Sony Inzone E9 Gaming Earbuds Review: IEMs Built For Gamers

Gaming with over-ear headphones is often more comfortable and makes for a better audio experience, but it turns out plenty of gamers prefer in-ear headphones or actual IEMs instead. For those gamers, Sony recently took the wraps off of the Sony Inzone E9 gaming earbuds, which are designed to offer a comfortable in-ear fit, a high-quality audio response, and some additional features that you might not expect from wired earbuds. 

At $149.99, the Sony Inzone E9 earbuds aren't necessarily cheap. Do they offer enough in the way of features and audio quality to justify the price tag, or should you stick with something else? I've been using the Sony Inzone E9 earbuds to find out.

The Sony Inzone E9 earbuds offer a relatively stylish design, at least as far as wired in-ear monitors go. They have an ear hook cable shape, and the ear hook does a pretty good job of keeping the earbuds comfortable and secure. The earbuds come in two colors, black and white, though the only difference in color is with the main earpieces and not other components like the cable.

Speaking of the cable, it's a relatively long 1.8 meters, has an angled connector, and seems decently strong. Though, with the plastic casing, I could certainly see it wearing over time. Unfortunately, the cable is not removable from the earpieces themselves. Therefore, if something like a connector on the cable breaks, you'll be stuck replacing the entire product.

Apart from the headphones themselves, in the box you'll get a range of accessories. The earbuds come with two different types of ear tips, each of which comes in four different sizes. There are four silicon tips and four foam tips, though to be clear, these are not memory foam tips like those made by Comply. Still, I found the earbuds to be pretty comfortable. The earpieces themselves are relatively small, making it easy to wear them for extended periods without experiencing comfort issues.

Christian de Looper for BGR

In the box, you'll also get a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, which is kind of the secret sauce of these earbuds. The adapter essentially connects the headphones to your computer through a digital connection instead of an analog one, allowing you to tweak things like the EQ through the Sony Inzone Hub. The adapter also allows for features like Sony's 360 Spatial Sound for Gaming.

Of course, given the fact that the adapter connects to the headphones themselves through a basic 3.5mm connection, there's nothing stopping you from using other wired headphones with Sony's Inzone Hub software instead, if you want to. The features built into the Inzone Hub are specifically designed for the E9 headphones, so tweaking settings won't necessarily yield very impressive results with other headphones. But, if you want 360 Spatial Sound on other wired headphones, this is how you can get it.

The last accessory included in the box is a little carrying case, which has a strap that secures the adapter and headphones in place. It's a nice case overall, and I appreciate its inclusion.

As analog earbuds, you wouldn't necessarily expect much in the way of extras, but thanks to the USB adapter, you can access some features that you wouldn't be able to without. Notably, you'll be able to access the Sony Inzone Hub software on Windows, which unlocks things like an EQ and 360 Spatial Sound.

This could be useful for gamers who want a heightened sense of immersion in their gaming. Keep in mind that 360 Spatial Sound isn't informed by actual spatial audio mixes, but rather stereo audio that's fed through an algorithm. The result of that is that you may occasionally find that objects aren't positioned exactly where they should, but I didn't experience issues. The algorithm will still be able to tell where something is when it comes to left and right positioning, but may not always get it right when it comes to deciphering if something is in front or behind you. Hopefully, gaming headsets will support native object-based audio formats like Dolby Atmos more often in the future.

So, how do the earbuds sound? Well, they actually sound very good, though to achieve the best audio response, you will need to experiment with the included ear tips to find the ones that make the best seal. I started with ear tips that felt comfortable and I thought worked perfectly fine, but after finding that the bass response was weak at best, I switched to other tips and realized that the seal wasn't perfect, and that the earbuds actually delivered solid bass response overall.

In both casual listening and gaming scenarios, the earbuds performed pretty well. As mentioned, the bass response was decently powerful, with good bass extension that didn't overshadow other frequencies. That helps make for powerful explosions and rich-sounding dialogue.

The mids were decently tuned, and while they did seem a little scooped, it certainly wasn't over the top, especially in the higher mids. And the earbuds offered a crisp and detailed high-end response. I would have expected a little more detail from IEMs built specifically for music, but as a general rule, I found that the audio was crisp no matter how I used the earbuds.

The Sony Inzone Hub offers different presets for different types of games. However, I didn't necessarily find the different presets to add much to the gaming experience. I'm far from a competitive gamer, though, so your mileage may vary based on your EQ presets when you play the kinds of games that they're designed for.

Sony says that the earbuds offer passive noise isolation as well thanks to a completely sealed structure, but don't expect miracles here. These are far from noise-canceling headphones, and you'll hear things around you, even if it is softened a little.

The Sony Inzone E9 gaming earbuds have a lot to offer. I like the included USB dongle and the features it unlocks. Plus, the earbuds sound pretty good and come with a solid selection of accessories. The USB adapter really is the advantage that these earbuds offer — and if you don't care about being able to unlock features like 360 Spatial Sound, there are probably better options out there, especially considering the fact that you can EQ your audio with other software. But as a complete package, those who want IEMs for FPS gaming will like what's on offer by the Sony Inzone E9 earbuds.

The competition

There aren't necessarily tons of advantages to buying wired in-ear monitors built specifically for gaming as opposed to those designed for other kinds of use, unless you want to access digital features like what Sony has to offer here. There's a whole world of IEMs to dive into, and there are plenty of new models that sound amazing at a price lower than the Sony Inzone E9. The likes of Truthear, Simgot, and more, all make great models — and are worth considering.

Should I buy the Sony Inzone E9 headphones?

Maybe, but only if you care about accessing the features on offer by the Sony Inzone Hub.