Sony Inzone H9 II Review

Design and Features

• Super lightweight and comfortable
• ANC is nice to have
• Versatile connectivity

The Inzone H9 II features a drastic redesign from the original Inzone H9, with a completely different look thanks to a redesigned headband with more of a suspension-style choice similar to that of SteelSeries and its contemporaries. It looks more streamlined than the previous model and feels more in line with its rivals from Razer and SteelSeries, for instance.

My sample came in white, which provides a pleasant contrast to the all-black headband, although if you’d prefer a meaner look, it is possible to get this headset with black earcups. The plastics used feel pleasant, with the earcups having a mild texturing to them, while Sony branding is kept to a minimum, as the Inzone branding takes hold on the forks and on the top of the headband.

What Sony has done with this model is cut the weight down by 70g against the original Inzone H9 to make this second-gen option just 260g. That makes it immensely lightweight on my head, especially when you consider that both Razer and SteelSeries’ options are some 80 to 100g heavier. For extended play sessions, that weight can make a difference.

The headband adjustment method Sony has opted for is a little odd, requiring you to pinch a hinge and adjust each side independently; it isn’t the most precise means, but it does work. The clamping force from the headband isn’t too much, while the plush fabric earcups provide good padding and great passive noise isolation. They swivel both ways for easy stowage with the included carry bag and good adjustment on the head.

The Inzone H9 II’s on-board controls are distributed evenly across both earcups. The left side has a mic mute button on top with some texturing, plus a volume wheel, USB-C and 3.5mm ports for wired connectivity, plus a toggle button for the active noise cancellation or transparency mode. On the right, you’ll find a Game/Chat balance rocker switch, a Bluetooth pairing button and a power button.

You don’t get any RGB for your troubles, as is becoming more common for premium gaming headsets, but you will find some decent customisation in Sony’s Inzone Hub software. There, you can adjust settings such as the EQ with different presets, plus enabling or disabling spatial audio effects or the headset’s active noise cancellation. It isn’t as feature-rich as software by other manufacturers, but it gets the basic job done.

I had high hopes for the Inzone H9 II’s active noise cancellation, given the reputation Sony has for being class leaders in this space in their more standard Bluetooth headphones. It manages to dull down louder noises such as voices, my PC fans at full chat and my deliberately loud keyboard, although it misses some higher-pitched noises. I think you’ll get better performance from the likes of the AceZone A-Spire and comparably priced premium headphones.

Connectivity is handled either by Bluetooth 5.3 or LE audio, plus the low-latency 2.4GHz receiver for wireless means, and you can also use them over USB-C or 3.5mm wired if you wish.  Sony rates them to work with PC, PS5 and Bluetooth devices such as smartphones. I had no trouble using the USB-C receiver with my main Windows gaming PC, and then pairing them over Bluetooth to my Honor Magic V3 for some casual Spotify listening.

Battery life is actually worse than the original Inzone H9 very slightly, with this second-gen model lasting for up to 30 hours on a charge with ANC enabled; that’s okay, if a little unremarkable against key rivals. 

Audio and Microphone

• Excellent clarity across the frequency range
• Strong low-end and clear top-end
• Decent mic performance

As with the active noise cancellation, I had high hopes for how the Inzone H9 II sounded, given that Sony made a big deal about the fact that this headset uses the same 30mm drivers as their WH-100XM6 headphones. This, in theory, means a change in overall sound profile against the original Inzone H9, which I found to place more emphasis on the mids and top-end, rather than the low-end.

I concur with a lot of Kob’s judgment in his review of the XM6s that the drivers feel as if they provide a more balanced feel to the audio, with some fantastic clarity across the board. I found the low-end with these cans to be tight and controlled, such as gritty rock tracks, such as Rush’s Roll The Bones and synth-driven disco, such as Let’s Groove from Earth, Wind & Fire.

The same also goes for the treble, which felt pleasantly crisp and clean in spinning up On The Other Side from The Strokes. The intro to the track is a mix of pounding bass and potentially sharp cymbal work, which the Inzone H9 II dealt with with panache. 

Vocals, such as with Julian Casablancas’ seething screams on that Strokes track, or warmer and richer tones from the likes of James Taylor on October Road, can feel a little pushed back in the mix against the warmer, robust bass frequencies, but they’re still handled well. I got plenty of body and clarity from the Inzone H9 II’s mid-range to the point where they were a satisfying listen.

I was impressed with their soundstage, too, both in games and music. In listening to Money for Nothing by Dire Straits, I was impressed by the scale of the song’s expansive drum intro, although I felt Mark Knopfler’s vocal was more intimate at points than with other cans I’ve tested. It’s a wide and accurate soundstage, as I noted in some runs of Counter Strike 2 where I found the Inzone H9 II to provide some great width and excellent directionality, plus some precise positioning of footsteps for great stereo imaging.

Sony has also improved the microphone quality against the original Inzone H9 by providing this second-gen model with an ultra-wideband mic, so it captures more in the way of frequency. It results in some great vocal quality with more body and clarity than its predecessor, plus it manages to deal with plosives particularly well. Cancellation of external sources isn’t as strong as its rivals.

Should you buy it?