Although the presentation of the headphones leaves a lot to be desired (as happens with the PS5, everything must be said), the Sony Inzone H9 is modern and elegant headphones. Unlike other gaming headphones, such as the JBL Quantum range or my Corsair Virtuoso, the Inzone H9s do not have that aggressive gaming aesthetic characteristic of the sector but instead follow the design lines of the rest of the devices designed for PS5.
They are headband headphones made of plastic, too much plastic for a 300 euro headphone, in my opinion. The plastic feels not very premium, nothing to do with what the PS5 controls or the console itself has, without going any further. The headband, the hooks, and the microphone, everything except the pads, is plastic. White and elegant, yes, but plastic.
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Playing with the Sony Inzone H9
But let’s get to the point of the matter: the experience of playing while wearing the Sony Inzone H9. The Inzone H9s incorporate a 40-millimeter driver and a series of microphones to bring noise cancellation to life. These two are its main virtues, in addition to the 360 sound, which we will discuss later.
On the one hand, the sound. We are not going to focus on music because they are gaming headphones, and to listen to music, there are many other much more complete options in this regard for the same price. Can it? You can, and well in fact, but for 300 euros there are many more recommended options. So, we will talk about how video games are heard and their experience.
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The headphones sound good, in a nutshell. The sound is crisp and clear, allowing us to hear details of video games that we would otherwise miss to a greater or lesser extent. A simple example: the shell casings falling to the ground in ‘Battlefield 2042’ (yes, I’m one of those who still play ‘BF2042’ and enjoy it), but also the footsteps and long shots in ‘Valiant.’
The maximum volume level is correct, high enough to hear everything well without destroying our ears. The bass has some punch, although depending on the game, this will be more or less evident, and the voices and dialogues are heard clearly, demonstrating a good representation of the mid and high frequencies. In general, we have been quite happy.
From the desktop app, we can also modify the noise suppression, change the volume, access an equalizer to mess with the frequencies, modify the microphone’s behavior and adjust the headphones’ configuration. It is a relatively simple app that we will indeed access a couple of times and then leave it running in the background.
Something that we especially liked was the representation of the sound scene. As any shooter player will know, the experience is greatly enhanced when you’re aware of everything that’s going on around you, from footsteps and runs to the sound of an enemy reloading. All this helps us better understand what situation we are in and act accordingly.
The Inzone H9s perform well in this regard, thanks to the spatial sound. Using the PC software Inzone Hub, we can activate it and generate a personalized profile using the 360 Spatial Sound Personalizer app (iOS, Android). You have to create a Sony account (if you have a PlayStation account, you can use the same one), take a picture of your ear, and wait for the service to analyze it and generate your personalized profile. This will be automatically imported into the app, which we must keep open for the profile to work.
Battery: something not to worry about
We finish this analysis by talking about the battery. As usual, Sony has not revealed its capacity and simply limited itself to saying that it has up to 32 hours of autonomy with active noise cancellation turned off. Interestingly, it has less independence than the Inzone H7, which reaches 40 hours. According to Sony, it is due to the lighting of the upper area.
Draining the battery of these headphones is difficult in regular gaming sessions, two or three hours, four or five hours in the longest. We can stay calm in that aspect. If you play a couple of hours every day, don’t worry because the battery will last without a problem, even with the ANC turned on.
The battery is not a problem and less when we know they can be used while we charge them.
In any case, the headphones can be used while recharging (via USB type C), so if you run out of battery during the game, you can plug them into your computer and continue using them without a problem. An interesting aspect is the fast charging system, which allows you to get an hour of play in just ten minutes.
Noise cancellation is not bad.
The Inzone H9s are the only In zones released to date that have active noise cancellation. It’s not nearly as effective as the Sony WH-1000XM5 or other high-end headphones, but it does the job: of canceling out typical house sounds. It is compatible with PC and PS5, and its operation is highly appreciated. It is appreciated that it is available, and it is an addition that, without a doubt, makes a difference.
In what context? For example, when gaming on a PC, the headphones can cancel out the sound from outside, the PC fans, and the ceiling fan. It also decreases the sound of the mechanical keyboard quite a bit, although the game’s sound helps. It works well, and we have been more than satisfied.
Playing on the PlayStation 5, located in the living room, we have been able to enjoy the games without having in the background the sound of the brushcutter in the common areas that were working at that time, nor have we heard noises coming from the house, such as opening or close a drawer or a door (unless you do it very hard, obviously).
If we want to stay on top of what is happening, we can activate the ambient mode by pressing a button. This allows us to hear, for example, the doorbell or the person next to us. Sony knows what it is doing in this aspect, and the effect is very successful.
The Sony Inzone H9 is effective and does its job without being the best noise cancellation we have tested.
An important aspect to remember is that when we have the microphone turned down and even if we have active noise cancellation, we will have some feedback in the headphones to hear ourselves. It is pretty aggressive so that you can listen to each other breathing. If you do not have an active voice chat and want to isolate yourself more, I recommend activating the noise cancellation and turning up the microphone.
