Sony WH-CH720N Review: WORTH IT in 2025?

In this article, I’m going to share my HONEST Sony WH-CH720N review for those who are wondering whether they are WORTH IT in 2025. I’ll also be comparing the Sony WH-CH720N vs Sony WH-1000XM4, Sony WH-1000XM5, Sony ULT Wear, JBL Tune 770NC, Sennheiser Accentum, and Beats Studio Pro!

I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I’ve owned these headphones for a while now and have quite a few thoughts.

I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist.

Let’s dive right in!

Sony WH-CH720N Headphones Review in Short

Holding Sony WH CH 720N headphones with Sony XM5 and XM4 in background

The Sony WH-CH720N is a sub-$100 budget-friendly beast that has similar sound quality and pure listening enjoyment to headphones costing $200 to $400. They are the lightest over-ear, wireless, noise cancelling headphone we’ve tested with perfect comfort. The only caveat is very cheap build quality and mediocre noise cancelling performance. But at this price, who’s complaining? Only the JBL Tune 770NC, Sony ULT Wear, and Sennheiser Accentum competes on pure dollar value.

Sony WH-CH720N Pros and Cons

Holding Sony WH-CH720N headphones in hand

8.5

Editor’s Choice

Sony WH-CH720N

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POSITIVES

Surprisingly great sound quality
Lightest over-ear headphone tested
Amazing comfort
Unbeatable value at around $100

NEGATIVES

Very cheap build quality
Mediocre noise cancelling performance
Poor bass response
Lacks resolution, separation, and dynamics

Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

Sony WH-CH720N (Amazon)

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Sony WH-CH720N – USED (Amazon)

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Sony WH-CH720N Sound Quality

Sony WH-1000XM4 vs WH-CH720N vs WH-1000XM5 side by side on desk

First impressions on the stock sound

So… how good can a sub-$100 wireless ANC headphone sound really?

That’s what I was thinking before diving into the Sony WH-CH720N, the first headphone in the “budget” bracket.

Mind you, this is coming off spending hundreds of hours reviewing the premium Bluetooth ANC headphones in the $300-500 price range.

This includes the higher-end Sony’s like the WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4.

To my surprise, I was immediately impressed by the WH-CH720N…

My first impression of the sound was noticing how open, detailed, vocal-forward, and lively everything was out-of-the-box.

Wow. I genuinely don’t remember being this impressed by the more expensive XM4 or XM5.

That said, I started to see the faults in the stock sound, which albeit detailed, was pushing a ton of treble energy and peakiness. This leads to listening fatigue over longer sessions, despite sounding impressive upon first listen.

Luckily, as with the XM4 and XM5, I was able to rather quickly dial in an EQ setting that improved things quite a bit. I’ll be sharing these settings below, and the rest of the review will be using these exact settings…

Best Equalizer Settings for Sony WH-CH720N Headphones

400: -7
1k: -1
2.5k: +5
6.3k: -4
16k: -2
Clear Bass: +2 (can increase to +4 or decrease to -2 based on taste)

Result: Hot treble and sibilance has been smoothened out and is less fatiguing. Still wonderfully vocal-forward but with less boxiness and bloat. Sub-bass is more emphasized. Overall, leaned into the very fun consumer-friendly sound signature, just with better tonal balance.

Thoughts AFTER applying EQ…

Wow. Again.

Let me preface this by saying I was already impressed by the completely stock sound without EQ, as it’s close to my personal listening preference of neutral bright.

But after dialing in my own EQ settings, it brings the WH-CH720N to an even higher level of satisfaction and enjoyment.

Let me not bury the lede here, the sound of these $99 headphones rivals that of some headphones costing $200-$400.

Now, that’s not to say these are flawless by any means, and I’ll get to the criticisms soon…

But in terms of pure listening enjoyment and satisfaction, these are truly up there with headphones costing 2-4 times as much.

Candidly, I don’t recall enjoying listening to the XM4 or XM5 quite as much as the WH-CH720N.

Now, I’m not saying the 720N has objectively better sound quality, per se. (They don’t in many ways.)

But I’m simply enjoying listening to them more from a pure musicality and tonal balance perspective. These punch so far above their weight when it comes to a pleasing vocal-forward sound, which is my preference.

It’s hard for me to explain, but the best analogy I have is, these are like watching your favorite movie in 720p.

They lack in resolution, separation, and clarity compared to the more expensive headphones which are more like “1080p” resolution or higher.

You know in movies set in around the 80s and 90s with the Sony Walkmans and perhaps some Koss headphones? Or the retro-looking headphones featured in “Stranger Things” and “American Psycho”?

I think these sound how those headphones aesthetically feel, if that makes any sense.

In that, they aren’t Ultra 4k HD resolution, but they’re charming in their own, somewhat analog way. (Yes I know they’re wireless and digital.)

Now, that’s enough praise, so let’s discuss the flaws and wrap up my overall thoughts.

As I said, the resolution is lacking here, the sound “breaks up” a bit, especially once you start to push the bass with EQ.

I actually find the bass to be rather punchy, focusing more on the upper bass than the sub-bass, but there’s an adverse effect on clarity for the rest of the frequency range the more you push it.

So, the sub-bass is lacking in slam and overall quantity. It’s also fairly boomy and unfocused.

In this sense, all of the other Sonys, including the ULT WEAR, have better bass response than the WH-CH720N.

These headphones do ONE thing very well and that’s vocals.

Thus, these are great for Pop and other vocal-forward music.

I can still enjoy Rock and Metal but they lack the dynamics and lose clarity once tracks get busy.

Overall, I’m wholly impressed by the sound quality of the budget WH-CH720N, in some ways more than the higher-priced XM4 and XM5.

Sound Quality Score: 8.1 out of 10 (after EQ)

Comfort

Sony WH-CH720N weight of 186.4 grams on scale

The Sony WH-CH720N is the lightest over-ear, wireless, ANC headphones as weighed on my scale:

Sony WH-CH720N – 186.4 grams
Bose QuietComfort – 236.1 grams
Sony WH 1000XM5 – 245.9 grams
Sony WH 1000XM4 – 251.6 grams
Bose QuietComfort Ultra – 254.4 grams
Beats Studio Pro – 268.6 grams
Sennheiser Momentum 4 – 292.9 grams
Sonos Ace – 318.1 grams
Apple AirPods Max – 387.8 grams

As you can see from the list above, the CH720N is the lightest over ear ANC headphones by a hefty margin.

This simply translates to amazing all-day comfort.

Despite not having the best padding on the headband and earpad cushions, the weight is so light that there is very little top-of-head pressure or clamping force.

These feel like a toy, which is great for comfort, but bad for build quality (which we’ll get to).

Comfort Score: 5 out of 5

Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling

inside the earcups and earpad cushions of Sony WH-CH720N headphones

Features

The Sony WH-CH720N was originally released in March 2023, so they’re a fairly modern headphone with most of the modern features:

Multiple “beamforming” microphones for taking calls
Active Noise Cancelling Mode
Transparency Mode
Smartphone app with customizable EQ (same one as the XM4 and XM5)
Multi-point connection between 2 devices at once
DSEE for sound quality

Since these headphones are fairly cheap, they don’t include any kind of case.

However, there are several aftermarket cases available on Amazon that can fit these easily.

Build Quality

Let me be clear here, these feel like a toy and feel more like $40 headphones.

You know those free headphones the airlines give you on an international flight?

These remind me of those. Although these would be fantastic if they were given away.

To me, build quality, premium materials, and noise cancelling are what separates the more expensive premium headphones over these.

I don’t feel great about the long-term durability of these, especially without purchasing an aftermarket case. But on the flip side, they’re affordable enough to replace versus the $400 XM5.

Sony WH-CH720N Battery Life

The Sony WH-CH720N is rated at an impressive 35 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is easily above average in this class.

The Sony XM4 and XM5 are both rated at 30 hours.

There is also a “Rapid Charging” feature that provides 1 hour of listening time with 3 minutes of charging.

Thankfully, these also feature the modern standard USB-C charging port.

Sony WH-CH720N Noise Cancelling Performance

Alright so this is where you’ll start to see a little of where the budget-friendly CH720N cuts corners compared to the more premium XM4 and XM5 (along with build quality and durability).

First, let’s just be grateful that these headphones even have legit Active Noise Cancelling and Transparency Modes to begin with.

Second, the noise cancelling performance isn’t terrible. It’s definitely there, and it is actually doing something. Remember, Sony is one of the leaders in ANC technology today.

That said, it’s not on the same tier as the XM5, or even the XM4, which are both excellent.

I appreciate that it even has ANC and it does block out a respectable amount of noise, but if you need the best-in-class, expect to pay a premium here.

Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling Performance Score: 3.0 out of 5

Value

At the time of this writing, the Sony WH-CH720N does retail at $149.99, but is currently on sale for just $88.

Outside of this specific sale, I’ve seen them regularly around $99 to $109.

Simply put, these sound like headphones costing 2-4 times as much. Or at least, are as satisfying to listen to as headphones costing that much.

But, they also feel like a headphone that should cost half as much.

That said, I simply can’t get over how over-the-moon I am with the sound of these budget-friendly beasts (not to mention the comfort), so I think these qualify for one of the rare perfect “Value” scores we’ve ever given out.

Value Score: 5 out of 5

Overall Scoring Breakdown

Sound Quality: 8.1 / 10 (after EQ)

Comfort: 5 / 5

Features / Build Quality / Battery Life / Noise Cancelling: 3.0 / 5

Value: 5 / 5

Total: 21.2 / 25

8.5Expert Score

Very Good

The Sony WH-CH720N is a budget-friendly beast that has similar sound quality to headphones costing 2-4x as much. They’re the lightest over-ear headphones we’ve tested, but have cheap build quality and mediocre noise cancelling performance.

Is the Sony WH-CH720N Worth it?

Yes.

That’s it. They’re worth the $99 or so pricetag, because they are as enjoyable to listen to as headphones costing anywhere from $200 to $400.

They have perfect comfort due to being the lightest over-ear, wireless, ANC headphone ever tested.

As long as you’re willing to overlook the toy-like build quality, and mediocre noise cancelling performance, these are a budget-friendly steal and one of the rare “5 out of 5” Value scores we’ve ever given out.

Some very strong alternatives in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:

Some Relevant Comparisons in this class of noise cancelling headphones are:

I highly recommend you check those out next!

Lastly, if you’d like to save some money and keep supporting RecordingNOW.com’s 100% independent, unbiased reviews, do consider using some of our affiliate links below to shop and even just compare prices. We purchase all products we review with our own money to maintain the highest level of integrity, and your support goes into that plus a continuously improving site experience.

Order HERE for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail):

Sony WH-CH720N (Amazon)

Want to save up to $100 or more?

Sony WH-CH720N – USED (Amazon)

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 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions

How many years does the Sony WH-CH720N last?

With its poor build quality, I would expect the Sony WH-CH720N to last about 3-5 years. The cheap earpad cushions can get worn and may peel, but those are also easily replaceable with aftermarket replacements from Amazon.

Which is better between the Sony WH-1000XM4 or WH-CH720N?

The Sony XM4 has better build quality and noise cancelling performance, but I prefer the sound of the WH-CH720N and slightly better comfort due to being much lighter.

Are the Sony WH-CH720N waterproof?

No, the Sony WH-CH720N is not waterproof or rated as being waterproof.

Do the Sony WH-CH720N leak sound?

Not really, the Sony WH-CH720N is a closed-back headphone so it leaks a very minimal amount of sound.

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.