In recent years, thanks to the rapid development of the wireless audio market, we have witnessed the emergence of many new players in the consumer audio track, and also witnessed audio brands actively respond to new market challenges, including Sony, which has been growing with many music lovers since the 80s.
From the world's first cassette Walkman, the WALKMAN (released in 1979), to today's Sony LinkBuds, which are so small that you can grasp them in your hands, Sony's audio production line covers almost all of our needs. And after entering 2024, we can clearly find that Sony has launched new products with a more refined marketing strategy, such as the PlayStation PULSE series headphones launched for more advanced gamers a while ago, and then to today's protagonist Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer over-ear noise cancelling headphones, which are all audio LT POWER SOUND series tailored for a more niche market, of which the speaker products in this series are about 6 Launched this month, the latter is the protagonist of the experience we are going to share today.
ULT WEAR, a personalization option between flagship and value for money
As is customary, we will continue to share the product's accessories lineup, and you can find that the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones come standard with a storage case, headphone body, single-angled three-section 3.5mm audio cable, and USB-A to USB Type-C The power cord, as well as a relatively minimalist reference guide and warranty card, the entire product accessories lineup is relatively conventional, and the electronic manual on the official website can replace the traditional paper detailed manual, which is also in line with Sony's consistent corporate philosophy of low-carbon environmental protection.
Different from the standard storage box of the Sony WH-1000XM5, which is positioned as the flagship, the storage bag of the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones is foldable, and the fabric of the entire storage box is integrated with lightweight materials to shape it to improve the effective protection of the storage box on the main body of the earphones. With headphones and standard accessories installed by default, the measured weight of the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones, including the storage case, is about 433 grams, which is not too much of a burden for daily travel.
The whole product is mainly made of matte plastic, and the contact position with the head is wrapped in artificial leather, and a small part of the metal at the telescopic rod will be displayed outside, and with the laser color SONY LOGO and ULT exclusive button design embellishment on the outside of the fuselage, the texture of the product itself has been improved.
I've been impressed by the comfort of some of Sony's headphones I've experienced in the past, this time the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise-cancelling headphones weigh just around 255 grams, with a soft, rich padding on the headband and smooth, wrinkle-free ear cushions that are thermo-shaped. At the same time, it also has a large earcup interior space comparable to that of the 1000X flagship series, bringing more ear room through the internal structure of the new earcup that is lighter.
In addition to being conducive to the creation of a large sound field, this kind of lightweight large ear cups can also have a positive effect on sound insulation, and also effectively avoid the discomfort caused by the ear cups pressing against the pinna. The headset is also for users who are concerned about the comfort of a headset, and I think this headset should be able to dispel your concerns.
ULT WEAR is equipped with a silent hinge with a slight damping effect, which not only further improves the texture of the hinge, but also fundamentally eliminates the operating noise problem caused by folding and restoring the shape of the earphones, which is indeed a careful design that kills two birds with one stone.
In terms of connectivity, the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise-cancelling headphones offer a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type-C power connector, with a status indicator on the bottom. It is worth mentioning that the left side of the earphone is the ULT button, active noise cancellation, and the physical button area of the power switch, and the right side is the touch area for switching songs, playback, volume adjustment, and waking up the voice assistant, the interactive layout of the whole earphone is very user-friendly, and the left side of the earphone is also specially designed with an inconspicuous protruding contact to improve the user's accurate identification of the details of the left and right units of the earphone. Sharing the external highlights of Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer over-ear noise cancelling ear, the next step is to officially enter the actual experience sharing session of the headphones.
One-click switching, music and e-sports are all-round
In terms of acoustic hardware lineup, Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer headphones are equipped with a 40mm driver specially designed for the ULT POWER SOUND series, which is a driver specially designed for powerful bass, which improves the feeling of low frequency dive and impact while still maintaining excellent mid and high frequency performance, aiming to bring users an immersive listening experience. In addition to the unit, the headphones also have the highly acclaimed Sony-developed high-performance integrated processor V1, which is a sufficient prerequisite for excellent sound processing capabilities.
Different from general headphones, in order to meet the user's listening needs for different audio and video content, Sony has specially created a "ULT button" for ULT WEAR subwoofer over-ear noise cancelling headphones, which can be switched between 3 different sound styles by pressing the ULT button, and the style differences are as follows:
OFF: Turns off the bass mode
ULT1: Set the bass mode
ULT2: Set the bass boost mode
In the actual experience, by using the wireless Bluetooth mode of the Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones with the OnePlus 12, it can be found that when playing the Mayday song "Music You So Me", the three modes triggered by the ULT button can bring significant sound differences, the most significant of which is the difference in the presentation of the inlet drum kit interspersed with the song, the "bass mode" of the ULT1 It brings a surging drum sound, but the low frequency ensures that the sound details of the vocals and other instruments can still be transmitted to our ears, which has a sense of being there at the Strawberry Music Festival;
ULT2's "Heavy Bass Boost Mode" is completely inclined to create an overwhelming bass sound, this mode is completely created for users who pursue a sense of low frequency volume, I think this mode has been listening to the head for a long time; as for turning off the bass mode, the sound is a bit like our regular Sony tuning, not pursuing the creation of a sense of low frequency volume, with a balanced three-frequency performance.
In addition to the audio appreciation, when watching movies like "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse", you can find that when presenting a dynamic soundtrack, Sony ULT WEAR The subwoofer noise-canceling headphones show a good sense of immersion, for the wonderful fight scenes, the headphones also have a fast low-frequency transient response, the sound effects of spider silk jets and fists and kicks can be restored through the headphones one by one, and the scene of the collapse of the building is also stimulated by a surging low-frequency sense of volume, so that people can get a fascinating enough audio-visual appreciation experience.
At the same time, when playing Apex Legends, a shooter that can be played on both PC and PlayStation 5, Sony ULT WEAR is available with "bass mode" or "bass boost" enabled The large unit of the subwoofer noise cancelling headset brings a positive effect to the sound field of the game sound, and the directivity of the sound effect becomes clearer, and we can pre-operate in advance through the trigger direction of the weapon sound effect to respond to the complex situation of the battle in real time, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the winning rate of the game.
Not only is the sound quality fully guaranteed, but as a positioning performance-oriented headphone product, Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones will naturally not be absent from the active noise cancellation function, and with the Sony Headphones Connect APP, you can freely set up to 20 levels of "ambient sound" Free adjustment function, users can freely set the noise reduction intensity according to their own environment, to meet the strength and weakness of different users for the active noise reduction function personalized customization, this function design I raise my hand to recognize, the intensity of the active noise reduction choice left to the user's choice.
According to my time in the subway, high-speed rail, airplanes in the three high-frequency noise of the traffic scene, found that Sony ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones in the suppression of high-frequency noise is very outstanding, the measured volume of two-fifths of the volume, the external noise is basically less interference on the listening of the headphone audio, just like the fragmented accompaniment details in some music in the past can also be restored, and the footsteps in the game are also easier to be received normally, so that the listener can focus more on listening to the audio and video content of the device itself.
Not only that, but I really like the interactive design of Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer headphones, which is to trigger the "Quick Attention Mode" by placing the palm of your hand directly on the touch panel of the right side of the earphone's case, and you can switch back to the active noise cancellation mode when you let go, instead of turning off the noise cancellation function back and forth every time, the main focus is on seamless and efficient communication between listening and others.
At the same time, through the Sony Headphones Connect APP settings, users can connect 2 Bluetooth devices at the same time, and then the audio can be transmitted according to the user's use of the device, for example, when one of the phones has an incoming call, the earbuds can automatically recognize and switch to the relevant device, and the user can also touch the earbuds to quickly switch between the 2 devices. In addition, Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones with "safe listening" play a role in paying attention to and caring for the user's hearing health characteristics, and avoid hearing damage caused by excessive sound in the headphones.
Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer noise cancelling headphones have a wear-sensing function, when you take off the earphones, they will automatically pause, and if you wear them again, they will continue to play again.
In terms of battery life, Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer over-ear noise cancelling headphones provide about 30 hours of battery life after noise cancellation is turned on, and about 50 hours of battery life when noise cancellation is turned off, with 3 minutes of energy replenishment of about 1.5 hours and 10 minutes of energy replenishment of about 5 hours of fast charging performance, the battery life of the whole machine can basically give users about a week of battery life, not to mention the fast charging function, a short charge can bring a long enough battery life, and temporary charging before going out can also meet the daily emergency needs of going out.
Summary:
Under Sony's relatively comprehensive consumer audio product matrix, the new LT POWER SOUND series is aimed at a new group of people, and it also reflects the birth of Sony's For The Music concept that can make up for the listening needs of some users who pursue surging bass and like to listen to rock and rap. It gives users the ability to quickly switch between the three modes, and meets the needs of users who only need one headset to meet the listening preferences of a variety of scenarios.
Finally, we can learn that Sony's ULT WEAR subwoofer over-ear noise cancelling headphones provide consumers with three optional colors: Starry Night Black, Galaxy White, and Forest Gray, and they can pay attention to the price after they are launched.