Why You Can Trust CNET Best Buy is clearing out Sony's WF-SP700N true wireless sport earbuds for $80 (Update: Expired)
Originally $180, they're not perfect, but they do offer great sound and amazing noise canceling.
Hard to justify at $180, the Sony WF-SP700N is much more appealing at $80.
You know I'm all about the super-cheap earbuds, but I'm just as interested in premium ones when they're heavily marked down. Case in point: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Sony WF-SP700N true-wireless in-ear sport earphones for $79.99. They originally sold for $180.
How do these compare with AirPods ? That's always the big question, right? I'll answer in part by steering you to David Carnoy's Sony WF-SP700N review, which is very enthusiastic overall and doesn't take into account a firmware update that added, among other things, support for Alexa and Google Assistant.
That update didn't, however, fix one annoying flaw: audio lag with some video-streaming apps. With Netflix, the audio-video sync seemed perfect. But when I played Fleabag (amazing show) on Prime Video, there was a noticeable delay. Ugh.
Carnoy was also correct regarding the difficulty getting the earbuds properly seated in their charging case. You can't just drop them in; you have to wiggle them in just so.
As to be expected from Sony 'phones, however, I found the overall sound quality to be excellent and the noise-cancellation features pretty amazing. (Sony's instruction manuals, however, remain as confounding as ever.)
All this is to say that the WF-SP700Ns are way overpriced at $180 -- but awfully tempting at $80. If you like an in-ear design for its bass and noise-isolation benefits, but still want the option of allowing ambient noise in while exercising, grab this deal before it's gone.
Read more: The best true wireless earbuds of 2020
Originally published last year. Updated to reflect new sale price and availability.
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