Sony WF-C510 Review: One of the Best Budget TWS Earbuds in the Market Today

I keep harping on this time and time again. 2024 has been the year for earphones. There have been generational leaps no matter what budget you’re looking at. Google released its long-awaited successor to the Pixel Buds Pro. Samsung came out with the Galaxy Buds3 Pro, one that many had been waiting for a while for.

Last year, with the WF-1000XM5, Sony proved yet again that they are the king of sound quality for earphones and headphones. Not willing to be left behind in 2024, the company has launched the WF-C510, a direct successor to the WF-C500, at pretty much the same price. At Rs. 4,990, Sony has cut some corners with the WF-C500, but even then, these are one of the best offerings in the sub-Rs 5,000 range.

Let’s get into it.

A comfortable in-ear fit

The WF-C510’s USP is its supreme comfort. It’s a truly wireless (TWS) earphone that sacrifices the bells and whistles for supreme comfort and audio quality. There are three ear tips - small, medium and large - in the box. Find your perfect fit before you start belting out to various tunes and podcasts.

It’s got a lightweight design that fits into your pocket without creating much of a bulge. The look and feel might seem cheap, but the plain finish doesn’t do any justice to the overall aesthetics. The pill-shaped charging case is solid and even survived some drops and knocks. You’ve got colour options of blue, yellow, black and white.

The case features a USB-C charging port and a pairing button on the back. There’s an LED light on the front to indicate the charging and pairing status. Sony claims that these are the smallest designed in-ear earbuds, and from the first time I opened them, I could tell a lot of work had gone into reducing their size. The previous models are bulky in comparison. For those with smaller ears, rejoice!

The fit and positioning of the earbuds are sublime. I had absolutely no issues having them stay in my ears for hours on end.

Features

There are two features, that I’m extremely happy with, that they weren’t put on the chopping blocks. First, there is the Bluetooth Multipoint feature. This allows you to connect the buds to two devices at once. A lot of budget TWS earbuds skip this feature and I’m glad Sony kept it. The other feature I love is that the earbuds can be used independently. This means that you can use one earbud - right or left - while the other is left inside the case. Then there is IPX4 water resistance, just in case you’re caught with them while it's pouring cats and dogs.

While Sony has skimped on the active noise cancellation for these buds (I’m a sad camper here), they have included Ambient Sound Control. Usually, both are seen hand-in-hand, so it’s quite unusual for this to happen. Ambient Sound Control allows a small amount of external noise while you’re using them. This can easily be tweaked in the Sony Headphones app.

The idea is for the background noise to be quietened while the voice levels are raised. To me, the feature seemed next to useless as it didn’t work at all when I was listening to most of my music.

One other cost-cutting measure was to exclude any touch-sensitive controls. On the other hand, the outer surface doubles up as a physical button for controlling music and volume levels.

Lastly, the Sony Headphones app gives you access to a five-band equaliser.

Sound quality: This is where the WF-C510 shines

While I may lament the lack of any active noise cancellation, the upside is that the snug fit allows for quite a bit of passive noise isolation. This mainly comes in handy while listening to podcasts on a long walk out and about with honking cars and talkative passersby.

Let me get this off of my chest. I’m so happy that Sony didn’t pump in the bass on these earbuds. It’s refreshing, and ultimately very satisfying. There is a Clear Bass slider, just in case you’re a bass-loving audiophile, but personally, I felt these weren’t overpowering at any point.

These earbuds are richer in sound and bolder than before. Thanks to the DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) mode, the details in each song were enhanced. Pick up any jazz track like Take Five and you’ll be able to enjoy the intricacies of the various instruments. It isn’t the best earbuds for instrument separation, but none of the others at this price range are any good either.

There’s a balanced sound to various songs I played. From Maroon 5’s Sugar to Imagine Dragons’ Believer, there was a thumping satisfaction. The shifts in sound and the difference in mids and uppers are handled well. The midrange and treble have drastically improved from the predecessors. These aren’t the best-sounding earbuds by a mile, but they are one of the best in this price range.

Battery life

Battery life is one of the standout features of the WF-C510. Sony claims up to 11 hours of battery life (with all the features switched off). The case is good for another 11 hours of playback. I routinely went up to 10 hours before needed to prop the earbuds back in the case.

There’s a quick charge feature - an hour of playback with just five minutes of charge - in case you’re in a hurry. The earbuds can be fully charged in just under three hours. Slow charging is the only downside here.

Competition: There is only one

The Sony WF-C510 is going head-to-head with the OnePlus Buds 3. Yes, those two are the best earbuds you can buy with a budget of Rs 5,500 or under. They offer ANC and 44 hours of playback. The other option is the CMF Buds Pro 2 at Rs 4,299, also with ANC and 43 hours of playback.

The OnePlus Buds 3 edges out the Sony WF-C510 with its support for LHDC audio codec and IP55 dust and water resistance. The OnePlus Buds 3 also charge much faster than the WF-C510.

Verdict

There is no doubt that quite a bit of work has gone into the making of the Sony WF-C510 earbuds. They’re truly much better than their predecessors. As I said above, they make for one of the best earbuds in the under Rs 5,500 range. I still, to this day, lament any earbuds without even a basic ANC, and hence, Sony doesn’t get a pass here.

But, the passive noise isolation and the tuning of the earbuds more than makeup for the lack of ANC. Couple that with the comfortable fit and the 10 hours of playback and you have a winning pair of budget TWS earphones.

If ANC is a dealbreaker, then please do look elsewhere. But, if you want a lightweight pair of TWS earbuds that don’t break the bank, the WF-C510 do a satisfying job. They may look and feel cheap, but after using them for a few weeks, they did not disappoint. Just don’t use them for your hour-long work meetings.