Christmas has come early for accessory-loving PS5 and PC gamers. Sony has expanded its InZone gaming gear range with the H9 II wireless noise-canceling headset and E9 in-ear monitors, alongside the KBD-H75 keyboard, the Mouse-A, er, mouse, and the Mat-D and Mat-F mousepads.
The standout of the newcomers appears to be the over-ear ANC headphones, with the InZone H9 II appearing to share much of the DNA of Sony’s exceptional flagship WH-1000XM6, some of the best wireless headphones you can buy, but costing $100 less.
For one, they use the same 30mm driver that the XM6’s audio architecture is built around, which bodes well for their sound quality with not only gaming soundtracks but also movie scores and music. That proven hardware goes hand in hand with Sony’s legendary audio processing, which can deliver a virtual 7.1 soundfield when fed multi-channel audio.
You also get Sony’s active noise-canceling technology when in wireless or wired mode; a long, detachable and adjustable boom mic that has been designed to pick up voices clearly while filtering out surrounding noise with ‘AI-optimized precision’; and a USB-C dongle that offers an ultra-low-latency 2.4GHz connection.
Bluetooth (in LE Audio flavor) is also supported to facilitate a simultaneous connection to your phone so that you can stay on top of calls and notifications during gameplay.
Like Sony’s flagship XM6, the InZone H9 II also deliver a 30-hour battery life, although here that claimed figure is when ANC is turned off – in the XM6, it’s with ANC activated. Still, that should be plenty enough for even the most avid gamers, and handily a five-minute fast charge can bless you with three hours of gametime.
Finally, the new gaming over-ears weigh just a few grams more than the XM6, making them 17% lighter than their predecessors, the original InZone H9.
Available in black and white finishes, the InZone H9 II can be pre-ordered now for $350.
Sony InZone E9: not sequels but series newbies
While the InZone H9 II take the original H9 model forward, the InZone E9 bring a wired in-ear proposition to the gaming series for the first time.
These, like the H9 II, have been tuned in collaboration with British esports company Fnatic, and offer both noise-isolation foam eartips and silicone tips in various sizes in a bid to offer all-day comfort as well as passive noise isolation.
The InZone Hub for PC gaming lets players customize their sound profile, adjust EQ settings and set their 7.1-channel and spatial sound preferences via the USB-C audio box.
Available in black and white finishes, the InZone E9 can be pre-ordered now for $150.
