UPDATE 28/8/24 – South Africa will get Sony’s WF-C510 wireless buds in all available colourways — blue, yellow, black, and white — in November this year. Pricing will be announced later.
Sony’s recent bout of budget releases has turned up some very interesting sets of headphones but its new WF-C510 wireless buds could well be the best of the lot. The newly announced in-ears are set to be extremely affordable but with features that belie their price point.
The new in-ears will replace Sony’s WF-C500 budget beater (currently on sale for about a thousand bucks) but will offer more advanced features for not much more cash. The WF-C510 is set to launch in September at $60 (around R1,100), with no local price available just yet.
Why WF-C510?
They’re budget buds. What’s the big deal? Sony has made its C510 in-ears the smallest closed-back design yet, which should translate to its most lightweight as well. That’s a substantial achievement, given how teeny the C500 buds were. But it’s not just weight reduction, there are a few new features in the mix.
Battery life is one area where Sony’s latest budget buds are stepping up. They’ll manage eleven hours on a charge, with an extra eleven hours available in the case. That’s not massive, as wireless in-ears go, but it’s also not bad. If you’re using them for video (or regular) calls, Sony reckons the WF-C510s will manage five hours before needing a breather.
Sony’s multipoint Bluetooth capabilities let you stay connected to two devices at once. The company is also introducing Voice Focus mode. If you need us to explain what this is… well, that’s actually our job. The feature boosts human voices and suppresses background noise, which will be a handy feature if you’re a chronic talker.
And then there’s Ambient Sound Mode, which is what Sony calls its transparency mode. This one should be nifty enough but it’ll also ding your battery life. The eleven-hour uptime is with Ambient Sound Mode turned off, with no mention of how long the buds will last if you’re looking to be aware of your surroundings at all times.
In case you need one more high-end feature, then you’ll be pleased to learn that 360-degree audio (360 Reality Audio, in Sony parlance) is supported by the WF-C510s as well.
There’s also Sony’s Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) to look forward to, which will supposedly offer excellent audio. You know, the main point of this thing? If the sound quality is anywhere near as good as Sony’s recent C700N buds, users are in for a serious treat. It’s been long enough that some of that audio tech should have trickled downhill.