If you ask for a recommendation for a personal listening gear; some sort of earphones or headphones for general purposes, more often than not we will tell you to go for Sony. There is a good reason for that. They make decent listening gear for all kinds of purpose in all kinds of price range. More importantly, if you have the budget to spare, they make some of the best personal listening solutions in the market.
Sony is also the maker of the most successful gaming console series the world has seen thus far. Technically, they are one of the biggest names in the modern gaming industry. They make some of the best gaming gears in the industry too. But that is only limited to their PlayStation gaming platform.
Because they have been so focused on releasing gears for their console platform, the PC gamer race have been quite neglected and left wanting. They could get their hands on Sony’s high-end Wh-1000X over-ear platform, to be fair. They do not get the taste of what Sony can really do for their games though. That stops now with Sony’s INZONE peripherals.
INZONE H9 – Wireless Gaming Headset at its Best
We want to compare this INZONE H9 to the Sony WH-1000XM5, but we realised that it is a completely different beast. It is a pure wireless gaming headset, which also means the only way you are going to get it to work is with either Bluetooth or an included USB dongle. The USB dongle even has a switch for you to switch between PC and PS5, depending on where you use your H9 on. Of course, for the best experience, you want to use the dongle.
Either way (Bluetooth or Dongle), you get access to the INZONE Hub PC software that gives you control over the INZONE H9 headset. You can control its eq, its noise cancellation levels, and more. Speaking of noise cancellation technology, you can expect the best-in-class noise cancelling experience with Sony’s knowhow in making the best noise cancelling headphones in the industry.
The INZONE Hub on your PC also activates Sony’s brilliant 360 Spatial Sound to precisely recreate environmental sound of any game. It is really like a virtual 3D audio or surround sound experience for your games. That way, you can precisely tell where your enemies are in within the game too, as per intended in most competitive games today.
The Sony INZONE H9 is also designed to ensure that you get the best audio experience you can get in whatever conditions. Its diaphragms are designed with a unique shape to accurately re-produce high-frequency sounds. Alongside the unique diaphragm is also some cleverly placed and designed portings to ensure you get highly accurate and powerful low-frequency sounds as well. The headset’s design should put you right in the center of the action.
It is also designed with comfort in mind obviously. Its soft cushions used on the earcups, and the headband is made with long hours in mind. To ensure that you can game with the headphones on for hours on end, the earpads are also designed to minimise clamping pressure on your head, just to ensure that you can game even longer than before. The INZONE H9 can last up to 32 hours on a single charge, you would want to have comfort on your side. You can even charge it while its being in use, just so that you can continue gaming even when the battery gets low.
Of course, it is always nice to game with your friends, it is always nice to chat with your friends during a gaming session. In intense situations, communication with your teammates becomes more important than ever. The H9 comes with a built-in mic that should allow you to communicate with your teammates seamlessly and precisely.
INZONE H7 – Long Battery Life, Precise Placement, Still Wireless
The INZONE H7 is everything its more premium brother, the H9 is. There are some things missing though. It does not come with dongle, for example. With Bluetooth 5.0 though, latency should be kept at a minimum, not wireless dongle minimum still though.
It also does not pack noise cancelling technology. Still, the passive noise cancellation should be good enough with clever synthetic materials that seals your ear properly, as long as you place it correctly but soft enough for you to game with for extended periods. It is the same material you can find on the INZONE H9.
It features even longer battery life than the H9. The INZONE H7 boasts 40 hours in battery life, longer than any other headphones of its kind in the industry. You can credit its rather long battery life to the fact that it does not have noise cancelling.
Still, you get the same drivers the high-end H9 does. With INZONE Hub on your PC, you also have access to Sony’s clever 360 Reality Audio algorithm to make your games as immersive as they can be. It also features the same sort of porting from the H9 to ensure that you get the most accurate low-frequencies as possible on the headphones for more precise placements of your opponents and teammates in the game.
INZONE H3 – The Wired Option
If you prefer something more traditional, with the least latency possible, you want to game with a wired headphone. INZONE has that solution in the H3 as well. With a wired connection, battery life is not an issue as well. There are some things that you must give up though.
First, there is the cable management you might have to do. Other than the cable mess that you might have to think about, the H3 does not feature noise cancelling like the H9. Because the headphone relies on its cables to power the drivers, you cannot use it with most smartphones today unless you get a dongle.
Still, it is a rather powerful set of headphones though with a 40mm Neodynum drivers contained within the earcups, the same ones you can find on the H7 and the H9. While it does not look like it, there are some clever porting on the headphones to ensure that your low frequencies are perfectly and precisely produced.
It still works with INZONE Hub too. With INZONE Hub on your PC active, you get to experience Sony’s 360 Reality Audio at a fraction of the cost o the H9 and even the H7. Again, it is not a wireless headset, so it is as simple as it gets.
Price and Availabiliity
The All the INZONE headphones comes in white colour option. There are no other colour options for the headphones, because Playstation. The INZONE H9 will set you back MYR 1,299. The INZONE H7 that does not come with noise cancelling technoly will set you back MYR 1,099, while the most budget friendly option of them all, the INZONE H3 will set you back MYR 439. You can get your hands on one from any of Sony’s authorised retailers and concept stores nationwide. More information on the INZONE headphones can be found on their website.