So for awhile now the Sony XB900N’s have
been one of my most recommended pair of mid
range ANC headphones. They have good build
quality, they fit well, they have decent active
noise cancelation, their ambient mode is good,
they sound good and they also have a lot of
head rattling bass if you want it. But then
there are the Sony H.ear On 3’s which are
also a good pair of headphones and they’re
slotted above the XB900N’s… but which
one of these should you actually get?
Now the Sony XB900N’s retail for $250 where
as the H.ear On 3’s retail for $300. But
the XB900N’s routinely like to go on sale
for $178 and the H.ear On 3’s can routinely
be found on sale for $200 at Costco. Now at
those prices both of these headphones are
a bargain and you can’t go wrong with either
one but I do think one is overall superior
to the other. But nonetheless if you want
to pick either of these headphones up they’ll
be linked down below.
Now first off I do have to point out that
both of these headphones come included with
a carrying pouch rather than a hardshell carrying
case. Which is a rather big let down on both
off these headphones. So definitely if you
plan on traveling or commuting a lot with
either of these headphones I do advise that
you invest in a hardshell carrying case.
Now one area where the h.ear on 3’s definitely
out shine the XB900N’s is when it comes
to build quality… now don’t get me wrong,
both of these headphones have really good
build quality and they both stay silent whenever
you handle them. But what really makes the
H.ear On 3’s standout here is that their
whole body has a soft touch feel it. Even
the outer portion of the headband. Where as
XB900N’s entire body is just this textured
plastic… which does feel good but soft touch
feels better. But another area where the h.ear
on 3’s really outshine the XB900N and even
the 1000XM3’s for that matter is when it
comes to their leatherette. The lethetterette
on the H.ear On 3’s just feels much smoother
and softer than the leatherette on the XB900N.
Now the leatherette on the XB900N’s still
feels good and ive also said in the past that
it feels better than the super synthetic leatherette
found on the 1000XM3’s… but again the
leatherette on the H.ear On 3’s jut feels
better.
But when it comes to fit. I personally prefer
how the XB900N’s fit over the H.ear On 3’s.
Now both of these headphones fit well and
they’re both big head approved cause they
don’t have a lot of clamping force… but
the H.ear On 3’s do fit a little more firm
than the XB900N’s do. So I do prefer the
XB900N’s loser fit. Now when it comes to
the ear pads, keep in mind that both the XB900N
and H.ear On 3 have more spacious ear pads
than than the 1000XM3’s. Now the ear pads
on the XB900N should have no problem accommodating
most ear types… but if you have really large
ears or ears that stick out a lot then you’ll
might be better off with the H.ear On 3’s.
But personally for me I prefer to wear the
XB900N’s over the H.ear On 3’s. And just
putting it out there I do think the XB900N’s
are more comfortable than the 1000XM3’s
as well.
Now when it comes to tech specs, both of these
headphones charge via a USB C port. But keep
in mind these USB C ports are strictly used
for charging. You can’t use these USB C
ports as a wired connection like you can with
some other headphones out there. But when
it comes to battery life, the H.ear On 3’s
have an advertised battery life of 35 hours
where as the XB900N’s have an advertised
battery life of 30 hours. Nonetheless both
of these headphones have really good battery
lives for headphones in 2020.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity…
unfortunately both of these headphones can
only be connected to one device as time. You
can’t easily hot swap from one device to
another like you can with like the Bose NC
700 or the Surface Headphones 2.
But when it comes to watching movies or videos
on your phone… both of these headphones
have zero latency across the board whether
you using an iPhone or an android device which
is good. But I do have to point out that the
H.ear on 3’s only have AAC and LDAC support
where as the XB900N also have APTX and APTX
HD support as well as AAC and LDAC.
But you can always just use a wired connection
with both of these headphones cause both of
these headphones still have an easy to reach
3.5 millimeter audio jack. Now I know this
sound basic but some companies are starting
to remove the Audio jack on some of their
products. My only complaint here is that both
of these headphones do come with some cheap
audio cables.
But now lets talk about listening to music
with these headphones cause this is where
these headphones really differ from one another.
Performance wise these headphones sound the
same when it comes to sound stage and instrument
separation. And since both of these headphones
have a fully customizable EQ you can make
them sound how ever your want. If you like
a neutral EQ you can do that or if you like
a bass heavy EQ you can also do that. But
what really separates these headphones from
one another is their bass. Now the H.ear On
3’s have a decent amount of bass that will
rattle your head a little bit… but the bass
on the H.ear On 3’s is noticeably less than
the bass on the 1000XM3’s and its way less
than the kind of bass that you’ll find with
the XB900N. The XB900N are a part of Sony
Extra Bass Headphone line up meaning these
headphones have a lot of head rattling bass
to them. Which can be pretty fun sometimes.
And having the clear bass slider on the H.ear
on 3’s set to 10 is like having the bass
on the XB900N set to 2. And like I mentioned,
all of this head rattling bass can be a lot
of fun especially if you listen to a lot of
rap and hip hop like I do. And that extra
bass feature on the XB900N does bring an extra
level of emersion when you’re watching movies
with these headphones. But that extra bass
on these headphones can sometimes get old
or some people just don’t like a lot of
bass on their headphones. And thats perfectly
okay cause you can always just lower the bass
on these headphones and you don’t even have
to use their extra bass feature if you don’t
want to. So even though both of these headphones
sound decent… I do prefer and recommend
the XB900N over the H.ear On 3’s cause they
have that extra bass feature if you want it.
Now when it comes to controlling your music,
both of these headphones have touch pads which
are very accurate and easy to use. But I do
want to point out that I do feel that the
touch pad on the XB900N is a little easier
to use than the touch pad on the H.ear On
3’s. I just find that my finger glides much
easier on the XB900N’s than the H.ear On
3’s cause the H.ear On 3’s soft touch
surface does add some friction. Nonetheless
both of these touchpad are fine, but I do
prefer the XB900N’s.
But finally lets talk about the active noise
cancellation on these headphones. Just as
you’d expect, as you move up the latter
the active noise canlcetion improves on these
headphones. Since the H.ear On 3’s are slotted
above the XB900N’s… the H.ear On 3’s
have slightly better active noise cancelation.
But so that you can see for youreself we’re
going to jump into an ANC test.
So like you may have just seen, the H.ear
On 3’s block out a little more noise than
the XB900N but just slightly. But neither
of these headphones stack up to the 1000XM3’s
which is to be expected. Now even though the
H.ear On 3’s block out a little more noise
than the XB900N, the H.ear On 3’s have a
much higher pitch to them when blocking out
road noise than the XB900N. But nonetheless
the ANC on both of these headphones is decent
cause they both have very little to no cabin
pressure which does contribute to their over
all comfort.
But somewhere where these headphones are identical
is when it comes to their ambient modes. Both
of these headphones have a fully customizable
ambient mode so that you can adjust how much
sound these headphones let in. And the ambient
modes on both of these headphones sounds very
natural, they have zero hissing in the background
and they both do a very good job of blocking
out wind noise when walking outdoors. But
just keep in mind, unlike the ambient mode
on the 1000XM3’s which actively block out
sudden spikes in loud noises the ambient modes
on these headphones let in everything. But
besides that, the ambient modes on both of
these headphones is great.
And both of these headphones also have quick
attention so that you can quickly talk to
someone without having to take your headphones
off like this.
And then when you uncover their touch pad
they’ll go back to normal again.
But finally here’s the microphone test.
Now I have this AC unit turned on cause I
want to show what kind of a job these headphones
do isolating your voice from any ambient sound
you might have around you. Now the XB900N’s
do an okay job of isolating your voice and
these headphones do sound very similar to
the 1000XM3’s
But the H.ear On 3’s does do a slightly
better job of focusing on your voice and they
block out that AC unit a little better. Cause
if we were to switch to my lapel microphone
you’re going to clearly hear that AC unit.
But if we switch back to the H.ear On 3’s
not so much. But over all, the microphone
on these headphones isn’t the best out there
but they can get the job done for a quick
phone call.
So with all that being said, I do think the
H.ear On 3’s are the better built and better
looking headphones here. I really like their
all soft touch body, I really like their super
spacious ear pads, and I really like their
great feeling leatherette. But personally
I still prefer and recommend the XB900N’s
over the H.ear On 3’s. The biggest reason
why I recommend the XB900N over the H.ear
On 3’s is cause of their extra bass feature.
Its is a lot of fun to listen to and if you
want to use it, its there. But if you don’t
want to use it you don’t have to. But also
I do prefer the XB900N’s slightly loser
fit and their lower price tag is the cherry
on top. And at the end of the day, ANC performance
difference between these two headphones is
very marginal. Like I said in the full review
im not really sure why the H.ear On 3’s
exists. If I were sony I would get rid of
the H.ear On 3’s and I would just bring
some of those design elements and build quality
improvements to the XB900N and continue to
dominate that Mid Range ANC headphones market.
