Sony WF-C500 Black
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According to our earbuds expert
With the Sony WF-C500, you can listen to a personalized sound reproduction. via the Sony Headphones Connect app, you can adjust the sound of the earbuds via an equalizer. You can choose from various sound profiles, or make one yourself. Do you want to exercise or is it raining outside? Thanks to the water-resistant design, the earbuds won't break due to rain or sweat. When the earbuds have a full battery, they'll last 10 hours. The charging case can hold 10 hours of extra battery. With the fast charge function, you can use the earbuds for 1 hour after 10 minutes of charging. Thanks to Fast Pair, the earbuds will connect automatically to the last connected device.
Note: Sony does include a charging cable, but no charger. Use your current accessories, or purchase them separately.
Sound according to expertBoth the bass and mid-range are neutral on these earbuds. This means that the lows, instruments, and vocals don't have a boost. As a result, you listen to a balanced sound. Do you want to accentuate certain tones? In the Sony Headphones Connect app, you can adjust the sound to your own liking.
Type of ear cushions | In-ear | |
|---|---|---|
Noise canceling | ||
Average battery life | 10 hours | |
Sound quality according to customers | Standard | |
Bass | Balanced | |
Mid tones | Balanced | |
Carrying comfort according to customers | Standard | |
Bluetooth |
5 stars
79
4 stars
105
3 stars
24
2 stars
5
1 star
0
Sound quality
Wearing comfort
Design
With the Sony WF-C500 in my ears, I enjoy listening to my favorite songs. The earbuds deliver a powerful sound and are small in size. I just think it's a shame that they don't have smart functions.
Small format The Sony WF-C500 is very similar in design to the Sony WF-1000XM4, but the C500 is a lot smaller. As a result, the earplugs sit quite firmly in my ears and they do not fall out quickly. So I don't just listen to my favorite songs at home, but also in the gym. On both earbuds there is a physical button on the side with which I control the music. Only I don't control the music quite the way I would like, because the commands of the physical buttons are not customizable.
solid bass Despite the small size, the earbuds deliver a solid sound. The low tones are powerful and rumble through in a nice way. One of the nicest things about the sound is that it is customizable. In the Sony Headphones Connect app, I choose from different sound profiles and create my own. This way I listen to the sound that I like with my favorite music.
Smart Features Thanks to the IPX4 certification, the earplugs are water-resistant, so they can easily survive a heavy rain shower or heavy workout. There is no water damage and I like that. The only thing I do miss are smart features. For example, the music does not automatically pause when I remove the earbuds from my ears and I do not connect them to 2 playback devices at the same time.
Lucas. Audio specialist.
29 September 2021
Automatically translated from Dutch
These are my first fully wireless earphones. My main comparison is with the Bose QuietControl 30, a wireless noise canceling headset from Bose (with the 'neckband' that you saw more often with wireless headsets a few years ago). Perhaps not a 100% fair comparison, the Bose is clearly a different category, also in terms of price (the comparable current model from Bose are the QuietComfort earplugs of ~250 euros).
First the basics: the earbuds come in a packaging that does not contain plastic. Very nicely done from Sony. The first impression of the case is simple but sturdy and in my opinion very small. The case also only has a limited capacity, but with 10 hours in the earbuds themselves and 10 hours of charge in the case, you don't have to worry so much about running out. The earplugs were right for me, but other sizes of earplugs are also included for an optimal fit. The earplugs are comfortable, they are super light and only protrude to a limited extent. I honestly don't notice that I have them in and they fit noticeably better than the Bose QuietControl 30. What may turn out to be a disadvantage is that I use them for running in combination with a Garmin Forerunner 945 GPS sports watch. That works perfectly in itself, only the earplugs close your ear canal very efficiently. Not as efficient as earplugs with active noise cancelling, but very comprehensive. I actually preferred not to; When I run I want to be able to hear something about my surroundings. I turn the volume of my music down a bit now, which in itself helps, but maybe it's something to keep in mind if you're choosing them for that purpose.
Then the app and options: the earbuds come with a limited number of controls: volume on the left, playback on the right. Works fine, but I don't find the buttons very easy to operate. Maybe I'll get even better at it. It is not possible to adjust the functions of the buttons and actions. The app is necessary for changing the sound settings of the earbuds. Fortunately, you don't have to create an account for that, an account only helps for synchronizing settings and keeping track of how often you listen (?); no idea why you would do that. The app works fine, the main function is the equalizer and the 'DSEE' option (does something with the sound but I have no idea what the abbreviation stands for). This last sentence is a nice bridge to the most important part:
Sound: in the end they are earplugs to listen to music (at least that's my main goal, I haven't called, zoomed, etc. with them yet. You better read other experiences for that). The standard sound is somewhat disappointing. Out-of-the-box high-pitched sound is -much- too shrill, so that the in itself excellent lower sound is completely snowed under. Different singing voices and instruments can be heard separately from each other. So I went back to the app and the equalizer options: I would stay far away from the standard equalizer settings. What works well in my experience (and also the experience of others via Google) is to make a Custom setting where you lower the 2 highest sliders (6.3 and 16 kHz) to -2/-3 and the ClearBass function to 2 move. I also turned on the DSEE slider. With these adjustments, the sound is much better balanced and much more pleasant to listen to. Coming back to the comparison with the Bose QuietControl 30 ANC headphones: they are unfair when it comes to sound. The Bose sounds much more balanced (more neutral too), and every genre comes into its own in my opinion. With the Bose I have never had to think about an equalizer at all.
Conclusion: certainly for the offer amount for which I bought them, they are an excellent choice as extra headphones if you want a complete wireless set. Good battery life, great sound after you adjust it, very nice fit.
Ewout
5 January 2022
Automatically translated from Dutch
I had been hesitating for a while about buying in-ears to go with it. After two years of going over ears with Sony NC, I am quite spoiled with top quality sound. So the chance to test these in ears came at the right time.
Fit The (magnetic) earplugs have a nice fit in your ear cup. It took me a while to feel what size caps needed to be fitted and how best to screw them in to both sit comfortably and hear the best sound. I have a good seat on the left now, the right can sometimes irritate a bit after wearing it for a long time. Maybe my pinna is a little too small and I should put on a smaller cap.
Sound quality Crystal clear sound for calls and zoom meetings. The other side hears me clearly and I hear them too. Ambient sounds are subtly brought to the background and a conversation with strong winds was also perfectly intelligible for both parties.
Another very nice feature of Sony is the special app with which you can easily personalize sound settings, such as the bass. I have a slight hearing impairment so it's nice to be able to tweak the sound to my needs. If you are not an audiophile, the basic settings will certainly help you!
Battery The battery life of my Sony headphones is great and I am certainly not disappointed with these earbuds. At the end of the week, the level is still high, even though I've listened for about 6 hours.
Service Unlike my headphones - touch control - these in-ears work by pressing. That took some getting used to. When pressed several times, the earplugs move a bit in your ear and that can be a bit annoying. Still, if you realize how many times you press and which side belongs to which action, it works quite nicely. In a next version it might be interesting to be able to choose the action for the action as a user. I would then move the Voice Assistant to the left, for example, because I use it little and I am right-handed.
Pairing with my Oppo Reno 5 or Macbook is nice and fast and you can switch between devices by holding them both down.
Bennie
29 October 2021
Automatically translated from Dutch
Product number | 892593 |
|---|---|
Manufacturer code | WFC500B.CE7 |
Brand | Sony |
Warranty | 2 years |
Processing of your defect | Carry-in warranty |
Weight in grams | 35 g | |
|---|---|---|
Color | Black | |
Material | Plastic | |
Built-in microphone |
Water-resistant | ||
|---|---|---|
Water resistance | Splash proof | |
IP certification | IPX4 |
True wireless earbuds | ||
|---|---|---|
NFC | ||
Compatible with applications | ||
Application options | Installation help, Personalize sound, Personalize speech assistant, Read battery status, Update firmware | |
Compatible with voice assistant | Google Assistant, Siri |
Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
Bluetooth version | 5.0 | |
Bluetooth profiles | DI, Hands-Free Profile (HFP), Remote control (AVRCP), Standard Audio (A2DP) | |
Multipoint pairing |
Type of USB port | USB-C | |
|---|---|---|
Power supply type | Rechargeable battery | |
Average battery life | 10 hours | |
Charging case | ||
Battery life case | 10 hours | |
Wireless charging | ||
USB port |
Sound reproduction | Mono, Spatial audio, Stereo | |
|---|---|---|
Hi-Res audio | ||
Sound quality according to customers | Standard | |
Noise canceling | ||
Volume limit | ||
Frequency range | 20 - 20000 Hz |
Tested by expert | ||
|---|---|---|
Bass | Balanced | |
Mid tones | Balanced | |
Treble | A little balanced | |
Equalizer |
Headphones wearing method | Earbud | |
|---|---|---|
Type of ear cushions | In-ear | |
Remote control on ear cups | ||
Physical buttons ear cups | ||
Touchpad ear cup | ||
Volume control ear cup | ||
Carrying comfort according to customers | Standard |
Best tested |
|---|
Earbuds (sleeves) included | ||
|---|---|---|
Number of earbuds (sleeves) included | 3 | |
Size | L, M, S | |
Headphones adapter included |
