Odi Productions
In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Sony WH-CH520 review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT in 2026. I’ll also be comparing the Sony WH-CH520 vs JBL Tune 520BT, Sony WH-CH720N, Beats Solo 4, JBL Tune 720BT, Soundcore Q30, and more!
I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I bought these headphones 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 WH-CH520 Headphones Review in Short
If you can find it on sale under $50, the Sony WH-CH520 is a solid budget wireless headphone for its sound quality, super light weight, and 50-hour battery life. The downsides are the on-ear design, lack of active noise cancelling, and very cheap build quality. Personally, I would upgrade to the Sony WH-CH720N which has active noise cancelling and is more comfortable due to its over-ear design. Competes with JBL Tune 520BT, JBL Tune 720BT, Beats Solo 4, Anker Soundcore Life Q30, Sony ULT Wear, and Soundcore Space One.
Pros and Cons
- Good sound quality for the price
- Very cheap
- Lightweight
- 50 hour battery life
- Slightly uncomfortable on-ear design
- No active noise cancelling
- Cheap build quality
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Sound Quality
Full Sound Quality Test
Being a sub-$50 headphone with an on-ear design, I wasn’t sure what to expect for sound quality.
Having tested most of Sony’s wireless headphone (and earbud) offerings, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by their budget sound quality in the more expensive WH-CH720N and ULT Wear (pictured above).
My initial impression of the WH-CH520 is that it sounds pretty decent, all things considered.
The stock sound profile is inoffensive, as it’s slightly consumer-friendly but still has enough balance to not sound muddy or bloated from the bass.
The bass is present and punchy but doesn’t have a particularly strong impact or sub-bass quantity.
The mids and vocals are fairly forward which reminds me of the Sony WH-CH720N’s tuning.
The treble has some nice detail but can lean towards sounding a bit artificial.
Due to the on-ear design, there isn’t much soundstage as everything is pushed forward and fairly flat.
Overall, the WH-CH520 sounds better than I expected for a cheap on-ear, but not as special as the more expensive over-ear siblings such as the Sony WH-CH720N and Sony ULT Wear.
Sound Quality Comparisons
vs JBL Tune 520BT
The JBL Tune 520BT is the closest parallel to the Sony WH-CH520, as they’re both on-ear wireless headphones typically costing under $50 (on sale).
Between the two, they have similar levels of sound quality, with the JBL Tune 520BT having a slightly more consumer-friendly tuning that is more bass-forward.
Both sound much better than their price and on-ear design suggest, but I actually prefer the JBL Tune 520BT due to having a more impactful and satisfying bass response.
The Sony WH-CH520 has arguably the more natural and better mids-focused sound signature, while the JBL is more “fun” as opposed to balanced.
vs Sony WH-CH720N
The Sony WH-CH720N is essentially the “big brother” upgrade to the WH-CH520, and its differences include being a larger over-ear design and having active noise cancelling.
Interestingly, they both share the same size 30mm drivers.
I do hear a similar balanced tuning between the two that is vocal forward and measured in the bass response.
That said, the larger WH-CH720N has more earcup space leading to enhanced acoustics, and is simply a step up in sound quality to the cheaper and smaller WH-CH520.
This leads to a more open soundstage and better bass response in the WH-CH720N.
vs Beats Solo 4
The Beats Solo 4 is arguably the most popular on-ear wireless headphone, and is about 3 times the price of the Sony WH-CH520.
Surprisingly, the sound quality and even the stock sound profile is quite similar between the two.
The Beats Solo 4 is fairly balanced, mid-forward, and has leaner bass than I was expecting.
It’s a bit like splitting hairs, but I give a slight edge to the Beats Solo 4 that has just a bit more resolution and detail.
vs JBL Tune 720BT
The JBL Tune 720BT is almost the equivalent to the Sony WH-CH720N since it’s an over-ear design, but it doesn’t have noise cancelling.
The Tune 720BT features 40mm drivers that deliver a much larger bass response than the Sony WH-CH520, not to mention the over-ear design has more space inside the earcup for that bass.
I put the JBL Tune 720BT in a sound quality level firmly above the Sony WH-CH520, and much more competitive with the Sony WH-CH720N and even the Sony ULT Wear.
Sound Quality Score: 7.3 out of 10
Comfort
The Sony WH-CH520 is the lightest in weight for the wireless headphones class as weighed on my scale:
- Sony WH-CH520 – 144.0 grams
- JBL Tune 520BT – 158.6 grams
- Sony WH-CH720N – 186.4 grams
- Beats Solo 4 – 217.6 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum – 223.0 grams
- JBL Tune 720BT – 223.2 grams
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 225.8 grams
- JBL Tune 770NC – 227.1 grams
- Skullcandy Hesh ANC – 229.6 grams
- Bose QuietComfort – 236.1 grams
- Sony WH 1000XM5 – 245.9 grams
- Sony WH 1000XM4 – 251.6 grams
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra – 254.4 grams
- JBL Live 770NC – 254.5 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 260.6 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 262.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Life Q30 – 264.6 grams
- Beats Studio Pro – 268.6 grams
- CMF Headphone Pro – 280.8 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 286.3 grams
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 292.9 grams
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 297.5 grams
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 311.4 grams
- Sonos Ace – 318.1 grams
- Nothing Headphone (1) – 328.3 grams
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 – 332.3 grams
- Apple AirPods Max – 387.8 grams
No exaggeration, the Sony WH-CH520 is the lightest wireless headphone we’ve tested.
It’s important to note that the on-ear design leads to a much smaller overall footprint.
Despite being so light, the comfort is a bit compromised due to the on-ear design that presses against the ears, coupled with a slightly firm clamping force.
Once that clamping force loosens up over time, the WH-CH520 settles into being a decently comfortable headphone, but nothing special.
In general, I find full-size over-ear headphones to be superior in comfort to any on-ears I’ve tested.
Comfort Score: 7.0 out of 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality
Features
The Sony WH-CH520 was originally released in March 2023, so they have many modern wireless headphone features:
- Built-in microphones for taking calls
- Bluetooth 5.2
- Multi-point connection
- 5-band Custom EQ
Battery Life
The Sony WH-CH520 has 50 hours of battery life and does not include ANC.
- Nothing Headphone (a) – 75 hours (ANC on), 135 hours (ANC off)
- Marshall Monitor III – 70 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 SE – 60 hours (ANC on), 100 hours (ANC off)
- Sennheiser HDB 630 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 60 hours
- Sennheiser Momentum 5 – 57 hours
- Anker Soundcore Space 2 – 50 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45 – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Live 770NC – 50 hours (ANC on), 65 hours (ANC off)
- JBL Tune 520BT – 57 hours (no ANC included)
- Sennheiser Accentum Plus – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Sennheiser Accentum – 50 hours (ANC on)
- Beats Solo 4 – 50 hours (no ANC included)
- Sony WH-CH520 – 50 hours (no ANC included)
- JBL Tune 770NC – 44 hours (ANC on), 70 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro – 40 hours (ANC on), 60 hours (ANC off)
- Anker Soundcore Space One – 40 hours (ANC on), 55 hours (ANC off)
- Nothing Headphone (1) – 35 hours (ANC on), 80 hours (ANC off)
- Sony WH-1000XM6 – 30 hours (ANC on), 40 hours (ANC off)
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd Gen) – 30 hours
- Sony WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4 – 30 hours
- Sonos Ace – 30 hours
- Bose QuietComfort Ultra (1st Gen) – 24 hours
- Apple AirPods Max 1 and 2 – 20 hours
In my testing, I found this rating to be accurate.
50 hours would be considered above average, but it’s important to note that the Sony WH-CH520 does NOT include noise cancelling, which uses up more battery in general.
There is a fast-charge feature that adds 1.5 hours with just 3 minutes of charging time.
Build Quality
The Sony WH-CH520 feels very cheap, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that it is cheap.
It’s entirely plastic with cheap earpad cushions that aren’t very plush or supportive.
Also, it doesn’t fold at the hinges like some other headphones in this class, so my worry would be the headband snapping.
This is pretty much in line with the similar budget on-ear JBL Tune 520BT, but the Anker Soundcore Q30 is the best in build quality under $50.
Practicality
The Sony WH-CH520 is incredibly lightweight and compact, has 50 hour battery life, and decent sound quality for its price.
On the downside, the build quality is incredibly cheap and it has no active noise cancelling.
This makes for a workable daily driver, but not the most ideal for travel as ANC is much-needed.
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality Score: 6.0 out of 10
Does Sony WH-CH520 have noise cancelling?
The Sony WH-CH520 does NOT have any active noise cancelling technology, or transparency mode, like its more expensive over-ear sibling, the WH-CH720N (pictured above).
It relies on passive noise isolation due to its physical on-ear design.
The WH-CH520 doesn’t really block a lot of noise because the material and earpads are quite thin, so it scores rather poorly here.
Noise Cancelling Performance Score: 2.0 out of 10
Value
The Sony WH-CH520 retails at $69.99 USD, but is currently around $45 to $68 market price brand new.
It’s hard to argue with the price, as I do think the WH-CH520 is pretty decent and performs higher than expectations.
Personally, I think it makes for a much better value closer to $45 and below, as opposed to that full $70 retail price.
There are some other budget standouts under $50 like the JBL Tune 520BT that I would consider instead, but the WH-CH520 is a solid choice on sale.
Value Score: 9.0 out of 10
Overall Scoring Breakdown
Sound Quality (50% of score): 7.3 / 10
Comfort (10% of score): 7.0 / 10
Features / Battery Life / Build Quality / Practicality (10% of score): 6.0 / 10
Noise Cancelling (20% of score): 2.0 / 10
Value (10% of score): 9.0 / 10
Overall: 6.25 / 10
Is the Sony WH-CH520 Worth it?
If you can find it on sale under $50, the Sony WH-CH520 is a solid choice for a budget wireless headphone.
The balanced sound quality is better than I was expecting, although not as special as its siblings like the WH-CH720N or ULT Wear, which are more expensive for a reason.
The sub-$50 range doesn’t have a ton of competition aside from the JBL Tune 520BT and Soundcore Q20i, which I do recommend still checking out.
If you can afford it, I’d personally upgrade to the WH-CH720N for the superior over-ear design and active noise cancelling, which makes a huge difference.
Some very strong alternatives in this class of wireless headphones are:
- Sony WH-CH720N
- JBL Tune 520BT
- JBL Tune 720BT
- Beats Solo 4
- Anker Soundcore Space Q45
- CMF Headphone Pro
- Sony ULT Wear
- JBL Tune 770NC
- JBL Live 770NC
- Beats Studio Pro
- Anker Soundcore Space One
- Sennheiser Accentum
- Anker Soundcore Space 2
- Anker Soundcore Space One Pro
- Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2
I highly recommend you check those out next!
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.
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