Here's What Sony's Confusing Names For Headphones Really Mean

One could argue that the market for the best Bluetooth-enabled headphones and earbuds is more competitive than it ever has been. Even with names like Beats, Bose, and Sennheiser turning up in many conversations about headphones, Sony remains one of the biggest brand names in the personal audio game. 

If you're in the market for new headphones or earbuds, you've almost certainly already had at least a look at on-ear or in-ear headphones from the Sony lineup, such as the SlashGear-reviewed WH-1000XM5 or SlashGear-approved WF-1000XM5. Whichever set of Sony headphones or earbuds caught your eye, there's a good chance you also didn't know what to make of the letter and numerical designation assigned to them. While those names have earned a few jabs from users on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), it shouldn't come as a surprise that the acronyms for Sony products serve a specific purpose.

It turns out those almost science fiction-like letter and number combinations are derived from certain aspects of the make, model, and functionality of the headphones or earbuds they're assigned to. If you take the time to learn what the various combos mean, you might find it a little easier to understand which headphones and earbuds currently offered by Sony best suit your needs. 

Sony doesn't exactly advertise what the various names of its headphones stand for, so any translation you find cannot be confirmed to be 100% accurate. But with a little logic, the meanings can likely be deciphered well enough. 

According to some, the "W" in models whose name begins with WH, WI, or WF stands for wireless. That much should be obvious since each model bearing a name with that letter is a Bluetooth-enabled wireless device.

The letters that follow the "W" have different meanings as well. For instance, the "H" in "WH" likely means "headband," meaning that these are on-ear devices connected by a band that fits snugly on your head. The "I" in "WI" likely means "in-ear," with that code being affixed to earbud models that are Bluetooth-enabled but designed with the left and right ear inserts connected by a wire that rests on the back of a user's neck. As for "WF," that acronym likely stands for "wire-free," with truly wireless earbuds earning that particular designation in Sony's online storefront.

With the two-letter "W" acronyms covered, a similar logic can likely be applied to decode the other number and letter designations in Sony product names. That includes "MDR," which is widely believed to apply to wired headphones or earbuds boasting a built-in Micro Dynamic Receiver. Meanwhile, it's also thought that suffixes like "M4" or "M5" are almost certainly used as a way to denote which generation of build a certain model is.