2026 seems to be the time of the open-back gaming headset. After years of not seeing much in this sector (bar the Corsair Virtuoso Pro), we’ve seen a return to form for this admittedly niche sector that I’m all for. First, it was the turn of Asus with the Hifiman-collab Asus ROG Kithara with its audiophile credentials, huge planar magnetic drivers, and an equally hefty price tag that m’colleague Phil liked, although with the caveat that it’s $300/£285 and misses some very basic features for a headset. Y’know, like physical controls or any form of software control.
Now it’s the turn of Sony with the lightweight and breathable Inzone H6 Air, which immediately wins against Asus in my head for coming in at virtually $100/£100 less. Granted, the $200/£180 price tag is still dear for a strictly wired headset when versatile wireless choices such as the Beyerdynamic MMX 150 and Logitech G522 Lightspeed exist. Whether it can match in features or quality is a different matter entirely against any of these, though, which is why hardware overlord Jacob is paying me for these very words.
The first thing that was immediately noticeable for me when plonking the Inzone H6 Air on my bonce is how lightweight it is. It’s technically under 200 g at 199 g without the additional boom microphone affixed to the front to make it look more like a conventional pair of headphones (adding the mic adds an extra 12 g—I know, immense) and the lack of a more avant-garde design, a la Kithara, means you’re less likely to get funny looks on Zoom calls or if you bravely decide to use this as normal headphones out and about.
The sub-200 g weight makes these cans supremely comfortable for my head for extended periods, and it almost feels like you don’t have them on your head half the time. My only criticism is how light the clamping force feels, as the headset feels as if it’s resting on your head more often than not, arguably due to the suspension-style headband Sony has opted for.
Inzone H6 Air specs
Operating principle: Open-back
Connectivity: Wired
Drivers: 40 mm drivers derived from Sony’s MDR MV1 headphones
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 20,000 Hz
Microphone: Cardioid detachable
Weight: 199 grams (0.44 lbs)
Price: $200/£180
It adjusts in the same funny way as on the Inzone H9 II, requiring you to pinch a hinge and adjust each side independently. It’s fine, but I think that’s where the clamping force issue derives from.
To be clear, I don’t mind the lighter force afforded by the Inzone H6 Air, but some folks may prefer a tighter fit, which can mostly be achieved if you take a few moments to adjust the headband properly.
Outside of this, this Sony headset carries a clean and modern look, with strong build quality thanks to a combination of metal earcup outers and some solid plastics used elsewhere. The headset also folds down for easy stowage, although there isn’t an egg bag to store the cans in if you want to take them out anywhere.
One area where Sony has improved over Asus is that this gaming headset actually has on-board controls! Granted, it’s only two, with a mic mute button and a volume wheel, but there are controls, and they are present. Otherwise, it’s just jacks for connecting the detachable 3.5 mm wired cable, and for affixing the boom mic to the front of the unit.
Strictly wired connectivity is handled by the 3.5 mm jack with devices that support it, although Sony also bundles a similar external USB-C DAC and ‘audio box’ with the Inzone H6 Air, as it did with the Inzone E9 IEMs. This opens up USB-C compatibility for PlayStation and for Windows, opening up access to Sony’s Inzone Hub software—again, righting the wrong of Asus’ Kithara that’s bereft of software controls. That’s two for two, Sony—well done.
Software control is similar to the Inzone H9 II, minus the ANC settings, as there isn’t any (this is an open-back headset after all), but there is still a wealth of settings for things such as fiddling with different EQ presets for different types of games alongside a 10-band EQ for more custom options, toggles for spatial audio settings and a couple of bits for microphone. What’s here is a little more basic, but it’s fine for most folks.
And now the important bit, sound quality, and it’s here where things get particularly tasty. The Inzone H6 Air isn’t using huge planar magnetic drivers like the Kithara does, and instead goes for more typical 40 mm dynamic drivers. With this in mind, they aren’t just any dynamic drivers. Sony has taken a leaf out of its own book and uses drivers from its vast range of headphones, opting to use drivers derived from its MDR-MV1 studio monitoring headphones for this headset.
Normally, these more reference-style, monitoring cans will be tuned for a flat curve so studio engineers get the truest representation of the music possible to make mixing as painless as possible. I believe Sony has tuned the drivers a smidgen here to make them more suitable for the target audience of gamers rather than audio engineers.
Likewise, being open-back should give these cans a greater sense of width and space against the more traditional closed-back headsets out there, yielding a greater sense of immersion at the expense of disturbing those around you with audio seepage.
The upshot of all of this preamble is that I love how the Inzone H6 Air sounds. They’re an entertaining listen, not least with a surprising amount of meat on the bone when it comes to the bass. Human hearing may not be able to strictly hear the 10Hz these cans can go down to, but you can certainly feel it with a tight low-end, complete with good extension. I found strong punchiness in my usual array of rock testing tracks, be it the brooding Invisible Man from Marillion or Luminol from Steven Wilson, the latter of which has a relentless bass groove in the track’s opening couple of minutes.
Combined with this, there’s a rich and detailed mid-range for elements such as vocals in the above tracks and in mellower stuff from James Taylor or Jimmy Buffett. On the gaming side, it meant footsteps and voices in Counter-Strike 2 were crisp and clear, helping this headset to emerge as a strong choice for more competitive gaming.
If there’s one area where I expected these cans to perform, it was on the front of the soundstage, especially given the mere fact that these are open-backs. Nonetheless, the precision and sheer width are what set these apart from the closed-back cans at this price. It was very easy to place things in Counter-Strike 2, be it far-off gunshots, nearby grenade explosions (helped also by the tight bass) and footsteps.
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Buy if…
✅ You want wonderfully immersive audio: The Inzone H6 Air impresses with the width of its soundstage and the richness of its audio to make it a fantastic choice for FPS titles.
Don’t buy if…
❌ You want more versatile connectivity: For a similar price to this Sony choice, there are wireless options from Beyerdynamic, Logitech and others; they may sacrifice the power of open-back audio, but arguably make up for it in versatility.
In addition, in Forza Horizon 5, the sense of width and space was excellent for discerning between different folks I was racing against, making it a little bit easier to give cars I overtook (or was overtook by, I’m not that good, don’t judge) the space, so neither of us got punted by someone with no racecraft or the ability to use the brakes.
The Inzone H6 Air’s cardioid microphone is a tale of two halves, offering clear and surprisingly full-bodied pickup in my testing, meaning this headset could happily be used for voiceover work and streaming without much hassle. Noise rejection from things immediately in front of the cardioid capsule, be it my loud mechanical keyboard or music I had in the background, was reasonable, although I did find the pop filter and such didn’t do the best job with plosives. In my test audio, there are some noticeable thuds with letters such as P or B, which is just something to bear in mind.
So, where does all this leave us? The fact is that I’m a large fan of the Inzone H6 Air for a myriad of reasons, and I think it may well be one of the best gaming headsets you can buy: the comfortable fit, the immersive and surprisingly bassy sound that helps games, music and more besides. Plus, it rights the key wrongs of the Asus ROG Kithara in that it has physical controls, it costs less (although it is still quite expensive for a wired-only headset), it has some software, and you probably won’t get as many funny looks with these on in meetings. That’s a win in my book.
Best gaming headset 2026
Gaming Headsets,Hardware,Gaming Audio#Sony #Inzone #Air #review1781588570
