Sony InZone H6 Air wired gaming headset review: Great sound, great fit

On paper, Sony’s InZone H6 Air looks like a typical analog gaming headset with an unusual price tag of $200. But when you factor in the excellent sound quality and smart open-back design, the high cost becomes a little easier to deal with. The discount will make it more attractive.

Open-back headphones, which feature ventilated earcups, tend to be more expensive than closed-back models, in part because the market is dominated by audiophile brands like Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic. However, like all headphones, their prices can range from inexpensive to expensive. The open-back design generally provides better, more neutral sound quality, partly because ventilation prevents sound from bouncing around inside the case.

Sony’s InZone H6 Air headphone delivers true-to-life sound – which isn’t surprising considering it’s based on Sony’s drivers Studio Monitor MDR-MV1 Headphones, which are priced at around $400. The headphone produces resonant bass, clear mids and highs, with low distortion, precise separation, and a wide soundstage. I usually have to adjust the equalizer settings on gaming headphones for music, but it sounds great without it.

This makes it particularly suitable for games with catchy soundtracks, e.g Lighting and illumination. The InZone Hub offers a range of EQ presets, surround sound (Sony’s 360 spatial audio for gaming) and a new immersive preset aimed at RPGs and action games.

For best results, I liked to combine Surround with one of the FPS presets to better isolate the effects from behind, especially with soundtracks that can be overpowering, like those found in Eternal death.

The microphone is really good too. There’s no noise cancellation, but it’s narrowly directional. I picked up some soft typing and some fan noise from the desktop next to me, but not the noisy air purifier on the left. I prefer it over noise cancellation because the sound doesn’t suffer from compression and processing glitches. And the sound from it sounds really good. Full and warm.

However, I wish the software had more microphone controls than just side volume — more importantly an equalizer, so I could increase clarity for chat or customize the audio for streaming or recording.

The headphone includes a detachable 3.5mm analog cable and a USB-C adapter. As with all analog headphones, you have to use a USB adapter to access the settings in the InZone Hub software.

This includes various equalizer presets for gaming, which mostly boost the mids or highs and reduce the lows to provide greater clarity to sounds and effects like footsteps or gunshots. You can also create custom presets. But you can only get it through software, you can’t download it to a headset, for example, to use with a 3.5mm connection.

The same applies to surround sound control and the side microphone. It’s not an unusual limitation, but you should be aware of it if you plan to connect, for example, to your Xbox via the console, or if you don’t want to keep the software loaded while you play.

Very comfortable

I really like the design of the headphone. All that free space plus the aluminum body makes it exceptionally lightweight – just 199g without the microphone (removable) or 217g, less than half a pound either way. But she still feels strong.

The open-back ventilation helps reduce air pressure on my ears, which sound-isolating designs aggravate, and helps mitigate ear sweating: I appreciated this as the temperature on my desk reached 84 degrees Fahrenheit while testing it.

The cushion covers feel like lightweight nylon, and while the padding is comfortable, it’s not too deep or firm, similar to the lighter HyperX Cloud 3 models. The earcups rotate fully in any direction, which also helps reduce pressure.

You have a lot of freedom in adjusting the headband. It slides smoothly along the frame, and while I don’t know at this time how sturdy the mechanism is, it’s one of the few that fits my head comfortably without relying on lateral pressure to hold it in place. It extends to the full depth, and it fits over the top hair clip that I usually remove when I’m wearing headphones.

There aren’t many controls, just a volume rocker and a microphone mute button. The sound deadener is in an unusual location above the left earcup, but it’s large and easy to feel.

Although I wish the headset had a greater range of features for the money, comfort and quality go a long way toward softening the blow, especially compared to more convenient wireless headphones.

If the price of Sony’s InZone H6 Air headphone is reduced even shortly after its launch, it will certainly be a compelling option.