Buds with the sporty treatment

DESIGNED especially for gym rats and sporty types, Sony’s WF-SP700N wireless earbuds let you enjoy pulsating bass while you’re exercising.
Indeed, Sony is so proud of the SP700N that it bills them as the world’s first truly wireless earbuds with splash-proof and noise-cancelling technology.
The SP700N buds underline Sony’s efforts in expanding noise-cancelling technology to headphones in the sports category, resulting in a personalised sound system that allows you to enjoy music while exercising without interference from surrounding noise.

The SP700N come in four tones and are IPX4 splash-proof for durability, lightweight for comfort and boast an earlobe-secure design. The IPX4 rating guarantees that even when you run in light rain or have sweat pouring off you, the earbuds won’t suffer.
Best of all, the SP700N earbuds are part of Sony’s Extra Bass series, so they can pump you into the next gear during a workout. Experts say electronic dance music with powerful bass matches the optimum tempo of music for sports activity at a heart rate of 120-140 bpm. 

And the SP700N buds are very comfortable to wear for hours on end during sports because each of them weighs just 7.6 grammes. Better still, there’s no wire connect the two as they are linked by radio signal.
Designed for a secure fit during intense workouts, each earbud has an arc supporter to ensure they don’t fall out during particularly strenuous movements like running or squat jumps. The package comes with four sizes of hybrid silicone rubber earbuds and two sizes of arch supporters and they are both easy to change. 
The SP700N has minimalist design with just two control buttons - one on each earbud. The button on the left earbud is used for turning it on and off and for cycling through the noise-cancelling mode and ambient sound mode. The button on the right bud is used for controlling music play and answering voice calls.
Actually, there a lot of modes and functions on the SP700N that you can control via the Headphones Connect app, which is available for both Android and iOS smartphones.
Android users can easily connect to the SP700N as the charger/cradle comes with NFC-connection assisting technology making it a cinch to link the earbuds via Bluetooth to your smartphone. You simply need to remove the earbuds from the cradle and tap the back of your smartphone on the NFC mark on the cradle and the Bluetooth connection will automatically be made. 

Press the left button on the controls repeatedly and it will cycle through the Ambient Sound Mode, Noise Cancelling Mode and the off mode of both functions. Each time, you will hear a voice informing you that the switching has been completed. Actually, there are two Ambient Sound modes and you need to use the app to select which of them you want as the default and from then on it will be activated with the button. The two modes are Normal mode and Voice mode. 
The normal mode is recommended when you are walking on street for your safety as you can hear the surrounding sound as if you were not wearing the headset. The voice mode is recommended if you need to monitor announcements such as in a station or airport or want to hear instructions from your fitness instructor.
During the test, I found that the noise-cancelling mode was very effective. It shut out the loud humming of my air conditioner allowing me to enjoy music in a solitary environment.
The button on the right earbud is good for controlling music playback. You use it to play or pause the music. Press it twice to skip to the beginning of the next track or press it three times to skip to the beginning of the previous track.

You can also press it once and release, then press again and hold to fast-forward or press it twice and release, then press again and hold to fast-reverse.
The SP700N also supports a hands-free profile. For example, you can press the button on the right or left once to answer an incoming call or press and hold it for about two seconds to reject a call. During the call you can press either button to hang up the line.

The SP700N supports voice commands of both Google Assistant on an Android phone and Siri on an iPhone. You can press the button on the right for more than two seconds to start the voice dial or other voice commands supported by Google Assistant or Siri.
I was particularly impressed by the sound quality, which offered great detail and highs and mids and, of course, that deep and powerful bass you’d expect from Sony’s Extra Bass label. 

You can use the Headphones Connect app to change the sound settings of earbuds to suit your music taste. There are eight pre-set EQ modes from which to choose – Excited, Mellow, Relaxed, Treble Boost, Bright, Vocal, Speech, and Bass Boost – or you can turn off the preset EQ. During the test, I set the Bass Boost mode and listened to rock. 
The SP700N has good battery life too. Each full charge provides three hours of usage for earbuds. The charger/cradle functions as a portable charger so you can double up on the charging and use the SP700N for nine hours on the go.
Sony WF-SP700N has suggested retail price of Bt7,490.

Key Specs
Driver unit: 6mm (dome type)
Magnet: Neodymium
Waterproof: IPX4
Frequency response: 20-20,000 Hz
Bluetooth: 4.1
Bluetooth audio formats: SBC, AAC
Bluetooth profile: A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP
Weight: Approximately 7.6gx2 (not including arc supporter)
Battery: Charging time: Approximately 1.5 hrs; battery life: 3 hrs
Charging case: 
Battery: 3 hours battery charging
Dimensions: Approximately 61.3x58.7x38.0mm
Weight: Approximately 45g