How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want proven, lightweight everyday headphones from a brand that has been tuning consumer audio for decades, choose Sony WH-CH520L; if you need hybrid active noise cancelling, a wired fallback and a genuinely enormous 100-hour battery, choose ILOCKZONE LC30Pro.
• Sony WH-CH520L — biggest strength: Sony's tuning know-how plus DSEE processing and app-based EQ, wrapped in a light 310 g on-ear design with up to 50 hours of playback.
• Sony WH-CH520L — biggest trade-off: It relies on sound isolation, not active noise cancelling, and there is no wired jack at all — Bluetooth only.
• ILOCKZONE LC30Pro — biggest strength: Hybrid active noise cancelling, a 3.5 mm wired option and up to 100 hours of battery life in a foldable over-ear shell.
• ILOCKZONE LC30Pro — biggest trade-off: It is a lesser-known brand, so you are trading Sony's ecosystem and app for raw feature counts.
• Pick Sony WH-CH520L if you want a light, fuss-free pair for commuting, calls and long listening days.
• Pick ILOCKZONE LC30Pro if you want to block out noise, plug in when the battery dies, and rarely think about charging.
The WH-CH520L is an on-ear Bluetooth headphone built around convenience. The headline number is up to 50 hours of battery life, and Sony pairs that with a quick-charge function — a short top-up gives you a meaningful chunk of listening back before you head out the door. For anyone who charges overnight and forgets about it, that is the whole story right there.
On the audio side, Sony leans on its Digital Sound Enhancement Engine, which is designed to restore high frequencies and the gradually fading detail that gets lost when compressed music is streamed. You also get EQ settings through the Sony Headphones Connect app, so you can shape the sound to your own taste rather than accepting a fixed tuning. The drivers are dynamic, with a 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz frequency range and 24 ohm impedance — easy to drive from a phone.
Two things to know before you buy. First, noise control here is sound isolation, not active noise cancelling — it muffles the world, it does not erase it. Second, there is no headphone jack. If you want a wired option, this is not it. Skip the WH-CH520L if you fly often, work in loud open offices, or want a cable fallback.
ILOCKZONE LC30Pro: Who It's For
The LC30Pro goes after a different buyer entirely. It is an over-ear headphone with hybrid active noise cancelling, which means it actively works against ambient sound rather than just padding it out. If your day involves trains, planes, air conditioning hum or a noisy office, that is a fundamentally different experience from isolation alone.
The battery figure is the other headline: up to 100 hours of average life, with a 2-hour charge time. That is a specification aimed at people who genuinely hate charging — a week of heavy use, or a couple of weeks of lighter listening, on one fill. It also folds flat, which matters if you carry a bag daily; over-ear headphones that do not fold are a packing nuisance.
Connectivity is more flexible than the Sony's. You get Bluetooth 5.4 plus a 3.5 mm jack, so you can run wired when you want zero latency or when the battery is flat. The drivers are 40 mm dynamic units with a 20 Hz – 20 kHz range and 32 ohm impedance — slightly harder to drive than the Sony's 24 ohm, but still perfectly phone-friendly. Controls are push-button, and the build mixes plastic, silicone, memory foam and fabric, with a beige white finish.
The honest trade-off is brand and ecosystem. ILOCKZONE does not offer Sony's companion app or the DSEE processing, so sound shaping is whatever the headphone ships with. It is listed for adult use, and the noise cancelling is the reason to buy it. Skip it if you want a featherweight on-ear you barely notice, or if app-based EQ matters to you.
• Best for noise cancelling → ILOCKZONE LC30Pro. Hybrid ANC versus plain sound isolation is not a close contest.
• Best for battery life → ILOCKZONE LC30Pro. Up to 100 hours against up to 50 hours — double the runtime on paper.
• Best for quick top-ups → Sony WH-CH520L. The quick-charge function is designed for people who forget to charge.
• Best for sound customisation → Sony WH-CH520L. DSEE plus app EQ gives you levers the LC30Pro simply does not have.
• Best for wired listening → ILOCKZONE LC30Pro. A 3.5 mm jack; the Sony is wireless only.
• Best for all-day comfort on a light head → Sony WH-CH520L. 310 g on-ear with an adjustable headband and soft pads.
• Best for travel and packing → ILOCKZONE LC30Pro. The foldable over-ear design collapses; the Sony does not.
• Best for brand familiarity and multipoint → Sony WH-CH520L. Bluetooth 5.2 multipoint, Swift Pair and Fast Pair in a name most shoppers already trust.
In my opinion, the ILOCKZONE LC30Pro is the more capable headphone on pure specifications. Hybrid active noise cancelling, a 100-hour battery and a 3.5 mm wired option cover the three situations where cheap headphones usually let you down: noisy commutes, dead batteries, and latency-sensitive listening. If those matter to you, that is the one I would pick.
I would still steer you to the Sony WH-CH520L if you want the opposite thing — a light, uncomplicated on-ear pair with app EQ, multipoint and a quick-charge habit. It is the safer, more polished everyday choice. But for features per use case, the LC30Pro wins.
FAQ
The ILOCKZONE LC30Pro. It uses hybrid active noise cancelling, while the Sony WH-CH520L relies on passive sound isolation. If blocking noise is your priority, the LC30Pro is the correct choice.
The Sony WH-CH520L is rated up to 50 hours, and the ILOCKZONE LC30Pro is rated up to 100 hours. The LC30Pro also charges in about 2 hours; the Sony's advantage is its quick-charge function when you are short on time.
Only the ILOCKZONE LC30Pro, which has a 3.5 mm jack. The Sony WH-CH520L is wireless Bluetooth only with no headphone jack.
The Sony WH-CH520L, via the Sony Headphones Connect app, which includes EQ settings and DSEE processing. The ILOCKZONE LC30Pro does not offer an app-based EQ. Prices change, so check the current price on Amazon before deciding.
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See also: LC-dolida Sleep Mask vs ILOCKZONE LC30Pro: Headphones For, SONY MDREX15LP vs JVC HAEB75G: Headphones for Small Heads, SONY WH-CH720N vs TALIX H30