New cheap Sony headphones and Bluetooth speakers appear in Twitter leak
Including a possible successor to the excellent WH-CH510
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Sony’s premium-grade audio products feature prominently on our lists of thebest headphonesandbest wireless earbuds, but the company’s grip on the more affordable end of the market isn’t quite as tight.
By the looks of things, though, Sony is gearing up to release a new range of cheaper headphones and wireless speakers to compliment its high-end offering.
The news comes by way of serial leaker Kuba Wojciechowski, whose recentthread of tweetshighlights several supposedly “unreleased Sony audio products,” including Sony WH-CH520 wireless headphones and an SRS-XB100 wireless speaker to take on thebest Bluetooth speakers.
Wojciechowski makes mention of a so-called “MagicBucket" speaker, too, which looks like it could feature a central control panel flanked by two rounded speakers (imagine a piece of Lego that plays music).
“MagicBucket” speaker (HT-AX7) pic.twitter.com/Ru45WuF0SSFebruary 9, 2023
Logic suggests that the WH-CH520 headphones – if indeed they are on the way – will be a direct update to the already excellentSony WH-CH510headphones. To our eyes from the leaks, the two products look identical, save for the slightly more rounded way the headband attaches on the newer WH-CH520.
Sony WH-CH520 (YY2958) pic.twitter.com/7c0WwDBUd2February 9, 2023
The Sony SRS-XB100 speaker is a little harder to place, but it looks an awful lot like the decidedly unremarkableSony SRS-XB13 Bluetooth speaker, which is in desperate need of a superior successor. The larger number in the SRS-XB100’s name and the very similar design suggests it could indeed be new version of the SRS-XB13 (with improved sound quality, we hope).
Sony SRS-XB100 pic.twitter.com/FJIpa0JhplFebruary 9, 2023
Applying similar naming logic, the Sony SRS-XV500 could be a miniature version of the pricey Sony SRS-XV900 party speaker. It’s hard to gauge the device’s size from the image Wojciechowski includes in his tweet, but the obvious lighting cutouts suggest the SRS-XV500 will be another large (if not quite as expensive) events speaker.
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Sony SRS-XV500 pic.twitter.com/fQZkqPY7SdFebruary 9, 2023
Sony hasn’t yet confirmed the existence of any of the products Wojciechowski has seemingly revealed prematurely, but we’re hoping that at least a few – if not all – of the devices featured will be officially announced in the coming months.
We’ll share further details as and when we get them, so for more on thebest cheap headphonesandbest wireless speakers, stay tuned to TechRadar.
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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