Sony WF-LS900N Review: A hit and a miss

As a package, the Sony WF-LS900N, makes for a decent purchase. If you like Sony as a brand, and want a budget alternative to WF-1000XM4, then these are the buds you could go for. These buds are not flawless. When you weigh the pros and cons, these make for a decent pair of TWS earbuds.

If you are comparing these to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the flaws in these buds come to surface. They retail at a slightly higher price than these earbuds, but still outperform the LS900N in almost every aspect. What we suspect here is that Sony did not want to step directly into the territory of their flagship buds. That is why they held back in making these as great as Samsung’s offering. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the company’s flagship earbuds. So, Samsung did not hold back at all.

All in all, if seen in an isolated bubble, these buds are decent. But, given the current situation of the earphones market, there are some better alternatives for sure. 

Sony has been actively working to increase its strong hold in the Indian audio market. Its lineup offers earphones from the lower end of the pricing spectrum to the other extreme. With one of the best ANC tech and sound quality packed into their iconic Sony WF-1000XM4, the brand has established itself as a known entity in the market. 

To plug the gap that was there in their lineup, between the 1000XM4 and the mid range price bracket, they have come out with the Sony WF-LS900N, priced at ₹16,990. With the design and specs similar to the flagship 1000XM4s, will the WF-LS900N be able to match up to the expectations set in the minds of consumers? To answer this question, we put the Sony WF-LS900N through our rigorous testing process when they showed up at the Digit Test Centre. Here’s what we found out.

Sony WF-LS900N: Build and Design

When it comes to the build quality of products, Sony has been a brand that has never let us down. Apart from an odd product here and there, Sony’s earphones tend to have great build quality. And, when it comes to their latest launch, there are no compromises either.

Sony’s environmentally friendly recycled materials featured on their recently launched line of earphones have proven to be surprisingly durable. In the seven odd days where we were daily driving the earphones, the case picked up minimal scratches and scuffs. The reviewer is known in the Digit Test Centre to be tough on the gadgets that he uses. So, the fact that the LS900N stood the test of time in his custody, means something.

As for the buds themselves, they carry over the same material as the cases and underwent minimal wear and tear. They were lightweight, and comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. The four different varieties of eartips that were included in the box ensured that the buds had a snug fit in the ears of the folks at the Test Centre. 

The earbuds snapped in place in the case thanks to the magnets that were fitted in. The case featured an easy to open lid and was pocketable. We would have preferred a metal hinge on the lid of the case. But, the plastic contraption connecting the lid to the case does the job well enough. The overall look and feel of the LS900N is worth the money that you are shelling out. They fit well and from whatever we could gauge in the week-long testing of these buds, would last you a decent amount of time. The buds that we got were in our personal favourite beige colour, with the other available options being black and white.

Sony WF-LS900N: Features

The Sony WF-LS900N TWS earbuds come packed with plenty of features. Everything from ANC to the app worked flawlessly during our testing process. Let us start with talking about the Active Noise Cancellation that is baked into these buds. Sony’s ANC in their flagship earbuds has become a benchmark for other players in the market to match up to. Their ANC processor is something that other brands try their best to match up to. So, when you are using the LS900N, you can feel that it is from the same family of products. 

When in office, the buds cancelled out ambient sounds like that of the AC, and people’s chatter in the background relatively easily. When we stepped out, the results were the same. Sounds of heavy traffic during auto rides was cancelled out pretty decently. While it is not at the same level as that of the AirPods Pro (Gen 2) [review coming out soon] or Sony’s own WF-1000XM4, it is definitely serviceable. 

When earbuds come equipped with ANC, their ambient mode also becomes important, and is something that people are on the lookout for when making their buying decisions. In the WF-LS900N, the ambient mode matches up the ANC that is baked into these earbuds. With these earbuds, Sony has made some changes to the design, which allows for natural sound from your surroundings to seep in, along with the audio that is being captured by the microphones. While we did not notice a drastic change, in some situations, this change in design did register its presence.

However, when looking at the price of the buds, the quality of the ANC and the ambient mode is something that we would have wanted to better than what it is. In day to day use, it might not make that big of a difference. But, looking at other buds at this price, we were expecting them to perform better. 

Now, let us talk about the other features, like the touch control and the app that accompanies these buds. 

The controls on these earbuds are basic and well executed. If you are someone who is coming from a different brand of earphones, then you might take some time to get acclimatised to the controls. But, once you get a hang of it, it is smooth sailing for you. The touch sensitive area on both these buds was wide and sensitive enough to register our inputs. There were occasional misses, but that can be forgiven when looking at the larger picture.

Coming to the app, it is the same as the one before. The Sony headphones connect app provides plenty of customisation options, along with an EQ that helps users customise the sound quality of the buds to their liking. The multi point connect and the swift pairing features of these buds were also flawless. Even when connected to an iOS device, almost all the features worked well, without any glitches.

Sony WF-LS900N: Performance

If you are spending ₹16,990, you would expect your earbuds to have an excellent sound signature, right? Well in the case of Sony WF-LS900N, it does not seem to be the case. We noticed the boosted bass and the underemphasized high mids during our daily use. So, to verify this, we put the Sonys through our test rig.

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green)

As you can see in the graph, the bass is on the higher end on these earbuds. Especially, when compared to the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2, the bass frequencies are much higher. And, when it comes to the higher mids, our suspicions came out to be true. The mids were a place where the Sony’s performed beyond our expectations. The boosted bass might not be a problem for the bass lovers. But, for anyone else, it can get a bit overwhelming. It is fairly hard to come by any pair of TWS earbuds that would satisfy the demands of audiophiles at this price. However, there are some options out there.

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green) vs Sony WF-1000XM4 (Dark Blue)

Same is the case with the underemphasized high mids. When these frequencies are underemphasized, what tends to happen is that the female vocals get suppressed. This also affects the day to day listening experience as well. 

Uncompensated frequency response of Sony WF-LS900N (Light Blue) vs Flat Response (Green) vs Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 2 (Pink)

For anyone looking for a decent overall audio experience, these buds are adequate. In songs like Uptown Funk that are known to put the bass response of the best earbuds in the market to test, the Sonys come out with flying colours. This might be a pain point for you if you are someone who does not like bass a lot. If you are planning to rock out to the tunes of songs like Centuries by Fall Out Boy, you will experience almost no distortion at 100 percent volume. 

Sony WF-LS900N: Battery Life

When talking about the battery life, Sony WF-LS900N came fairly close to the claims made by Sony. With ANC turned on, and the volume set to 50 per cent, the battery on the buds lasted about five hours and ten minutes. And, with the case, the total went up to 19 hours, with some juice still left in the case.

As for the charging port, we get a USB-C port, which as per Sony’s claims can provide 60 minutes of playback with just five minutes of charging time. This can come in handy if you are in a rush. With ANC turned off, you can safely assume that these buds will last longer. So, you shouldn’t be worried about battery life as much.

Sony WF-LS900N: Verdict

As a package, the Sony WF-LS900N, makes for a decent purchase. If you like Sony as a brand, and want a budget alternative to WF-1000XM4, then these are the buds you could go for. These buds are not flawless. When you weigh the pros and cons, these make for a decent pair of TWS earbuds.

If you are comparing these to the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, the flaws in these buds come to surface. They retail at a slightly higher price than these earbuds, but still outperform the LS900N in almost every aspect. What we suspect here is that Sony did not want to step directly into the territory of their flagship buds. That is why they held back in making these as great as Samsung’s offering. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro are the company’s flagship earbuds. So, Samsung did not hold back at all.

All in all, if seen in an isolated bubble, these buds are decent. But, given the current situation of the earphones market, there are some better alternatives for sure. 

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