SonyWI-C100 Wireless in-Ear Bluetooth Headphones with Built-in Microphone, Black

This is actually my *third* pair of WI-C100s- the first pair lasted a good several months (if not over a year) but the cable from the battery to the earbud came loose on one side; the second I lost on the way to work after months of use, probably while having to run for a bus or snagged on my backpack strap and fell off (was...not a good morning hah)So....yes, since they're so light they are easy to slip off accidentally if you don't have one or both ears in-use to keep it from running off your neck (mostly when running or leaning/laying back, basic day-to-day activities don't usually knock em loose ime) that's really the only "big" downside I've found so far across these- and I've been using this same model for a few years now. And worst case scenario, if you do lose em they're cheap and easy to replace, widely available- sometimes even at local stores (though my nearby places didn't this time around)Because they're tethered together, I don't have to worry about losing one ear because it fell out mid-use or I forgot to put it back into the case when not in use. Sometimes you may need to be careful using these when wearing any "cross-chest strap" bags or otherwise (messenger/gym/duffel bags, purses, arm-slings, tools with a neck/shoulder strap, etc) to make sure the earbuds don't get caught under the strap- but for the tradeoff of reliability and peace-of-mind of having them semi-wired, I don't mind that occasional snag too much. Even when they do lightly catch on my backpack strap, they haven't seemed to wear down or come loose around the wire at either end (the pair I had that *did* break in that way came loose at the battery end, and wasn't caused by a shoulder strap- was also after several months of heavy use, even while sleeping)So build quality is reasonable, how do they sound? Honestly, for a $20-30 pair of *wireless* earbuds, pretty decent ^-^ sure it may not satisfy any audiophiles, but again....don't forget the price- even for that, they still sound great to me (of course, that could just be Sony and their reasonable consistency/quality with even budget headphones over the years heh) and the extra features from the Sound Connect app are a nice bonus. Of course it's not going to have extra-thumpy bass (try their "XB" line of products for that) or Sennheiser/Bose/what-have-you quality- but the equalizer and DSEE do give you some extra control over how they sound. Oh, and you can also enable/disable the voice msgs from the app, so it'll only speak up when turning on/off the headset, and when the battery is lowThe connection consistency and quality have been pretty good across all 3 pairs I've had. For reference, I not only use them with my phone daily (close proximity, but also connecting to Android over BT often works better than with Windows) but also with my PC just as often- and I've never had a problem with initial pairing or swapping between the two. When in use with my PC, even when in another room several ft away they still maintain a good connection, only *rarely* drops out from far away if I move my arm in the way of the line-of-sight (granted, that may also be another advantage of the "pair on the same wire" style of headset over individual or TWS [true wireless sound, or "airpod style" with the separate batteries/bt connections per ear] buds- ymmv with your device(s) of choice)The battery life....hoo boy, they're not kidding when they say upwards of 20-25 hrs. Not only do these have a larger battery thanks to the type of headset- but also since the battery is along the band instead of the buds themselves, the earbuds are much lower profile and work great for wearing during sleep without having to worry about them falling out or losing charge too soon (as long as you don't mind the wires- but even then, they're pretty lightweight and unobtrusive) especially with the right eartips to help keep em snug and secure. Personally, with my living situation having something playing in my ears to drown out outside noise while sleeping was....a necessity- with some memory foam eartips (the included ones would normally be ok, but my inner ear is a bit wide even for the included large tips to work ._.) you almost don't need active noise-cancelling with these ^-^ speaking of eartips, the posts on these are also decently long unlike most TWS buds, so they have a bit more flexibility with options for those (one of my major problems with several TWS pairs I've tried)Between the long battery life (and decently fast charging speed, even over a PC USB instead of 2A wall adapter), comfortable wear, decent sound quality for price, and extra features in the companion app, I'm pretty happy with these as a daily driver(As for the provided eartips, there's nothing wrong with em and will likely work for most, I'm just a bit of an odd case with ear shape hah)

I've used its cousin, the WI-C130, for the past two years and felt like it was about time to replace them given their waning battery life. I've used those out and about, listening to music and, most importantly, while lying in bed listening to audiobooks (including side-sleeping). Most earphones aren't comfortable for that; either they poke out too much, are generally uncomfortable, or too loose/unsecure. But these (both C100 and C130) are amazingly comfortable for that use-case.The WI-C100 is comparable to WI-C130. Given Sony's notoriously confusing naming scheme, its not clear which of the models is meant to be a step-up over the other.- In minor aspects of build quality, the WI-C130 seems better; slightly better quality plastic with magnets (at least weak ones) on the eartips for convenient attaching when not in use.- But otherwise, the WI-C100 seems better; the sound quality (from initial impressions) and the availability of software preferences. E.g., after initial connection with an android smartphone, it prompts you to install the Sony SoundConnect app which has a nice equalizer with a "clear bass" option. It also includes helpful guides on the button functionality and choosing the right sized eartips for your ears. It also includes (what seems like) a gimmick feature: a "360 live sound" app which simulates surround sound and adapts it to a model of your ear shape. I'm not sure whether this applies globally, or only in the small collection of paid bloatware apps it offers to install. The app could've been more polished, and if the 360 live sound thingy was better implemented, it would definitely outcompete other such branded apps.Two important shortcomings:- These should've had multipoint bluetooth connections so that at least two devices could be connected at a time. It seems they could've implemented that in this package, esp. at this price-point.- These don't automatically turn off after a timeout period when there's no sound. I suspect this needlessly shortens their battery health overtime, like it does for the WI-C130, especially when used during sleep time. Its a shame because an automatic-switch-off feature would've made these even more robust and long-lasting.TL;DR: In the relatively overlooked niche of wireless neckband earphones, this is a very decent, economical option, providing Sony-level sound quality and reliability.(Having said that, the WI-C130s were $18 two years ago, now these comparable WI-C100s are almost double the price. That's regrettable especially since the cheap plastic build quality is nothing to write home about, also with the two shortcomings above. There are other companies providing more features at this price-point (albeit without the Sony-level comfort). I hope Sony limits price-hikes for these and related models, or at least justifies them with tangible improvements in build quality, sound, IP rating, battery life, QoL features, etc).Bonus tip: cross the earphones around the neck for a more secure fit. This advice goes for most wireless earphones with neckbands.