Sony’s at the top of the game when it comes to active noise-cancelling (ANC) in headphones – its widely-feted WH-1000XM5 is basically the bees’ knees.

However, it also costs a bundle, and there’s a large slice of people who would rather get solid ANC at a way lower price-point than shell out for the best. Hence, the CH720N, which is a lot more affordable and less fancy, but potentially more popular for it. We’ve been testing it out.

Sony’s at the top of the game when it comes to active noise-cancelling (ANC) in headphones – its widely-feted WH-1000XM5 are basically the bees’ knees.

However, they also costs a bundle, and there’s a large slice of people who would rather get solid ANC at a way lower price-point than shell out for the best. Hence, the CH720N, which are a lot more affordable and less fancy, but potentially more popular for it. We’ve been testing them out to see how they fare.

Design

• Available in black, white and blue
• Weighs 192g

The WH-CH720N represents a really interesting bit of design. For our money, it’s very clearly not been able to replicate the stunning new look of the flagship WH-1000XM5 (though it does have the same Midnight Blue finish), but you do get some of the new silhouette where the headband meets each earcup. There is a touch of the older WH-1000XM4 to them too, but ultimately the overall look and feel is a little more refined than you might worry about.

There are various grilles and cutouts to help the active noise-cancelling work its magic, but the colour you pick is pretty uniform over the whole pair of headphones and we think the blue version we tested is really quite handsome.

While that covers how the headphones look on your head or on a stand, the compromises that Sony has made to bring the price-point way, way down are pretty obvious when you actually handle them.

They are pretty much entirely plastic, and while that means they are particularly lightweight – something that contributes to an incredibly comfortable fit – it also makes them feel a little cheap. We’re sure they’re more liable to breakage than Sony’s more well-made premium options too – a risk you’ll just have to accept.

The cushioning on the headband and each earcup is soft and comfortable, but a tiny bit thin compared to fancier models. While that doesn’t affect comfort, it does leave you feeling a little less cocooned while wearing them.

The WH-CH720N doesn’t come with a carrying case or bag, either, so it’ll be up to you to keep them unscathed in a bag. That plastic is nice and matte to the touch, though, so fingerprints aren’t an issue at all.

Sound performance

• 30mm dynamic drivers
• 7-20,000 Hz dynamic response

Turning the Sony WH-CH720N on lets you into a world of audio that ends up landing about where you’d expect for the money – there’s nothing headline-grabbing here, but no real shortcomings either.

You get a fairly balanced default soundstage that leans nicely on bass for those who want a little more oomph as they listen, while a companion app gives you full EQ control if you want it.

Genre-crossing didn’t land us on any tracks that showed up the headphones particularly, so we’ve come away pretty impressed with the CH720N, albeit without a sense that it truly excels from a pure sound perspective.

If that sounds like these cans could veer into mediocre territory, Sony is rightly banking on its active noise-cancelling bringing it home the win – and it’s got every reason to be confident.

We know its top-end ANC is jaw-dropping, so we’re pleased to report that it’s managed a very impressive job at this lower budget too. The CH720N’s ANC is extremely creditable, and downright impressive given its price.

You get an ambient mode for when you want a bit more awareness, but we stuck largely to the full-fat cancelling and found it impressively isolating and muffling of exterior noise.

Transparency is a little brutal with what it lets through while it’s on, and it must be said that while this ANC is great for the price, it’s a far cry from the levels you can expect from more expensive options in the over-ear space.

Features and battery life

• 35-hour battery with ANC, 50-hour without
• Bluetooth 5.2

Sony doubtless knows that the arms race on battery life is accelerating all the time, so it’s worked to get extremely solid battery performance from the CH720N.

You get over 30 hours of battery on a charge even assuming you’re using ANC the whole time, while those who do without the feature will see that stretch closer to 50 hours – a great level.

The fact that it takes over three hours to charge the drained headphones back to maximum is a bit of a bummer, but we’re not sure that will matter to the majority of people who’d likely charge them overnight.

Still, not being able to rely on a quick top-up is the sort of thing that can impact you in a pinch or while travelling, and something to bear in mind if you invest in these cans.

We found the CH720N’s Bluetooth connection to be solid and reliable, but one area where it doesn’t excel is on voice calls. As with so many mid-range over-ears, this just isn’t the best choice if you’re embarking on a lengthy phone conversation, provided you care about the clarity of your voice.

The headphones charge through USB-C and have a 3.5mm jack in case you need or want to resort to wired audio – another example of the sort of feature that can weirdly be skipped by more expensive alternatives, but can be handy at times.

Verdict

Sony has threaded the needle very impressively with the WH-CH720N, we have to say. The sound quality on offer is just about what we’d hope for from one of audio’s biggest names, and the price is extremely attractive to say the least.

The shortcuts to get to that price are fairly obvious, particularly where build quality and materials come into it, but the fact is that you still get extremely solid ANC for journeys, a fit that’s more than comfortable enough to last you hours, and extremely decent battery life.

We think these headphones would be a massive hit with teenagers lucky enough to get their hands on them, but anyone looking for a solid mid-range pick would do well to consider them, too.