When Sony entered the over-the-counter listening to assist market two years in the past, it did so with a pair of merchandise: the CRE-C10 and the dearer CRE-E10. I used to be dazzled by the minuscule C10—it’s nonetheless one of many listening to assist choices I like to recommend essentially the most—and assumed the E10 could be much more spectacular. Now that I’ve lastly landed a pair of E10 aids to check, I can guarantee you that the E10 isn’t a lot an improve to the C10 as it’s a wholly totally different class of product with its personal professionals and cons.
Whereas each the C10 and E10 depend on an in-ear earbud-like design conceit, their normal strategy is significantly totally different. Whereas the 1-gram C10 matches almost completely contained in the ear, invisible sufficient to require a small retrieval wire to take away it, the two.94-gram E10 is far more bulbous and visual. It appears extra like a regular Bluetooth earbud than another listening to assist I’ve examined, filling the concha with its rounded physique. Since, because the outdated saying goes, all concha are usually not created equal, your consolation stage whereas sporting these listening to aids could differ significantly. In my ears, the match was comfortable however not tight—comfy for sporting for just a few hours however not all day. Sony offers simply 4 pairs of eartips you possibly can experiment with to assist enhance the match.
{Photograph}: Sony
The opposite large distinction between the C10 and E10 is that whereas the C10 makes use of replaceable listening to assist batteries, the E10 contains a extra frequent rechargeable battery. The additional dimension of the gadget lets the E10 work for as much as 26 hours (with out streaming). The USB-C connectible and Qi-compatible charger offers sufficient juice for a further two to 3 recharges.
Regardless of their bigger dimension, the CRE-E10 aids don’t function any exterior controls, which is comprehensible as a result of controls could be onerous to entry primarily based on the best way the aids sit within the ear. As a substitute, all controls are located in Sony’s Listening to Management app (Android, iOS). This is identical app used for the CRE-C10, so I already had it put in, however I bumped into instant issues as a result of the outdated aids have been nonetheless registered to the app.
{Photograph}: Sony
To arrange new aids, it’s important to take away the outdated ones from the app. To do this, Listening to Management requires you to enter a code despatched to your registered e-mail tackle. Naturally, I by no means obtained the code, so I couldn’t set up the brand new set of aids. Finally, Sony tech help instructed me to delete the app altogether and set it up once more with a distinct e-mail tackle—maybe not essentially the most elegant resolution, nevertheless it labored to get me up and working.
