These are the WF-C700N earbuds; with a codename like that, you know it's a Sony. When it comes to active noise cancelling, Hi-Res audio true wireless earbuds, a bitter pill to swallow is often the price, but not here because Sony's sound-for-the-pound equation here seems to add up. 

At launch, the Sony WF-C700 noise-cancelling earbuds retail for £99 in the UK and €120 in Europe. The colour options consist of black, lavender and sage and white. And the design is quite an interesting one. The Carry case has a matted finish & shaped like a pill with a flat base, so it won't roll when placed on a flat surface. And it is pretty compact. 

The Buds have the same textured finish as the case & a similar shape and size to the slightly more expensive Sony LinkBuds S, but with a few significant design differences. The external noise-cancelling mic has a silver protective mesh. There are no wear-detect sensors; however, they auto disconnect when both are placed back in the charging case, so that's not a deal breaker for me. 

And Instead of capacitive touch controls, the Sony WF-700N have large Clicky buttons.

Usually, I complain about clicky buttons on earbuds because, in some cases, using them can force the silicon tips uncomfortably into your ear canal. But with the WH-C700N, the pressure created from pressing the buttons is distributed higher up on the ear. So it avoids that problem, so that's good. 

And also, there are no accidental touches & no doubt when you've pushed them. Two issues that you can experience with touch controls. Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying they're better than the Linkbuds S of XM5 capacitive controls... I'm just saying. I don't mind the large buttons. They're just so easy to use. 

The inputs consist of single, double, and triple and push and hold gestures, which are customizable within the Sony Headphones Connect app.

Now listen here; the £99 price point for TWS earbuds is crowded and competitive. And you can find other ANC Hi-Res earbuds at this price point, but not many have Sony's audio expertise.

Here's what I mean. The Drivers in the C700N are not off-the-shelf drivers that are available to any manufacturers. The WF-C700N use Sony's original 5mm Drivers. Sony says despite the size, these unique drivers pack a punch, powerful bass and stunningly clear vocals. And we'll return to what I think of the sound quality in a minute.

Another area where Sony's expertise shines through is in their headphones connect app. The C700Ns support the Sony Digital Signal Enhancement Engine. DSEE for short. They've been working on this Sony-exclusive software for years, maybe nearly a decade now. DSEE upscales lower-quality audio signals, which is most internet audio, for example, what you're listening to right now. As well as regular MP3 audio through streaming services unless you subscribe to a HiFi audio streaming service like Tidal.

And here is where Sony turned it up to 11. These earbuds have Sony's adaptive sound control that adjusts the sound signature depending on your surroundings. And if you enable the location features, The buds will learn what modes to use in specific locations...For example, at the library or a bus stop.

And, of course, this applies to the Active noise cancelling modes too. And another nice feature that you rarely see at this price point is the speak-to-chat feature. If your ANC is on and you begin to speak, it auto switches to ambient mode so that you can order a Gin & Tonic on aircraft, for example. And, of course, you can dial in custom EQs. Stick around to the end if you want to test out my custom EQs if you buy these.

Before I get to arguably the most important aspect of any earbuds, the sound quality, here are some need to knows. And they can run for up to 16 hours when it comes to power—8Hrs in the buds and an additional 8 in the case. The C700N do support Multipoint pairing, so your phone and laptop can connect simultaneously.

They do support Google fast pair. So popping the lid will make them discoverable to Android devices if not already paired. And they are IPX4 rated, so they are sweat and dust resistant. Making London underground proof. Three sizes of silicon tips are available/

And last but not least, the app also has a software feature that calibrates the sound signature for 360 reality audio. It involves snapping pictures of your ears, so prepare your Q tips.

And now you might be wondering how good the call quality is. Watch this video for the here the mics put to the test.

Ok, now let's talk about sound. It's a tricky one because of the amount of variables regarding preset EQs. I will say this. The bright EQ is a good all-rounder, but the Excited is my favourite. The jump up in low-frequency bass levels is surprising when switching to Excited. You'll love the sound signature here if you like bass-heavy tracks. 

When I test headphones, I try various genres to see how they perform across the board. Instrumentals, male vocals, female vocals, live recordings, and orchestral tracks. To see where they perform the best.

The C700N are well-rounded and perform well in High-frequencies & vocals, and you can hear really nice instrumental details when listening to Hi-Res, more so when you switch to the appropriate EQ, but their real strength is in the mid to low frequencies. Which will make them perfect for most modern styles of music...and with that said...That's not all they're good for.

I was listening to some Jimmi recorded in NY live in 1969... and these are fire for that track too.