Sony Inzone H9, WH1000 XM5 headset type analysis and opinion for PS5 and PC

For some time now, gamers have noticed that Sony is betting more and more on the PC. What started with launching games like Death Stranding, Horizon Zero Dawn or God of War on PC seems to be evolving and Sony wants PC to be its playing field as well.

For this reason, in addition to preparing powerful launches like Spider-Man for August 12, the Japanese company has just unveiled new hardware to play compatible games. This is two monitors and three headphones, and it’s good that we tested two top models during the week.

You can read the Inzone M9 analysis here, but if you’re looking for a PC and PS5 headset, keep reading because Let’s start with the Sony Inzone H9 review..

Sony Inzone H9 Analysis Sections:

• Design: PS5 matching and flag convenience
• Sound quality: PC surround sound and active noise cancellation for an immersive gaming experience.
• Usage: The Inzone HUB is a nerve center, although you won’t have to fiddle with it much.
• Autonomy: good autonomy and charging while playing, real health
• Conclusion: TOP sound for playing on both console and PC

True to PS5 design and comfort thanks to the flag

Let’s start talking about design and yes, The Inzone H9 are pretty big headphones.but they are lighter than they seem its 327 grams (yes they do weigh but you actually expect them to weigh even more) and besides what surprised me was the comfort.

They have the same pads as the WH1000 XM5. and they lift the ear very well. I wear goggles and they don’t squeeze me as they are quite soft so that’s a big plus, but my biggest concern was the headband padding.

And it’s something that, except on the rare occasions when I spend time with her, that usually bothers me. I actually have a Sony WH1000 XM3 and after about an hour I have to rearrange them so that my head doesn’t ‘itch’.

I came here to spend the whole morning and the whole day (first working with background music, and then playing) and the truth is that it never bothered me. I don’t know how they will stand the test of time, but this first week the experience was very good.

But hey, if we continue with the design, they’re made of plastic, and I think it’s plastic… that’s right, similar to the one used in the PS5, with which it shares a lot of design cues.

It doesn’t feel like very premium plastic to me, but it doesn’t feel cheap either, so… okay. In the right earcup we have a volume wheel with a gear system so that we know when we change the level, as well as USB-C charging and switching between noise-cancelling, normal and ambient modes.

Also, we have a microphone that can’t be unpluggedbut we can go up and down. If we raise it and hear a “click”, the microphone is turned off, and lowering it is activated. It’s convenient, but I would have preferred a push-button system.

On the right earpiece we have a power button, a Bluetooth button and a chat or game button that allows us to independently adjust the volume for online sessions in which we use the microphone.

I miss the headphone jack for certain occasions (because it will always come in handy), and on the outside of each headphone we have a microphone that is responsible for collecting external sound to perform active cancellation.

I really like the design, I think it matches the style of the PlayStation 5. and the M9 and M3 monitors, and the truth is that it is very comfortable, but it is also huge, and I would have liked it if the microphone could be separated.

Spatial sound on PC and active noise cancellation for immersive gaming

Well, Let’s move on to the climax of the analysis of these Sony Inzone H9.. When we talk about gaming headphones, we usually think of a very cinematic sound that translates into strong bass with mids and highs that are there but give way to bass.

However, as we move up the category in this type of headphones, although the bass is still present in an important way, we win in the highs and mids. Here’s what I think is happening in this model.

It doesn’t matter what sound profile you have, I think it’s dominated by bass.. However, the highs and mids convinced me in everyday life, except in front of a console with a controller in hand.

Watching a series or a movie, the dialogue is clear and listening to music (a little Muse, always Lofi Hip Hop Radio while working, or the Kimetsu no Yaiba soundtrack) I was also very comfortable with these headphones.

Although, obviously, when you play, most of all you appreciate the sound capabilities of the model. On PC it’s a real show when the software is compatible and we activate the spatial sound mode.

There are games that shine much brighter thanks to this sound that surrounds us on consoles, and on PS5, and on PS5. supports 3D audio which also shines, for example, in games like Returnal.

Since there is no physical connection, all connection goes through a wireless connection, which in this case is converted to USB 2.4 GHz. The connection is instant and very stable, even with a couple of rooms in between, if, for example, you are sitting at a computer, listening to music and walking to the kitchen to make coffee.

You connect the skewer to the console or PC… and that’s it, you just need to make sure the switch is in the right place. The headphones supposedly have Bluetooth, but I haven’t been able to pair them with any device, not even the PS5.

As for the latency, thanks to the 2.4 GHz connection, I think it has decreased a bit.. From day to day, I didn’t feel any delay, but to test it in a more “scientific” way, among all the quotes in the world, I used this video and, frankly, I don’t notice any delay.

As for the microphone, I already told you that it is disabled by picking it up and waiting for a “click”, but if you want to know how well it picks up your voice, here is an example:

There are some micro cuts when you have auto gain control on, but to be honest I think you will be heard well.

In fact, every day I asked colleagues who are used to listening to me in different headphones, and these are “good” for them.

The Inzone HUB is a nerve center, although you won’t have to touch it much.

How little I love assistive software, but how necessary it is sometimes. For example, when I analyzed the Genshin Impact POCO Buds Pro, I definitely complained that Xiaomi did not have a native app for their headphones.

What then you use twice and that’s it, when everything is configured as you want, but usually that initial setting is needed. Here we have a software that works quite well, is stable and is called… Inzone Hub.

It’s a very simple program that’s also used to control some of the M9’s monitor settings, and it’s essentially the hardware control center that Sony is launching for PC.

As I said, it’s a very simple app, but complete enough that you won’t get lost in the menus. If you have headphones plugged in, model, battery, microphone activated or not, and this allows you to make adjustments such as sound profile, activate spatial audio, or control dynamic range.

You will be able to choose which sound mode you will have when the headphones are turned on (last tuned, noise canceling, ambient sound or not) and you can also choose what you want the button to switch from noise canceling to ambient sound.

In my case it only toggles between noise canceling and ambient sound as if I use them I want it to have a disable so I unchecked “Off”. Speaking of which, pressing the button is very, very quick to toggle between Ambient Mode and Noise Cancellation.

oh! By the way, the bug I found is that if you use the app and put your computer to sleep, when you come back it seems like no headphones are connected. It’s weird because you can speak into the microphone or listen to music, but you don’t control anything in the app. Restarting is enough and yes, this is not a problematic bug, but it exists.

Good autonomy and charging while playing, real health

I didn’t intend to dedicate an entire section to talking about autonomy, but there is a detail I’d like to highlight, and for that reason I’m making a distinction here.

And that’s what you can use the headphones with both PS5 and PC while they are charging. This may sound silly to you, but there are a lot of headphones on both console and PC that don’t allow us to use them while charging, which I don’t fully understand.

It seems to me that this is a very good detail, and you can do it both in the model that we tested and in H7. In terms of battery life, Sony tells us 32 hours with cancellation disabled, and it’s true we got around 30 hours.

This largely depends on the type of content being played and the volume, but Sony’s results are in line with our tests. Now, in everyday life, since I used them the most, it is with active cancellation for both playing and listening to music, and, thereI had 20 to 24 hours of battery life.

Again, this largely depends on the content being played and the external sound, but the autonomy seems good to me, and above all, there are charging details while using them.

In the Inzone app, you will be able to set the automatic shutdown mode. so that the headphones automatically go to sleep if we are not using them, which I recommend for maximum autonomy.

TOP sound to play on both console and PC

In the end, The Inzone H9 are headphones that have everything you can expect from headphones in this range.. Most importantly, the sound quality is undeniable with the different profiles that we can choose from within the PC application, but with an overall performance that will delight gamers.

Yes, it has quite a bit of bass in all sound profiles, but that’s something that doesn’t bother me at all when I’m playing games or watching movies and series. If you’re going to listen to music on your PC, I recommend a profile dedicated to this type of content, but otherwise I’ve used them with the standard profile during these days and the experience was very good.

Mind you, the sound isn’t quite as flat here as it is in more off-road and music-focused headphones, and even more so in some ATH M50x, but the experience is very good, and PC surround sound is a real blast.

Yes, I liked them on PS5, but if you have a Pulse, I don’t think this new model is needed in your collection.. However, if you like the design, the Sony ecosystem, and intend to use them a lot on PC, I think this is a good buy.

Yes indeed I would like to be able to connect my laptop or mobile phone via bluetooth listen to music or play games, and when a call comes in, you can answer it directly through the headphones. They have Bluetooth, but I haven’t been able to use it on Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS.

But hey, having said that, the truth is that I love this first drastic move by Sony to dazzle the PC user.because their games are adding hardware to create an ecosystem with these H9 or with the M9 monitor.