Sony XB900N noise-canceling headphones have big bass, lower price

By Chris Davies/May 20, 2019 11:41 am EST

Sony has a new set of noise-canceling headphones, and if the WH-1000XM3 proved too rich for your bank account, the WH-XB900N might fit the bill – and crank up your bass. Latest to join the Sony EXTRA BASS range, the new active noise-canceling headphones borrow the style of their more expensive sibling, along with some of the tech, too.

So, there's digital noise cancelation onboard, to help remove background sound on planes or in the office. If you want to temporarily hear what's going on around you, meanwhile, you can use the quick attention feature. Touching the right earcup lowers the music volume and allows you to hear more external sound.

The right ear cup's touch sensors also work to control playback and volume. Swiping up and down raises or lowers volume, while swiping across skips forward or back through your playlist. Taps control play and pause.

Then there's smart assistant integration. As we've seen on the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones, there's a dedicated button to trigger your phone's virtual assistant. Sony says it works with Siri, the Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa too.

Battery life is estimated at up to 30 hours of music playback, with the noise cancelation turned on. Turn it off, meanwhile, and that rises to up to 35 hours. A quick charge feature adds up to an hour of wireless playback after ten minutes of charging.

What sets the EXTRA BASS range apart, of course, is, well, the extra bass that Sony adds. Designed to play nicely with modern chart music, it emphasizes the low end in a particularly distinctive way. That's something Sony is also using in its second new EXTRA BASS product today, the SRS-XB402M speaker.

Resembling a cross between an Apple HomePod and an egg from an Alien movie, the wireless speaker is waterproof and rustproof. It runs for up to 12 hours on a single charge, and has dual passive radiators along with Spotify Connect support and regular Bluetooth connectivity. Amazon Alexa is integrated, along with multicolor LED lighting and a flashing strobe that synchronizes to the music.

Both the new headphones and the new speakers will be launched in July. The Sony WH-XB900N Extra Bass Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones will be priced at $250, roughly $100 less than the WH-1000XM3.