The newest pair of earbuds in Sony's Extra Bass line, the WF-XB700, was introduced in 2020, April. Along with the Sony WH Noise-Canceling Headphones, the earbuds were also released at the exact time and went on sale.

The Sony XB700 true wireless earbuds are one of Sony's more affordable models and cost $129 (£130, almost AU$200). When compared to the Sony-1000XM3, it represents a significant discount, However, bear in mind that although the former lacks active noise suppression, the latter does.

The Sony XB700 is in the center of the packaging among other true wireless earbuds and is really a little less expensive than the, Apple AirPods, which currently sell the most of this style.

What is the Design of the Sony WF-XB700?

Compared to other wireless earbuds Sony has made previously that aimed to be sleek, the way it designed these earbuds makes them feel a little bit more space-agey. This is due to Sony's preference for spherical, oblong blooms that resemble small beans.

The XB700 clearly borrows some design cues from its forerunners, but from the outside, it resembles a satellite in shape.

Each disc has a button around the outside edge that controls the volume on the left and play/stop and lag on the right. They can also be used to answer calls and activate voice assistant, but it's not immediately obvious how to do any of those things.

The three crucial parts of these earbuds are the tip that fits in the ear canal, the centre piece that houses the drivers and rests inside the ear, and the outer shell that stores the batteries.

This three-level Design does have certain advantages, but it isn't especially space-efficient and is sure to spark a lot of debate among people who just want small, streamlined earbuds.

How is the performance of the Sony WF-XB700?

How do they sound, then? We were concerned that because they were a part of the Extra Bass series, they would sound bloated, muddy, and constrained. Fortunately, they're anything but that.

The bass is present when you listen to them, but it's done in a way that seems tight and punchy rather than muddy and bloated. Even though the music isn't exactly what the artist had in mind, it is nonetheless enjoyable to listen to.

The drawback is that the midrange does suffer in this situation. Watching YouTube videos is substantially quieter overall than listening to music, and the midrange's diminished strength is undoubtedly to blame.

The Bottom Line:

There are many advantages to these earbuds, despite the fact that it's simple to concentrate on some of the drawbacks like the divisive Design, weak midrange, and lack of noise reduction. These are actually good alternatives to Apple AirPods: they're reasonably priced, have good sound quality, and even have longer battery lives.

Even without those features, these are still our second-favorite Sony genuinely wireless earbuds and ones worth buying if you want good sound and long-lasting battery life. They aren't perfect and could even be improved with simple tweaks like adding aptX support and an auto-pause feature to conserve battery life.