Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic
Noise Cancelling No
Mic Yes
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are budget-friendly neckband in-ear Bluetooth-only headphones. They have a very lightweight, portable, and flexible neckband design. These are decent all-around headphones without added features like a companion app in a crowded market of similarly designed wireless neckband in-ears. If color isn't a concern, the step-down Sony WI-C200 Wireless offer similar performance.
Our Verdict
7.5 Neutral Sound
The Sony WI-C310 are good for neutral sound. While they have a good audio profile for this purpose, their bass is a bit boomy. Overall, mid-range instruments and treble frequencies offer detail and clarity. Unfortunately, they don't have a dedicated companion app with an EQ to customize their sound to your liking.
Pros
-
Excellent frequency response consistency.
-
Good battery life.
Cons
-
Slightly cheap build quality.
See our Neutral Sound Recommendations
7.4 Commute/Travel
The Sony WI-C310 are satisfactory for commuting and travel. They're very portable, can easily rest around your neck, and have a long battery life for trips. The isolation performance is decent, but they don't do well against deep engine rumbles because they are passive isolation-only. On the upside, they don't leak too much audio to your neighbors.
Pros
-
Excellent frequency response consistency.
-
Portable and flexible around-the-neck design.
-
Good battery life.
Cons
-
Slightly cheap build quality.
-
Mushy control buttons.
-
No IP rating.
See our Commute/Travel Recommendations
8.0 Sports/Fitness
The Sony WI-C310 are very good for sports and fitness with the caveat that there's no IP rating against moisture or dust. These headphones are very portable and easy to carry around to the gym. Their bud design is very small and doesn't trap heat inside your ear, which is great since you won't sweat more than usual wearing them. They are also stable enough for working out, but since the cables are very long, they create big loops, and pulling the headphones out of your ears is easy.
Pros
-
Excellent frequency response consistency.
-
Portable and flexible around-the-neck design.
-
Breathable design.
Cons
-
Mushy control buttons.
-
No IP rating.
See our Sports/Fitness Recommendations
7.0 Office
The Sony WI-C310 are satisfactory for office use. The small buds are fairly comfortable to wear for a while, but the in-ear fit might not be for everyone. Their noise isolation blocks office work environment noises like ambient chatter and fans but doesn't impact low-pitched noise like active noise cancelling earbuds can. Also, they have a long 17-hour battery life, so they'll last you for a couple of work days before needing charging. However, they don't automatically turn off, so if you get up from your desk and leave them there, be sure to turn them off.
Pros
-
Excellent frequency response consistency.
-
Good battery life.
Cons
-
Slightly cheap build quality.
-
Mushy control buttons.
See our Office Recommendations
5.4 Wireless Gaming
The Sony WI-C310 are inadequate for wireless gaming. The Bluetooth-only headphones have poor latency. The headphones won't be suitable for video games, and their in-line microphone recording quality won't be comparable to gaming headset boom microphones. Also, you can't customize them, and they don't have a feature-packed app like some headsets do.
See our Wireless Gaming Recommendations
5.3 Wired Gaming
The Sony WI-C310 are Bluetooth-only and aren't compatible for wired gaming.
6.6 Phone Calls
The Sony WI-C310 are fair for phone calls. One of the upsides is that they have a sidetone for phone calls, but if you don't want to hear your voice, that's a downside because you can't turn it off. While adequate, the mic captures pretty thin-sounding speech and struggles to parse your voice from ambient noise.
Pros
-
Excellent frequency response consistency.
Cons
-
Sub-par microphone.
- 7.5 Neutral Sound
- 7.4 Commute/Travel
- 8.0 Sports/Fitness
- 7.0 Office
- 5.4 Wireless Gaming
- 5.3 Wired Gaming
- 6.6 Phone Calls
+ Create your own
- Updated Jan 16, 2024: We've updated this review's text to ensure it's up to date and accurate.
- Updated Aug 05, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Aug 06, 2019: Review published.
- Updated Aug 04, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Aug 04, 2019: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 02, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jul 16, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony WI-C310come in three color variants, 'Black,''Blue,'and 'White'. Previously, there was a 'Gold' model. We tested the 'White' model. We expect all color variants to perform similarly to our model.
If you encounter another variant, please let us know in the forums, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Sony WI-C310 are pretty basic around-the-neck headphones that don't particularly stand out from the competition. They offer a neutral sound profile with some extra boom in the bass region, making them a good contender for budget-friendly wireless earbuds. While adequately stable to wear, which suits sports and exercise activities, the lack of an IP rating is unfortunate. In the neckband headphones niche, the Beats Flex Wireless are well-regarded with Apple-friendly features like the W1 chip for seamless pairing to Apple devices. Comparatively, the Skullcandy Jib Wireless are similarly comfortable to the Sony WI-C310, deliver more bass, and only have a single button for controls (unlike the Sony WI-C310's 3-button control module).
See our recommendations for the best headphones, the best earbuds, and thebest neckband headphones.
Beats Flex Wireless
The Beats Flex Wireless and theSony WI-C310 Wirelessare similarly performing headphones; you may prefer one pair over the other. The Beats are more comfortable, better built, and have a more stable fit. They also have a W1 chip, so you can seamlessly pair them with Apple devices. However, the Sony headphones have a better balanced sound profile, which some users may prefer, and longer continuous battery life.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony WI-C200 Wireless
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless and Sony WI-C200 Wireless headphones are very similar. The main difference between the two models is that the WI-C310 have flat cables, while the WI-C200 have thin cables. The WI-C310 are available in more colors and have slightly better isolation performance.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony WI-XB400 EXTRA BASS Wireless
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are better than the Sony WI-XB400 EXTRA BASS Wireless in mixed usage. They perform similarly in most aspects, but the WI-C310 have a more neutral sound since they don't have the extra emphasis in the bass. Also, the WI-C310 have better noise isolation, especially in the treble range, but the microphone quality is significantly worse.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Sony WI-C400 Wireless
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are better neckband headphones than the Sony WI-C400 Wireless. Their flexible neckband is easy to fold into a more compact format that fits most pockets. The WI-C310's sound profile sounds significantly better, and the headphones take less time to charge. On the other hand, the WI-C400 have NFC pairing and a Bluetooth sync button with the older Bluetooth 4.2, but the WI-C310 are Bluetooth 5.0 and have noticeably better wireless range.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
Jabra Elite 45e Wireless
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are better headphones than the Jabra Elite 45e Wireless, mainly because of their better audio quality. The Jabra have a very detail-lacking sound and an overemphasized bass, making them sound dark. On the other hand, the Jabra headphones have a more comfortable earbud design, are noticeably better built, and come with stability fins that are great for physical activity. The Jabra also have a companion app with an EQ, which the Sony headphones lack. The Jabraare the better choice if you can EQ them to a sound you like.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
JBL Live 200BT Wireless
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless and the JBL Live 200BT Wireless are similarly performing headphones. The main difference is that the Sonyhave a flexible band, while the JBLhave a solid plastic band that you can't fold and won't fit in pockets. However, the Sony offer more battery life than the JBL and are Bluetooth 5.0. On the other hand, the Sonycan't connect to two devices simultaneously like the JBL can.
Compare Side-by-Side
SEE OUR REVIEW
+ Show more
Test Results
Design
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless Yes
Transducer Dynamic
The Sony WI-C310 are fairly simple around-the-neck headphones with a soft and flexible neckband design. The cabling is flat and fairly long, which creates a big loop when putting them in your ears. The buds are very small and don't protrude much from your ears. They come in different colors: white, black, blue, white, and gold. If you don't mind the color of your headphones, look at the near-identical Sony WI-C200 Wireless.
—
7.0 Design
Weight 0.04 lbs
Clamping Force
These feel satisfactorily comfortable for in-ears. They don't go too deeply into your ear canal and don’t apply pressure inside your ear since the buds are very small. The headphones feel lightweight, but their long cables can be annoying, as they can snag on something and pull the buds out of your ears.
They come with three tip sizes to help you find the most comfortable fit. That said, their in-ear fit can cause slight fatigue if you're wearing them for extended periods.
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LEARN ABOUT COMFORT
6.5 Design
OS Compatibility
Ease Of Use Good
Feedback Okay
Call/Music Control Yes
Volume Control Yes
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
Additional Controls Voice Assistant
The headphones have a pretty straightforward in-line remote with a three-button scheme. You have audio cues when skipping tracks and when reaching maximum and minimum volume. A clear voice prompt helps during the pairing procedure. Unfortunately, the buttons are a bit mushy, making tactile feedback underwhelming. Adjusting the volume using the control module during a call won't impact your music volume playback. The depth of controls varies depending on whether your device is compatible with Hands-free Profile. If your device is incompatible with the Hands-free Profile, the functions are the same except for the press and hold functions for the multi-purpose button during calls.
'+' button
- Single press: Raises volume.
- Press and hold: Skip track forward.
Multi-purpose button
- Single press: Powers on. Plays and pauses audio. Also answers and ends a call.
- Double press: Voice assistant.
- Press and hold: Switches between the headphones and the phone for the call's audio during a call and an outgoing call. Reject incoming calls. Power off.
'-' button
- Single press: Lowers volume.
- Press and hold: Skips to previous track.
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LEARN ABOUT CONTROLS
9.1 Design
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.9 °C
Like most in-ear headphones, these are very breathable and won't trap much heat inside your ears. This means you won't feel a big difference with the buds in from the ambient temperature, and you won't sweat more when working out because of them.
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LEARN ABOUT BREATHABILITY
9.6 Design
L 2.5" (6.4 cm)
W 0.6" (1.5 cm)
H 0.6" (1.5 cm)
Volume 1.00 in³ (16.39 cm³)
Transmitter Required No
Thanks to the flexible neckband design, the headphones are remarkably portable, can easily be folded into a more compact format, and will fit in most pockets or a bag. They're also quite easy to carry around your neck, with the magnetic buds securing the ends together. These headphones don't take up much space, but unfortunately, they don't come with a case to protect them. This can lead to snags or tangling.
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LEARN ABOUT PORTABILITY
0 Design
Type No case
L N/A
W N/A
H N/A
Volume N/A
—
LEARN ABOUT CASE
6.5 Design
The build quality is unremarkable. The two modules feel like they're made from thin plastic and are fairly fragile. While the cables are rubberized and flat, they feel thin and look like you could easily pull them from the bud housing or the modules. Additionally, a lack of IP rating means you must use discretion when exercising or using the buds outdoors if it rains. On the upside, the buds are magnetic, which helps with cable management when they're dangling around your neck.
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LEARN ABOUT BUILD QUALITY
7.0 Design
The Sony WI-C310 Wireless are decently stable enough for a light run or workout. However, a very small tug on the cable can make the buds fall out of your ears. While their wireless design means you don't have a wire in the way, the cable is still very long, creating a big loop when wearing them, so be careful not to get them hooked on something.
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LEARN ABOUT STABILITY
Design
—
Design
—
Design
—
Design
- Sony WI-C310
- 3x tip options
- USB-C charging cable
- Manuals
—
Sound
Bass Amount
Treble Amount
The headphones favor a more neutral-meets-consumer-oriented sound profile. They provide more mid to high-bass, but are still reasonably balanced overall for most listeners. Overall, vocals and instruments sound fairly natural. The extra low-end boom is also pleasing for more bass-heavy content like EDM and hip-hop. These headphones lack sound customization features, so you can't change the tuning without a third-party app.
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LEARN ABOUT SOUND PROFILE
8.9 Sound
Avg. Std. Deviation
The frequency response consistency is excellent. If you can achieve a proper fit using the three sets of ear tips that come with the headphones, they'll deliver consistent sound every time you use them.
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LEARN ABOUT FREQUENCY RESPONSE CONSISTENCY
Sound
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LEARN ABOUT RAW FREQUENCY RESPONSE
8.3 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Frequency Extension
Low-Bass
Mid-Bass
High-Bass
The bass accuracy performance is great. While they're a little light on thump and rumble common to bass-heavy genres, they make up for it in mid to high-bass warmth. The response overemphasizes the mid- and high-bass, adding a bit of boominess and muddiness to the sound. If you prefer a more bass-heavy sound, check out the similar Sony WI-XB400 EXTRA BASS Wireless.
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LEARN ABOUT BASS ACCURACY
8.9 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Mid
Mid-Mid
High-Mid
The mid accuracy is excellent. Overall, these headphones accurately reproduce vocals and lead instruments. However, the small dip in mid-mid slightly nudges them to the back of the mix, but this isn't too audible for most.
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LEARN ABOUT MID ACCURACY
8.8 Sound
Std. Err.
Low-Treble
Mid-Treble
High-Treble
These have excellent treble accuracy. From low-treble through most of the mid-treble range, it's well-balanced and even, with some emphasis in the low- and mid-treble, yielding some harshness to vocals. There's a dip in the mid-treble that ends in a peak ending in the high-treble. This means that some, mainly harmonic, frequencies of instruments like cymbals lack detail. However, not everybody hears the high-treble frequencies the same way, as we lose sensitivity to this region over time.
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LEARN ABOUT TREBLE ACCURACY
8.3 Sound
Peaks
Dips
These headphones can control their sound profile well. There's a peak in the bass, a dip in the mid-mid region with a mismatch between the L/R drivers, and a peak in the low-treble. That bass peak contributes to the added boominess of the audio. While the mismatch between the drivers indicates that the right driver will output disproportionately more mid to low-treble than the left, it's only noticeable in a narrow range for instruments like woodwinds, for instance. Lastly, the peak in the treble range adds punchiness. Because these dips and peaks aren't extreme, your audio plays back without too much exaggeration or underemphasis relative to the rest of the audio.
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LEARN ABOUT PEAKS/DIPS
9.3 Sound
Weighted Group Delay
Weighted Phase Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
The stereo imaging is excellent. The weighted group delay is very low. Our unit's group delay is well below the audibility threshold, ensuring a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Sony manufactures many headphones at different price points, and many of their similarly-priced budget headphones have good quality control and ergonomics.
Also, the L/R drivers of our unit are well-matched in frequency, amplitude, and phase response. This is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, video game effects) in the stereo image. There's phase mismatch in the mid-mid and the right earbud, which means that the right earbud plays back some mid frequencies like guitars or speech more loudly. Note that imaging varies between units.
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LEARN ABOUT IMAGING
1.2 Sound
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
PRTF Size (Avg.)
PRTF Distance
Openness 3.6
Acoustic Space Excitation 1.5
The soundstage is poor. This is because creating an out-of-head and speaker-like soundstage largely depends on activating the resonances of the pinna (outer ear). The design of in-ears and earbuds fully bypasses the pinna and doesn't interact with it.
Also, because these headphones have a closed-back enclosure, their soundstage won't be perceived to be as open as that of open-back earbuds like the Apple AirPods (2nd generation) Truly Wireless or the bone conduction headphones, like the Shokz OpenRun Bone Conduction.
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LEARN ABOUT PASSIVE SOUNDSTAGE
0 Sound
Head Modeling
Speaker Modeling
Room Ambience
Head Tracking
Virtual Surround
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LEARN ABOUT VIRTUAL SOUNDSTAGE
7.4 Sound
WHD @ 90
WHD @ 100
The weighted harmonic distortion performance is decent regardless of whether you listen at moderate volumes or high volumes. Most of the distortion lands in higher frequencies, but it's unlikely that you'll notice distortion at these levels as it's well under 1%.
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LEARN ABOUT WEIGHTED HARMONIC DISTORTION
Sound
Firmware
Power
Connection
Codec
EQ
ANC
Tip/Pad
Microphone
These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using them with this configuration.
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LEARN ABOUT TEST SETTINGS
6.3 Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
Mid
Treble
The headphones have an overall mediocre noise isolation performance. Their fit doesn't block much lower frequencies like the rumbling of a bus engine, which means they won't be ideal for commuting. On the upside, they somewhat isolate mid-range noise, like ambient chatter. They perform excellently in the treble range, responsible for fan noise and clatter, which is expected of passive isolation-only in-ear buds.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE ISOLATION
8.7 Isolation
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
The leakage performance is excellent. The headphones don't leak in the low-bass through mid-mid ranges, which results in a thin-sounding leakage. Most leakage occurs in a relatively narrow mid-mid to mid-treble range and isn't loud in most settings. The resulting leakage sounds quiet for most offices and trebly, so you can listen to your music without disturbing others.
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LEARN ABOUT LEAKAGE
Microphone
Integrated
In-Line
Boom
Detachable Boom
Mic Yes
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LEARN ABOUT MICROPHONE STYLE
5.9 Microphone
Recorded Speech
LFE
FR Std. Dev.
HFE
Weighted THD
Gain
The in-line mic has a sub-par recording quality. The mic's frequency response reproduces very thin audio that lacks detail and presence. However, speech will still be understandable when captured in quiet environments. Low-pitched voices will suffer the most as the curve rolls off volume significantly in lower frequencies.
Ensure the microphone faces your mouth when using it. The downside of a cable microphone is that it can turn around, leading to muffled audio quality.
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LEARN ABOUT RECORDING QUALITY
7.3 Microphone
SpNR
Noise Gate
Speech + Pink Noise Handling 7.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling 7.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
The in-line microphone is satisfactory at noise handling. The mic is best suited for quiet and moderately noisy environments. However, the mic will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in loud situations. Similarly, if you're out and about on a call, the mic module is on a long enough cable that it can add unpleasant noise by bumping or brushing against your shoulder or neck.
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LEARN ABOUT NOISE HANDLING
6.6 Active Features
Battery Type
Continuous Battery Life
Additional Charges
Total Battery Life
Charge Time
Power-Saving Feature
Audio While Charging
Passive Playback
Charging Port USB-C
We measured about 17 hours of battery life for a single charge of these neckband headphones. The battery will last long enough for a full workday or two without a problem, depending on variables like how loud your volume is. However, they can take some time to charge at under three hours. According to the manufacturer, you can fast charge the headphones for 10 minutes to yield 60 minutes of playback. Unfortunately, they don't have any power-saving features, so be sure to turn them off when you're not using them.
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LEARN ABOUT BATTERY
0 Active Features
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
ANC Control
Mic Control No
Room Effects
Playback Control
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
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LEARN ABOUT APP SUPPORT
6.7 Connectivity
Bluetooth Version
Multi-Device Pairing
NFC Pairing
Line Of Sight Range
PC Latency (SBC)
PC Latency (aptX)
PC Latency (aptX HD)
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
iOS Latency
Android Latency
These earbuds are Bluetooth 5.0 compatible, meaning you get the standard SBC and AAC codec selection. They can't connect to multiple devices simultaneously and don't support NFC pairing.
The Sony WI-C310 aren't the best option to watch video content, as many folks will notice a delay between audio and video. However, some apps and devices offer some compensation.
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LEARN ABOUT BLUETOOTH
0 Connectivity
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
Non-BT Latency
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LEARN ABOUT NON-BLUETOOTH WIRELESS
0 Connectivity
Analog Audio
USB Audio
Detachable No
Length N/A
Connection
Analog/USB Audio Latency
The Sony WI-C310 are Bluetooth-only headphones; you can't use them with an audio cable.
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LEARN ABOUT WIRED
Connectivity
Analog
Wired USB
Non-BT Wireless
Because the Sony WI-C310 are Bluetooth-only headphones, that's how they connect to computers.
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Connectivity
PS4 Analog
PS4 Wired USB
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
PS5 Analog
PS5 Wired USB
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT PLAYSTATION COMPATIBILITY
Connectivity
Xbox One Analog
Xbox One Wired USB
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
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LEARN ABOUT XBOX COMPATIBILITY
0 Connectivity
Type
USB Input
Line In
Line Out
Optical Input
RCA Input
Dock Charging
Power Supply
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LEARN ABOUT BASE/DOCK
