Sony has launched a new INZONE brand along with three H-Series headphones and the INZONE H9 are the top-of-the-line option. The new headphone lineup is specifically designed to appeal to PC and PlayStation 5 gamers and at varying price points. When it comes to the INZONE H9 headphones, these heavily lean on a number of design traits and features of Sony’s popular WH-1000X series. In many ways, they are a WH-1000X set of headphones for gamers.
Sony is no stranger to audio or to gaming and the H-series headphones are designed to bridge that gap. There are three models available with the INZONE H3 and H7 completing the lineup. While all three do share many similarities and features, they not only vary in price, but also in connectivity and comfort. As to be expected, the H9 comes with all of the main selling points of the other two, and adds more to the mix.
At $299 in the United States, the INZONE H9 headphones are not exactly cheap and priced to reflect their premium status. At this price they are treading awfully close to WH-1000X territory with the WH-1000XM4 priced at $349 and the newer WH-1000XM5 costing $399. The price is not the only similarity either, with the H9 sharing some of the same key features including noise canceling and soft fit leather for a more comfortable fit. In fact, Sony has no issue with actively saying how these H9 features have been inherited from the WH-1000X series. Screen Rant was provided with a set of H9 headphones to try, and as a daily WH-1000XM4 wearer, they are an interesting proposition.
What Works With The INZONE H9 Headphones
After unboxing the INZONE H9 headphones, it quickly becomes clear that they take a lot of design inspiration from the PlayStation 5. They are only available in the PS5 default off-white/black color scheme, and once fully charged, feature an ear cup LED light that’s very PS5-esque, illuminating either white or blue depending on the connection. The headphones are adjustable to a degree - wearers can adjust the height and swivel the ear cups slightly. However, they are not collapsible, with the adjustments available identical to those on the WH-1000XM5, making them significantly less forgiving than the WH-1000XM4.
Another big selling point with these headphones is their connectivity options. Although they are unable to be wire-connected to a device, they do support Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth. In fact, the headphones are able to connect to multiple devices at the same time, making it possible to quickly take a phone call on a smartphone without the game audio being affected. Essentially, the user continues to hear the game audio at a lower volume in the background while the call audio is heard in the foreground. In testing, this worked very well and made it simply to quickly take a call without having to worry about pausing the game.
Speaking of calls, the microphone arm can be adjusted up and down, basically from an ‘in use’ position to a ‘not in use’ position. When connected to a PC or a PS5, the mic automatically switches off when the arm is moved to the up position. Likewise, it then requires fully lowering to a horizontal position to be enabled again. As the mic is also used to aid ambient sound passthrough, its up or down position also affects how much sound is let through. In general, the quality of the microphone was pretty good whether it was used for calls or in-game chatting, and there is also an option to adjust the level of game or chat audio (a sliding scale) to further help personalize and emphasize what the wearer predominantly hears.
Design aside, the H9 headphones also offer pretty incredible battery life with up to 32 hours available on a single charge. This is actually longer than both the WH-1000XM4 and the WH-1000XM5 (with ANC on) offer. However, for those that want the ultimate in battery life, the cheaper INZONE H7 headphones are rated to offer up to 40 hours on a single charge. The reason for this is their lack of noise canceling so therein is the compromise for those opting for the cheaper pair. Back to the H9, it was difficult to really test the battery limit in any single setting, but there were certainly no issues with them lasting through an all-day Elden Ring session with battery to spare. In terms of charging, things were a little more mediocre with the headphones requiring around two and a half hours to get a full charge. Still, this is quicker than WH-1000X headphones.
Arguably, the most unique selling point of the INZONE H9 is their noise cancelling. The H9 headphones offer the ability to cancel out nearby sounds and this can be enabled directly via a button on the left earcup. While the adjustments are not clearly indicated when made, other than different length beeps which are hard to really understand, the headphones do a good job of cancelling out ambient sounds and focusing in on the game audio. Even when someone was sitting right beside and playing a video on their smartphone, it was difficult to hear anything outside of the game. Considering the noise cancellation is said to have been directly inherited from the WH-1000X series, the effectiveness of the cancellation shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise.
The other main, albeit not reserved for the H9, selling point is spatial audio, and this also performed well when tested and works on both PC and PS5. On the PlayStation 5, specifically, there’s an additional section within the settings where the experience can be further fine-tuned.
For PC gamers, Sony has released a new INZONE Hub software program that does pretty much the same thing. Once downloaded, installed and opened, the program makes it possible to further customize the spatial sound experience as well as quickly adjust the volume or the EQ presets.
For those wanting the ultimate tailored experience, there is also the option to take a photo of the user’s ears with the new 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app. This photo is then used to create a custom optimal sound field that’s based on the individual shape of the head and ear. According to Sony, the photos, and any identifiable information, is not sent to the INZONE Hub, although the analyzed data that’s used to create the individual spatial sound profile is. However, the app does further explain that pictures taken are sent to Sony’s servers for analysis and research. After the analysis is used to create the custom experience, the images remain on the server but are not linked to an individual, and are destroyed after 30 days, Sony says.
Of course, all of this ear-capturing is totally optional and regardless of how fine-tuned the user makes the experience, the spatial audio works well in general. When gaming, the sound is heard from the direction it is supposed to be coming from within the game. For example, when playing Elden Ring, it became considerably easier to hear when an enemy was approaching from behind, especially those on horseback with the galloping and the direction the horse-riding enemy was coming from easy to distinguish. Of course, that won’t necessarily stop you losing to any of the Elden Ring enemies, it just provides that fraction of a second more warning, in addition to a directional indicator of where the attack is about to come from.
Elden Ring enemies aside, the quality of the spatial sound does add additional depth to the game audio in general, enriching the experience in the process. This, then when coupled with the noise cancelling, really does add to the gaming experience and helped to create a more locked-in and focused approach to playing the game. Arguably, the combination of these two features are why you would consider opting for the INZONE H9 headphones.
What Doesn’t Work With The INZONE H9
Those familiar with the WH-1000X series will likely be aware that the newest WH-1000XM5 headphones come with a new design. The INZONE H9 come with the same design philosophy making them far more similar to the WH-1000XM5 than the WH-1000XM4 or any previous version. This also means the design comes with some of the same compromises, including less of an inability for the headphones to be collapsed down into a more compact and portable form.
If planning to use these as stationary gaming headphones then this might not matter so much, and many other competing gamer-focused headphones also don’t come with great foldability. However, if wanting to travel with them as a gaming accessory it is likely to be more of a problem. From a WH-1000X wearer perspective, the H9 headphones are also considerably larger and heavier. All of which further makes clear that these headphones are not designed to be portable, but used as stationary headphones. Likewise, and even though these headphones are designed to be more comfortable when worn for incredibly long periods, they did become increasingly uncomfortable the longer they were worn in any one session. This is somewhat of a common issue with gaming headphones in general, and whether an individual will find them better or worse than other products will depend on their head and what design typically works best for them.
Speaking of your head, there's the new 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app which looks to fine-tune the experience. While it probably does add something, the spatial sound on the INZONE H9 headphones works well enough right out of the box so it remains to be seen how much better the app is really making the experience. Not to mention, it was really awkward trying to create the individual sound profile. The idea is that the app takes photos of your ears, but considering you need to have your head turned, it is actually quite difficult to take the photos on your own. The user needs to solely rely on the audio commands from the app to position their head perfectly and any deviance from those commands results in the app failing to capture the photos. To be clear, it can be done, it is just an awkward experience, and probably isn't really worth the effort to begin with. Not to mention, taking photos of your ears is the only thing the app can do.
The H9 also includes a scroll wheel for volume and it can also be a little awkward to use. It doesn’t feel all that durable but the more pressing issue was its infinity scroll. There is no start or end point so you can just keep continually scrolling the wheel without any clear tactile indication of the volume. Scrolling to the bottom or top will eventually result in audio prompts (beeps) advising you’ve hit the bottom or the top. While that's fine, it was felt volume control would work better if there was a physical beginning and end to the scrolling, and especially when adjusting the volume quickly.
The price is something else that could be an issue for some. The H9 headphones did perform well during testing and do offer a better gaming experience. However, they are still $299 and there are plenty of gamer-focused headphones available to buy at a cheaper price. In fact, Sony itself is selling the new INZONE H3 headphones at just $99 and they also benefit from the same spatial audio support.
Should You Buy The INZONE H9 Headphones?
If you’re a serious PC or PlayStation 5 gamer, the INZONE H9 headphones are designed for you. They borrow heavily from the WH-1000XM5 headphones making them somewhat of a gamer version for those that one want. However, they are pretty expensive at $300 and certainly more expensive than many headset models from Razer, SteelSeries and HyperX. At the same time, the noise cancelling and spatial audio are premium features that are not available on some of those other models and do naturally add to the cost. If serious about gaming, and wanting these specific premium features, then the INZONE H9 headphones are worth considering.
If noise cancelling is less of a requirement then the $229 INZONE H7 headphones look like they might be a better deal. Considering the overlap in features with the H9, the H7 headphones are likely to be the set that appeals to most gamers. Then again, if you don’t want to run out of battery ever, or just prefer the use of wired headphones, there might not be any point spending any more than the $99 Sony is asking for the INZONE H3, especially as the cheapest pair also come with spatial audio.
Again, from a WH-1000X user’s perspective, I’m not sure I would buy the INZONE H9 headphones in addition to owning (or even in replace of buying) a pair of WH-1000X4 or 5, although I might be tempted to buy the H3 at the much cheaper $99 price. However, and even from a WH-1000X user’s perspective, if looking for a pair of headphones that are primarily going to be used for gaming, then these are certainly a better option. It is not so much that they are better headphones, but Sony has done a good job of porting the best WH-1000X features over and into a package specifically designed with gamers in mind.
Source: Sony