[hifi80sman]

One thing I find annoying about Head-fi these days is that only Chi-fi / discovery threads seem to get regular discussions these days. So threads like this only have small groups of people who ever find out about good midrange products like this from Sony.

There was a day when a really good headphone like this would have gained solid traction on head-fi but now the typical member here just doesn't care anymore.

I also find it interesting. My personal opinion is that people have fun trying to find a diamond in the rough, which is understandable and something I do as well. That being said, I also look for deals among established brands as well, so $199 for a newly released headphone with an MSRP of $299 is a good deal to me.

Also, there seem to be a lot of Chi-Fi stuff that's good, but only up to a point. I wouldn't actually say I have anything Chi-Fi that's better than same-class name brand stuff (with the exception noted below). For example, open-back headphones in the $150 range, for me, the Fidelio X2 is the king.

The Takstar Pro 82 is actually a legit Chi-Fi headphone, however, I was able to get me Sony MDR-1AM2 for around $100 factory renewed (basically new, couldn't tell the difference). So, for the same price or close to it, I was able to grab a superior headphone.

NOW, that being said, in the sub-$50 range, Chi-Fi is probably better than comparable name brand stuff. The LyxPro HAS-30, which I got for around $40 I believe, are quite possibly the best headphones you can get for that price. They compete with headphones 2x the price or more.

 

[dweaver]

Very true on all points. I too have had fun searching for the diamond in the rough. I also agree with the $50 price point. Most name brand stuff at that price range is usually pretty sad compared to some of the stuff coming out of China.

BTW one thing I find annoying about the 910 and th 1000XM3 is the single tap function to start music, answer a call etc. Man does that ever suck! It's so hit and miss and finicky.

 

[dweaver]

Great price on the MDR-1AM2 BTW. I owned the 1R at one point. I found the upper mids and treble just a bit shouty and it whistled like mad outside and wasn't very isolating so ended up selling them.

From memory this 910 has similar signature leanings. How does the 1AM2 compare signature wise in your opinion? I assume over all the 1AM2 is way more resolving.

 

[phower]

On the 910N, it is double tap to play/pause music NOT single tap

 

[hifi80sman]

On the 910N, it is double tap to play/pause music NOT single tap

@dweaver, it is in fact double tap. Maybe that's why it's frustrating!

 

[dweaver]

Crap, let me try that LOL. That would explain a lot.

Guess reading the manual is a good idea sometimes LOL.

 

[hifi80sman]

Great price on the MDR-1AM2 BTW. I owned the 1R at one point. I found the upper mids and treble just a bit shouty and it whistled like mad outside and wasn't very isolating so ended up selling them.

From memory this 910 has similar signature leanings. How does the 1AM2 compare signature wise in your opinion? I assume over all the 1AM2 is way more resolving.

Running the 1AM2 balanced out of my FiiO Q5s, bass is meatier, highs have more shimmer, but I feel mids are a bit more present with the H910N. That being said, the H910N don't sound as good wired/passive. Wired/active is good.

They both have a spot, but I find myself enjoying the signature on the H910N right now.

 

[hifi80sman]

On Sale at Costco for an additional $30 off! Get a pricing adjustment!

https://www.costco.com/sony-wh-h910...ling-headphones,-black.product.100536250.html

 

[dweaver]

Sadly that sale is US only. I will keep checking the Canadian site though just in case .

 

[dweaver]

Interesting analysis between the 1AM2 and 910N. So the 910N is a bit less V shaped from the sounds of it. Given that, ANC, potentially less wind issues, and BT use for out and about the 910N is just a better option for me which is probably why I am so happy with it.

I love the Sony sound, but found so many of their latest offerings were to dark and lacked treble detail/presence. Just to laid back for me especially in the BT arena. So the fact Sony has made an ANC BT product that reflects the sound qualities of their more balanced wired products has me very happy.

 

[hifi80sman]

Interesting analysis between the 1AM2 and 910N. So the 910N is a bit less V shaped from the sounds of it. Given that, ANC, potentially less wind issues, and BT use for out and about the 910N is just a better option for me which is probably why I am so happy with it.

I love the Sony sound, but found so many of their latest offerings were to dark and lacked treble detail/presence. Just to laid back for me especially in the BT arena. So the fact Sony has made an ANC BT product that reflects the sound qualities of their more balanced wired products has me very happy.

Indeed. The H910N is overall more balanced than the 1AM2. Obviously, with some EQ and a good AMP/DAC, the 1AM2 is pretty awesome if you can get it for a good price (I wouldn't pay $299 US). Wireless, the H910N make a strong case for value/performance, especially at $169 (US).

I'm really surprised this headphone hasn't drawn more attention. It's a great price, sound is excellent, the design has been refined so it's sleek and doesn't stick out, ANC is great, comfort is nice, and build is good.

 

[phower]

I have been listening to 910n both on BT and also wired. It feels like there is a deep notch between 4-6kHz? Also, the sound timbre feels like car speakers(not necessarily bad) and not like headphone drivers. May be due to the use of aluminium+PET sandwich diaphragm as opposed to PET/mylar in regular headphone drivers.

I am eagerly waiting for rtings.com to do an objective review to learn more about the driver's characteristics.

In a nutshell, an inoffensive sound signature though not suitable for EDM.

 

[dweaver]

What EDM songs have you had issue with? I dont listen to a lot of EDM but like the 910N with Infected Musroom and Glitch Mob.

If you can give a good example I will listen to it to see what your hearing.

 

[D00M]

I got the Sony WH-H910N h.ear on 3 from Costco, for $170 after $30 discount. I’m not audiophile. Just 1 person’s feedback on this headphone.

Summary: After 5 days playing with it, I’m return it. If you want Bluetooth ANC headphone on budget, this can be an option due to it's low cost. Sound quality is good for certain music that is artificial, maybe EDM, Electronic, Pop. It is passable for rock and alternative rock. But it is not good if you want wide sound stage. It’s not good for watching movie/tv. I’m willing to pay more to get a better headphone. Question is which “better” headphone…

My current headphones/earphones:

• Audio Technica ATH-A700 (10+ years old). I’m not really promoting this headphone below. It’s the only headphones I have and I’m just using it as comparison.
• Shure SE420 (around 12 years old)
• Shure E3C (my wife’s, also around 12 years old)
• Apple AirPods Pro
• Apple AirPods
• Beats urBeats3

Sources I used:

• 2 different MacBook Pros
• iPhone 11 Max
• iPhone XR
• iPad Pro
• iPad Air

My Usage: 50% for streaming movies/tv on MacBook Pro, 25% music on MBP/iPhone/iPad, 25% YouTube on MBP. I wanted a new headphone because my current Audio Technica ATH-A700 has weak mid; vocals in music and voices in movies sound thin. I thought I wanted wireless because it is convenient. I don’t care for ANC; it’s nice to have, but I rarely use it on my AirPods Pro. I do travel handful of times each year; I have Shure SE420 for that; so I’m not looking for ANC headphone for airplane travel.

Sound Quality:

Pro: Flat and balanced. Sounds better than Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro, better than Shure SE420. But this is comparing headphones with earphones.

• High: Not as good as A700. But Sony sounds flat, which is what I want.
• Mid: Sony vocals in music sound better and fuller than A700. This is what I was looking for in the replacement headphone.
• Bass: Nice and punchy, but lacks quality. Sony has more punch in the mid bass. At first listen, it seemed great. But after the 1st past, I paid attention to the details. Although A700 is not as strong as Sony’s, it is more enjoyable. A700 has a nice reverb to the bass sounds. For example, Anna Kendrick's Cups ("When I'm Gone" from Pitch Perfect) at 15 second mark and thru out the song; Ingrid Michaelson's You and I at 2 minute mark. I picked these 2 because these songs are quite clean without a lot of background music. I don't even know what instruments are used. A700 sounds more realistic and more enjoyable with the reverb.

Sound Stage: Sony’s sound stage is lacking for movies and certain music genres. I hear the sound coming from my ears. In comparison, A700 sound is coming from around me, though not necessarily directional. For example, American Sniper - Official Trailer at around 10-15 second mark, you can hear the convoy/tanks. On A700, I hear the tanks around me; it’s more immersive. On Sony, I heard the tank sound coming from my ears; it sounds artificial and not realistic.

On Sony, the vocals and instruments are on top of each other, and there is a narrow range from lows to highs. It's feels like music is in my face (in my head) and feels crowded. On A700, I can hear the different instruments more clearly, like more separation. And there seems to be a wider range from lows to highs. It just feels more relaxing and realistic, like I’m in the room listening to the musicians.

Wired with Power Off: One of my biggest concern with Sony h.ear on 3 is the sound quality using wired mode with power off. It is just horrible without power; worse than free Apple earphones that come with iPhone. My take is that headphone’s battery will last only couple years. So I rather have a headphone that can continue to work without power. I didn't do any research on this. I was shocked after hearing this Sony with power off. It seems most bluetooth wireless headphones have SQ difference between power on and off. I guess that is the trade off between bluetooth vs wired.

Comfort: Not so good. My ears got quite hot and sweaty easily. Ear cups are a bit small. I have small ears, so ear cups do fit around my ears, but the tips of my ears are touching the inside of ear cups. Another issue is that the driver has a plastic cover that sticks out at the very center. You can see it thru the cloth cover. So this cloth covering the driver touches my ears. At first, it is very unusual and uncomfortable feeling. But I got used to that in 1 day. Still with the cloth touching my ears, I just feel cramped and sweaty when hot.

Bluetooth: Switching between devices takes around 10-15 seconds. Even when 2nd device has being paired before, you cannot just go straight from 1st device to 2nd device. I either have to:

1. I turn headphones off; turn headphone back on, while holding the power button for 7-10 seconds; then can connect to 2nd device.
2. Disconnect the headphone from 1st connected device at source, then I can connect bluetooth on second device.

It’s kind of a hassle, especially since I got a lot of products I want to use the headphones with. I don’t have much experience with bluetooth on non-Apple product, so not sure if Sony is same or worse than others. Apple AirPods just connects fast and easily. I don’t have to think about which device it was connected to previously. I can just immediately connect to the one I want.

I do have some issues with signal strength. Even if I’m next to the source, there is periodic static. I got this around 10-15 times in 5 days (maybe 30 hours) of usage. Once the static occurs, I heard this static periodically like 10-20 seconds apart. Sometimes, the static caused the sound to be jumbled; like sound from different time is getting mixed together. At first I didn’t know what this is. Then I realized it is Bluetooth connectivity. Because if I go out of range, I get this similar effect. Fix is easy. Just have to pause the audio, wait 2-5 seconds, and restart audio. It is concerning how frequently this happens. On my last day, I did see that in Sony Headphone Connection app, there is a setting for sound quality vs stable connection priority. Even with stable connection priority, I still got this static couple times. So for sure this did not fix the issue. Not sure if it will reduce the occurrence, but by this time I don't care anymore since the SQ is not for me.

Bluetooth range is OK. I didn't do detailed test. It seems to be similar as Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro.

ANC: Not something I care about, so I didn’t test this extensively. My house is pretty quiet, so I won't go out of my way to test this. I just play YouTube audio on computer speakers and test the ANC. Sony ANC is better than AirPods Pro. It is almost as good as Shure SE420 passive noise cancellation. This is a plus, I didn’t think ANC can be as good as passive NC of IEM, but they were very close. Another positive with the Sony is that I don’t feel any pressure from the ANC. Whereas on AirPods Pro, I do feel the pressure.

I don't use ANC nor ambient sound. Apple AirPods Pro remember my settings; and I can change the function of the quick key/press. On Sony, whenever the unit is powered on, it will have ANC on. I have to go thru the hassle of turning that off every time.

Sony Headphones Connect app: Extremely unstable on iPhone. It takes 5-10 tries to connect the headphone to the app. Even after initial connection, the app will get disconnected from headphone subsequently, so have to restart the pairing process again again. The app basically just froze with spinning wheel. Over and over. It's ridiculous.

Maybe I'm used to Apple products; they are not perfect, but they just work 99% of time. This Sony headphone has periodic bluetooth signal and static issue. And the Sony Headphones Connect app is just crap and just wasted my time. The lack of ease to switch devices is not deal breaker. Just allow me to appreciate Apple's integration.

One good thing that came out of this experience is how I much enjoyed the Audio Technica ATH-A700. I used equalizer to boost the mid slightly for vocals. And it is a lot more enjoyable now. Also, I realized I need to consider sound stage for my usage.

Anyways, I need to decide what I want. I thought about Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, but I'm undecided as this is kind of redundant. I will definitely look for next round of bluetooth ANC headphones: maybe more reviews on Shure AONIC 50, Sony 1000XM4, Apple Wireless Over Ear “Pro” model. However, my desire to have good SQ for wired powered off mode will likely exclude Sony. Not sure if Apple will offer wired mode, because Beats Solo Pro (on-ear) doesn't have wired mode; and Beats traditional do not have good sound stage.

 

[dweaver]

Your very used to ATH house sound. It quite a bit different from the Sony sound. I used to own the AD700, AD900 and enjoyed both and the AD700 in particular had a very wide open sound quality more so than the AD900. Band for the buck the AD700 was better and for me I liked it better sonically than the AD900.

If that is what you like but you want a BT / ANC option then the Shure Aeonic will possibly be up your alley. You might also like the AKG N700 version 2 I believe they have out now. Sennhieser might be to warm sounding. The new Sony 1000XM4 might be OK but the 910N is much more balanced than the 1000XM3 so I suspect you might just not like Sony. The new Bose ANC flagship is also an option as it is more defined than their earlier headphones, so worth a listen at least.

If you have a phone that can play APTx-HD the NAD VISO HP70 is a good option but I only like it in HD format the normal APTx is harsh sounding at times.