Sony Inzone E9 In-ear Gaming Headphones Review: Master of one trade, jack of none

Pros:

Cons:

Price: Rs 11,999

Rating: 4/5 (for gaming)

When one mentions gaming headphones or earphones, the common perception is a funky looking product with some fancy LED lighting and extra bass in the sound to enhance the gunshots and explosions in the game. While there is a small element of truth in that, the actual requirement of serious gamers, especially in a competitive scenario, is something very different. It has more to do with precision and positioning rather than just enjoyment.

Sony’s Inzone series of products is targeted at such gamers. Today, we have the E9 in-ear gaming headphones from the series that don’t just target gamers but FPS (first person shooter) gamers specifically.

The ‘headphones’ part in the model name can be misleading as these are very much earphones to be technically correct. It’s time to know more about it. We will deviate from our usual review format to tell you everything you need to know about the Sony Inzone E9.

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What exactly is the Sony Inzone E9 and what can I use it with?

As I mentioned, the Sony Inzone E9 is a wired in-ear gaming earphone best suited for FPS games. One can use it with a Windows PC or laptop, a Playstation on even Android phones with either a 3.5 mm headphone jack or a USB-C port. If you have been into Pro-gaming or played FPS games like Counter Strike or Call of Duty or some of the newer ones a little seriously, you already know the significance of accurate positional audio and how crucial it is to gain a competitive edge.

For those who haven’t yet, the smallest of sounds in games can alert you about the location and movement of your enemy or an impending attack. For a more trained ear, you can also gauge the weapon or the type of enemy you can expect to confront. For the above to hold true, you need an audio gear that provides great sound precision, be it positional audio or reproducing various sounds accurately and distinctly. The Inzone E9 promises to do just that.

How comfortable is it and what accessories do you get in the bundle?

These earphones are extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear for a long time. The loop around the earlobes keeps them in place. Sony bundles eight pairs of eartips with this product including the preinstalled ones. You get four pairs of foam tips and an equal number of silicone tips in different sizes to choose from. Use whatever you are comfortable with, but the idea being the foam tips offer better passive noise isolation.

The passive noise isolation is important here as there is none of the active kind (ANC). While the foam tips manage that better, the silicone tips aren’t too far behind either. Once the game begins, they both keep the outside buzz in check while you focus on the action. Another useful thing you get in the bundle is the USB-C to Aux adapter which also has a built-in DAC. That allows you to use the Inzone E9 with smartphones or tablets that do not have a headphone jack.

The adapter can also be used with a PC or a laptop as long as it has a USB-C port to plug this into. It is also needed if you intend to tweak the output of these earphones using the Sony Inzone Hub app. However, the app is only available for Windows PCs and neither on MacOS or Android. So while you can use the E9 with any device, you can tweak the sound output only on Windows machines.

What’s missing in the Sony Inzone E9?

One noticeable absentee here is a microphone, which is crucial in team-based games to communicate with your squad. I always thought it was a must for gaming headsets, but Sony doesn’t seem to agree. Another thing missing here, which I touched upon earlier and though not as vital as a mic, is active noise cancellation. We won’t be deducting too many points for it, but it’s just for your information in case you were expecting it out of habit, like yours truly.

Sony Inzone E9: Performance

We will split the performance in two parts - in FPS gaming and in everything else. Let’s start with the former. In order to understand the finer nuances and needs of FPS gamers, Sony has teamed up with one of the most popular eSports teams on the planet, Fnatic. The collaboration seems to have borne fruit as the Inzone E9 proved to be excellent in FPS games I tried it with on the PC.

I was quite impressed with the sound clarity and positional accuracy it offered in games like Counter Strike Go. Be it the slightest audible movement by a member of the other team or someone switching weapons even towards the periphery of the listening range, everything could be heard clearly. I cannot overstate the importance of sound in games like these and the amount of competitive advantage you and your team can gain from it.

Though I have used a variety of audio gear while gaming over the years, I don’t think anything comes close to these earphones in terms of accuracy and clarity in these competitive FPS games. While it is absolutely on the money when it comes to that, it is pretty much the only thing it is good at. Of course, you can use the Inzone E9 for anything and everything audio but expect no fun. It is like that incredibly intelligent topper in your class with zero social skills.

When it comes to regular gaming or movies or music, it sounds flat. The highly controlled bass and other tuning that works in several FPS games, tends to suck the fun out of these earphones when used for other things. The explosions in games or action movies sound lacklustre and more like a tap than a thud. Similarly in music, the frequency range feels limited. Yes, you can rectify things to an extent for other games by tweaking the output from the Inzone Hub app on the PC, but it doesn’t improve things much in movies or music.

Sony Inzone E9: Price and verdict

The Sony Inzone E9 In-ear Gaming Headphones are priced at Rs 11,999 with a one year warranty. By now, you must have realised that it’s a very niche product targeted at serious FPS gamers who value clarity and positional audio accuracy to gain an edge in games they play. If you are one of them, this is an excellent product that you should strongly consider. If you are looking for a pair of earphones for any other use case, look elsewhere.