Unofficial Open-Source Tools Aim to Move Sony Headphone Controls From Phone to PC
Open-source efforts such as Sony Device Center let PC users adjust noise cancellation, equalizer and other Sony headphone settings without turning to the phone app.
Sony's earbuds and headphones rely on the company's Sound Connect phone app to change settings that range from active noise cancellation to equalizer profiles. The tools described by Android Authority are not released by Sony and are presented as an attempt to match the level of control the official app provides.
According to the report, app-based control is a double-edged arrangement. Apps allow manufacturers to add features and to simplify hardware designs, since devices can be configured remotely. The trade-off is that even basic changes depend on having a phone available, which is not always convenient.
The friction becomes concrete at a desk. A user gaming on a PC who wants to switch noise cancellation modes or tune the equalizer has to pick up the phone or retrieve it from another room, because the settings live in the mobile app rather than on the computer.
Sony Device Center is intended to close that gap by exposing the same categories of controls on the PC. Android Authority said the software lets users adjust noise cancellation, tweak the equalizer and manage many more audio options without going through the phone.
The report did not specify which headphone or earbud models are supported, which operating systems the project runs on, or how installation is handled. It also did not say whether any of the projects have been reviewed or endorsed by Sony.