Sony Inzone H9 ANC Wireless Gaming Headset Review

Sony’s new flagship gaming headset takes a lot of lessons, and parts, from their consumer audio lineup. The Inzone H9 is a first for the company, a truly “high end” product for both PC and PS5 gamers. They’ve made a number of gaming headsets in the past, but those have been firmly in the mainstream price category.

Is the Inzone H9 merely a bland rehash of old parts and technology, or is it a true contender in the gaming field?

I bought this headset out of my own pocket, and I wasn’t asked by Sony to write this article. I don’t make money unless my readers support me. You can find out how to do so yourself at the bottom of this article. I don’t use affiliate links or take ad deals, and all these opinions are entirely my own.

The Sony Inzone H9 sells for $299 (official site here). That puts it up against other flagship gaming audio gear like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, the Razer Barracuda Pro, the Astro A50, and the Audeze Penrose. A cheaper $229 Inzone H7 version is also available. It’s very close to this headset, but it has cheaper nylon pads and no ANC.

Sony has a long legacy of audio tech that they’re hoping will set their new headset apart from the pack. The Inzone H9 has active noise canceling built in, using a system inherited from the lauded 1000X headphone family. It’s not using the latest 8-microphone iteration of the tech from the 1000XM5, but rather an older yet still capable version. The pads here do come from the M5, but the industrial design looks like it’d be more at home on a gaming-themed spaceship than on the shelf next to Sony’s other ANC gear.

In the box, you get the headset itself, a dongle with bespoke PS5 and PC modes accessible through a switch, and a USB-C charging cable. Putting the switch in the right mode is important. On a PC, you can fully customize the headset’s audio and other features with the new Inzone Hub Software. You can also access their new spatial 3D audio system which sounds good, but isn’t the same Tempest tech they use on PlayStation 5. On a PS5 the Inzone H9 is recognized as an official Sony headset which gives it full access to proper mic support and game/chat balance functions through its built-in buttons.

If you’ve listened to other modern Sony headphones and enjoyed their sound, you’ll be right at home with the Inzone H9. It’s a big step up from the Inzone H3 I reviewed recently, with a warm, slightly boomy sound that’s easy to listen to for hours. The bass is over-emphasized from neutral, but with a soft, billowy punch that’s not overwhelming or unpleasant. The midrange is nice and textured. The highs are a little uneven and artificial in spots, with cymbals in music sometimes sounding like digital noise rather than proper acoustic instruments.

Sony admits in their marketing that bass response was the focus here.

Still, these have a warm pleasant sound that’s fun for immersive gaming and that pairs well with the Tempest 3D system on PS5. I think the Arctis Nova and the Barracuda Pro both sound more accurate and neutral, but the warm-leaning sound on the Inzone H9 honestly has more mainstream appeal out of the box. Sony has carried this sound signature to huge market success, and the Inzone H9 plays it safe by going for pleasant listening over raw audio reproduction.

While the sound profile might start an argument between casual listeners and obsessed audiophiles, it’s hard to make any complaints about the Inzone H9’s comfort. The headset is made mostly of sturdy plastic, and its weight is perfectly balanced. The headband pad is huge and plush, and the ear pads are soft, supple, and luxurious. They sink into your head like soft pillows, and the deep ear cups ensure that your ears won’t run into anything inside. The clamp is just right, with no pinching even around my thin glasses frames. This is one of the most comfortable gaming headsets I’ve ever worn.

It’s also hilariously huge. It’s a comically large thing. On my larger-than-average head, I only have to open it out to four of its ten clicks of adjustment, so this will probably fit best on medium or large heads. It doesn’t cut a remotely subtle profile on your head, with huge rounded ear cups that stick way out and a permanently attached microphone. It looks like it was designed for esports tournament arenas or dark home offices, not the local coffee shop. The style is all smooth and rounded, but then that svelte look is undercut by just how beefy it is.

The high end gaming peripheral market as a whole seems to be trending away from RGB lighting right now, and the Inzone H9 is no exception. Though it does have LED light rings on each ear cup, they’re only briefly used to convey the power and connection state of the headset and stay off 90 percent of the time. This was probably a good choice for battery life. You’ll get around 32 hours without ANC and around 20 with the noise canceling turned on.

Although the headset doesn’t support any wired connections, it does have a secondary Bluetooth mode. Unlike the Razer Barracuda Pro, you can use the Inzone H9’s Bluetooth and dongle connections simultaneously, which is nice. The Bluetooth mode only supports AAC and SBC, not AptX or Sony’s own LDAC codec, which is kind of weird. Still, it sounds comparable to the standard wireless connection and it’s perfect for mixing in a call while gaming or catching up on podcasts, or whatever you’d like to do.

Normally a mode like this would make the headset better for use out and about, but the permanently attached mic may give you pause. You’ll be all the more frustrated about the awkward size when you hear how nice the ANC is. It’s not quite at the level of current top tier stuff, nor at the level of the Razer Barracuda Pro, but it’s still really good. They apparently tuned the ANC algorithm specifically for noises in a home gaming environment, like your PC’s fans, outside traffic noise, and stuff like that. Since that’s the way I mostly play, I can say that it works really well…though having the AI auto adjustment from the 1000X series would have been great for those times when I’m not in an ideal home space.

This is a pretty good headset overall then, with excellent sound and comfort, solid ANC, and a big design that’s still clearly a stylish Sony product. What’s missing? The microphone! It’s a bit of a letdown compared to the rest of the headset, and it’s outperformed by cheaper models like the Corsair HS80. The mic here is decent, but unremarkable and permanently stuck to the headset, with a sound plagued by some digital noise and a bland overall response. You can listen to a test I recorded right here:

The Sony Inzone H9 is a totally capable first attempt at a flagship gaming headset. It’s got a sound signature that’s not the most detailed or accurate, but perfectly in line with Sony’s hyper-popular collection of bass-focused audio gear. It has sublime comfort but an industrial design that feels about thirty percent larger than it should be. It screams “spaceship pilot” in a way headsets haven’t for quite some time. The microphone could have been better, and the ANC works great in its designed home environment but doesn’t have the wow factor of other bespoke ANC headphones.

Photo taken by the author.

If you’re already entrenched in the Sony ecosystem or a fan of their audio signature on other products, this is a good safe choice with full native PS5 support and a surprisingly okay PC app. However, audio diehards would be better served by the other flagships out there, or the classic standalone headphone/microphone/DAC do-it-yourself plan.

I’d take this over the Barracuda Pro any day of the week for its non-conflicting ANC and boom mic, but I’d urge you to look at the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless instead if you must have one of the latest and greatest flagships. Although the Nova has had some technical teething issues particularly on Xbox, and it isn’t quite as comfy, it’s a more well-rounded and better performing package overall.

Final Score: 7.5 out of 10. A sleeker model with a detachable and better-sounding mic would get a 9 at the minimum.

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