Sony INZONE Buds Review

Sony’s INZONE line is gaining significant ground in the gaming audio market, with headsets that aren’t bound to the PlayStation name. The INZONE name now has a pair of true wireless earbuds to expand its selection. Let’s see if the INZONE Buds are the go-to wireless earbuds for gaming.

What You Get

• Hybrid silicone rubber earbuds
• Warranty card
• Charging Case
• USB Cable
• Reference Guide
• USB transceiver

Look & Feel

The structure of these earbuds are reminiscent of Sony’s WF-1000XM3, except way smaller. The INZONE Buds are a way more refined and modern design, with a sleeker look and ergonomic shape. There’s not much else to their design, but the INZONE Buds are very comfortable, although, the charging case is quite big.

Design & Functionality

The INZONE Earbuds carry an 8.4mm dynamic driver, providing a sufficient output with okay headroom. Volume control can be raised by using the touch sensors on the eabuds, which also operate a few other controls like noise-canceling and mic togling. These actions come out with short delay and is mostly very responsive. Of course, with any pair of noise-canceling headphones or earbuds from Sony, you’re going to get incredibly effective isolation. These mics are also used for voice chat, which interprets your voice with average clarity. All of these settings can be accessed using the INZONE Hub, which you can download if you’re using these earbuds with your PC. This app gives you a ton of sound personalization options as well with EQ and spatial sound. It’s a graphic EQ with ten faders you can use to boost or attenuate those frequencies. You also have dynamic range control that makes certain sounds easier to hear. For spatial audio, the INZONE Buds use Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, which measures your hearing profile for a more effective spatial audio performance.

Bluetooth

You might be a bit confused if you’re planing to use the INZONE Buds with your smartphone using standard Bluetooth. The INZONE Buds come with a USB Type C transciever, which is the only way to get these buds to pair unless you have a device compatible with LE Audio. This dongle offers low latency and enhanced precision over wireless.

Battery Life

Because of the USB-C dongle, the INZONE Buds are able to provide a larger battery life than what you’re used to seeing for true wireless earphones. These buds give you a whole 12 hours of playtime, extending to 24 hours using the charging case. This is a fantastic amount of charge, especially if you’re using the INZONE Buds for long gaming sessions.

Soundstage

There are a few ways you can enjoy the INZONE’s soundstage. You have your standard stereo option, and spatial audio supported by Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. If you’re using the PS5, the 3D soundstage will be more effective with games then using the hub on PC in my experience. The soundstage will feel more optimized for 3D, and the earbuds will respond more naturally.

Using 360 Reality Audio through PC still feels immersive with games, but you don’t get the depth that Dolby Atmos or DTS gives you on the PS5. However, the INZONE Buds offer surprisingly good imaging through standard stereo. It does a fantastic job making the sound elements feel distinct and easy to localize through great channel  separation. This creates a soundstage with a large wingspan that fits both games and music so perfectly. With 360 Audio turned on, these elements come out in front of you more, but the stage becomes narrower. It’s not quite the bubble around your head you might like from other spatial audio earbuds, but in terms of natural stereo imaging, the INZONE Buds respond well in any scenario.

Low End

Without using the EQ in the INZONE hub, the bass has a consistent thump in the mid-bass that brings a good presence to most effects and instruments. You don’t get a lot of depth in the sub-bass though, which gives you less rumble with certain effects like explosions or other cinematic stingers in games. Bass drops in music also lack a bottom layer, but with EQ you’re able to add a semblance of foundation to the lows. The bass imaging also expands significantly, inflating the tone with fullness and warmth.

Mids

While some of the mids feel bloated by the mid-bass, the frequency response still comes together quite elegantly. This comes with the more natural response of the upper-midrange, which gives some nice detail to instruments and some dialogue. This is where the mids gain a surprising amount of musicality, sticking out from the foggier low-mids for a more enticing response from instruments and effects. It doesn’t quite get all of the in-game score from being relegated to the background, but it’s still an intelligible response.

Highs

The treble is totally present, and provides a good balance of frequencies. While there’s a bit of brightness in the highs, they are never harsh, and work to preserve the character of the sounds that come through the Buds. There’s a crisp tail to a lot of different effects, increasing the height and direct placement of the sound. With its brightness, the treble still feels completely accurate and realistic with a majority of sound elements.

Summary

Sony’s new true wireless gaming earbuds are very impressive for both music and gaming. I liked how detailed some of its response felt in comparison to other earbuds in this price range, especially ones that a geared toward gaming. There are definitely parts of its sound that I thought were lacking, but everything comes together nicely, and brings a higly enjoyable listening experience for your games.

The Sony INZONE Buds are available at Audio46.