When it comes to gaming headsets, I’m usually a simple person to please. Is the mic quality decent for my game sessions and is the audio as good as my earbuds? If they come close to that, I’ll be happy. The Sony Inzone H9 II is one that not only comes close, but, in many ways, I feel blows other comparable devices out of the water.
Now, full transparency. When reviewing headsets, I’m not one to dive into attenuation, MDAQ scores, and the like. As with all tech reviews on Insider Gaming, we look at how it works under regular use from the average person, and if the quality lives up to the price.
So, for $350, how does the Sony Inzone H9 II compare to other headsets on the market and can it be a headset that you pick up and keep for years to come? Let’s take a look.
Sony Inzone H9 II Review
Upon opening the box and pulling out the headset, it’s immediately noticeable how light it is. The Sony Inzone H9 II weighs just about 260 grams (g) or 9.18 ounces (oz). Compared to another headset in a similar price range—the Logitech G Astro A50 X and its 363g (12.8oz)—and it feels nearly weightless. In longer sessions, you shouldn’t find comfort an issue when it comes to how it sits on your head. Even the band used is quality and forms nicely around even the largest of craniums.
Where you might have some comfort problems is in the ears. As someone with smaller ears, it fids nicely around them. If you have larger ears, though, the way it sits might pose a problem and the headset doesn’t come with anything more than the preinstalled earpads.
As far as the features of the headset, the Inzone H9 II offers up to 30 hours of battery life, 360-degree spatial sound, active noise cancelling, Bluetooth connectivity and a detachable unidirectional 14000kHz super wide band microphone.
Control and Functionality
The Sony Inzone H9 II headset includes a number of features. All of which I find to be impressive.
One of the more unique features is noise canceling toggle. On the headset there’s button that goes between noise cancelling and allowing ambient sound. It’s a great for when you need to have your headset on, but want to still notice what’s happening around you. To help with this, each side of the device has small microphones to help listen and then filter out the sound. It’s a bit jarring at first, but works better than I could’ve expected.
The game/chat balance allows you to set what sound to prioritize while using, which is nice when I want to hear a game more than the teammates talking in the background.
The Bluetooth is crystal clear and allows you to have the headset connected to your PC or Console and phone at the same time. Most offer this feature, but I found the Inzone H9 II to be the most seamless and have the best connection quality.
Speaking of quality, lets talk about the real meat and potatoes: the sound and microphone.
The Inzone H9 II has a microphone that would be perfectly fine for most use cases, including recording a podcast. Being a super wide band microphone allows for the mic to pic up differences in voice, tone, inflection, etc. As someone with three small kids who like to be loud—as kids are—while I work, it was nice finding out that the microphone doesn’t pick up their yelling or singing in the distance. That’s even when they are playing right next to me while I’m on a call. Even the noise-cancelling features of the headset does a great job of drowning them out so I can hear who I’m talking to.
It’s not going to be a top-tier microphone for voice over work without some post-production work, as, even when I used it for episodes of Insider Today, I had to deal with a few small instances of adjusting the gain and bass. But for live streaming, general communication, and even podcasts, it might just be the best headset microphone I’ve ever used.
With the sound, everything from nearby footsteps to cars in the distance is crisp. The 360 spatial sound really creates an immersion—and sense of anxiety—when playing any sort of first-person shooter (FPS). Playing a game like PUBG: Battlegrounds will have you sweating and panicking as you hear the slightest tiptoe approaching while you are in cover. It’s fantastic.
The proprietary Inzone Hub lets you adjust the EQ settings. The software has three built-in FPS settings that focus on either footsteps, gunshots, or even muffling larger sounds. There are also bass boost and music options along with a single custom EQ. Unfortunately, that’s it for the EQ. You can only have one custom EQ setting per profile, which leads to extra work to adjust things for how you like. For me, it doesn’t impact my use much, but I know it’s going to be a turn off for people who want as much customization as possible.
Battery Could Be Better
As mentioned earlier, the Inzone H9 II offers up to 30 hours of battery life. It’s clearly not first-rate, especially when compared to other devices around the same price or even cheaper. On average, I found myself getting around 20-23 hours on a single charge. Again, it’s not the best but with how quickly it can charge, I didn’t find it too frustrating. With just a five minute charge, you can add up to three hours of battery life. For most use cases, such as mine, that’s perfectly fine. Plus, I keep my headset plugged in more often than not when it’s not in use.
To know how much battery life you have left, simply tap the power button once while the headset is on the device’s voice guidance lets you know where things stand.
Sony Inzone H9 II Review Verdict
It’s not often I find a headset that feels truly worth its asking price. At $350, the Sony Inzone H9 II isn’t exactly easy to justify, and I’d normally be hesitant to pull the trigger. But after a month of daily use, it’s become my go-to headset.
Being able to jump on a podcast without swapping setups and still sound clear, take calls with mic quality better than my phone, and enjoy rich audio across everything I do has completely sold me on the H9 II. The Inzone Hub software could use some polish, but that’s not a dealbreaker for the headset itself.
Battery life is my only real problem, but with how quickly it charges, it’s a minor issue. Given how well it delivers on everything else, that’s a trade-off I’m more than willing to make.
The Sony Inzone H9 II comes in a black or white design.
A Sony Inzone H9 II headset was provided by Sony for the purposes of this review.
For more Insider Gaming, check out our review of the Logitech G G515 Rapid TKL Keyboard. And make sure you subscribe to the Insider Gaming Newsletter.
Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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