Design and features:The headphones work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on. You can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have medium high sensitivity when powered with or without the noise cancelation feature turned on and when unpowered so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and lower-powered portable audio devices. The WH-H910N has an integrated microphone and touch sensitive volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls that work with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include momentarily audio program muting and engagement of the ambient sound monitor mode when the entire hand is placed on the right earcup, support for Apple Siri and Google Assistant digital voice assistants when used with mobile devices that have those features, the ability to receive high resolution audio Bluetooth transmissions from selected Sony products, optional NFC Bluetooth pairing, and earcups that fold and swivel for ease of carrying and storage. The free Sony Headphones Connect app for Apple and Android mobile devices adds additional features including various automated adjustments that are claimed to optimize the noise cancelling characteristics of the headphone based on different situations. It can also act as a audio program player, provide tonal balance equalization, enable and optimize the surround sound mode that is available with some program material, adjust various settings, and update the headphone's firmware. This model comes with a detachable 46-inch long standard audio cable, a USB charging cable, and a carrying pouch.
Sound quality: In Bluetooth noise cancelling mode we found the WH-H910N delivers Excellent active noise reduction and sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can best be summarized as slightly bassy and a bit smoothed over. With the Sony Headphones Connect app set with the Equalizer off and clear bass set to 0 (the as received state of the earphone) the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is a bit prominent and a touch boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is even, but is a bit soft, has a touch of a plastic resonance (something like what you would hear if you talked into a semi-rigid plastic cup), and the upper midrange is a bit etched (a bit more sharply outlined then it should be) and grainy. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is fairly extended but a bit subdued and slightly smeared (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer sound blurred). This model does a good job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded). However, the sound only has a so-so sense of liveliness and is somewhat closed sounding (sound-wise it's fairly obvious you have something plugging your ears). This model provides Excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. Orientation changes the noise reduction characteristic - when the noise is not coming from directly in front more mid-frequency noise can be heard. When the noise cancelling feature is engaged a faint rushing noise can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears. As typical of over-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. Users with larger ears might find that the over-the-ear fit of the ear pads feel a bit cramped, or that the ear pads sit on, rather than around their ears; in that case the less-than-ideal fit around the ears might interfere with the earpad seal and reduce the noise reduction capabilities of the headphone. Some users may find that when they lean far forward the headphones feel unstable and shift forward, possibly to the point of falling off. Incidental contact with the touch controls on the right outer earcup can cause unintentional playing or pausing, track skipping, or volume level changes. When wearing this model while walking the muffled vibrations from each foot step can be heard through the headphones. When the audio cord is used the sound of it rubbing on clothing may be faintly heard through the earphones.
