Sony Ult Wear Review: Bringing the oomph with long battery life

Sony  (SNEJF)  is ushering in a new line of Bluetooth speakers and a single pair of headphones under a cohesive name: the Ult Power Sound series. As the name hints, these are squarely focused on powerful sound.

I’m focusing on the Ult Wear over-ear headphones ahead, which land under the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 as a mid-range option with a dedicated button to boost bass for a more "oomphy" listening experience. Priced at $199.99, Sony’s hitting a sweet spot above basic, affordable sets and into the upper-echelon of mid-range. Sony is releasing three speakers — Ult Tower 10, Ult Field 3, and Ult Field 1 — alongside Ult Wear.

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Replacing the WH-XB910N, the Ult Wear look like a classic pair of Sony over-ear headphones with some flashier branding, hiding extremely long battery life, bold sound, and good listening modes that can block out the world around you. Let’s dive into them.

An emphasis on the oomph

What makes Sony’s Ult Wear unique is a dedicated button that succinctly engages two modes that deliver a strong bass experience. Located on the left earcup as an easily findable — critically, without looking — circular button is the “ULT” button. It has a monochromatic color that will glow as the light hits it, and one press engages a lower-frequency boost, while a second push dramatically ups the bass.

It’s switching on a custom EQ that either ups the lower end of the audio spectrum or instantly boosts bass by 10. It’s a lot easier than manually pulling out your phone, navigating to the Headphones Connect app, and swapping between EQ presets, though you can still do that. And if you appreciate the lower-end or just love bass, I think you’ll feel right at home with this.

Take Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea," right? It starts with a strong beat, both drum and lower-end bass guitar, with vocals that ramp up and lead to a chorus that introduces a range of sounds from low to high. With Ult not engaged, it’s a good-sounding mix with a focus on the lower end thanks to the custom driver, but it’s a wide soundstage that represents the various elements of the track. One push to ULT 1 delivers more of a resounding thud with the lower end of the spectrum; the main beat hits stronger and is mixed louder. ULT 2 seemingly pushes this farther and actually adjusts bass up to 10 — it makes that deep, low-end central part and turns the oomph to a very high level.

Even with an emphasis on the lower end and bass, the Ult Wear still offers excellent clarity that doesn’t crackle or add artificial elements to a track at higher volume. Like Sony’s WH-1000XM4 or XM5 over-ear headphones, Sony’s Integrated Processor V1 powers the mix and adjusts in real time. It also controls a new purpose-built 40-mm driver unit that ultimately delivers deeper bass.

In several weeks of testing, I’ve found the Ult Wear to work for a wide variety of genres, but is especially appealing for folks who want to feel the sound and appreciate the lower end of a mix. It works for pop and EDM tracks but also classic rock pretty darn well — “American Girl” by Tom Petty was a rich mix that ensured the snare and drums were audible throughout and layered guitar, vocals, and the overall melody without anything swirling together.

I particularly enjoyed “Death To My Hometown” by Bruce Springsteen, which features a deep bass kick throughout the track and is layered with other beats, guitar, vocals, and horns. With other headphones, this can crackle, especially on the lower end, but even with ULT1 or ULT2 engaged, it stayed intact here.

Ult Wear sticks with what you expect from Sony, mainly the rich mix that the audio brand is known for, but also ensures a crisp, clear lower end and the option to boost the bass.

A comfortable design fitting an extended runtime

Just like the WH-XB910N before, the Ult Wear uses a mostly plastic build with plenty of padding around the earcups and the top band. The result is a pretty comfortable build that I’ve been able to wear multi-hour jam sessions, which fits the $200 price point. You likely aren’t expecting an ultra-premium metal, aluminum, or super sleek build for this cost.

I wish Sony had stretched the earcups more here, like on the WH-1000XM5s. At times, the Ult Wears felt a little cramping around the ears for me, but it will fall off after a few hours of wear — of course, it also depends on your ear's overall shape and size. Sony’s opting for a moldable cushion material that’s designed to be wrinkle-free, and it provides excellent padding to reduce any clamping feeling on your head. You can also adjust the height of the Ult Wear by pulling the left or right earcup lower.

Sony is delivering the power of choice with colors. Rather than a simple black or white option, the Ult Wear also comes in a dark green called Forest Gray and black or off-white. All three get the custom, glowing ULT button and power and ANC/Ambient Mode buttons on the left earcup. Additionally, you’ll charge via USB-C or listen corded via the audio jack on the left side.

Surprisingly, the right earcup is barren, but controls for playback and volume are hidden on the outer shell. You can tap to play or pause and even end a call, but what I find most handy is that you can swipe up or down to adjust the volume. Thanks to onboard sensors, you won’t need to worry about pausing music when you take the headphones off — Ult Wear is excellent at automatically pausing and resuming, thanks to head detection.

Like the WH-1000XM4s, Sony’s delivers an extremely long run-time that has let me use the Ult Wears for close to a week without recharging them fully. Sony promises up to 30 hours of battery life with a listening mode like noise cancellation or ambient mode engaged, but that extends to 50 hours with those switched off. Quite impressive, and Sony is offering quick charges here — 10 minutes provides about five hours of playback; it’s pretty similar to what Beats offers on the Studio Pros.

The Ult Wear really impressed with voice pickup — folks I took test calls with noticed the clarity and removal of background sound. These punch a bit higher than most affordable or mid-range headphones thanks to the V1 processor and improved microphones. The pair of beamforming microphones and the extra chops from the V1 processor delivers a clear voice line for calls and video meetings, which even pushes off environmental sounds and other ambient ones.

As far as active noise cancellation and ambient modes go on the Ult Wear, it’s clear these sit a step below the 1000X series, and I wouldn’t get these if you’re looking for a warhorse in terms of being able to block out every conceivable sound. Like the Studio Pros from Beats and even the WH-XB910N, Sony’s Ult Wear can effectively block out big, bold sounds at the lower to middle frequency; it struggles a bit more with higher-frequencies whines.

The ambient mode, which mixes environmental sound, is much more usable and, quite frankly, more handy here. I enjoyed using that mode when rocking these on an outdoor walk because it also gives you a sense of your surroundings.

Bottom line

At $199.99 flat, Sony’s Ult Wear are an excellent choice for folks who love bass, need a long-lasting pair of headphones without breaking the bank, and care about a robust feature set. For the price, you’re getting an excellent custom process from Sony, great audio reproduction for various genres and support for more immersive audio, long battery life, excellent voice pickup, and various detection modes.

The Ult branding and two custom modes are handy and cool, with an emphasis on the bass. This also shows the capabilities of the new 40mm driver onboard. If you enjoy a more oomphy, deeper listening experience, you’ll appreciate the audio mix here and know you can make further adjustments to it.

If you’re after the best Sony has to offer, though, I would still consider the WH-1000XM4 or the WH-1000XM5 — you’ll get an even richer sound experience, best-in-class listening modes, and a more premium build that is even more comfortable.

Ultimately, though, it’s exciting to see fresh branding and easier naming conventions; plus, if you know someone who constantly cranks up the bass, Sony now has an excellent option. 

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