Sony WF-C710N review: Hits the right notes

Sony WF-C710N design and fit
There’s something oddly nostalgic about the translucent blue variant I tested. Depending on your perspective, it either leans playful or plasticky. I personally found the semi-transparent design beautiful and pleasant to look at. If you’d rather not attract attention, Sony sells them in Black, White and a Peach colourways too – other colours are not transparent though.
The case is compact—pocketable, light, and pill-shaped in a way that reminds me more of a pebble than a piece of tech. The earbuds themselves continue with Sony’s stemless design, which works visually but doesn’t quite solve the fit issues of the previous model. They’re comfortable for extended listening, yes, but on more than one occasion, I had to push them back in mid-jog. Sony supplies only three sizes of ear tips, and there are no fins or stabilisers, which doesn’t leave a lot of room to customise the fit.

They’re rated IPX4 for water resistance, which should be good enough for splashes, but I wouldn’t take them to the gym unless your workouts are low intensity.
Sony doesn’t offer fully customisable controls here, but you can still choose what each earbud is dedicated to—playback or ambient controls. I kept playback on the right and ANC toggle on the left. The gestures themselves are reliable, if slightly delayed at times, especially when switching ANC modes. What gives these earbuds more flexibility is the Sony Headphones Connect app. That’s where most of the tuning happens. You get firmware updates, battery status per earbud and case, control over ANC and ambient levels, and of course, a five-band EQ that you can tweak or use with presets like Bass Boost or Bright. There's even support for 360 Reality Audio, but unless you're on a supported streaming service (and most aren’t), it doesn’t do much.

Sony WF-C710N sound and tuning
Out of the box, the WF-C710N sounds warm – almost feels like Sony is trying to play safe here by offering a familiar sound signature that you would expect from Sony earbuds. There’s a clear emphasis on bass and midrange, which gives body to vocals and rhythm but often leaves high-frequency details smoothed over. That said, the tuning is generally pleasing, especially for casual listeners.
You have the Connect app and it lets you tune the sound signature a bit. I pulled down the lowest bass band slightly and nudged up the high treble. That added just enough clarity to high-end instruments without throwing the balance off and this is where the C710N starts sounding impressive. There’s more character to the audio and with far more depth than the factory tuning.
It is not that the factory settings are bad or anything, it’s just that a little bit of EQ play unlocks the drivers’ true potential.
Even without ANC, these earbuds isolate surprisingly well. The fit seals out a good chunk of ambient noise, especially in the mid-to-high frequencies. When ANC kicks in, it mostly targets low-end rumbles—like traffic or AC noise—with measurable suppression. By no means, the ANC is flagship level, but it isn’t far behind.

The transition between ANC and ambient modes is smooth, and you can enable Adaptive Sound Control from the app if you want the earbuds to change modes automatically based on your environment. Personally, I left it off and toggled manually.
Call quality is decent enough. Indoors, the mics pick up voice clearly, with good tonality. Outdoors, the performance is more mixed. In busy street environments, Sony’s noise reduction tends to chop a bit of your voice along with the background. It’s usable, but not the cleanest in the segment. Also, callers never complain about robotic sound even when talking outdoors and the noise suppression thing doing its job.
You can use either earbud independently, which is convenient if you’re taking long calls and want to keep one ear free.
The WF-C710N supports Bluetooth 5.3 and connects easily with multiple devices. It also supports multipoint, which is great for switching between your phone and laptop. Codec support is limited to SBC and AAC—which works fine for iPhone users as well as Android devices.

Sony WF-C710N battery life
Battery life was consistent with Sony’s claims, and in some cases better. I got just over 9 hours with ANC enabled, and the case brought total usage to around 30 hours. Charging is done via USB-C—no wireless charging here, which is forgivable at this price point.

Verdict
It is not that Sony isn’t trying to impress the masses with the C710N. The company certainly wants that attention and this is where the new semi-transparent design comes into the picture. But, these aren’t earbuds that aim to be revolutionary. What they do, they do with consistency. You get effective ANC, long battery life, customisable sound, and reliable connectivity. The treble could use some sparkle —but for most listeners, these are a well-rounded pair of mid-range earbuds that just work. At Rs 8,990, the Sony WF-C710N earns its place as a strong everyday performer, especially if you care more about comfort, ANC, and battery life than chasing the last ounce of fidelity.