When I review a product, I'm usually disappointed when my experience doesn’t match the marketing material. But the Sony ULT Wear headphones are different. I’m bothered by the fact that they are too accurate with the marketing pages. Sony aims to deliver a “front row seat at the concert” experience with its new ULT Wear headphones. And it does so, sometimes excessively.
The Sony ULT Wear feature a control setup similar to the XM5s, with the right earcup supporting touch controls. Swipe up or down to adjust volume, swipe forward or backward to change tracks, and double-tap to play or pause. The three physical buttons for power, noise cancellation/transparency mode, and ULT mode are located on the left earcup. Both the touch controls and buttons are responsive.
The new Sony headphones are rated to last up to 30 hours with noise cancellation on and up to 50 hours with noise cancellation off, which are solid numbers. During my testing, I didn’t feel restricted by the battery life. Plus, they feature quick charging: a 3-minute charge provides 90 minutes of music playback, while a 10-minute charge offers up to 5 hours of music streaming.
Even with the ULT mode turned off, the bass dominates at the expense of clarity and finesse. Moreover, the bass is lose and sounds muddy with the vocals being occasionally muted. Overall, the sound is dull to me.