Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Sony WF-C710N review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT. I’ll also be comparing the Sony WF-C710N vs Beats Studio Buds Plus, Sony WF-1000XM5, Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus, Soundcore Liberty 5, CMF Buds Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 2.
I’m going to do my best to share whether these earbuds are worth it, and ideally who these earbuds are for. I bought these earbuds with my own money, and was NOT sponsored, paid, or received a free copy for review. All thoughts are my own.
I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. I also run the RecordingNow YouTube channel with over 25,000+ subscribers and over 5 million views.
Let’s dive right in!
Sony WF-C710N Review in Short
The Sony WF-C710N is a solid contender under $100 due to its surprisingly good sound quality for vocals and instruments, along with decent noise cancelling. Competes with Beats Studio Buds Plus, Sony WF-1000XM5, Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus, Soundcore Liberty 5, CMF Buds Pro 2, and AirPods Pro 2.
Pros and Cons
- Very good sound quality
- Decent noise cancelling
- Strong battery life
- Solid value under $100
- Mic quality is below average
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save Money with RENEWED!
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
Comfort + Features
Comfort
The Sony WF-C710N has a similar “egg” design to their more expensive WF-1000XM4 and WF-1000XM5 flagship earbuds.
Personally, I prefer the “stem” design of the AirPods or Samsung Galaxy Buds for easier handling, as the Sony earbuds can fall out of your fingers more easily.
That said, the eartips themselves are soft and form-fitting, making the earbuds fairly comfortable once inserted.
One last critique is that these aren’t the most secure if you plan to use them for working out or vigorous movement, which is probably why the Sony Linkbuds Fit exists and has a different design to the “WF” series.
Features
The Sony WF-C710N was originally released in March 2025, so it has many modern wireless earbud features:
- IPX4 dust and water resistance rating (sweat and light splashes of water)
- Built-in microphones for taking calls
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Multi-point connection
- Adaptive Noise Cancelling
- Transparency Mode
- Native apps for both iOS and Android
Microphone Quality
Being a more “budget” earbud compared to Sony’s flagships, the Sony WF-C710N has pretty basic hardware for mic quality and noise cancelling.
For example, the Sony WF-1000XM5 features bone conduction sensors, in addition to 3 microphones per earbud.
The simpler WF-C710N has 2 mics per earbud, but no bone conduction sensors.
The inferior hardware leads to more background noise leaking in and poor voice isolation in noisy environments.
Overall, I’d say the WF-C710N is slightly below average mic quality, and nowhere near true “flagship” level like the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro, AirPods Pro 3, Sony WF-1000XM6, etc.
Battery Life
- With ANC on: 8.5 hours of battery life on a single charge
- With ANC off: 12 hours on a single charge / 40 hours total with charging case
- Fast Charge: 5 minutes = 1 hour of playback
This battery life is currently one of the best-in-class, which tends to be around 6 hours with noise cancelling turned on, and 24-30 hours with the charging case.
Comfort + Features Score: 9.5 out of 10
Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Performance
Sony is known for their noise cancelling performance, which typically has performed well above average for both headphones and the flagship earbuds like Sony WF-1000XM6 and XM5.
But how does a budget Sony earbud under $100 perform?
Upon initial testing, I was decently surprised by how effective the noise cancelling was for low frequencies like air conditioning.
But taking it out into the real-world like a noisy gym, and I did hear more of the high frequency spikes come through that would typically be more muffled by the flagship XM5 and XM6 earbuds.
The Transparency Mode is serviceable enough, but not elite like the AirPods Pro 3.
Overall, I would say the WF-C710N is average in noise cancelling performance, which is better than many budget earbuds in its price range.
But these days, there is better noise cancelling from competitors like the Soundcore Liberty 5, and of course the flagships like AirPods Pro 3.
Noise Cancelling Score: 7.5 out of 10
Sound Quality
On paper, the budget Sony WF-C710N is not as audiophile-focused as the flagship XM5 and XM6 earbuds that support LDAC and have a more advanced driver setup.
Listening to them for the first time, I was actually pleasantly surprised by their stock tuning.
The stock sound profile of the WF-C710N is mid-forward and has a fairly warm and balanced sound.
Many budget earbuds lean into the V-shaped consumer-friendly tuning that is overly bass-heavy and muddy, so these are a bit of a breath of fresh air.
That said, if you are seeking massive bass response and sub-bass, these are pretty lean in that department.
Where they do shine, however, is in that midrange for vocals and instruments.
Because of this, the Sony WF-C710N is a joy to listen to for genres like rock and metal.
The sound is punchy and dynamic with plenty of body and decent timbre for instruments and vocals.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality of the WF-C710N for a sub-$100 earbud.
Just note that there are better earbuds in this price range if you lean towards more of a bass-forward sound, like the Soundcore Liberty 5, EarFun Air Pro 4+, or CMF Buds Pro 2.
Sound Quality Score: 7.9 out of 10
Value
The Sony WF-C710N retails for $129.99 USD, but can be found on sale for as low as $88.
On its own, I think the WF-C710N is a great earbud for that $88 or below sale price.
The sound quality is genuinely solid, especially for detailed vocals and music with real instruments.
The noise cancelling is serviceable and relatively decent for the price range.
That said, the competition under $100 has really heated up in the past year, and there are slightly better dollar values like the Soundcore Liberty 5, EarFun Air Pro 4+, and CMF Buds Pro 2.
Value Score: 9.0 out of 10
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Comfort + Features (15% of score): 9.5 / 10
Noise Cancelling (25% of score): 7.5 / 10
Sound Quality (50% of score): 7.9 / 10
Value (10% of score): 9.0 / 10
Total: 8.15 out of 10
Is the Sony WF-C710N Worth it?
At under $100, I’m overall impressed by the Sony WF-C710N’s combination of sound quality and noise cancelling for the money.
I was thinking that a “budget” Sony would be much worse than the flagship XM5 and XM6, but it actually performs better than its price.
That said, the competition under $100 is fierce these days, and there are a few other budget contenders that do give the WF-C710N a run for its money – including the Soundcore Liberty 5, EarFun Air Pro 4+, and CMF Buds Pro 2.
Also, if you can afford it, I do think the XM5 and XM6 flagship earbuds are substantial upgrades that are better in every way.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless earbuds are:
- Beats Studio Buds Plus
- Sony WF-1000XM5
- EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus
- Soundcore Liberty 5
- CMF Buds Pro 2
- Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
- AirPods Pro 3
- Soundcore Liberty 4 NC
- Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro
- Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen
- Sony WF-1000XM6
- AirPods 4 ANC
- Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024)
- Beats Powerbeats Pro 2
- Beats Powerbeats Fit
- Sony Linkbuds Fit
- Beats Studio Buds
- Nothing Ear 3
- Status Pro X
- Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4
- Apple AirPods Pro 2
- Technics EAH-AZ100
- Bowers & Wilkins Pi8
- SoundPEATS H3
- Denon PerL Pro
- OnePlus Buds Pro 3
Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):
Save Money with RENEWED!
Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂
How We Tested and Our Methodology
RecordingNOW.com is a 100% independent publisher with over 10 years of experience testing and reviewing consumer electronics and headphones.
We currently purchase the products we test with our own money, and are not paid by any company or manufacturer to influence our opinions or decisions.
After purchasing the product, we conduct up to hundreds of hours of detailed hands-on testing in a controlled, acoustically-treated environment.
ODi Productions is our resident expert and author of this article, with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, tech journalist, and audiophile.
Read Next
Best Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds
Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Review
Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro Review
AirPods Pro 3rd Generation Review
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen Review
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (2024) Review
AirPods Pro 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 Earbuds Review
Apple AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods 4 ANC Comparison
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Review
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review
