Sony WI-SP600N Wireless Earbuds: A Complete Review

Packaging of Sony WI-SP600N Wireless Earbuds

Headphones Sony WI-SP600N come in a compact cardboard box with a completely transparent front side through which you can see the headphones lying on a transparent plastic bed. Appearance, it seems, is made in the style of other Sony headphones. However, with something, it makes it clear that we have a sports accessory and not headphones for thoughtfully listening to classical music at home, sitting by the fireplace, drinking cognac, and looking at slowly falling snow outside the window.

Equipment

The standard set of kit includes:

1. Headphones
2. 4 pairs of replaceable silicone earpads of the original design
3. 2 pairs of interchangeable silicone anchors for securely attaching the earbud in the ear
4. Micro-USB charging cable
5. Instruction manual

Design of Sony WI-SP600N Wireless Earbuds

Sony WI-SP600N is an in-channel wireless headphones, interconnected by a wire with a remote control. Of the features, I note the presence of silicone anchors on the headphone housings for reliable fixation of the headphone in already.

Headphones are protected against splashing water and sweat, are IPX4 certified.

The manufacturer is positioning the Sony WI-SP600N as a sports accessory, and this is true. All design features aim to create a comfortable environment for the trainee, giving him a charge of vivacity and, most importantly, not to interfere, but to help the training.

Headphone housing

The headphone case is entirely made of high-quality plastic with a slight velvet effect when you touch it. Such material was probably chosen intentionally so that when the athlete with his wet hands removes the earphone from his ear, he will not drop it.

There are circular holes on the outside, probably protected microphones, as Headphones are equipped with an active noise reduction system.

The design of the sound guide seemed curious to me. Unlike many other in-ear headphones, the sound guide has a relatively large diameter and is multifunctional. Silicone anchors are put on the sound guide for attaching the earphone in the ear, ear cushions are also put on the sound guide, and two holes in it would normally act as a phase inverter. Still, in this case, one would be enough, and in the case of Sony WI- SP600N, there are two of them, and they are located at different distances from the driver and decorated differently. I think one of the holes is still a bass reflex, but the purpose of the second remains a mystery to me.

Earpads

Complete with Sony WI-SP600N are 4 pairs of silicone ear pads of an original design. I call them special because none of the other headphones, except for Sony, have not seen such instances.

Outwardly, they resemble SpinFIT ear pads. However, they are not because SpinFIT’s main difference is that the part that is directly worn on the sound guide is elongated and stiff to achieve a confident fit in the ear. In the case of Sony WI-SP600N ear pads, this is not so. It is very soft.

The material from which the petals are made is also very different. It is silicone, but very soft and not thin, as is usually the case. Tactile, it even causes a sensation of viscosity, and, probably, this was done intentionally so that the headphones are more firmly held in the ear canal due to the friction force. Moreover, this consistency is delightful, and the headphones in the ear are almost not felt.

Another difference is the shape of the petals. They are very long, somewhat reminiscent of an unfinished oval.

During testing, the Sony WI-SP600N ear cushions showed themselves in the best way. If you choose the right size, they perfectly isolate you from external noise, hold the earphone securely in your ear, and hardly feel, even though they are inserted into the ear canal deeper than ordinary in-ear headphones.

In general, I really liked the ear pads. The company worked on them and not just put the first standard models that came into the kit.

Remote Control

On the headphone wire, there is a fairly large control panel, on which there are numerous control buttons and a Micro-USB port for connecting a charger.

The remote control has the following buttons:

1. Volume control
2. Power on / off. The same button is responsible for initializing the pairing mode of the headphones with the new device.
3. A music control button that simultaneously plays the role of accepting/rejecting a voice call
4. The button for regulating the active noise reduction system operating mode, which can be reprogrammed using the application on the phone to the activation button of the Google
   Assistant voice assistant.

All buttons are real, there is no touch panel, and this is the best solution for a sports model, because, with wet and dusty hands, it is more convenient to use ordinary buttons.

In my opinion, the disadvantage of headphones is the size of the remote and its weight. It is not heavy, but if neither of the two sizes of silicone stops fits you, the remote control will periodically pull the left earphone out of your ear.

Also, the remote control size slightly complicates the use of headphones with clothes that have a high collar, not to mention jackets. During testing, I put on my headphones and went outside to test them in action during a real walk around the city. Everything was fine, but the remote control was constantly pinched by the jacket’s collar and caused a certain discomfort. I write a review at the end of December, it is cold outside, and without a jacket, there is nothing to do there, so we can conclude that the headphones are well suited for use in the gym or during the warmer times of the year. Still, in winter, the remote control will only interfere with enjoying music.

Active Noise Reduction

The headphones use proprietary technology of active noise reduction, which helps to eliminate the audibility of the noise that surrounds you. This is an excellent technology that can significantly increase the comfort of travel in public transport, flying on an airplane, or exercising in the gym, where loud music is played, which you do not like at all.

I will evaluate the noise reduction efficiency as one of the highest among the intra-channel models that I have ever heard. In general, Sony pays special attention to noise reduction, which is noticeable in the headphones’ results. Activating this function significantly reduces the volume and intensity of audibility of external noise, so you can listen to music at a lower volume, for which your ears will thank you.

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Headphones also use technology that works the other way around. Instead of using microphones to analyze external noise and cut it off, this function enhances it on the contrary. When you turn it on, you begin to hear everything around you, even better than if you just removed the headphones. This function has 2 modes: hear all the noise around you or hear only human speech. In different situations, you can apply different modes. For example, if you are training on the street, it would be useful to listen to what is happening around you to hear the signal of a cyclist, car, or another sound in time. And the mode of audibility of speech will be useful if you train in the gym with a trainer to hear less general noise, and the trainer’s words will be heard clearly and clearly.

All these functions are regulated by one separate button on the control panel.

Microphone

I checked the quality of the microphone with a few test phone calls to friends. On the packaging of the headphones, it is separately indicated that with their help, it is possible to make calls with improved voice quality, which is called HD Voice. I can’t vouch for whether this function worked or not in my case, but the friends I called confidently stated that my voice was heard clearly, clearly, and with a minimum amount of interference.

However, at the same time, they noted that the blows of the control panel on the collar or neck were well audible and unpleasant to them because they were quite loud.

According to the test results, we can conclude that even though the microphone transmits speech quite qualitatively, the control unit’s not entirely successful location does not allow you to conduct lengthy conversations with him completely comfortable for your interlocutor. A long conversation will be possible only if you hold the remote control with your left hand away from your clothes.

Wireless connection

The headset uses the Bluetooth 4.1 module, SBC and AAC codecs are supported. It would seem that there are not outstanding characteristics for headphones released in 2018, but not everything is as it seems.

The first thing I want to note is the excellent stability of the wireless connection. Headphones continue to operate smoothly at a distance of up to 20 meters from the sound source if there are no obstacles in forming walls or doors between them. Not all full-size wireless headphones boast such a range. Under the apartment’s conditions, confident reception was at a distance of 12 to 15 meters from the source, depending on the number of obstacles in the signal path, which is also an excellent result.

Sony WI-SP600N only supports SBC and AAC codecs, which may also seem like a fairly simple solution, but do not draw premature conclusions. After all, these are sports headphones designed to work in difficult conditions, and even the SBC codec is more than enough for this. Also, according to the listening results, I did not notice any strong deterioration in the quality of the transmitted music because you will most likely listen to online services such as Spotify, Deezer, or Yandex. Music, and there all the music is already compressed, and there is no deterioration you will not hear from SBC or AAC codecs.

Therefore, I believe that for the Sony WI-SP600N model, the wireless filling is performed qualitatively, and its capabilities are enough for any headphone use case.

Convenience

When I just unpacked the headphones and took them out of the package, I was slightly surprised by the control panel’s rather large size and the rather stiff and thick cable connecting both headphones. This tandem did not seem to be the pinnacle of convenience, and practice has confirmed this.

When using the headphones at home, the cable gently clings to the skin on the neck when turning the head, which led to the fear that the headphones would fall out of the ear. Also, a rather large remote strove to pull out the headphone. After a couple of tens of minutes of listening to music, I was completely convinced that headphones would be of little use in life without silicone anchors. Still, with them, everything is completely different. In the kit, I found only two sizes of anchors, and, to my joy, one of them ideally fit my ears. With it, I fixed the headphones, and they stopped falling out of my ear under the influence of the wire and the remote control.

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I will say more. I tried to conduct a light workout at home: I made about 50 jumps on the spot, made 20 burpies, just did push-ups and did squats. The headphones passed all the tests and never slipped out of the ear, and all this is the merit of the silicone stops.

Therefore, I can confidently state that the Sony WI-SP600N is perfect for training in the gym and jogging in the fresh air.

As I wrote above, I tried to make a winter walk around the city, and here I was, waiting for the first disappointment. I put on my headphones and put a knitted hat on top that covers my ears. If, in the case of ordinary in-ear headphones, this did not cause any problems, in the case of Sony WI-SP600N, the slightest head movement created friction between the protruding headphone body and the cap. Friction immediately passed into my ears and sounded like a multiply amplified microphone effect from a wire. Moreover, curiously, the inclusion of active noise reduction mode, only increased the noise from friction. I couldn’t get rid of him. And it turns out that using Sony WI-SP600N with knitted hats is impossible due to the loud noise of friction.

In all other respects, the headphones showed themselves well. They firmly stuck in their ears during an impromptu workout, stably kept the signal even at a distance of up to 20 meters from the phone, and the control panel turned out to be quite convenient for controlling the headphones blindly.

Companion application for the phone

The manufacturer strongly recommends installing the branded Sony Headphones Connect application on your phone to get full control over all the headphones’ features. And this is true. The application is handy.

The main thing that the application does is that it allows you to update your headphone firmware over the air in one click. By the way, before testing, I updated the firmware to version 3.0, although when I got the headphones out of the package, the software version was 1.0, so, as you can see, this feature is handy.

1. Setting the active noise reduction system operation mode.
2. Equalizer operation mode setting
3. Selecting a sound quality mode
4. Reassigning the function of the ANC button on the headphone remote

Sound quality when playing music

Sony WI-SP600N is a pronounced sports model, and therefore the manufacturer has specially tuned its sound. The headphones’ main role is to help with training, which means that the sound must be energetic, powerful, exercises that set the pace and rhythm.

And everything would be clear without a description of the sound if we talked about ordinary sports headphones, but we have a Sony product. Therefore the headphones retain their signature even in such tightly defined conditions.

The first is bass. There is a lot of it here, even with the equalizer turned off, but it is clean, deep, and not bubbling. Perhaps the main feature is that, with significant emphasis, the low frequencies continue to sound pleasant, without interrupting the middle frequencies and almost without distorting the vocals. Of course, if you listen to the recording of live acoustic instruments, they acquire a bass color, but moderate, and the music’s overall impression does not deteriorate.

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The stereo panorama of the Sony WI-SP600N is not clamped, as you might expect. It is clearly audible and easy to read. Of course, it is not very wide, and it lacks depth. However, these headphones were not positioned as an audiophile, and for a sports model, the result is even better than necessary. In this parameter, the headphones even surprised me a little, and therefore deserve praise.

The sound’s general nature is warm, slightly viscous, slightly darkish, and with Sony’s proprietary pitch, the sound seems to be without sharp detail and razor sharpness, but it is enjoyable to hear. You can not get tired of it, even with significant bass. I think that Sony WI-SP600N found a middle ground between the traditional understanding of high-quality sound and sports purpose.

Low frequencies

The bass is noticeably amplified, but at the same time, the sound remains pleasant, not mumbling, moderately fast and deep. At the same time, connoisseurs through the application in the equalizer can choose the mode of additional low-frequency amplification, in which the headphones begin to work at full capacity, and this, I am sure, will be more than even for the most avid fans of twisting the low frequencies to the maximum. But even in this mode, the headphones do not distort the sound, the drivers cope, and I did not hear any serious problems. The detail and clarity of the high frequencies may be slightly reduced, but you will never notice this during intense training.

Mid frequencies

Mid frequencies sound clean. They are slightly colored with enhanced bass, but at the same time in moderation, and therefore the vast majority of listeners will like it. The sound will seem confident, bodily, and energetic. This is the art of Sony, to make the sound simultaneously colored, but at the same time leave it recognizable and enjoyable even for prolonged listening.

Vocals, both female and male, are slightly painted with bass but do not lose their own timbre and are easily recognizable in any composition.

High frequencies

Treble sounds clean and pretty detailed, although pushed into the background. They are quite enough for the headphones to create a full range of sound, but, of course, for those who are used to listening to music at home in headphones designed for music lovers, they will obviously be missed.

Conclusion: Should you buy Sony WI-SP600N Wireless Earbuds?

The Sony WI-SP600N headphones made a good impression on me, and this is one of the few sports headphones that could fully pass the test of exercises. In the 20 minutes of my intensive home training, I never had to correct them. The headphones in my ears sat like a glove and, at the same time, did not cause discomfort.

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Recall also the built-in active noise reduction system, IPX4 water protection, pleasant, energetic sound, and we will get some of the best sports wireless headphones at the moment.

The only minus, in my opinion, is the large control panel. If it were smaller, then the Sony WI-SP600N would be the best sports model.