Sony WH-CH530 vs WH-CH520 and WH-CH530 FCC Teardown

When Sony announced the WH-CH530, I thought the design was just carried over from the previous WH-CH520, but the two models are not identical. The differences are subtle, so here is what to look out for.

Amazon Canada – WH-CH530 | Amazon Poland – WH-CH530 | Amazon UK – WH-CH530

Amazon Germany – WH-CH530 | Amazon US – WH-CH530

First, the logo on the headband is now engraved onto the surface, rather than printed. The new WH-CH730N uses a similar engraved logo on its headband as well, with the lower end earbud models also adopting this logo design.

Second, the controls are difference in their design. The layout is the same, but the length has been reduced for all the buttons.

The R and L marks have also changed, moving from the inside of the headband, to the mesh on the earpads. All recent models, starting from the WH-1000XX, have received this change, and moving forward, I suspect all Sony over-ear models will have this L and R mark position. Personally I prefer the new mark location, but some Sony purists may not be fans of it.

The headband and support looks to be the same on both models. Whether the hinge has been improved, I do not know. There have been some past user reports of the WH-CH520 hinge failing.

As for specifications, the new model has the same 30mm driver, no 3,5mm port, multipoint support, and identical charging speed. The weight has gone up 3 grams, which is negligible.

Battery life has increased slightly, from 50 to 55 hours for AAC, and 45 to 50 hours for SBC. The new model now supports LE Audio and LC3, and has a LC3 battery rating of up to 45 hours. The communication time has dropped a bit, from 40 to 35 hours. The Bluetooth version is now 6.0, previously 5.2.

I cannot comment on the audio quality, but the original WH-CH520 when I tested them, sounded okay for the price.

FCC Teardown

With the design differences out of the way, time to dig into the innards of the WH-CH530. Check out my WH-CH520 teardown post for comparison photos of the previous model.

Removing the earpad, the driver area underneath looks the same as in the WH-CH520.

The inside of the new model is almost identical to the previous model. The driver section screw locations are identical, but the orientation of the PCB and battery compartment have changed. The battery shape is also different, now longer and more narrow, hinting at a new battery model. The left side only has the driver.