Sony’s Extra Bass line of headphones has provided listeners with extra low-end tones for years, and are generally less expensive than its high-end 1000X headphones. The company is still keen on delivering head-turning bass to those who want it, but the Extra Bass moniker and its confusing alphanumeric product names are gone (and there’s more to come with this change). Today, Sony launched ULT Power Sound, a feature it calls the “final step in the evolution” of its portable audio devices.
ULT Power Sound will also work with Bluetooth speakers of various sizes, but the first headphone to take the new audio direction is the ULT Wear ($200). The ULT Wear is a direct replacement for the WH-B910 and contains 40mm drivers that Sony says are designed for deeper bass. If the stock tuning isn’t enough, there’s an ULT button that provides two additional levels of low-end boost. Additionally, the company has incorporated some of the best features from more expensive headphones: a V1 audio chip, 30 hours of battery life, fast attention mode, 360-degree true audio with head tracking, and more.
sony
Sony’s ULT Wear headphones feature better bass boost than previous models and feature considerable updates to ANC, features, and overall design.
- Exquisite design
- Sounds great most of the time
- Convenient features
- Improved active noise cancellation
- ULT boost may be too much
- Some functions of WH-1000XM5 cannot be used
- Certain types of sounds become garbled
Amazon $200
The first thing I noticed about ULT Wear is its design. These headphones didn’t immediately strike me as low-end headphones. The matte white finish on my review unit helps disguise much of the plastic construction, which looked cheap on previous products like the WH-CH720N. It’s definitely more refined than the WH-XB910 it replaces. Of course, there are some nods to the premium 1000X series in some aspects, such as the curves of the earcups and headband.
Sony’s decision to mix physical and touch controls for the ULT Wear is another way it’s closing the gap between its most affordable and most expensive headphones. The edge of the left earcup houses a power/pairing button and a control for cycling between active noise cancellation (ANC) and ambient sound modes. The third button on the bottom is for ULT bass boost. This item switches between Off, ULT 1 (deep bass), and ULT 2 (more powerful deep bass). On the right side, there’s a touch panel on the outside of the earcup that you can tap and swipe for playback controls, volume adjustments, and calls.
Because the ULT Wear sits in the middle of Sony’s headphone lineup, it has some of the handy features of the 1000X series that aren’t available on the company’s cheaper products. For example, placing your open hand on the right earcup activates Quick Attention Mode, which lowers the volume so you can reply to a colleague or pick up the Cortado without pausing your music. Adaptive Sound Control is here, too: Sony’s long-standing tool that automatically adjusts the headset’s settings based on your activity or location. General details like multi-point Bluetooth and wear detection are also provided. However, the newer 1000X headsets don’t offer the convenience of voice chat, which is a pretty big omission in terms of overall usefulness.
Bass reigns supreme in the ULT Wear’s tuning, and you’re sure to feel plenty of it. Even before you start exploring the ULT boost, these new, specially tuned drivers deliver plenty of low-end thump. The out-of-the-box levels are good enough for me for most genres, although the overall sound can be muddy with more chaotic styles like metal and some synth-heavy electronic tracks. But for the most part, the stock bass provides depth and range, complemented by full mids and cutting treble.
by the bay There are worse things than living A thunderous kick drum drives the punk-tinged indie rock track, but the crunchy, distorted guitar textures stand out and the vocals are clearly audible. Additionally, through its app you can add Sony’s DSEE upscaling feature, a software trick designed to restore sound elements lost due to compression. If you have access to 360 Reality Audio content, ULT Wear supports head tracking so the sound stays the same as you move. This provides a more realistic experience because the immersive audio in this format moves with your head.
When you enter ULT boost mode, things become a mixed bag. Sony does a better job of bass boosting than most other companies, as songs are actually still listenable across a variety of musical styles rather than just becoming a garbled mess. I think ULT 1 (the deeper bass option) is the best. You don’t lose a lot of detail using it, and things like the kick drum are still present throughout. Hip-hop songs are a better canvas, with songs like Killer Mike’s “Down By Law” filled with bombastic but cleverly amplified bass.his album Michael One of the better sounding options I’ve tested with ULT 1 enabled.
ULT 2 is a setup that offers a more powerful sound and deeper bass, but it’s not as good. During my testing, I didn’t find a single track where I thought it sounded good when driving low-end styles like hip-hop and EDM. It sounds like you’re standing in front of a subwoofer at a concert, with the bass standing out most and everything else being drowned out. While I’m sure some people enjoy this level of brainstorming, it’s not what I’m looking for.
Sony has improved the ANC of the WH-XB910 by installing the 1000X series V1 audio processor in ULT Wear. The result is a significantly better noise-canceling set of $200 headphones, but you shouldn’t expect as much interference-busting power as the WH-1000XM5 offer. In most situations it’s fine, but in some cases it just dulls the rumble. However, the ULT Wear does a really good job with vocals – much better than the Sennheiser Accentum Plus I recently reviewed.
The company didn’t specifically discuss the ULT Wear’s call quality, but performance here was slightly above average. It’s not original, but it also doesn’t have the distinct speakerphone sound that most headphones have. Background noise at low to mid-level volumes is also handled well. The ambient sound mode on ULT Wear is more natural than what most headphones offer (except for the AirPods Max). You can hear a lot of your own voice, so you can speak at a normal volume during calls. Any sounds from your surroundings will be clearly conveyed, so you don’t have to worry about not hearing alarms or announcements.
Sony says the battery life is up to 30 hours when ANC is on and up to 50 hours when it’s off. The company doesn’t specify whether either ULT mode affects longevity, and I didn’t use them long enough to tell. After 30 hours of use with ANC enabled, aside from a few ambient sounds during calls, Sony’s app showed 18% remaining battery. Both audio modes are used at about 50-60% volume, and trust me, it’s loud here.
If you crave a deep bass thump that most headphones can’t deliver, the ULT Wear does a much better job of boosting low-frequency tones than Sony’s previous offerings. The sound is certainly roaring out of the box, but not at the expense of any detail, and the company also gives you the option to add a double dose of bass when you crave it. These won’t be for everyone, as many will prefer the fairer tuning of the Sennheiser Accentum Plus in the $200 range. However, Sony has done a great job of turning a more affordable set of headphones into a premium product that looks and functions.
The ULT Wear headphones are available in black, white, and green for $200. Sony says they will start shipping sometime this spring.
Updated April 11, 2024 at 5:00 pm ET: This review has been updated to include more information about the battery drain test.
