Sony INZONE Buds vs Sony INZONE H9

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INZONE Buds compared with INZONE H9

	SonyINZONE Buds	SonyINZONE H9
Overview
Released
Released	October 2023	July 2022
Sound
Type
Type	In-ear	Over-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	Yes
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	Yes
Driver size
Driver size	8.4 mm	40 mm
Back
Back	–	Closed
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	LC3	SBC and AAC
Chip
Chip	Sony L1	–
Drivers
Drivers	8.4 mm Dynamic Driver X with different diaphragm dome and edge materials	Closed dynamic headphones with 40 mm neodymium drivers; 5 Hz–20,000 Hz frequency response (JEITA)
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	–	Noise cancelling and Ambient Sound Mode; NC/AMB button cycles the modes
Audio features
Audio features	INZONE Hub for Windows provides equaliser, 360 Spatial Sound for Gaming, sound-field personalisation from ear photographs and sound-tone personalisation using test tones and feedback microphones; compatible with PS5 Tempest 3D AudioTech	360 Spatial Sound for Gaming and equaliser through INZONE Hub for Windows; compatible with PS5 Tempest 3D AudioTech
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 11 hours	Up to 20 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	USB-transceiver playback up to 11 hours with noise cancellation on or 12 hours off. Bluetooth LE Audio playback up to 18 hours with noise cancellation on or 24 hours off. Total with case is published only with noise cancellation off, up to 24 hours through the USB transceiver or 48 hours through LE Audio; no ANC-on case total is inferred.	Game and chat with Bluetooth off, up to 20 hours with noise cancelling or ambient mode on, or 32 hours off. Simultaneous Bluetooth calls reduce these to 15 or 20 hours respectively; AAC music with gaming gives 16 or 22 hours. Claims from Sony's original help guide; usage conditions affect runtime.
Fast charging
Fast charging	Approximately two hours to charge the earbuds fully; Sony states five minutes charging provides approximately one hour of use	About 3.5 hours for a full charge; 10 minutes charging gives about one hour of use; can continue wireless gaming while charging
Design
Weight (each earbud)
Weight (each earbud)	6.5 g (better)	330 g
Water and sweat resistance
Water and sweat resistance	IPX4	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	5.0
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	–	No
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	–	No
Controls
Controls	Customisable touch controls for volume, microphone mute and other functions; available assignments vary with connection mode and device	Volume dial, game/chat balance, power, Bluetooth and noise-cancelling/ambient buttons; boom microphone mutes when raised
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphones with AI-based voice noise reduction	Fixed flip-up electret condenser boom microphone; current maker help guide specifies bidirectional pickup and 100 Hz–8,000 Hz, while launch marketing describes a directional boom
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Four ear-tip sizes; Sony's white and black earbuds weigh approximately 6.5 g each including medium tips, while Glass Purple weighs approximately 6.7 g each	Circumaural closed headphones with padded headband and synthetic-leather ear pads; approximately 330 g white or 335 g black, according to current Sony UK specifications
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IPX4 applies to the earbuds	Not waterproof; no IP rating is published
Works with
Works with	USB-C 2.4 GHz transceiver with PC and PS5/mobile modes; Sony claims below 30 ms transceiver latency. Bluetooth 5.3 LE Audio with LC3 only, without Bluetooth Classic; Sony states iPhone and iPad do not support direct Bluetooth connection. Compatible phone app support was added on 3 April 2024, requires updated firmware and LE Audio, and is unavailable over the USB transceiver; firmware updates use INZONE Hub on PC.	Supplied USB-A 2.4 GHz transceiver for PC and PS5, with PC/PS5 switch; simultaneous Bluetooth phone audio. Bluetooth does not support two-device multipoint (SoundGuys). USB-C cable charges rather than providing wired USB audio. Bluetooth 5.0 Class 1, approximately 10 m line-of-sight range; A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP.
Colours
Colours	White, black or Glass Purple; colour variants remain configurations of the same model	White; black introduced in October 2023, according to Sony's INZONE Buds/H5 announcement
In the box
In the box	Earbuds, charging case, USB-C transceiver, USB charging cable and ear tips	Headset, USB transceiver and approximately 1.5 m USB-A to USB-C cable; reference guide and warranty card