The Sony INZONE H9 headset is one of the entries to the Inzone series of headsets, offering users gaming-friendly features that will heighten one’s experience in game and without further ado, let’s get right into the review.
Design
Just by looking at the design for the Sony INZONE H9 headsets, you can see that it shares a lot of similarities with the PlayStation 5, and that’s because it actually works seamlessly for the PlayStation 5 consoles with the supports the console’s Tempest 3D AudioTech provides. The whole design for the headset is that it’s white in colour, other than the expandable arm and the earcup padding which are in black.
Speaking about the earcups, the Sony INZONE H9 offers a leather padding for the earcups, a feature which isn’t present for the other INZONE headsets. The leather padding offers a great amount of comfort for me, especially for those long gaming sessions that I tend to have with doing dungeon runs and raids in the critically acclaimed MMORPG – Final Fantasy XIV online.
While it does offer comfort, I’m personally not a big fan of the material being made of leather because I have a tendency to sweat easily. But fortunately enough, it doesn’t take too much effort for me to wipe off the sweat. Another flu that I have with the INZONE H9 being majority white in colour, is that it needs a lot of extra effort to keep the headset clean. While the design is made to pair with the clean and slick design of the PlayStation 5, it would be appreciated to have other color choices for me to choose from.
The INZONE H9 also offers accessibility controls on both sides of the earcups. On the left, there are the volume scroll wheel, a button for the Noise Canceling / Ambient Sound mode as well as a USB port type-C and a port for the microphone. While on the right side, there’s the power button, the bluetooth button as well as a special button for raising and lowering your audio while you chat with friends during gaming sessions.
One thing I appreciate about the INZONE H9 is that it offers swiveling earcups so that it’s very easy to carry around, whether you have it rested around your neck or if it’s fit inside your bag. Although you might need a bigger space for your bag because the headset is on the bigger size.
Experience and INZONE Hub
As previously mentioned, the INZONE H9 is a pretty big headset in terms of size. And while the plastic material of the headset does make it feel like its fragile, but it’s still a sturdy headset regardless.
The headset comes with a USB receiver for you to connect the headset to a PC or a PlayStation 5. There’s also a switch for the targeted platforms, meaning that you should make sure to switch it to the PlayStation 5 when playing on the console. And to use it on the console, just plug the USB in and you’ll be able to use all the features of the INZONE H9 headset.
For PC users, you’ll need to have the third party app called INZONE Hub installed to have all the features available when using the headset on your PC or laptops. Once you’ve connected the headset, you’ll have access to customize and make your own sound profiles.
But if you’re not as tech savvy when it comes to creating sound profiles, not to worry, you can use the preset profile that are on the the INZONE Hub. The app also lets you adjust volumes, change the headset mode as well as personalizing the Spatial Sounds for the INZONE H9.
Audio and Mic
Over the course of my time using the INZONE H9, I played through some games that allows me to utilize the 3D audio from the spatial sound technology of the headset. While in PUBG, I was able to hear the footsteps of any nearby enemies and while in Stray, I was able to enjoy the environmental sounds while strolling through the city.
I had also used the headset while listening to music on Spotify and also watching videos on YouTube and Netflix. While using the preset sound profile, I found that it does enhance my music listening and movie watching experiences as it makes the sound quality better.
While the Active Noise Canceling mode was active, the surrounding sound does feel isolated but not entirely as I was still able to hear the sounds coming from my room’s fan and the Ambient mode also lets you hear your surroundings while talking with someone.
The mic on the INZONE H9 is pretty decent, while talking on discord with my friends, they told me that my voice was particularly louder and clearer than usual but other than that, there’s not much else that can be said for the mic.
BatteryLife
Throughout our review, the battery life for the Sony INZONE H9 is relatively good and it lives up to the advertised 32 hours that Sony had said. If you’re a casual user, the headset can even last up longer than a week, which is great. The time that you have to take to fully recharge the headset won’t take long either thanks to the fast-charging USB cable.
verdict
While being the more premium INZONE headset, the H9 is the best gaming headset there is if you’re looking for one to use on PC and the PlayStation 5. With the PlayStation releasing more games for PC, you might want a companion headset to experience those PlayStation games. And while the PlayStation 5 already has its Pulse 3D headset, the INZONE H9 isn’t a bad replacement to it since it’s a lot more comfortable to wear.
Although, I do wish that the quality for the microphone is a bit better to make up for that, the audio performance is amazing, which is also elevated with the INZONE Hub. If you have the budget for it, the H9 is a good pick up but if you don’t, you can consider the H3 and H7 as a more budget friendly alternative.
For more information and review on the Sony INZONE H9 headset, do check out the official product page here.