Sony Electronics may have been separated from the PlayStation brand under Sony’s corporate umbrella, but the Inzone H9 took a lot of visual cues from the PlayStation 5. The outsides of the earcups and the top of the headband are matte white plastic, while the struts connecting the earcups to the headband, the earpads, and the headband padding are black plastic and faux leather. Add a circular RGB light ring around the struts to indicate the status of the headset, and you’ve got yourself a very PS5-looking piece of headwear. However, it falls short. Design either goes too far or not far enough. The color scheme is similar to that of the PS5, but it lacks the oddball profile of the console. Whether you like the system’s appearance or not, it has some distinct contours. The H9, on the other hand, is overly simple, with simple half-spheroid earcups that make it look like a chunky aviation headset. The palette draws the eye in, but the shape sends it flying. With its gunmetal-colored plates and distinctive molding, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless appears much more elegant and distinct. The permanently attached boom mic, a white capsule on a flexible white arm that pivots down when in use and up to automatically mute, is housed in the left earcup. Along the earcup’s edge are an ANC button, a volume wheel, and a USB-C charging port. The right earcup houses the power and Bluetooth buttons, as well as a game/chat rocker. The included 2.4GHz transmitter is intended for use with PCs, but it also supports the PlayStation 4 and 5 as well as the Nintendo Switch. It also has Bluetooth for connecting to a smartphone and using as headphones while on the go. Bluetooth audio quality is generally lower than a 2.4GHz stream from a dedicated transmitter, and latency is higher, but it’s a nice bonus. What’s not so nice is the lack of any wired connection options.
