Sony WI-SP500 Wireless Headphones Review

The Sony WI-SP500 have a unique earbud design that will work for some but not for everyone. They have long cylindrical earbuds with tips that do not go into the ear canal as deeply as most in-ears. The controls are also cleverly laid out on the buds and not on a separate in-line remote, which keeps the audio cable simple and unobtrusive, unlike some of the other wireless in-ears we've reviewed like the Sony WI-C300 and Skullcandy Jib. They look decently well-made and come in a couple of other color schemes that stand out a bit more than the Dark Gray/Black color we've reviewed. However, the unique shape of the buds protrude out of your ears quite a bit and may not be for everyone.

The Sony WI-SP500 are slightly more comfortable than typical in-ears. They come with earbud tips that do not enter the ear canal as deeply as more common in-ears, which most will prefer although this means that they also do not create the best seal. Unfortunately, the unique shape of the buds means they may not be as practical for some use cases, like watching movies in bed and being able to lie down on your side, unlike the really small earbuds of the Jaybird Freedom. They also only come with two tip sizes, which means they won't have the perfect fit for all users, but on the upside, since the tips are similar to earbuds, they are much more comfortable to wear for long listening sessions than regular in-ears.

The Sony WI-SP500 have a slightly cramped button layout but provide all the essential functions for a Bluetooth headset. They have a volume rocker on the underside of the right earbud that also controls track skipping if you press and hold the + or - volume buttons. They also have a power button on the bottom of the right bud that doubles as the play/pause and call management button. It's a simple and functional control scheme but just feels a bit cramped and does not have the best tactile feedback. Also, the layout takes a bit of time to get used to since it's a bit different from typical wireless in-ears with an in-line remote.

The Sony WI-SP500, like most in-ears and earbuds like the Plantronics BackBeat Fit, are very breathable headphones. The unorthodox earbud design and tips, trap slightly more heat within the notch of your ear when compared to typical in-ear designs, but it's very negligible and will not be noticeable under most circumstances, even during more intense physical activity.

The Sony SP500 are bit larger than typical in-ears but are still very portable headphones that will easily fit into your pockets. Unfortunately, they do not come with a case or pouch to make them easier to carry around in your bag, which is slightly disappointing.

These headphones do not come with case or pouch.

The Sony WI-SP500 have a decent build quality that feels durable enough for most use cases but has a relatively thin and flimsy cable. The long cylindrical earbuds feel dense and sturdy enough to handle multiple accidental drops without getting damaged. They also have an IPX4 splash-proof rating which is decent but won't be as sweat proof as some of the more sports-oriented headphones we've tested like the Anker SoundCore Spirit X or the JBL Endurance Sprint. Unfortunately, the cable feels a little cheaper than the rest of the design. It's not flat, braided or heavily rubberized like some of the other more premium in-ears we've tested. The cable may not be as durable as the rest of the design but overall, they should last you a while when used casually.

The Sony WI-SP500 are moderately stable. They're lightweight, and wireless but unfortunately, do not come with many tip sizes and do not have any stability fins to prevent them from falling out of your ears when exercising or doing more strenuous physical activities. They should be stable enough for jogging and most casual use cases, but the lack of tip options or an ear-hook design, like the JBL Endurance Sprint or the Anker Soundcore Spirit X, means they will not be the ideal headphones for sports.

• Sony WI-SP500 Headphones
• Earbud tips (x2 sizes)
• USB charging cable
• Cable management clip
• Manual

The frequency response consistency is quite poor. This is mainly due to their unusual earbud design, which makes their fit and placement quite inconsistent across multiple re-seats. In the bass and treble ranges, we measured more than 9dB of deviation in delivery depending on the placement of the headphones on our dummy head. However, depending on the size and shape of your ears, you may be able to achieve more consistent results with these earbuds.

The bass range performance of the WI-SP500 is mediocre-at-best. LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 58Hz, which is below-average. Low-bass, responsible for the thump and rumble common to bass-heavy music and sound effects is lacking by 10dB. Mid-bass, responsible for the body of bass guitars and the punch of kick drums is balanced, but with a tilt favoring higher frequencies. High-bass, responsible for warmth is overemphasized by more than 5dB. Overall, the bass of these headphones lacks sub-bass, and is noticeably boomy and muddy. It should also be noted that bass delivery of these earbuds varies significantly across users and re-seats, and the measurements shown here may not match what you hear.

The mid-range is mediocre. The overall response is quite even and flat but consistently overemphasized by more than 5dB. This makes the mid-range of these headphones quite prominent and overpowering, which results in a boxy and forward sound.

The treble range performance of the Sony WI-SP500 is very good. The response throughout the range is quite even but slightly hyped. This results in a detailed and clear reproduction of vocals, lead instruments, and cymbals, but their overall sound profile is on the bright side. Also, their treble delivery varies noticeably across users. The response here represents the average response and your experience may vary.

The imaging performance of the Sony WI-SP500 is average-at-best. Weighted group delay is 0.18, which is low and within good limits. The GD graph also shows that besides the fluctuations below 20Hz the rest of the group delay is below the audibility threshold. The sub-20Hz fluctuations won't be noticeable to most people, and therefore the bass of these headphones will be tight and fast, and their treble transparent. However, the L/R drivers of our test unit didn't measure as very well-matched, which is partly due to their unusual earbud design, making their fit and placement quite inconsistent. Therefore, the placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects), may not be very accurate and precise.

The Sony WI-SP500 have a poor soundstage. This is mainly due to their lack of interaction with the pinna, which is a key factor in giving the sense of a large and in-front soundstage. However, because of their open design, they tend to have a more open and spacious soundstage than closed-back headphones.

The Sony WI-SP500 have a poor isolation. These headphones have open earbuds and therefore don't provide any isolation in the bass range. This means they will let in all the low rumbling noises like the sound of an airplane or bus engine. In the mid-range, important for blocking out speech, they isolate by about 3dB, which is quite inadequate. In the treble range, occupied by sharp sounds like S and Ts, they achieve 17dB of isolation, which is decent.

The leakage performance is great. These headphones don't leak in the bass and mid-range, meaning their leakage will be quite thin sounding. The significant portion of their leakage is spread in a narrow band around 6KHz. The overall level of their leakage is quite low too. With the music at 100dB SPL, their leakage at 1 foot away averages at 31dB SPL and peaks at 48dB SPL, which is just below the noise floor of an average office.

The Sony WI-SP500 have a mediocre microphone. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with this mic will sound relatively thin, and noticeably lacking in detail. However, it may also sound a bit sharp and piercing in certain frequency ranges. In noisy situations, they struggle to fully separate speech from background noise even in moderately loud situations, like a busy street.

The microphone of the SP500 has a mediocre recording quality. The LFE (low-frequency extension) of 233Hz results in a recorded/transmitted speech that is relatively thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 3.6KHz means speech will lack detail, however, the significant peak around 2KHz could make the sound of this microphone quite piercing.

The noise handling of the WI-SP500's microphone is mediocre. In our SpNR test, it achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 11dB. This means they are best suited for quiet environments, as they may struggle to fully separate speech from ambient noise even in moderately loud places.

These headphones have a somewhat decent 7-hour battery life but do not have a lot of power saving features. You can't use them while they are charging, they have no auto-off feature once connected to a Bluetooth source, and no passive playback since they are Bluetooth-only headphones. On the upside, they charge decently quickly at 1.9 hours.

The Sony WI-SP500 headphones do not come with a compatible app for added customization options

These headphones do not have multi-device pairing but do support NFC. Their hold-to-pair procedure is also not too difficult to use compared to some of the other Bluetooth headphones we've tested.

These headphones have quite a bit of latency which will be noticeable when watching videos. It's a bit more than typical Bluetooth headphones and will not be ideal for latency-sensitive use cases.

The Sony SP500 have no wired option. If you want a good sounding wired in-ear, then check the 1More Triple Driver In-Ear.

These headphones do not have a dock. If you want a headphone that's versatile and has a dock, try the SteelSeries Arctis 7. However, they won't be as portable or as suitable for sports as the SP500.