Sony WF-C710N Review: Budget ANC That Beats AirPods 4

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Overview

Sony’s WF-C710N undercuts Apple’s AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation by roughly $60, and according to TechRadar and SoundGuys, it still comes out ahead on the one thing that matters most in a pair of ANC earbuds: how much outside noise they actually block. The WF-C710N is available now on Amazon, positioned as Sony’s mid-range answer to the flagship WF-1000XM5 at less than half the price.

The WF-C710N replaces the outgoing WF-C700N with a redesigned, slightly larger housing, Sony’s newer Dual Noise Sensor ANC system, and a jump to Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint connection — letting the earbuds stay paired to a phone and a laptop at the same time. Sony’s Sound Connect app adds a 20-level Ambient Sound Control slider that most earbuds in this price range don’t offer, giving finer control over how much of the outside world gets through.

Key Specifications

Sony WF-C710N Noise Cancellation & Ambient Sound

Sony built the WF-C710N around a Dual Noise Sensor system — one feedforward and one feedback microphone per earbud — that the company rates at up to 30dB of low-frequency noise reduction, the range that covers engine drone, HVAC hum, and traffic rumble. TechRadar called it “the best earbuds for noise cancellation you can get for the price,” and SoundGuys’ side-by-side testing found the WF-C710N’s ANC edges out Apple’s AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation despite costing $60 less. Passive isolation from the silicone ear tips alone reportedly blocks up to 40dB of high-frequency sound before ANC even engages.

The Sound Connect app’s 20-level Ambient Sound Control is the feature that separates the WF-C710N from most budget-to-mid-range ANC earbuds, which typically offer only an on/off transparency toggle. Dialing the slider up lets in enough of the outside world to hold a conversation or hear an approaching car without pulling the earbuds out, while dialing it down returns to full ANC — a level of granularity Sony’s own flagship WF-1000XM5 shares but that rarely trickles down to a $119.99 pair of earbuds.

Battery Life & Charging

Sony rates the WF-C710N at 8.5 hours per charge with ANC on and 12 hours with it off, and SoundGuys’ own battery test actually beat that figure, clocking 9 hours and 25 minutes on a single charge. With the case factored in, total battery life reaches 30 hours (ANC on) or 40 hours (ANC off) — well above what most ANC earbuds at this price, or even above it, typically deliver. A 5-minute charge in the USB-C case adds roughly an hour of playback, useful for a quick top-up before heading out the door.

SoundGuys also noted the earbuds sound nearly identical with ANC enabled versus disabled, with only a slight dip in bass when ANC is switched off — meaning there’s little reason to leave ANC on the lower-battery setting unless active noise blocking is actually needed. That combination of long per-charge runtime and a genuinely long case-assisted total is a clear step up from the WF-C700N predecessor and puts real distance between the WF-C710N and pricier ANC earbuds that top out closer to 20-24 hours total.

Sound Quality, Calls & Fit

Tom’s Guide and SoundGuys both describe the WF-C710N’s tuning as bass-forward and energetic rather than flat or reference-neutral — a signature that tends to suit pop, hip-hop, and electronic music more than acoustic or classical listening. The earbuds support only SBC and AAC codecs, with no aptX or LDAC on offer, so listeners chasing hi-res audio over a compatible Android phone won’t find that support here; for typical streaming at standard bitrates, the gap is unlikely to be audible. Amazon’s own listing highlights “Clear Calls” processing, and owners of the WF-C710N consistently describe the microphones as handling everyday phone and video calls competently.

At 5.2 grams per earbud, the WF-C710N is comfortable enough for extended wear, and What Hi-Fi’s testing found the fit stable and secure for daily commuting. SoundGuys flagged the fit as “not a very secure” option specifically for higher-intensity movement — a fair caution for anyone planning to run or do interval training in them, even though the IPX4 rating covers sweat and light rain. Touch controls on each earbud handle playback, calls, and ANC/Ambient Sound switching without needing to open the app.

How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition?

At $119.99, the WF-C710N undercuts every ANC earbud from Apple by a meaningful margin — here’s how the specs compare.

Is the Sony WF-C710N Worth It?

For anyone shopping strictly by price-to-performance, the WF-C710N is a hard earbud to beat: stronger ANC than Apple’s own $179 AirPods 4 by independent testing, a battery total that clears every competitor in this comparison, and cross-platform support that doesn’t lock the earbuds to one ecosystem’s convenience features. It’s a particularly easy recommendation for Android users, who lose none of the AirPods’ automatic-switching perks because those features never applied to them in the first place.

Audiophiles chasing hi-res streaming over a compatible phone should look elsewhere — the lack of aptX or LDAC caps the WF-C710N’s ceiling for that specific use case, and Apple’s own ecosystem features (Find My, automatic device switching, spatial audio tied to Apple Music) still favor the AirPods 4 for an iPhone-only household. For anyone running or training hard, a wingtip-equipped pair like the Beats Fit Pro will stay more securely in place.

Sony WF-C710N

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Marcus WebbSenior Editor 𝕏

Marcus has been hunting for the best tech and gear for over 40 years — as a coder, gamer, and lifelong outdoors enthusiast, he knows the gap between a good spec sheet and something that actually holds up.

How this was made: Researched and written with AI from manufacturer specs, independent tests and published reviews, then checked by automated quality checks. We haven’t tested this product ourselves. How we review →