Sony WF-C500 Review: Really Great Budget Option From Sony!

These have a bit of resemblance to the WF-XB700 that I reviewed previously, with that same frosted translucent cover on the case, but they’re cheaper and they’re an even better option for most consumers. At S$139 or US$99, the Sony WF-C500 are a really great option although some corners had to be cut to keep to this price.

So, let’s talk design. You get plenty of plastic here, the entire case is plastic and Sony doesn’t make any attempt to hide it. I have it in a mint green colour and the angles of the case is definitely a bit more interesting, almost as if it’s angled downwards ever so slightly to allow for better access to the earbuds. Not sure if it’s just my imagination though. Unfortunately, the lid isn’t held on magnetically, it’s a spring lid, which is consistent with the more affordable offerings from Sony. There’s no wireless charging here though, and on the case, there’s only a USB-C port on the rear for charging, although there’s a flat bottom which helps the case stand up nicely.

That being said, the magnets inside the case holding the earbuds in place is definitely very strong. Moving on to the earbuds, they’re the same shade of mint as the case, and the faceplate here takes inspiration from the Sony WF-1000XM4. That being said though, these are using a physical button for controls, which is nice as well, since it prevents false inputs.

As for comfort, I actually find these even more comfortable than the XB700. They’re smaller, they sit more comfortably and securely in the ear and all in all, I think the design is pretty nice.

Sony has been transitioning to this new packaging, with no plastic and recyclable paper material, which is great and eco-friendly.

Moving on to the app though, you’ll find these use the same Sony Headphones app, with software updates and all being pushed through the app. You get individual battery levels for the earbuds, which is nice, as well as Sony’s excellent EQ feature, the setup for 360 Reality Audio, an option to choose if you want priority on a stable connection or sound quality, as well as the toggle for DSEE upscaling.

Something to take note of is that these earbuds do not have in-ear detection, nor do they automatically turn off. There was one night when I came back pretty late, left the earbuds on my table and went to sleep. The next morning, I realised audio from my phone was still streaming to the earbuds. The earbuds were still alive, surprisingly, because I had stopped music playback when I took the earbuds out, but yeah. If you’re the type of person to leave your earbuds lying around, best to make sure you turn off the music manually.

As mentioned earlier, no touch controls here. A single press on the left earbud raises the volume while a press and hold lowers the volume. On the right side, a single press controls play/pause, which a double press skips tracks forwards and a triple press skips tracks backwards. A long press and hold pulls up the phone’s voice assistant.

My one big problem with these is when it comes to connectivity. These are running on Bluetooth 5.0, and I did notice some occasional interference and dropouts. While it’s not terrible, it’s definitely noticeable. There’s SBC and AAC support, but I didn’t expect aptX either.

As for battery life, it’s not too bad. Sony claims 10 hours in the earbuds and another 10 hours in the case, for a total of 20 hours. I can’t exactly say if the earbuds can last 10 hours, but hey, they were still alive after that one night, so…

There’s also IPX4 water resistance, so you can use these for exercise and the likes, and it’ll probably be fine because of how small they are.

Mic quality isn’t fantastic though. They do decently when you’re in a quiet environment like this, but when you’re out and about with traffic noise and such to contend with, it doesn’t perform too well.

When it comes to sound quality, Sony’s midrange/affordable options might not be at the top of anybody’s list, but the thing is that they’re always decent for the price. These are well-controlled and balanced with a good amount of bass. The mids are pretty well-defined as well and you do get a bit of a more subdued treble, but there’s still enough detail there. I’m a big fan of Sony’s Bright EQ preset, and I did find that helped to add a bit of life into the upper registers here.

Soundstage is alright, it’s nowhere as wide as it can be, but fairly decent.

For US$99, these aren’t the most value for money product you can get. There’s no ANC, no touch controls, no wireless charging, but the passive noise isolation is great, the sound is very decent and if you’re looking for earbuds that are compact and don’t stick out of your ear, these fit the bill.

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• The earbuds are affordable at US$99.

• The sound quality is very decent for the price.

• You get 10 hours of battery in the earbuds.