Arguably, the most exciting development in the past few days is Sony finally giving its products names that are easy to pronounce and remember. Yes, I’m looking at your SRS-XP500 and WH-1000XM5. Their new Ult series, consisting of the Ult Tower, Ult Field, and Ult Wear, all have names that make sense for the kind of products they are.
The Ult Tower is a massive omnidirectional floor-standing speaker (which comes with a mic!) for large parties and karaoke; the Ult Field offers two portable wireless speakers of varying sizes designed to be taken on the go with very impressive IP67 ratings, and finally, the Ult Wear, as the name suggests, are the new headphones.
The Ult refers to ‘Ultimate.’ Sony’s new line targets concertgoers to make you feel like you’re in the front row at your own private concert. The Ult button raises both, and pressing it again maxes both out. You can also press it a third time to turn both off.
A dedicated button for boosting bass
This new ‘Ult’ button on the Ult Wear is responsible for increasing sound pressure and bass depending on how many times it’s pressed. My early concern was that this might be a marketing gimmick, but I was so happy to be proven wrong.
This button adds a shocking amount of bass to your music and amplifies the low-end already present in it. Songs that I never considered punchy came through with surprisingly powerful bass. The difference was so noticeable that I even felt it on podcasts, though that wasn’t very pleasant. Activating the Ult button made the speaker’s voice much thicker.
The only disclaimer here is that you shouldn’t expect anything besides bass and power from this button. It will certainly not make your music sound nicer. If anything, it reduces clarity and detail. Be prepared for the bass to fully take over all other orchestra elements — especially when you press the button twice. The treble will no longer be able to cut through, and there’ll also be a considerable drop in the overall airiness of your soundscape.
This button is for situations, such as the gym, where all you care about is bass and power, and the quality of your music doesn’t matter as much.
I like that there’s a middle ground — pressing the button once — for when you want some power but not enough to overshadow everything else. And the fact that you can turn both settings off and use these as regular headphones that sound excellent is always an option.
Huge, physical buttons for everything
After the Ult functionality, the controls on these headphones are probably my favorite thing about these headphones. I love the huge, dedicated button for everything on the left cup. The power button can be long-pressed to do its job and short-pressed to give you a battery status update, and the long button next to it cycles between ANC and ambient modes. The Ult button is strategically placed at a distance so you don’t run into missteps.
Like the flagship Sony XM5, the Ult Wear also handles all playback via a touch interface on the exterior of its right cup. You can double-tap it to play/pause and swipe up/down to raise/lower the volume. For small talk, when you don’t want to pause your music, you can cover the right earcup with your hand to instantly reduce volume (another XM5 spec). Wear detection technology on the Ult Wear ensures your music is paused as soon as you take it off and resumes when you put it back on, which also helps with battery life.
They fold!
I’ve been talking about what these $349 headphones do and the $549 XM5s. But this is something the flagship headphones didn’t offer, and consumers were pretty bummed about it. They fold. And there’s a nice, hard-shell, zippered case they come housed in, which makes them ideal for taking on the go. I love plopping these in my work tote; they don’t take up much space.
Good enough for public transport
I’ve said this before. The Subway is my ultimate litmus test of ANC. If I can be on the phone or listen to a podcast on the platform with trains passing by, the ANC has got to be decent. The Ult Wear exceeded my expectations of $349 headphones. I wouldn’t have been disappointed if these were half as good as Sony’s $549 cans, but they pleasantly surprised me. I could clearly make out every word of my podcast and easily took multiple calls on the platform. The sound of the trains’ engines and station announcements were around 80% muted. Unlike the XM5, I could still tell I was at a train station, though.
On the streets, they silenced a thunderous construction site, the siren of a fire truck that most headphones cannot mute, and every car horn. I mostly turned the ambient mode on in the streets, which allowed me to stay in touch with my surroundings. Sony claims that you can have around 30 hours of battery life with ANC turned on and 50 hours when it’s off.
A wind noise reduction mic
Along with the standard noise-cancelling mics, there’s also a new wind-reduction mic on the Ult Wear. For a midrange pair of headphones to offer frills like these is impressive.
Another such frill that I wish it offered was multi-point connectivity. The Ult Wear connects to just one device at the moment.
Very comfortable
I have been cycling between these and the Beats Studio Pro these days, and even though the Beats cost $520, these are way more comfortable. The Studio Pro pulls at my hair, and the headband is too thin. The Ult Wear leaves your hair alone, and the headband, though it isn’t the widest, is generously cushioned. My noggin felt at ease wearing these for hours every other day.
The Sony Ult Wear headphones are $349. Purchase from Bing Lee | Sony Australia