One of the hard things about being a reviewer is figuring out your own voice. Heck, I’d argue it’s one of the hardest things in life, but we don’t have the time for that kind of existentialism.
I hear you: what has that got to do with the Sony ULT Wear headphones, which I’ve carried with me since early August, utterly baffled at how to talk about them in a way that’s interesting and informative?
Because there’s little I can say about the technical side that hasn’t been said elsewhere. At 150 Euros, they’re the best deal you can get in the mid-range headphone space. They have superb noise cancelling, they’re comfortable, and they attract attention in the best way possible with their smooth, muscular styling.
The soundscape is great, meaning you’ll have a great time regardless of your preferred genre, and even movies sound pretty dang great on these.
I tested the Sony ULT Wear in a variety of environments in four different countries, and everywhere I went, I noticed how happy I was with the sound, even on an airplane, and how little I worried about things like battery life or durability.
I tested the Sony ULT Wear in a variety of environments in four different countries
Everyday use and portability
For testing purposes, I put the ULT Wear through the ringer, throwing in everything from power metal to wall of noise to ASMR and movies from all kinds of sources. The most difficult setting had to be when I streamed a movie from an airplane entertainment system through a bluetooth adapter dongle to the headphones while somewhere over the atlantic.
In every scenario, the ULT Wear prevailed. My previous daily driver and trusted travel companion was the XM3 headset, also from Sony, now nearing its fourth year of operations. Those cost over twice as much as the ULT Wear does, and I could barely tell the difference in sound quality.
They pack in everything you’d need from a modern pair of headphones. Bluetooth connections are rock solid, and they handle fast and Swift Pair tech fantastically. This means you can hitch them with your Android and Windows devices for smooth transitions that don’t require re-pairing when you move between computer and phone.
Ambient sound lets in environmental noise just enough that you can use the ANC even in the city without worrying about missing cars or other people. Adaptive sound control adjusts the listening experience to your environment, and I found it works reliably well even in chaotic surroundings. My favorite test of this was going from Lester Square in London to the underground tube and into Heathrow airport while listening to an audiobook. The Sony ULT Wear came through at all times.
The 3.5mm headphone jack is a welcome favorite, too, which has seen plenty of use during travel on plane and train, especially with my Nintendo Switch.
The gesture controls, while the same as on other Sony headphones, are an acquired taste, and even after years of using Sony headphones almost exclusively, I’m not entirely sold on them. Directional swipes switch between tracks and volume, while taps move forward and back on the track lists.
Cup your hand over the headphone and they let in sound from the outside world. Although you’ll probably just want to take off the headphones entirely, as the automatic start and stop function is good on its own.
The Sony app is mostly fine, and you can do a lot of tinkering with sound quality to make the ULT Wear sound exactly as you like it.
If you’re looking for a pair of headphones that are comfortable to wear and that punch way above their price tag, this is the one for you.
Battery life and downsides
Battery life, as with the other headphones in the lineup, is phenomenal, with over 30 hours of active use and a quick recharge time that gets you multiple extra hours from just minutes on the charger. Standby time, likewise, is superb, and I haven’t had to ever worry about battery life.
Downsides are the leather cups, which get quite warm over long periods of use, and the fact that the USB-C connection doesn’t carry audio. You’ll have to get a 3.5mm to USB-C adapter for that, which is a bit of an oversight in an otherwise wonderful piece of kit.
If you’re looking for a pair of headphones that are comfortable to wear and that punch way above their price tag, this is the one for you.
But I’m not content with that. Instead, I want to talk about something I haven’t seen anyone else talk about when reviewing the ULT Wear – or most other headsets, for that matter. How it can, potentially and very unscientifically, help you with your mental health like it did for me.
Personal experience & help with anxiety
Now, it’s important to note, I’m not a doctor. This isn’t medical advice and shouldn’t be taken as such. This is a personal experience that has brought me relief during my use of this particular tech.
To start with, there’s a thing called the parasympathetic nervous system. It’s the thing in us that helps us achieve calm and reduces stress when it works properly. I have chronic anxiety. Mine doesn’t work. I’ve tried medication, electromagnetic therapy, you name it. I’m anxious and scared most of the time.
Something that goes along with that anxiety is panic attacks. They arrive without warning and can easily derail an entire day. Loud noises, sudden jolts, unexpected changes in schedules, all of them have created the perfect storm for a panic attack in the past.
So imagine my surprise when, during a long flight across the ocean, I managed to reduce the effects of one thanks to my headphones. Now, I want to be clear, it didn’t prevent one. There’s no magic cure here. But it made things easier to handle, to the point that after the initial worst of it wore off, I could fall asleep for a time and regroup.
Some days later, I was at Gamescom in Cologne, which, if you’re unfamiliar, sees nearly 300 k visitors every year. It’s loud, it’s cramped, and it’s the perfect environment for my anxiety to go into overdrive. Naturally, I got a panic attack. You can probably see the pattern here. Life with anxiety is a series of compromises over things I can do, because it’s always uncertain if my mental health can take it.
Well, once again, I had help from the headphones. I still had a bad time, but in hindsight it felt less bad than before, and I think I have an idea why.
I’m always on the lookout for technology that makes my life as a disabled tech enthusiast easier. It’s rare that I find something that truly makes a difference. The Sony ULT Wear does just that.
This is where the parasympathetic nervous system comes into play. I read up on stimulating that part of the body with low frequency sounds, like for example bass, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what scientists believe can help trigger a soothing sensation.
When I got my first panic attack, I put on my headphones to drown out the sounds of the airplane, and turned on a playlist of electronic music I use to help calm myself down. (In this case it was the wailing despair of Benjamin Wallfisch’s score to Blade Runner 2049.)
The ULT Wear has a trick up its sleeve though. Pressing the ULT button on the side of the headphones activates the Deep Bass mode, which emphasizes low frequencies immensely. According to Sony, we’re talking an emphasis of 5dB for anything under 100hz. In practice, that means every low rumble, bass, drum and loop will sound immensely enhanced.
Is it perfect for music? No, absolutely not. But what it did do was kick in the reflex of the nervous system to send a calming sensation through my body. The vibrations around my ears – the leather padded cups embrace even my Dumbo extensions nicely – rattled my cartilage and bones. It was like a comforting hand over my head, a weighted blanket to stop the freefall.
I want to emphasize that this requires a lot to go right. I had music ready that I knew already helped. I knew that I was having a panic attack (anxiety sufferers will know that it’s not always obvious), and I was in a place that allowed for me to isolate, even though it was during transit.
But even in a crowded location like the Cologne convention center during peak Gamescom, I found comfort in the ULT Wear. I could activate the loud bass boosting tech while walking, and I found it gave me just enough comfort to handle the transition from show floor to a quiet room elsewhere.
Verdict
The Sony ULT Wear headphones aren’t designed for this purpose, but I find it fascinating that in my two and a half months with them, I’ve come to rely on them for that. When I travel, I now pack them along by default instead of my usual older pair. When I return my review copy, I will buy a new pair just for that purpose alone.
I’m always on the lookout for technology that makes my life as a disabled tech enthusiast easier. It’s rare that I find something that truly makes a difference. The Sony ULT Wear does just that.
