Sony WF-C510 Are The Best For Their Price

The Sony WF-C510 are the new generation of wireless earbuds that go on sale for only 59 dollars. I have tested them thoroughly to be able to tell you whether or not they are worth it.

Who said that you have to spend a lot of money to get headphones from Sony? Beyond its star products, such as the Sony WF-1000XM5 or the Sony WH-1000XM5, the Asian manufacturer also has entry-level audio products such as the Sony WF-C510 that are the subject of this review with opinions.

These new wireless headphones with earbuds are the renewal of the Sony WF-C500 that were presented back in 2011. Those came out costing almost double the 59 euros at launch with which the WF-C510 landed on the Spanish market, hence why at that time we were talking about a mid-range model.

In addition to a substantial reduction in price, a more compact and lighter design, a battery with more autonomy and the compatibility of simultaneous connection with two devices are some of the additional innovations that Sony’s new low cost headphones bring to the table.

A plastic design that feels like plastic

It is an elongated box, quite tall by the way, the size of a lipstick. Sony says that the volume of the case has been reduced by 23% compared to the previous generation.

On the front you will find an LED light to indicate the battery status; on the back, you will see the USB Type-C charging port and the configuration button.

Inside the case there are the two usual spaces for the headphones, with the standard system of magnets for charging them.

I’m not going to lie to you: the case feels like the cheap headphones they are. It is lightweight and gives the impression of rather poor quality, don’t expect a premium experience for this price.

The headphones have an in-ear design that I found really comfortable even after several hours of continuous use, although just in case the manufacturer includes replacement ear pads of different sizes so you can choose the one that best fits your ear.

The brand claims that the volume of the earpiece has been reduced by 21% compared to the previous generation, with a reduction in weight from 5.4 to 4.6 grams.

An important aspect is that the button on each earpiece is a physical push button, that is to say, it is not a touch surface where you just have to lightly touch it with your finger to carry out an action, but you have to actually press it.

I didn’t love this. It’s a bit annoying having to press the earpiece against your ear every time you want to pause the music, and I don’t like having to hear that “click” in my ear every time I do it.

In addition, this model does not have an ear detection sensor, so the music will not pause when you take off the headphones.

The WF-C510 are IPX4 certified for water resistance (i.e. they can only withstand splashes and sweat, so I don’t advise you to take a shower with them on).

Compatible with any device (up to 2 at a time) and an app full of customization

These headphones are compatible with practically any device you can imagine: Android, iOS, Windows and macOS are the main operating systems they support, among others. All your device needs is Bluetooth connectivity.

Since they feature Swift Pair and Fast Pair technology, which facilitates one-click pairing with Windows and Android devices, respectively, just press and hold the case’s settings button for a few seconds, and you’ll receive a notification on your device to pair the headphones.

But, as is usual with these products, it is Android users who can get the most out of the Sony WF-C510 if they install the official Sony | Headphones Connect application.

From this application you can adjust everything related to the equalizer, the ambient sound or the quick access buttons on each earpiece.

In addition to this, there are three specific functions of the headphone application that are worth commenting on in more detail:

360 Reality Audio, an immersive audio experience in your ears
360 Reality Audio allows you to have an immersive audio experience in the headphones.

One Sony’s technology present in these headphones is multi-point connection, which allows you to have an active wireless connection with up to two devices so you can switch from one to the other with ease.

This is very useful if you want to work listening to music on your mobile but, at the same time, you want to be ready to join a video call on your PC without wasting time switching from one connection to another.

Of course, the WF-C510s have a hands-free function for taking calls from the headphones.

I can’t believe they sound this good for this price

Design, application or battery life are all irrelevant: if I had to recommend the Sony WF-C510 for one reason only, it would be for the audio quality of its headphones.

I don’t think I’ve ever worn cheap wireless headphones that sound so good.

What a clean sound, what bass and what good depth with any type of music. I mean, nothing like other headphones of the same price that I’ve tried to date. Well done, Sony.

Also, despite not having active noise cancellation, they isolate very well from the outside.

In addition, you can optionally activate the DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) function from the application, which improves the sound quality of compressed music files.

You can use them all day long and the battery won’t run out 

They really are battery-powered to spare. I have been listening to music almost non-stop from 9 in the morning until late in the afternoon, and even then I was not able to get the battery level in the headphones below 50%.

Sony promises up to 11 hours of battery life for the headphones + an additional 11 hours with the charging case.

Something strange happened to me with the battery level of the headphones, and that is that the remaining battery level was not updated in real time. It stayed at 100% for a long time, and then it suddenly jumped to 70%. It’s as if it didn’t measure all the battery levels, but went by steps.

Furthermore, as you can see in the screenshot above, the remaining charge of the case is not updated automatically, but it is necessary to insert one of the headphones and take it out to see the updated charge level. A bit weird…

The case allows you to double the autonomy of the headphones (up to 22 hours in total), and has fast-charging technology that allows you to get 1 hour of music playback with just 5 minutes of charging.

In the box in which the headphones come you will not find either the wall adapter or the charging cable. Manufacturers are including fewer and fewer accessories…

Verdict: they are not the perfect headphones, but they are the cheap wireless headphones that will surprise you with their sound quality

Of course, the Sony WF-C510 are not perfect. They have a plastic-like design; the buttons on the headphones are physical and have to be pressed to work; they do not have active noise cancellation… these are the main drawbacks that you will have to accept if you want cheap wireless headphones with good sound quality.

Furthermore, their excellent battery life and ease of connection with two devices at the same time are aspects that reinforce the good opinion I have ended up having of these headphones after having tested them thoroughly.

Surely alternatives like the Nothing Ear (a) or Google Pixel Buds A are better in aspects like design or active noise cancellation (the former), but I doubt they can stand up to these in sound quality.

So perhaps I would have more doubts about the Sony WF-C700N, which are from last year but come from a slightly higher range and are currently priced very competitively as an alternative to the protagonists of this review.

The Sony WF-C510 go on sale in September with a starting price of 59 euros. They will be available in four different colors (blue, white, black, and yellow).