Sony WI-XB400 Wireless In-Ear Extra Bass Headset/Headphones with mic for phone call, Black

my perspective on this review is solely based on comparison to the headset these were meant to replace. i had a pair of aukey ep-b60 that i loved. i felt the audio quality was good for what i needed, from phone calls to music to podcasts, etc. they were comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, they fit my ear comfortably (i have bad luck with earbuds either refusing to stay seated or hurting my ears after a short amount of time), they were not true wireless (i hate those), they were charged via usb-c. just loved them. but they were discontinued and when mine finally started to fail, i was left in a lurch. so i tried a couple similar styles of headsets, which lead me to the Sony WI-XB400.first off, kudos to sony for even offering this style or earbud headphones. true wireless dominates the market and i had a hard time even finding companies i recognize who had even one option like this. i prefer to have the buds connected so i don't lose one, and can just let them hang when not in use and don't have to keep track of each ear piece. i like being able to charge it with the same cable i charge my phone with (or any USB-C cable), and not have to ALSO keep track of a case and its charge (which also costs like half the price of the earbuds, if replacement cases are even offered.)i tried the beats flex and hated them. they sounded awful (or i guess, they just sounded too different from my aukeys.) the audio hurt my ears as did the earbuds themselves. there was so much cord noise. they were more expensive than these sony's or what i paid for the aukey's. it was a hard pass. i returned them and i kept looking.the Sony WI-XB400 seems to be a winner. they have a sound that is pretty close to how my aukey's sounded. while these do not have the little nub that hooks into your ear crevasse to hold the earbud in place like the aukeys, i none the less found the caps to be comfortable, non-irritating, and stayed put. while i don't think they are AS comfortable as the aukeys, i can nevertheless wear them for a long time without noticing them, hurting my ears, or needing to reach up to reinsert them constantly. i've had no problems charging them and they've lasted all day. no problems connecting to my devices. the cord noise is minimal, especially if the cord is seated perfectly on your neck. the voice cues are nice (hearing how much battery is left is a nice touch) but also a bit unnecessary.the following is not necessarily negatives as much as nitpicks. none of these are deal breakers for me, just some nice to haves:the cord is very long. to be honest, too long. they almost reach bellow my sternum when they are hanging around my neck. i've almost hit them on the stove burner or dipped them into dirty dish water. they do not need to be this long.the magnets that connect the buds together when around your neck are very weak. they separate too easily and are unwieldy trying to get them to snap together while they're dangling.you need to manually turn on and off the headset by holding down the play button. my aukeys would turn off and pause the media when stuck together. these do nothing. i think at the very least pausing the audio with you remove the earbuds and join the magnets would be a good feature. i DO like the power on and off switch in some cases, it's nice to know they won't switch on if i stick them in my pocket. it's just difficult to know if the headset is on or off without putting them back on and holding the power button and waiting the the voice to tell you.the play/power button is the exact same as the volume down button on the controls, just a slightly different size. bad bad bad design. i appreciate that you can find the buttons by feel alone, but the volume down button feels exactly the same as the pause button. you have to take an extra beat to make sure it's the button you need before pressing it. very annoying. making the power button even just like a hollow circle would be so useful.those issues aside, i am really happy with these earbuds. i still prefer my aukeys and am sad they no longer make them, but these are so far the next best thing. i cannot speak on their durability but i am hoping to get a good run out of them

I was replacing a pair of Beat Flex that I'd been using daily for about 10 months, so they're my most direct comparison. When I saw the Flex price hike, I decided to opt for a less costly alternative. I saw the limited deal price on the WI-XB400 and decided to begin a new life with a new pair of wireless buds.First ImpressionsPaired effortlessly with my phone, controls were intuitive enough that I didn't need to look at the instructions. (Long press on power to enter pairing mode).The design is good: the ear pods themselves are fairly low profile and protrude from the ear less than many others. If you ever rest your head sideways on a pillow while wearing your buds and feel them press uncomfortably into your ear, know that that sensation is mostly avoidable with these. The cable is long-- if you wear them necklace style, they hang pretty low. On me they fall just few inches above belly-button height. The magnets that hold the buds together aren't too strong, but they stay put and pop right together. A light tug is enough to detach them. However, they do not automatically pause when magnetically attached, which is a feature I miss. They're lightweight enough to for they're around your neck.SoundThe sound quality was impressive for budget buds. They don't do much for noise isolation; I can hear a mini-fridge running through them if the device sound is anywhere below 50%-- not well suited for air travel. Both a pro and a con, you retain some situational awareness walking around in them. Harder for a vehicle to surprise you. The mids are clear and the bass is surprisingly good for what they are. I use them for streaming Spotify and podcasts, and both sound great. They do not support the Sony Headphone Connect App, so there's no sound profiles, equalizer or other customizing from Sony.Battery/PowerBattery life is great-- well over a day's worth of listening and standby. More of a charge every other night type device if you use them every day. Charging is over USB C and appear to charge fairly quickly. The USB port is behind a fiddly little door which feels like something that will inevitably break off over time.So far so good-- recommended, especially at the Amazon promo price.If I run in to any durability issues within the first few months of usage I'll update the review.