shows noise modes, connected devices, and playback controls. You can toggle cards on or off depending on what you want to access. Beyond these few features, you can only add a Bluetooth Connection Quality toggle, which lets you choose between prioritizing audio quality or a stable connection.Recommended by Our Editors(Credit: Sony/PCMag)Thankfully, the app includes a five-band EQ, ranging from 400Hz to 16kHz. You can choose between several EQ presets, too, but I'd like to see Sony update its app and offer a more customizable EQ experience. There’s also a Clear Bass slider that ranges from -10 to 10, though there’s no indication of which frequencies are being affected or what those levels mean.Noise Cancellation: Better Than ExpectedThe noise cancellation punches above similarly priced competition, outpacing the Soundcore Liberty 4 Pro.(Credit: Christian de Looper)Sony’s dual noise sensor tech uses feedback and feedforward microphones to fine-tune its ANC. The earbuds are particularly good at eliminating the noise from a plane engine, including most of the low-end rumble and high-end hiss. Some low-mid frequencies leak through, but it is far from distracting. This is true on a city bus, too, where the earbuds easily cut the bus engine noise and the higher-pitch squeals from the doors opening. In a busy cafe, the earbuds effectively eliminate all but the closest voices, though I could sometimes hear a low background hum.The Ambient Sound mode is less impressive. While it allows me to hear my surroundings, it introduces a lot of hiss and struggles to reproduce high frequencies.Sound: Premiere Audio for the PriceOn a bass-heavy track like The Knife's “Silent Shout,” the earbuds do an excellent job reproducing the sub-bass frequencies in the bass synth and kick drum. The bass is deep and powerful without overshadowing the lead synth or percussion. The high-frequency details are good, too—crisp and sharp.The excellent bass response is also evident when listening to Kendrick Lamar's track “Loyalty.” The track has a bass synth line that is often difficult to produce, but the earbuds effectively push out all but the lowest tones, and even then, they still deliver enough rumble to help round out the bass line. Lamar and Rihanna’s vocals on the track sound rich, and the percussion sounds nice and crisp.(Credit: Christian de Looper)Deep bass response isn’t as important on Bill Callahan's “Drover," but the earbuds still do a good job of producing the driving kick drum and bass guitar. More importantly, Callahan’s baritone vocal sounds deep and vibrant, and the guitar behind it is rich and natural. The high-end response on the acoustic guitar strings and cymbals is remarkable.The earbuds do well on orchestral tracks, like the opening scene to John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary. The stereo separation is good enough that the instruments don’t sound like they are all on top of each other, and the bass response makes the lower strings sound resonant and deep, while the brass sounds bright.The microphones do a fine job of capturing my voice for phone calls. My words are easy to hear, though my voice isn’t quite natural.