Sony WF-SP800N vs Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015)

The Sony WF-SP800N is a great Canal Earphone for its $198 asking price.

The Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015), however, while a reasonable product for $129, doesn't stack up against its competitors quite as well. If you're considering Canal Earphones in the $140 range, you might want to check out some better options.

The Sony WF-SP800N has managed to do great in various roundups conducted by reviewers from highly trusted sources that perform objective in-depth testing, like Rtings, CNET, PCmag, and Tom's Guide - it was dubbed "Best Sony Headphones For Sports" by Rtings, "Best noise-canceling earbuds for runners" by CNET, and "A Good Pair for Runners" by PCmag. Any product that's held in such high regard by some of the most reliable sources should be considered by everyone who's looking for a Canal Earphone at this price.

Returning to the Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015), Tom's Guide, a source that's known for its high-quality in-depth testing, has great things to say about it. In fact, it was named its "Best budget Bose earphones" in its "The best Bose headphones in 2021" roundup, which is quite a feat.

To get a better idea of how they fare when compared directly to each other, we analyzed review scores of sources that tested both. Tom's Guide and Rtings, for example, preferred the Sony WF-SP800N, while CNET rated both of them the same.

We also took a look at which sources had the best things to say about them. We learned that the Sony WF-SP800N got reviewed the highest by What Hi-Fi? - it gave it a rating of 10, while the Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015) most impressed reviewers at CNET, which gave it a score of 8.

Lastly, we averaged out all of their review ratings and observed that the Sony WF-SP800N, with its 8.2 average, performed considerably better than most Canal Earphones - the mean score for the product category being 7.4 out of 10 - while the Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015) managed an average of 7.0.

There's one caveat here - it might not be entirely justifiable to do a direct Sony WF-SP800N vs. Bose SoundSport In-Ear (2015) review average comparison since they aren't priced the same and more expensive products tend to get higher review scores from some sources.