Sony has refreshed its entry-level wireless headphones, and the first thing to happen is not a review verdict but a price cut. The new Sony WH-CH530 went on sale for £50 (€49 in Europe, $69.99 in the US), and their predecessors, the five-star WH-CH520, promptly dropped to £25 at UK retailer EE. That is exactly half the price of the successor, and What Hi-Fi? listed it as the lowest price the CH520 has reached.
So the question for anyone shopping at the bottom of Sony’s range in September 2026 is simple: pay double for the new model, or grab the outgoing one while stock lasts?
What the WH-CH530 bring
The WH-CH530 were part of a wider Sony headphone refresh reported by Hifi Pig on September 11, 2026, and SoundGuys gives September 7, 2026 as the release date. The on-ear design stays compact, with no active noise cancelling. The upgrades are about stamina, connectivity and tuning:
- Up to 55 hours of playback, five hours more than the CH520
- Quick charging: a three-minute top-up gives around 90 minutes of listening
- Multipoint connection and LE Audio support, with Auracast
- Bluetooth 6.0 with AAC, SBC and LC3 codecs, according to SoundGuys
- A 10-band equaliser, up from five bands, plus a Gaming EQ preset
- A maximum-volume limiter with five steps
- Six finishes: Black, Cobalt, White, Pink, Coral and Mint
Sony also says improved processing and algorithms give the sound a boost. As of September 16, 2026, What Hi-Fi? had not yet published its review of the new model, so that claim still needs testing.
Why the WH-CH520 still make sense
The older pair earned five stars for good reason. Bluetooth Multipoint lets them hop between devices, voice assistants are supported, controls sit on the earcups, and the sound can be adjusted in Sony’s Headphones Connect app. Battery life is a claimed 50 hours, which What Hi-Fi? says is enough to fly to Australia and back.
Sound was the real surprise at this price. What Hi-Fi? praised the even-handed, balanced presentation, with a solid, deep bass and an informative, eloquent midrange. In its review, the magazine wrote that the low end is “solid, deep and properly controlled at the leading edges, so the WH-CH520 express rhythms confidently.”
The build is plasticky, as you would expect, but sturdy, and at 147g the headphones are light enough for long trips or the gym. Amazon UK was listing them at £29, a little above the EE deal.
The verdict for now
The CH530 add longer battery life, LE Audio, a finer EQ and more colours, and those may well justify the extra money once reviewers have had their say. But if you just want good, cheap, long-lasting Bluetooth headphones, the CH520 at £25 are hard to beat, as long as stock lasts.
