Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones Review

These on-ear headphones have a sleek and understated design. The yokes rest flush with the ear cups, and there's a subtle manufacturer's logo on the side of the headband. They're available in four monochromatic colorways: 'Black', 'White', 'Beige', and 'Blue'.

These headphones are decently comfortable. They don't exert much clamping force and feel light on the head. The headband and ear cups are well-padded and plush. However, due to their on-ear design, as well as their relatively small ear cups, you'll need to adjust them to get the right fit on your ears.

These headphones have adequate controls. They're intuitive and easy to use, with good tactile feedback and voice prompts to let you know when you've reached max/min volume, as well as the battery level when you turn them on. However, it can be hard to differentiate between buttons, despite their indicator protrusions.

(+) Button:

• Single press: Raises the volume.
• Press and hold: Plays the next track.

(-) Button:

• Single press: Lowers the volume.
• Press and hold: Plays the previous track.

Middle button:

• Single press: Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends calls.
• Double press: Activates the voice assistant.
• Press and hold: Turns the headphones on and off.
• Press and hold for five seconds: Makes the headphones enter Bluetooth pairing mode.

These headphones have passable portability. The ear cups can rotate to lay flat, but you can't fold them up more than their default shape, so they'll take up space in your bag. Unfortunately, they also don't have a case to protect them during storage.

These headphones are reasonably well-built. Their frame is made of plastic, while their earpads and headband are foam covered in faux leather. While they don't feel as cheap as their predecessor, the Sony WH-CH510 Wireless, they still don't feel as solid or durable as other on-ears, like the Jabra Evolve2 65 Wireless.

These headphones have okay stability. They'll stay put while sitting at a desk or walking around but can move around with moderate movements, like a light run, and fall off during an intense workout.

• Sony WH-CH520 headphones
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Manual and warranty

The Sony WH-CH520 have a slightly warm sound profile. The bass and mid ranges are very flat and well-balanced, save for low-bass roll-off. As such, audio sounds full-bodied, clear, and present. However, the treble range is less well-balanced. As a result, vocals and instruments sound clear and detailed, and sibilants, like cymbals, sound dull. If you want a different sound, their companion app has a graphic EQ and presets for full control over your listening experience.

These headphones have decent frequency response consistency. Because they're on-ear headphones, you'll need to adjust their fit each time you put them on to get consistent audio delivery. However, treble delivery is particularly impacted by factors like the length of your hair or if you wear glasses.

These headphones have excellent bass accuracy. The range is well-balanced and mostly flat, so genres like rock and folk sound full and punchy. The bass guitar in Venasque by Ian Pooley, for instance, sounds rich and full without overpowering the track's synths and vocal samples.

These headphones have remarkable mid accuracy. The range is very well-balanced, ensuring that instruments and vocals are clear and present. In songs like Sauna by Vulfpeck, the singers are right in front of the mix, and the twinkly pianos sound bright and clear.

These headphones have reasonable treble accuracy. The low treble is well-balanced, so instruments, drums, and vocals sound detailed and present. However, the rolled-off mid-treble makes sibilants, like cymbals, dull.

These headphones have good peaks and dips performance. Due to a mismatch in our unit's L/R drivers, each side performs somewhat differently. A small bump in the mid-bass makes audio sound punchier. It's most prominent in the right driver and extends into the high-bass, which muddies the mix. A wide peak in from the mid-mid to low-treble makes instruments and vocals sound boxy and harsh, especially in the left driver. Due to both a deep dip and peak in the mid-treble range, sibilants, like S and T sounds in dialogue, sound alternatingly dull and piercing. It's noticeable in both drivers.

These headphones have great imaging performance. Sony is known for good quality control and ergonomics. Their weighted group delay falls beneath the audibility threshold, resulting in tight bass and transparent treble. The L/R drivers have a slight mismatch in the mid-range, with warping coming from the right driver, though it's not noticeable when listening to regular audio content. Keep in mind, however, that imaging varies between units.

These headphones have a poor passive soundstage. They're closed-back, on-ear headphones, so while they can create a more open-sounding experience than most in-ears, the experience isn't immersive. As a result, the soundstage seems unnatural and centered around your head rather than from around the room.

The Sony | Headphones Connect app's 360 Reality Audio can analyze your ear shape and lets you integrate a virtual soundstage via compatible apps, like Tidal and Sony's own 360 Reality Audio Live, to give you a more immersive listening experience. Note, also, that most of these other programs require a subscription to use them.

These headphones have mediocre weighted harmonic distortion performance. Distortion is present in the low-bass and the low to mid-treble ranges at moderate and high volumes. It's noticeable with real-life content like EDM and hip-hop, which have artifacts in their thump and rumble that make audio sound less clear. Additionally, voices and instruments are affected by distortion, but at higher frequencies, and sound impure overall. If your unit is also experiencing distortion, please let us know in the discussions.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

The Sony WH-CH520 have bad noise isolation performance. They don't have active noise cancellation (ANC), and their on-ear design doesn't create a seal around your ears that blocks incoming noise. As such, bass-range noise, like the rumble of a bus engine, isn't cut out at all, and they barely isolate you from mid-range noise like ambient chatter. However, they do a better job of eliminating treble-range noise, like the hum of an AC unit.

These headphones have decent leakage performance. Leakage is moderately present across a lot of the range, meaning that escaping audio sounds full-bodied at high volumes. While patrons in a loud café won't hear your audio, coworkers in a quieter office may be bothered by leaking sound.

These headphones have good recording quality. Their integrated mic makes your voice sound clear and understandable but slightly thin and unnatural.

These headphones have reasonable noise handling performance. You'll be clearly heard if calling from a moderately noisy environment, like a busy street. However, it can't separate your voice from louder background noise like a passing subway, and your voice will get drowned out.

These headphones have very good battery performance. They last nearly 53 hours continuously, meaning they'll get you through several workdays without needing a recharge. Their standby mode also lasts 200 hours, so you won't need to worry about them running out of power if you accidentally leave them on overnight. However, these headphones are Bluetooth-only, meaning you can't listen to them passively with an AUX cable if the battery dies. Keep in mind, though, that battery life depends on usage.

These headphones have a good companion app. They can connect to the Sony | Headphones Connect app, which allows access to features like a 5-band graphic EQ and presets for sound customization, multi-device pairing control, voice guide customization, playback control adjustment, and much more. It's also where you can access the Sony 360 Reality Audio feature, which creates a virtual soundstage based on the shape of your ear. You can see how the app works here.

These headphones have great Bluetooth performance. They can stay connected with up to two devices at a time, but to play audio from a second device, ensure that audio is paused on the first device. If you're watching a video on an iOS or Android device, you won't experience noticeable sync issues. However, latency is high on PCs, so you'll encounter audio lag when watching live streams or playing video games. Different apps and devices compensate for latency differently.

You can't use these headphones wired. The USB-A to USB-C charging cable included in the box is meant for charging.

These headphones have full mic and audio compatibility with PCs via Bluetooth. You can't use them wired.