Sony WH-XB910N Teardown by 52Audio

I was hoping we would see a teardown of the WH-XB910N, and 52Audio delivers once again. I will try to go over anything interesting and do a quick comparison to the older WH-XB900N. Perhaps some of these new changes could make their way into the upcoming Sony WH-1000XM5.

Aside from the design differences between the WH-XB910N and XB900, one nice feature is that the new model comes with a physical case, similar to the WH-1000XM4, where as the previous model came only with a pouch.

So time to look at the teardown, starting with the right side. To remove the ear cushion, you will need to unlatch the plastic clips that attach them to the main body. To unlatch the plastic clips, one has to gently squeeze the outer edge of the cushion frame in order for the plastic clips to let go. Be careful when squeezing the plastic, since too much force might break the clips or the frame.

In this next photo, the holes where the plastic clips can be clearly seen. By gently squeezing the outer edge, the clips should come out and the cushion detach. If the frame or too many clips break off, or the cushion is damaged, replacement pads can be ordered from Sony, but they might not be that cheap. Personally I would order a black pair for the blue model as it would look kind of cool.

Unlike the previous model, the new model has hybrid ANC, meaning feedforward and feedback microphones. This should result in much better NC performance and maybe even on the same level as the WH-1000XM4.

Here we can see the feedback microphone. The cover is composed of rubber silicone. The WH-XB910N has switched over to a MEMS microphone, where as the WH-1000XM4 uses an electret microphone, and covered by a plastic cover. Perhaps the WH-1000XM5 will also switch to a MEMS microphone and rubber cover. I dd notice there are now 4 wires coming off the MEMS microphone compared to 2 on the WH-1000XM4 electret microphone. Anyone know what the extra wires could be for?

Looking at the driver, it is 40mm as per specifications, and identical to the WH-XB900N.

Removing the driver and the plastic surround on the right side reveals the following:

We have the touch sensor PCB, the feedforward microphone on the right in the photo, and the small board which has the connections for the driver, both NC microphones, the touch sensor, and for the battery. The NC microphone is under the black cover and an electret type (see below). The microphone is held in place in a silicone enclosure.