Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones – 30 hours battery life – Over Ear style – Optimised for Alexa and the Google Assistant – with built-in mic for phone calls – Silver
Carry case with cableThe supplied carry case is durable and includes a cable for wired listening.
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />How they compare with other Sony noise-cancelling headphones
 WH-1000XM4 |  WH-1000XM5 |  WH-XB910N |  WH-CH710N | |
| Noise Cancelling | Digital Noise Cancellation | Industry-leading NC | Digital Noise Cancellation | Digital Noise Cancellation |
| Battery life (NC ON) | 30 hours | 30 hours | 30 hours | 35 hours |
| Quick charging | Yes, 10 minutes = 5 hours | 3 mins = 3 hours (with USB PD) | 10 minutes = 4.5 hours | 10 minutes = 1 hour |
| Hi-Res Audio | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Touch control | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ |
| Speak-to-Chat | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Wearing detection | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Built-in voice assistant | Yes | Yes (Wake words available) | Yes | No |
| Hands-free calling | Yes (2 beamforming mics) | Yes (4 beamforming mics) | Yes | Yes |
| Carrying case | Yes | Yes (Collapsible) | Yes | No |
| Weight: | 254 g |
| Size: | One Size |
| Dimensions: | 25.3 x 18.5 x 7.7 cm; 254 Grams |
| Model: | WH1000XM4 |
| Colour: | Silver |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Colour: | Silver |
| Dimensions: | 25.3 x 18.5 x 7.7 cm; 254 Grams |
| Size: | One Size |
Best headphones I've ever had.
Excellent sound and great notice cancellation, pairs really easily. Recommend
Excellent! Worth every penny.
Lovely matte colour. Noise cancellation is perfect for studying in coffee shops and not having to use your phone to control the volume or pause music is a plus! Battery life is really good too!
Great mostly. Sony WH100MX4
Noise cancelling is superb, really surprised me. Very comfortable to wear and sound (via LDAC), is very good. (I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so rate lower than some might).
Volume control. Hmmm… A pig. Only works occasionally.
Overall though, damn good!
Great mostly. Sony WH100MX4
Noise cancelling is superb, really surprised me. Very comfortable to wear and sound (via LDAC), is very good. (I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so rate lower than some might).
Volume control. Hmmm… A pig. Only works occasionally.
Overall though, damn good!
Fantastic
Fantastic headphones absolutely love them don’t hesitate to buy yours. Loads of great features a top quality pair of noise cancellation headphones
This has to be one of the best things I ever purchased.
Noise cancelling is totally amazing. Very comfortable to wear. I only wish it was waterproof so I could wear it outside without fear of rain damage.
Please Sony produce a water-proof sports versio
This has to be one of the best things I ever purchased.
Noise cancelling is totally amazing. Very comfortable to wear. I only wish it was waterproof so I could wear it outside without fear of rain damage.
Please Sony produce a water-proof sports versio
Excellent choice
Very comfortable and great sound. I find the volume control on the right can a little difficult to use, but it could just be me. Noise cancelling is generally good, not so good when outside and it’s windy but indoors the sound is fantastic. Battery life is great. Overall an excellent product. Very glad I stretched to buying them
Excellent choice
Very comfortable and great sound. I find the volume control on the right can a little difficult to use, but it could just be me. Noise cancelling is generally good, not so good when outside and it’s windy but indoors the sound is fantastic. Battery life is great. Overall an excellent product. Very glad I stretched to buying them
Another excellent editio
Usual high quality from this Sony series. Great noise canceling, perfect for my commute. The microphone is much improced for voice calls.
Only small item to complain about is a small reduction in sensitivity of the touch controls.
Another excellent editio
Usual high quality from this Sony series. Great noise canceling, perfect for my commute. The microphone is much improced for voice calls.
Only small item to complain about is a small reduction in sensitivity of the touch controls.
Absolutely blown away
From the top of the range Active Noise Cancellation to the industry leading sound quality, I truly think that these are the best wireless headphones on the market right now. Although they sound slightly muddy out of the box, adjusting the EQ settings, which applies to the headphones, not the device, meaning that the settings will work even when you are using them on your TV or laptop, made the headphones sound far better than flagship Bose and Apple headphones. With the adjusted EQ settings, the Hi-Hats are crisp and well defined. The bass is gentle, yet still packs a perfect punch, without sounding muddy. The best thing about these headphones is definitely all of the smart features such as speak to chat, and covering the right earcup with a palm to switch from ANC to ambient mode and hold a conversation or hear an announcement. The headphones in the silver colour (which is actually beige/grey) look very premium, which is in part due to the hight quality build. The comfort is beyond great, as I can barely even tell that I am wearing them due to how lightweight they are. I would definitely recommend these headphones for most situations, such as travelling, walking, and desk-working, but not for working out as they are not waterproof.
Noise control function generates its own white noise!
The noise control function is really good at excluding external noise, but perversely, it generates its own white noise, which defeats the object of NC, don’t you think? Sony say this is normal, so I’m learning to live with it.
That’s my only niggle. Otherwise these are gorgeous headphones, a real pleasure.
Noise control function generates its own white noise!
The noise control function is really good at excluding external noise, but perversely, it generates its own white noise, which defeats the object of NC, don’t you think? Sony say this is normal, so I’m learning to live with it.
That’s my only niggle. Otherwise these are gorgeous headphones, a real pleasure.
Spent ages trying to decide between these and the AirPods Max. As an Apple user, my heart wanted AirPods. As a Yorkshire man, my head wanted the Sonys.
After lots of procrastination, I decided on the Sonys. At the time they were 202, the AirPods were 404. Are they AirPods twice as good? I doubt it. And the case is useless. So that’s what swung it.
Packaging
Typical Sony affair. Not a lot of thought gone into it. Just a cardboard box with functional internals. Not exactly a RRP 400 unboxing experience. When will the big Japanese companies start paying attention to Apple when it comes to packaging?
The contents
The case is nice, but feels like it will get stained easy. But at least it serves a purpose, unlike the Apple one. Inside you get the headphones, USB to USB-C cable, 3.5mm jack cable, airplane adaptor (why????), and an inlay card explaining how to put the headphones back in the box (hint: if you need instructions on how to store them – you’ve failed!) Everything feels well made, if not a bit plastic. There is some slight creakiness to the actual headset, but nothing too bad. Pads feel nice, plastic is soft touch, all in all feels good (but again, doesn’t feel like the 400 RRP in my humble opinion).
Sound quality
Good. I don’t think they deserve the huge amounts of love that the press have, it’s quite a warm presentation, very much “in your head”, the bass doesn’t seem very natural, and when you mess with the EQ settings it gets a bit messy (more later). Leave the EQ alone, and the sound is definitely good. Not as good as my wired B&O headphones which have far more texture, a much larger soundstage, and more natural bass, but these are consumer headphones whereas B&O do have a house sound.
Software
Dreadful. Appalling. If Sony outsource this bit, they should look at bringing it in-house. If they do it in-house, they should sack their UI/UX team – if they have one. Criminal that in 2021 you can have a 400 product where the app doesn’t adhere to iOS guidelines. The app is clunk, makes little sense UX wise, and the design of it looks like something from 10 years ago. Unacceptable really. It’s meant to do some clever stuff based on location, pressure, shape of your ear, etc. You notice small changes when you flip between them but not enough to be a game changer.
ANC
Works extremely well – certainly more effective than my AirPods Pro. I’m excited to try them on a plane and see how well they work in that challenging environment. Certainly at work or at home they are more than capable.
Pairing / Bluetooth
Easy and solid. Turn them on, put them into pairing mode, done. Bluetooth seems very stable with iOS too – unlike the true wireless WF-1000XM3 I owned for a single day and returned in favour of AirPods Pro (the WF-1000XM3 have a known issue of intermittent connectivity with iOS).
Voice notifications
I had a 40 pair of Sony wireless headphones for the gym, cheap and chatty so it didn’t matter if they got smelly or damaged. They had an irritating American-like voice notification for pairing, turning on/off, and battery notifications. Thought it was terrible. Imagine my disappointment to find the same voice on a pair of 400 headphones. Unforgivable, Sony!!!
Comfort
I have a big head. I find most headphones difficult to wear for long. The Sony are ok on my head, I can wear them for a few hours without too much discomfort.
Battery
Long. That’s it. Long. Didn’t measure it but it’s been several days without charging now.
Conclusion
For the 200 I paid, these are spot on. They are not worth 400, not in any measurable metric. 250 max. They sound good, they’re reasonably comfortable, build is good, and they are good for a wireless set. Definitely need to improve their software though.
Highlights
Sound quality, easy of use, connection stability, price, accessories
Lowlights
Packaging, terrible app, irritating voice notifications
Once set up to your personal preference these produce a good sound
These headphones produce good sound and also the noise cancelling function is a nice feature. However personal set-up was a bit fiddly but once done a satisfactory performance was achieved.
Once set up to your personal preference these produce a good sound
These headphones produce good sound and also the noise cancelling function is a nice feature. However personal set-up was a bit fiddly but once done a satisfactory performance was achieved.
An impressive piece of hardware
These are excellent, easily the best headphones I’ve ever had. They’re very comfortable and the noise cancelling is insanely good. I didn’t think it was initially but then I took them off and heard a lot of noise. I was also initially surprised at the sound, it was good but nothing exceptional, at least not as exceptional as 250 headphones should be. However, the app improved it tenfold, being able to change the equaliser made it so much better. It’s good to hear the music as was intended. I’d recommend it to anyone that wants a really good pair of headphones that are comfortable, easy to use and versatile.
However, the price is obviously a downside, I personally had to say screw it and buy them. I really wanted them and bit the bullet, and I’m certain that there are really good headphones for less. Saying that, I do believe these are probably the best on the market (for now) so, if you are willing to say goodbye to the cash, you will not regret buying these headphones. The only thing I’m hoping is that these last several years at least, because I don’t want to be buying another set until the xm6s at the earliest.
Amazing noice cancellatio
Really comfy, just used them on a four hour flight, no plane noise at all, couldn’t even hear a baby screaming it’s head off for 2 hours. Great battery life, only dislike is, it doesn’t always like to switch between apps.
Amazing noice cancellatio
Really comfy, just used them on a four hour flight, no plane noise at all, couldn’t even hear a baby screaming it’s head off for 2 hours. Great battery life, only dislike is, it doesn’t always like to switch between apps.
Sony headphones
Great Headphones would recommend sound quality is really good and I got them for good price on Amazo
Love i
Amazing headphones, as for me the killer feature is ANC. However, 30 hours battery life is possible only without ANC( One thing that I would like to see in next generation is wireless charging.
Cool phone that I am intereted in for 5 years
Finally, I had waited for a good price to buy this fancy product.
I love the colour and design of SONY, and of course the high quality of the music sound.
Love them! Tonnes of brilliant features
Look taupe in some light, grey in other. Wouldn’t say they are silver. Lovely design. Amazing sound quality. Not disappointed with Sony at all, super fast delivery too and good price. Very pleased and definitely recommend. Very happy customer indeed.
Love them! Tonnes of brilliant features
Look taupe in some light, grey in other. Wouldn’t say they are silver. Lovely design. Amazing sound quality. Not disappointed with Sony at all, super fast delivery too and good price. Very pleased and definitely recommend. Very happy customer indeed.
Favoured headphones
Everything tried so far has been fine and met my expectations. So far I have not tried Noise cancellation but I have no doubt this function will work accurately also.
Favoured headphones
Everything tried so far has been fine and met my expectations. So far I have not tried Noise cancellation but I have no doubt this function will work accurately also.
Way more than I expected...
These headphones are phenomenal, I was dubious about spending this much money on headphones, but seeing as music is a huge part of my life I decided to take the leap. And boy am I glad I did.
The build quality is exceptional but with an understated design that is a reflection of the Intention of the practical everyday use that they are designed for.
I am new to activate noise cancellation, it’s the technology that I never knew I needed. It is amazing, I often put the headphones on without any sound playing and I find it extremely relaxing. It has changed my life.
The sound quality took my breath away once I had tuned it to my liking, which took a little while, but once I got there I was very happy… The sound is dynamic and mixed with the ANC engrosses you into whatever content you are consuming.
There’s more to say about these headphones but I’m out of adjectives, so I’ll just leave it here. One of the best purchases I’ve ever made…
What a revelatio
Have been a long term user of Bose noise cancelling headphones from QC15, QC25, QC35 to current NC700. However, since upgraded to one of latest Sony smart TVs with Bluetooth there has always been erratic pairing with NC700, both with the latest firmware. No problem between Sony TV and any other headphones, and no problem between NC700 with anything else, including with
an external Bluetooth Tx/Rx attached to TV.
So bought this Sony WH1000mk4, what a revelation, pairing with Sony TV was always instant and always solid, and I can categorically say that the sound quality is also better than NC700, even with my senior ears. WH1000mk4 has a much wider sound stage for music, while NC700 has just slightly more voice clarity, both headphones set to flat equalisation during tests. I am now going to use WH1000mk4 at home for music, radio and TV, and will use NC700 for outdoor and travel where sound quality is less important.
Purposeful & comfortable
Love the colour, though not necessarily a practical fact, it is nice to have headphones which blend in, rather than a harsh black.
The sound is great. They are so comfortable. Love that you can control by tapping/swiping the right headphone. They pause when you talk or take them off too! App pretty intuitive as well. Delighted with them 😉
Purposeful & comfortable
Love the colour, though not necessarily a practical fact, it is nice to have headphones which blend in, rather than a harsh black.
The sound is great. They are so comfortable. Love that you can control by tapping/swiping the right headphone. They pause when you talk or take them off too! App pretty intuitive as well. Delighted with them 😉
Expensive, but you get what you pay fo
These offer high quality sound with noise cancellation/ambient sound toggle, as well as touch controls. Long range, battery life and quick charging via USB-C. Comfortable to wear for hours and stable during activities such as housework or light exercise. No connection problems via bluetooth with iphone XS, however my (newer) iphone 12 mini has problems maintaing bluetooth connections – and not only to these headphones. Apple has so far failed to fix this problem – maybe deliberately, to promote their own products. Check your phone or pc compatibility with any bluetooth headphone before buying.
Love!
Been looking at these for ages, totally love them. I was a little surprised that they were darker when they arrived but that’s not a deal breaker for me.
Noise cancelling wh - 1000XM4
Sound is amazing. The noise cancellation is so good. Well impressive sound, good controll
Top of the range headphones. Excellent ANC for all lower frequencies. But even most higher frequency sounds are sufficiently muffled. Nothing to touch Sony’s WH-1000XM4’s in this domain, bar Sony’s older WH-1000XM3’s.
Added options like Speak-to-Chat work well & are easily turned off when not needed. Bluetooth connection with Mac OS X & an older Sony TV has been immediate.
Very comfortable too. I’ve worn them for hours without the slightest discomfort. Even occasionally when wearing spectacles.
The big surprise here is the WH-1000XM4’s overall quality of sound. Even from an audiophile’s viewpoint. In comparing them to older quality headphones that I’ve used for listening to my music since 2013, ie. the Sennheiser HD 598’s, which are considered fairly “high-end” & no slouch, these Sony headphones are way superior. They offer significantly greater clarity, detail & depth to my music.
When wired to a decent sound source with its own DAC, such as a discrete amplifier, the quality is beyond what I expected. That’s particularly apparent with the power & ANC turned off. Even with songs long familiar to me, I’m hearing details that previously were muffled or not audible at all. Quite a revelation & hearing is believing!
I bought these new from Amazon for just under 250. Not cheap even at a discount. But I think even at their usual price of 299, if you need headphones that offer both excellent ANC & a high quality sound output, you can’t go far wrong with these.
Highly recommended! Especially so if you can buy them slightly reduced.
Greatest headphones eve
Bloody love these headphones, very stylish very good quality, great battery life, won’t say anymore about them as that’s all that needs to be said.
O yeah noise cancellation out of this world.
One problem I did find and this is literally nothing to do with the headphones themselves, but if you live or travel through the bad part of town there’s a lot of unruly youths who probably wouldn’t think twice about snatching them off your head, only reason i went back to earbuds and it’s a bloody shame.
Superb
Just get them yes there that good. I have wasted loads of money on headphones and never been happy with them but these exceed all my expectations
Don’t get me wrong, I do really enjoy listening to music, radio and podcasts on these headphones. Lovely sound quality and the app gives you options to alter listening preferences. The touch panel is good. Nice and protective case, stores the leads and adapters which is always good.
I like the fact it will automatically adapt for walking etc but there are a few issues I think should be ironed out for it to be 5 stars and worth every penny.
Issues that I have found:
App doesn’t always connect easily despite them being connected on my phone and laptop. Really annoying when you want to check the battery level (not available on the device itself like most headphones).
Connectivity issues, I often find myself switching the mode to optimise connectivity over sound quality which I would have hoped wasn’t an issue when I’m sat right beside my devices. I don’t like it when the music jumps though so a worthwhile switch of modes but one I don’t think should be necessary.
Motion sensor when you remove/replace headphones doesn’t always seem to work, could be more reliable.
Touch panel isn’t always that responsive or simple.
I feel like they have the potential to be good headphones but require you to spend lots of time getting the most out of the headphones, which is not always ideal. I often have work editing audio and there were no benefits to these headphones in that case.
Nice sound quality for listening when you’ve played with the settings but probably wouldn’t buy them again.
These headphones are well up to full hifi standard
Couple of examples for the high rating.
When listening to an online church service, I could tell that the priest’s chants were from the front with, at the same time, a female voice joining in softlyfrom the back. Never experienced that sort of separation before. And loved it.
Just listen to a concert in a hall with good reverberation: it’s impressive.
Serious listening for me is via a cable for better precision than using bluetooth, but the latter means I can move round doing other things withe background listening.
Very happy ears!
These headphones are well up to full hifi standard
Couple of examples for the high rating.
When listening to an online church service, I could tell that the priest’s chants were from the front with, at the same time, a female voice joining in softlyfrom the back. Never experienced that sort of separation before. And loved it.
Just listen to a concert in a hall with good reverberation: it’s impressive.
Serious listening for me is via a cable for better precision than using bluetooth, but the latter means I can move round doing other things withe background listening.
Very happy ears!
Pricey but nice
Absolutely lovely quality. Super comfy. Noise cancelling is surprising!
Uhhmed and ahhed about being there because of the price tag and actually first went for a competitor. Wasn’t convinced that I got the best experience with the others, returned them and regretted not getting the XM4s! Might be pricey but they’re worth it.
Silver colour is more of a matte/silk nude.
Good
I wanted some better quality headphones, some that don’t squeeze your head. Plus not buds which seem to fall out of my ears. I researched about These headphones before ordering them and, I’m not disappointed. They tick all the boxes for me.
Good
I wanted some better quality headphones, some that don’t squeeze your head. Plus not buds which seem to fall out of my ears. I researched about These headphones before ordering them and, I’m not disappointed. They tick all the boxes for me.
Fantastic noise cancellation, I was genuinely surprised at the quality. Comfortable to wear. The one downside is the colour is most definitely not ‘silver’ and looks absolutely nothing like in the brand’s product photos. I would say it’s taupe (grey/brown).
First Class
Worth every penny. If you are going to treat yourself during lockdown? Buy these headphones.
Amazing
After reading review after review I finally purchased, don’t regret it. Spend 30 mins to familiarise with the app and it’s workings and a further 10 mins on Reddit for decent EQ settings and you are presented with a fantastic sound that makes great recordings come alive,
Battery is great, comes with cables and a decent case (take note apple)
Only downside is the call quality is just ok. I didn’t buy them for that reason so it’s a moot point.
Wonderful sound quality
I am no expert, but I have owned several headsets in the past. These XM4s are expensive and I hesitated before trusting the reviews and shelling out. I am so pleased I did. The sound quality for music is superb and the noise cancellation is like nothing I have experienced before. I sometime wear them switched on without music just so I can work in perfect silence. I like enclosed-ear, firm fitting headsets and these are comfortable for extended wear. The ability to maintain connection to two sources, in my case phone and PC, at the same time is so useful too. After one month of ownership I have nothing to complain about.
Amazing
After reading review after review I finally purchased, don’t regret it. Spend 30 mins to familiarise with the app and it’s workings and a further 10 mins on Reddit for decent EQ settings and you are presented with a fantastic sound that makes great recordings come alive,
Battery is great, comes with cables and a decent case (take note apple)
Only downside is the call quality is just ok. I didn’t buy them for that reason so it’s a moot point.
Definitely worth the money
Only had it for one week but loves up to the hype, absolutely no regrets what so ever. If you need a new pair of headphones, this is the one.
Quality but annoying at Same time... sorry
I was wantin them so much lol.. and to love them so much.. but the swipe on the right ear just done my head in pause pause pause … I’m tryin to do sound … very very irritating so had to return…
Quality but annoying at Same time... sorry
I was wantin them so much lol.. and to love them so much.. but the swipe on the right ear just done my head in pause pause pause … I’m tryin to do sound … very very irritating so had to return…
Fantastic pair of tin cans
Fantastic pair of headphones. Noise cancelling, sound quality and the ambient sound are all exceptional. There are some issues which are easy to go around, such as the overall build quality. It’s purely made of plastic which is a disappointment, you expect them to be better since you pay a luxurious amount of money for them.
They’ve made a few changes from the previous model(xm3), such as being able to connect to two different devices at the same time. I did find it quite gimmicky since it doesn’t do the connection automatically. You msut pause the music/video your listening in order to connect to the other device. However, imo this wouldnt be much of a problem with other people.
Furthermore, battery life is fantastic, however you get less with noise cancelling on, I find out that I get about 22 hours of battery life, with noise cancelling on and an extra 6 hours without them. Overall, the info they’ve given for the battery life is spot on.
Sound quality, it’s quite crisp, with the feature of being able to customise to your own preference is perfect. You do need to have the app to get it though it doesn’t take long to download the app.
Amazing for travel, but underwhelming audio
Really good headphones for out and about and travelling, possibly the best in fact, but don’t buy these for fine audio at home, they really don’t live up to that hype, very muddy base.
Amazing for travel, but underwhelming audio
Really good headphones for out and about and travelling, possibly the best in fact, but don’t buy these for fine audio at home, they really don’t live up to that hype, very muddy base.
After 3 attempts at finding some descent wireless head phones I decided to purchase these, Sony 1000XM4s. After pairing them up to a few devices. I then started to listen to them through a few media sources. Music wise using amazon prime music, I was blown away with just how good these are and this transfers over Netflix and Amazon prime video. the range of highs and lows are just clear as a bell and to top it off, you can really up the bass. Yet the most impressive thing about these is not only sound reproduction but the sound cancelation, it is by far the best I’ve come across. You just are in your own world with little or no sound leakage. Would I recommend these, absolutely. Even at this price 309, I would highly recommend.
I will add one negative they are not silver. These pictures are very miss leading. More like a beige to be honest. So don’t expect them to look as bright as the pictures suggest because they are not.
Without doubt best on the marke
These are my families 3 rd pair from the originals and the 3 s so we knew what we were getting .
Fantastic headphones and at 309 at interest free over 5 months even better!
Without doubt best on the marke
These are my families 3 rd pair from the originals and the 3 s so we knew what we were getting .
Fantastic headphones and at 309 at interest free over 5 months even better!
Glad I purchased.
Love these headphones!! Before these I had some cheap ones, and begrudged paying this amount for a pair of headphones, but I decided to treat myself to a decent pair, and I don’t regret it.
Pros;
Noise cancellation is great, I wear them in a noisey work environment alot of the time, and it does drown the sound out well.
They are comfy, wear them for 8 hours a day at work.
You have full control of the sound, how much bass etc in the app which is nice.
The speak to chat function does work well, but you can turn it off, I do find it useful at work when I don’t want to touch my headphones with dirty hands all the time to hear people speaking to me.
They sound great to me too, I use them for music and also watching TV.
The battery life is truly amazing, I feel I’m never having to charge them honestly and I use them at work all week and even at home too.
They connect quick to my phone and TV via Bluetooth.
Cons;
I don’t think they’d be useable for working out in, I tried but they slip off when doing push ups.
Had them for months and this is the only con I can think of so far.
AMAZING sound !
Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are without a shadow of a doubt THE BEST headphones I have ever tried. I am truly amazed by its quality and performance.
They are quite large but the ear-cups are well padded and are very comfortable to wear. The headband portion also has plenty of padding so that the headphones rest comfortably on the top of your head.
They come with a hard travel case, which I also use to store them at home. Very stylish.
The package also includes a USB-C cable, audio cable, and airline audio adapter.
To pair these with my phone was quick and easy with the use of Sony`s Headphones Connect app. The one thing I have been wanting for a while with headphones is the ability to pair them to multiple devices, which is exactly what Sony has done with these and it works just as expected. Everything runs through the app which in the app you simply choose the devices you want the headphones to be paired with.
The sound quality on the Sony WH-1000XM4 is simply incredible. Words cannot describe it.
From super-low, heavy Bass to crystal clear highs, and everything in between, the XM4s deliver. Even right out of the box using a flat eq setting, they make your music come alive. When using the available Sony Headphones Connect companion app, you can fine-tune your audio experience to exactly how you like it.
Call quality also appears to work very well. The microphones seem to pick up my voice well while filtering out some of the background sounds around me.
The noise cancellation feature is also top-notch. You can set different levels of noise cancellation for your activity, such as going for a walk or going for a run or using public transportation, etc. You can tell the headphones how much or how little noise cancellation you would like in each of those settings. They also feature something called quick attention, which allows you to quickly turn the noise cancellation and volume down and let surrounding ambient sound into the headset in case you need to speak to someone or hear what’s going on around you. You just simply place your hand over the ear cup. They can also learn your favorite locations so that they can immediately apply your customized adaptive sound control and noise cancellation to places you frequently visit like your office or a coffee shop etc.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones can last up to 30 hours when using Bluetooth with the noise cancellation feature enabled. The headphones are recharged with a USB-C cable and if in a hurry, a 10-minute charge can net you up to 5 hours of listening time.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are simply amazing and I couldn’t recommend them enough if you’re looking for new headphones with excellent sound quality and noise cancellation.
Excellent Interconnectivity
I bought these headphones after a very long trawl of wireless/wired headphones. It had to meet a three key criteria. Firstly, mobility – I wanted the freedom to listen to streaming services on the go. Secondly, to be able to connect to and listen wirelessly indoors to two disparate sources (Yamaha MusicCast & LG tv) Finally, I wanted to use them wired for very close audio editing of analogue media (cassettes & vinyl).
These headphones ticked all those boxes as well as delivering remarkable clarity and insight to sound across all these media from Tidal Master tracks to hearing the sound of dust on old vinyl LPs!
Exemplary connectivity. Stunning sound. Great design. Wholly recommended.
Design and build quality are grea
Sony XM4 is a direct comparison to the XM3. Design and build quality are almost 1:1 with the Xm3.
New features like speak to chat are useful but can be a little annoying. 360 Audio free trial code is a good value for money but can trigger if coughs too hard or clear your throat too often. Xm4 weighs 254g which is just 1g lighter than the X m3.
It’s very lightweight and comfortable to wear and has nice padding on the top arc to minimize pain from long hrs use. The noise-reducing feature gets triggered when you cough heavy or clear your throat which can be annoying, but it can be deactivated too. The XM 4 is a great value for the money and the sound is very clear and loud. It is the best ANC headphone on the market right now and is a must-have for anyone looking for the ultimate ANC headphone.
Back To the page, you came from the page that you came to. Sony also added a proximity sensor that will pause the music once you take the headphones off. multipoint pairing which enables you to connect and easily switches between 2 devices at a time.
DESEE EXTREME and 360 Audio are nice features to have but personally haven’t found them effective or useful. The soundstage of the XM4 appears to be wider and instrument separation sounds nicer and pleasing. Both headphones perform well in hip-hop, pop, and hip- hop. android uses might find this very upsetting if you are into Bluetooth codecs and hi-res playback.
The treble range sounds more refined and natural on the Xm4, I feel it renders the sound of drum cymbals, hi-hats, shakers, Jazz brush sticks, and other Hi-frequency instruments a lot better.
however, I did notice a slight reduction in the upper bass punch from kick drums making theXM4 to have a less punchy sound in the bass. Comparing them stock for stock the X m3 has a punchier bass sound.
Great performance
Possibly the best headphones I have ever used for listening to music. Very effective noise exclusion even without noise cancelling switched on so its easy to become unaware of what is going on around you! Have not used with 3D sound from a streaming service yet but demo tracks of this are very impressive.
Great performance
Possibly the best headphones I have ever used for listening to music. Very effective noise exclusion even without noise cancelling switched on so its easy to become unaware of what is going on around you! Have not used with 3D sound from a streaming service yet but demo tracks of this are very impressive.
I think these Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Headphones are the most expensive I’ve ever owned (tho’ only just) and are just about the best-sounding – but there are some reservations about that. The first thing that you notice is of course the build quality and they live up to the best of Sony’s reputation with a lightweight but highly refined and sturdy look and feel. Plus you get a sleek colour-matched carry-case for them so they look good even when you’re not wearing them and because they fold neatly into the case and are well protected it’s easy to carry them with you – and you’ll probably want to. Travelling with them gets even easier with the extended battery life, it’s really surprisingly good considering the size of the drivers and the size of the sound they produce. They’re also easy to control with just a couple of buttons and touchpads built into the ear cups that accept a few tap and swipe actions. They also fit around your head very neatly, even larger heads like mine, and nothing protrudes very far so you don’t look get the Cyberman look of some headphones.
Things do get tricksy and Sony have added a bunch of other features that may or may not improve your auditory pleasure. There’s the option to send Sony a photo of your ears (yes, really) so they can auto-compute a custom profile for your headphones based on the needs of your ears. Fun idea but the difference in sound with and without the custom profile activated seems very slight to me. The headphones can detect where you are (using the GPS facility of your connected smartphone) and also detect what you might be doing — for example sitting still at home or riding around in a vehicle — and then decide which audio profile to activate to deliver the best sound for that location and activity. There’s a Speak-to-Chat feature which detects when you start talking which then slightly mutes (or pauses) the music while adding the sound from the inbuilt microphone into the mix so you can hear your conversation better. The inbuild active noise cancelling is also excellent, Sony have always excelled at this as I know from experience. All of these features are optional which is good because some are a bit annoying – if you like to sing along with your favourite songs you’ll want to disable the Speak-to-Chat function because it triggers constantly and while it’s very nice that Gary Barlow/Adele/Pavarotti (delete where applicable) are willing to shut-up for a second and let you take over lead vocals it quickly gets old.
There are some other features that Sony have included that you won’t want to disable but you might have to in certain situations. Sony have included a capable DSEE Extreme audio enhancement system and it quickly becomes clear that it’s been highly optimised for these headphones and makes a huge difference to the sound they produce. You need to have the associated Sony app running on your smartphone or tablet to activate this and to tweak the setting to suit your tastes and this means it’s only available when you’re using Bluetooth to connect to the music source. The headphones have a standard jack socket and a cable in the box but if you connect that way, thereby bypassing the audio enhancements, the sound of these headphones becomes MUCH less impressive and although they continue to offer a detailed and ‘reference’-like sound they don’t have anything like the bass response or the dynamism they get with the enhancement active. It’s worth bearing in mind this will mean that on a flight, where you might not be able to use Bluetooth, you’ll then lose the premium audio these headphones are capable of.
However with the app running, the enhancements active and your ear profile activated they do sound phenomenal with a big, detailed and very immersive sound. They’re so good they make you want to go and listen to all your old favourite songs to discover details you might not have heard before. Normally I don’t like these fancy audio enhancements, they’re usually either gimmicks or just glorified equaliser pre-sets but Sony deserve credit for taking things to a new level. The enhancements are so finely tuned to these headphones that they elevate the sound they produce without drowning the music in phoney effects. You are a bit dependent on the app’s to get this elevated sound but since that’s how most people will use them most of the time maybe that’s acceptable for most people? Worth knowing about either way.
Worth every penny!
Best headphones I’ve ever had. Best sound quality, too. Everything sounds crystal clear and the bass is rich and finely balanced. I don’t consider myself and audiophile, but I’ve owned many premium headphones (mainly in-ear ones), and my previous headphones were the in-ear xm3, which I thought couldn’t be beat for sound quality… Not until I experienced these headphones. I’m going through all my music and I’m enjoying and gaining a new appreciation for them. This headphone is expensive, but you are getting what you pay for, which is a premium product that is universally rated as the best on the market right now. Worth every penny. Highly recommended.
A versatile, great sounding headphone.
Noise cancelling is most effective, the Sony headphone app is required to set up various functions.
The clamping over the ears feels a little too strong for me, causing some discomfort after some time in use, and my right ear seems to get reduced frequencies as the clamping impinges. I have made eq. adjustments with the app to compensate.
If you have several items of playback hardware- I have 4- phone, tablet, kindle and laptop pc. it is tricky getting them individually connected to Bluetooth, using the app is essential, and then switching between different platforms is even more tricky, as the headphones auto connect to the previously used hardware, even if I turn my phone Bluetooth off- the headphones turn the phones Bluetooth back on. But after various switching on and off of the headphones, I eventually get the connection i want.
Overall I love these headphones and their functions such as; take them off- and they pause the playback, cover the right cup with your hand to temporarily silence the sound, and the soundstage is around your head.
You can move around the house, away and free from cables and a short cable is included as well.
They charge via USB C and the headphones tell you their charge level when you press a button while wearing them.
However you can’t use them during charging- but their charge lasts many hours, and they do charge quite fast.
So a great headphone.
Best headphones EVER!!
Headphones
These are without doubt the greatest headphones I have ever worn. Comparing to the Bose QC35 these absolutely destroy them in all aspects.
I’ve used them for around 2 months, taking calls all day and listening to music on and off. The battery life is ridiculous. I have only charged these twice in 2 months. Using them for 8-10 hours per day which makes no sense at all!
They are comfortable. You forget they are on your head.
Easy to set up and get going out of the box.
I love my headphones – they are very comfy, have a standard audio jack so I can use them for gaming on my pc and the bluetooth works great with my phone.
The noise cancellation is my favourite feature – having the noise of the world disappear at the press of a button is a great thing. I haven’t tested the google/amazon integration, but everything else seems great.
I gave 4 stars because the plastic construction feels a touch cheap especially in the band area, however I haven’t had any problems with them so far.
Great headphones
Although I already own the second version of the XM headphones, I was rather happy to try out the latest incarnation. To be honest, it’s quite rare for me to be quite so up to date with the latest technology, especially with Sony. On the day when the PS4 was released I camped all night outside Curry’s, waiting to get in at 9am. I was among the very first customers inside the store that day. I didn’t buy a PlayStation 4, mind. I was there to get myself a PlayStation 3 at a newly reduced price, when it became one whole model behind the times.
Anyhow, thanks to the Vine programme I find myself quite uncharacteristically ahead of the curve on this one. To be honest, things don’t appear to have changed especially radically since the 2nd version. The balance of the sound is slightly different between the two pairs. Although I’d perhaps slightly favour the newer model, it’s more of an issue of preference than objective superiority. Both have high definition audio (thus presumably supplying an aural resolution of 1920 audio pixels by 1080, per square sonic inch). Similarly, the noise cancelling capability isn’t massively different. In both cases, if a mob of woke Twitter users suddenly decided that the medium of sound waves is now to be considered thoroughly problematic, I think they’d probably be relatively happy with the degree of cancellation achieved. My older pair is in the more traditional black colour. Although the grey wouldn’t have been my first choice, I have rather come to like it. It’s rather similar to the colour of upholstery that you’d expect to see in a Rolls Royce. However, anyone who likes to show that they are an ally for black lives matter (via futile and vapid gesture) will likely want to stick to the more traditional colour.
When it comes to the features, there is a mix of useful stuff and outright nonsense. It’s quite nice to have a graphic equaliser included in the app. Similarly, you can also fine tune the amount of noise cancellation. Personally, I’m happy to leave it at maximum- in order to try to drown out the sound of my own piano practise while I’m trying to watch Netflix. However, anyone who is brave enough to wear these outside of their home might want to reduce it slightly- in order to better hear the sound of such potential dangers as approaching traffic/muggers. There is also a setting for 3 dimensional audio, although I was somewhat concerned by the app’s desire to photograph my ears from a range of different angles. After the PlayStation data breach, I don’t particularly trust Sony to be secure. Who knows what the consequences might be, were images of my ears to be auctioned off on the dark web? I’d sooner listen in basic stereo than take those kinds of risks.
Overall, they’re great headphones with excellent sound and noise cancellation. The question is whether they’re worth the high price tag. Well, I’ve recently been counting down the days until the release of the new PlayStation 5. If you’re looking at buying one on release day, then I’m sure you’ll also want to have the latest model of headphones. However, if you’re anything like myself (and will instead be queuing up for a bargain PS4, as soon as the newer model drops) then you’d probably be just as happy with the XM3s at a big discount.
Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones
This will be a technophobe’s review, so if you want a more technical review you should probably check out some of the other reviews.
Out of the box – they look smart – and just trying them on, without connecting or turning them on, it was amusing at how effective they were at blocking out the sound of my children – who were asking if they could open a new packet of jammie dodgers? What? Sorry. I can’t hear you.
The headphones come with a smart carrying case, a USB cable for charging, a headphone cable and a plug adaptor for in-flight use.
It’s always fingers crossed when setting something up for the first time, that either the picture instructions are easy to follow or the set up itself will be intuitive and you can just kind of blag your way through it as if you know what you’re doing. Great on both counts.
The minimal picture instructions you get are clear. They cover how to charge the headphones for the first time, how to pair them to your phone, how to adjust the headphones and how to use the controls which are located on the outside of the right earpiece.
Once paired with your phone, you go through a “simple” set-up process which is basically answering a series of questions on how you want the headphones to work. I have to be honest, anything I didn’t know I guessed and at the end of it, the headphones worked so 1) it must be quite intuitive and 2) I obviously didn’t mess up too badly. You always have the option of changing your preferences at a later date in your app.
You do have the option of setting up surround sound and can listen to a sample of music played with and without surround. This did sound fantastic but is only available with certain streaming services currently.
Note – you do need to do a software update straight away and they are quite specific that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you touch the headphones whilst they are updating. (Don’t even look at them).
Soundwise – I was quite impressed, when listening to podcasts it’s almost like the people are in the room with you. For music, I wasn’t quite as keen. I love to sing along (badly) when listening to my favourite songs and I found the noise cancellation quite inhibiting here as I couldn’t hear my voice. So at the moment I think I prefer the headphones for podcasts and audiobooks, (and I’m still inflicting my singing (sans headphones) on my family) and occasionally for just listening to music.
I’m impressed with how long the charge lasts, whether it’s 30 hours or not I don’t know, but it’s certainly a long time.
My main niggle and hence the dropping of a star, is that (considering the price) I don’t find them as comfortable to wear as I’d hoped. I find that they push down quite a lot on my ears, especially my left ear. I’ve tried adjusting them but it doesn’t seem to help very much. Maybe, after I’ve been wearing them for longer this will improve.
Overall though, I’m very pleased with these.
Premium quality, sound amazing, are comfortable to wear and have the best ANC that I have used!
Wow, I think these are the first pair of wireless headphones that I absolutely love; stylish, packed full of features, amazing sound quality, and super comfortable to wear! They came delivered in a well-presented retail box and along with the headphones you get a carry case, 1.2m 3.5mm aux cable, 20cm USB Type-A to Type-C charge cable, airplane adapter, and the user guide.
The quality of the whole kit is made to a very high standard and nothing about the headphones look or feel cheap, as you would expect for this price point. The ear cups and headband are very soft and squishy, I could wear these all day with no problems if I wanted to, the size of them is perfect and they grip my head just the right amount so unless your running or jumping around they wont fall off. The outer panels on each ear are soft to the touch and even the head adjustment rails feel nice and solid to use.
The absolutely love the styling of the headphones, probably some of the nicest I have seen. I especially love the little details like the gold Sony logos and trim round the grills on each ear, they really add to the premium look. The included case is high quality, well designed and does an excellent job of protecting the headphones and keeping the cables apart in their own section.
Connecting them to my S20+ and setting up the app was very simple and there was a firmware update ready to install which went through with no issues. A lot of the functionality of the headphones comes with the app as its here you can configure all of the sound settings, control options and optimisers. The built-in equaliser is excellent and gives you a lot of various settings to suit your mood, you can even set your own using the multiple sliders including one for just the bass.
The sound quality you get from these is very impressive, everything comes through sounding crisp and well balanced, they even handle bass extremely well and there is no distortion to be heard. The thing I like about these though is that they go louder than all other Bluetooth headphones I’ve used over the years, not quite as loud as you can get with a wired set but good enough for everyday listening which is better for our ears anyway, I just always dislike how BT headphones cap out on the volume earlier than wired do but these are great.
The active noise cancellation feature is the best I have used by a long margin. The headphones do a fantastic job of passively blocking noise when turned off and wearing them but when you activate the ANC you can barely hear your surroundings at all. I have a fan heater next to me and the noise emitting from it almost disappears, the technology is brilliant! The ANC doesn’t affect the sound quality either and you can configure how much noise it blocks out by using the slider in the app. If you turn it all the way up you can hear yourself and surrounding noise very clearly, if not better than you would hear it in real life. I’ve got the custom button set to switch between full noise cancellation and full ambient mode when I press it so I can hear myself speak when I have a phone conversation or hear my surroundings without needing to take them off. You can set the headphones to automatically do this using the Speak-to-Chat function but I found myself constantly setting it off by accident and its easier for me to just be in full control of it anyway.
The built-in microphone/s picks up your voice very clearly and seemingly better than my phone as multiple people commented how clear I was coming through during phone calls. As mentioned before, when in maximum ambient mode you can hear things you would not normally hear, for instance I can hear the upstairs TV through them which I can’t normally do and you can hear every little detail like a pin drop very clearly, I’m very impressed.
The touch panel on the right ear is so precise and works every single time without fail once I got used to using it. The controls on the panel are not configurable, but they do all the basic things you need like volume control, next/previous track, answering calls, and using your voice assistant.
The battery life is another strong area of these headphones, it lasts for a long time and barely goes down when listening on lower volume levels. I always end up charging them before they even get past 50% capacity but its great to know they will last for a long time if I need them to, Sony claim 30 hours and I very much believe them, battery technology in these kind of devices has come a long way recently.
I don’t have anywhere else to put this but I’m glad Sony still includes a 3.5mm input on the headphones, I still make use of it from time to time when I plug them into my PC, and you don’t need power in the headphones to use them so if your battery runs out but your phone still has charge (and a headphone port/adapter) then you can carry on listening through the AUX cable. I also like that they have a modern Type-C charge port, and you can connect the headphones to 2 devices simultaneously which can be very useful in certain circumstances.
Overall, my apologies for the extended review but there are so many features and things to talk about with these headphones that I could easily go on a lot longer about how good they are but a short conclusion would be that these are very premium, high quality sounding headphones which look the part, are perfect for wearing for extended sessions, and feature amazing ANC. I am very happy with this product and they are easily deserving of the full five stars for a fantastic product from Sony!
Outstanding, brilliant noise cancellation with some surprising medical benefits
I received the much awaited Sony’s legendary WH 1000XM4 for review. This is entirely a commoners review who used the device on his day today life.
The pros are
– Comfort
The paddings and cushions are so comfy to wear. I never had any sort of pain or discomfort even after wearing it for prolonged periods ie, 3 hours on a train journey untill the completion of national treasure 1 and 2 on Disney+.
– Noise cancellation
The industry leading noise cancellation is truely amazing. I use the earphones approximately 2 hours on daily basis while on my way to work and back. When I connect it with the Sony headphone app, it changes the NC level as per the motion and the situation.
– New age intelligent controls
Thanks to many sensors around the ear cups, it detects various movements and hand gestures to respond such as volume control, play/pause, previous/forward and NC/ passthrough. If you really hate the button control, this is the headphone for you.
– Connectivity
The Bluetooth and NFC connectivity is really awesome. It pairs with the phone within fragments of seconds. The box also comes with a airplane adapter, 3.5 mm Jack cord and type C cable.
– Battery life.
It worths 5 stars. Charges really super fast and stays longer. Over a months use, I only had to charge it 5 times and still working on 5th charge.
Does this have any downsides? Yes it has and they are,
– it won’t let you sing along sometime while listening to the music because the sensors think that I’m in conversation with someone and automatically pause the music till I shut my mouth
– I got the silver/ beige colour earphones and after couple of exposure to the Manchester raindrops I noticed few dots of molds developing.
– As you can see in the picture, it is not quite comfortable to wear around the neck. It gives slight discomfort on the Adams apple either it’s been twisted or not.
When comparing the pros, the cons are definitely negligible and considering the brand, ANC level, intelligent adaptability to the surrounding, battery backup Its is a good accessory to invest if you travel a lot or wants a quite comfortable workspace at home.
Expensive, but worth the price.
They are comfortable and sound great. I really wasn’t expecting the sound cancelling to be anywhere near as good. At home it blocks out almost everything. When vacuuming I had to check that the vacuum was on!
When going for a walk does a good job of blocking most traffic noise and better than I was expecting. I can now listen to audio books at a sensible level.
When connected to phone I can enjoy my music and books knowing that I will hear the phone or ring doorbell as that is fed through to the headphones. No more turning everything off so that I don’t miss deliveries.
If within your budget, or you can stretch yourself to buy this - GET IT! Won't regret it!
Right, where do I begin? Let’s just say that despite a wide selection of headsets in my house -uber expensive and just pricey, from Jabto Panas, Sennhei and certain Doctor, as well as other uber cool brands, there have been quite a few rolled eyes when my daughter or hubby did not manage to snatch this Sony headset from my strong grip and claim it for themselves for the day! To say these are the next step up towards the new era in the world of portable sound is an understatement! Jampacked with uber cool features, of incredible quality, out of this world comfort, these definitely deserve the crown and the best seat at the Olympia for being the most amazing headphones ever!
So, what am I on about?
1. Cool design;
2. Quality of sound that blows your socks off, while being safe for your hearing;
3. Comfort from another dimension — you barely feel them on;
4. Lightweight, despite the size;
5. Instant pairing and automatic connection to your devices from the first pairing on;
6. Without any music playing, as soon as you have them cupping your ears, the world around ceases to exist, as no sound comes through and you are in your own bubble;
7. Easy swipe and tap controls that you master in no time;
8. Ambient sound feature will allow you to keep playing your tracks, while also being uber aware of your surroundings;
9. Uber cool feature to pause the sound by just cupping one of the ears in your hand — great when someone is talking to you — remove your hand and the music resumes instantly
10. Talk-Pause feature will allow you to respond, and the music will be paused instantly, as soon as you start producing sound, the headset will mute itself! How cool is that!
Basically, I am planning to hide this set in my work bag and make sure nobody , I mean NOBODY gets their little hands on it and their little ears in it, as it is MINE! My precioussssss!
Absolutely love it and if you are after QUALITY, STYLE, DIVERSITY of features, etc. — look no further! If it is within your budget, or you can stretch yourself to get it, GET IT!
Oh, and battery lasts forever!
Also, they come in a cool carry case, that we have sadly misplaced, while fighting for who will end up using this set on any given day, but it is another handy feature nevertheless ! LOL
Love them
I was really excited to use these, I used to have the previous XM3 model but my daughter borrowed them and never returned them. These look pretty much identical in appearance, same case, same ease of folding to store them and they are still so lightweight and comfortable to wear. The ear cups are cushioned and sit snugly and so comfortably over your ears. The head band is adjustable and padded so they don’t irritate your head. How do they incorporate all this and yet keep it so lightweight. Sound quality is superb, if anything it’s even better than I remember from the XM3 and the noise cancelling is excellent.
There was a software update required with the set I received and a letter attached explaining the need for this, it’s possible future shipments will have had this pre-loaded. The two significant differences I have found with this model is the speak to chat function where as soon as you start talking to someone, the music pauses. This is great in preventing you missing a favourite part of a piece of music as you reply to someone but fortunately can be disabled if like me you have a tendency to sing along to my favourite songs.
Secondly, it has a feature with a proximity sensor which cleverly recognises if you take the headphones off and instantly turns off to save battery.
In summary, they look really stylish, ( I have and much prefer the silver). Sound is excellent, noise cancellation is brilliant, good battery life with a quick-charge feature. The most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn and some clever extra features.
Absolutely love them
Sony knocks it out the park
Boom. That’s the sound of Sony knocking it out of the park in terms of design and sound quality with these new headphones.
I’ve owned a fair few good quality headphones in my time, I still do, and sound quality is pretty important to me. Sony’s previous efforts have been good but on a par with other like Philips, Bose etc. The WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, though, these are something else.
The set comes with the headphones folded in a small case with a loop for carrying. It’s not the smallest case I’ve had but it’s compact enough to stick in a small bag and carry around. Plus, the case is well protected to protect these admittedly expensive headphones. Inside, you’ll also find a very short charging lead (why, Sony?), an audio line-in lead for attaching these to non-bluetooth sources by cable and, rather bizarrely, an airplane adaptor for when you go on trips with those strange double adaptors you find in planes. You also get a trial membership to one of the HD music services from a list.
On the outside, the headphones are rather plain and smooth but the padding is really good quality on the ear pieces and the headrest. The cup the ears well and provide good sound muffling.
Pressing the on button, an American female voice says ‘power on’ and tells you bluetooth is connected once you’ve linked it up to your phone/tablet or other source. It’s worth downloading the Sony app for the headphones as it opens up a ton of options including better noise cancelling control and a novel feature that checks for your voice and stops the music when you speak, mostly designed for places like offices when someone comes to chat to you.
The chat function works well if you need it, it doesn’t get set off by small coughs or sneezes (a lot of those around now) and works immediately when you start to talk, pausing the music until you stop. Having tried it out, I did turn it off again as it’s not something I’d use but it could well be useful for others.
The Adaptive Sound Control and noise cancelling is well worth talking about, it’s the best I’ve heard and is great if you don’t want other sounds disturbing your listening. It did get me in trouble with my wife trying to shout to me, though, so be warned! Again, it can be toggled with the app to automatically learn what sort of noise cancelling or ambient sound option you need from each location or action you are doing (sitting, walking, town or house etc). It seems to work well when walking through town compared to being sat at my desk and the app shows you what you think you are doing at that point in time.
The Equaliser allows you to set a few custom pre-sets as well as providing others like Bright, Treble and Bass Boost depending on your taste. Generally, the default setting is the best all-round with a good level mix of high trebles and a little bass boost with good middles that a lot of lesser headphones tend to have issues with. Interestingly, I found the Deezer 360 app that lets you hear music especially recorded to make use of the 360 surround does detract from the sound quality in terms of making it less dynamic. In the end I went back to Amazon Music HD.
I don’t have a previous model to compare to, though reading others thoughts, these are only a little step up. However, compared to my other headphones, I can only say these are the best I’ve ever worn or heard and I give them my recommendation.
Best of the bes
This is by far the most expensive pair of headphones I have ever had the pleasure of testing. Did these top-tier headphones blow me out of the water? They certainly did. The ‘silver’ colour looks stylish and is more of a matt grey colour, I would say. They are very comfortable to wear and don’t touch my ears. I can wear them for hours without my ears or head getting irritated and they always do with any in-ear or on-ear headphones.
The sound quality is just superb. I received a 3-month Deezer subscription with these headphones (this includes Deezer 360) and it just sounds amazing. I really loved experimenting with the 360 Reality Audio using Deezer 360. It is like being immersedin the music with sounds coming from all around you. It makes it so real, it makes listening to music feel like you are in a live concert. It really is cool. However, not all songs on Deezer 360 are as impressive as others when using 360 Reality Audio. It’s like they converted some old songs and tried to turn them into a 360 experience. I’m hoping in the future there will be more and better 360 songs available.
These headphones are great for wearing while working in an office. Transitioning from listening to music and chatting to somebody or listening to a conversation is easy with the ‘Quick Attention’ feature. You just cover the right ear panel with your hand and your music stops instantly. You can also activate ‘speak-to-chat’ by tapping and holding two fingers on the same panel. Speak-to-chat can also be activated automatically as soon as the headphones pick up on a voice. However, this can be a bit annoying as it will activate when you are just giggling or if you sing along a song. I have turned this feature off and manually activate it instead by tapping and holding the ear-panel with your two fingers. When the ‘Quick-Attention’ or the ‘Speak-to-chat’ function is activated, you don’t have to take off your headphones to have a conversation, as the microphone will do this for you and you hear everything as clear as a bell through your headphones.
The headphones haven’t got ‘normal’ buttons but you use finger gestures on the right-ear-panel: you double-tap for play/pause, swipe forward to go to your next song, swipe up to turn up the volume, etc. I love this feature and it is very easy to use.
The ANC is great, I can’t hear myself typing on the keyboard while working or my partner listening to videoson his phone. Also, battery life is brilliant. It is around 30 hours on a full charge. It charges via USB-C cable. Because itsUSB-c, it charges so fast, from a 10-minute charge you can get up to 5 hours of playtime.
I’m impressed,this is in my opinion, the best of the best. Well done Sony!
Outstanding!
Having had these for a couple of weeks, I feel confident enough to highly recommend these headphones. They are by far the best headphones I’ve ever used, and I’ve had several top brands before.
The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is incredibly good. It makes a world of difference to working from a busy home at the moment. On the move it blocks out traffic noise. Cupping your hand over the right ear temporarily cancels the ANC and doing this immediately shows you quite how effectively it’s blocking out all the background noise around you.
The sound quality listening to music is superb. It’s also very customisable to your own preferences. Deep base – yes. Pure vocals – yes. The experience is as though you were in a top quality concert hall. I like how they can be set to pause music automatically when you take them off your head.
Speech works very well too – whether this is for phone calls or, as is currently the case, lots of video meetings with work while I’m working from home. Both speaker and microphone function perfectly in conversations.
I love the intuitive controls – swiping & tapping to turn the the volume up or down or take calls, for example. Google voice assistant integration is excellent.
As for comfort, I suffer from ear pain and so over-ear headphones work best for me. These can be worn for several hours at a time without any discomfort around my ears of over my head.
Bluetooth pairing and app connection all very easy.
Battery is very impressive.
I wont’ ever want to wear other headphones after using these. They truly are remarkable.
I love these headphones
I love these headphones, they were a necessary upgrade from my M2’s which have a cracked headband. listening to my music using these headphones was incredible.
It was definitely a better sound experience than my M2’s which could tend to get a little muddy when the bass is turned up too high levels.
I like the fit and overall design of these headphones. They are definitely lighter than the M2’s, I could feel the difference immediately, and they are very comfortable on my head. I had them for a straight 10 hours with no pain/irritation to my ears. The material feels like it will be more sturdy than the M2’s, but I’ll have to wait and see about that.
This was a nice upgrade in features. I’ve used the speak to chat, and it works as it says it does. I’ll be listening to my music and when someone comes over to talk, as soon as I say the first word out of my mouth the ambient sound is activated and then maybe 10-15 seconds after the conversation is over, the music or whatever I’m listening to automatically starts playing again. This feature will be clutch when I’m back in the office for work. The Noise cancelling is amazing, no surprise there. I can now connect to two devices at the same time, but switching between them isn’t always as seamless as I would like it to be. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the devices I’m connected to, but this feature can be a little buggy at times.
There is one feature in the app that Sony took away with this upgrade in headphones, and that is the Surround VPT. I loved using this feature with my M2’s. I was a little disappointed when I realized this was no longer available in the app. I hope SONY can put this feature back with an upgrade in the near future.
I don’t love the call quality. Of course, it’s an upgrade for me, but it’s still not there yet, but It’s not a deal-breaker for me.
Overall, these headphones are almost perfect for me. SONY just keeps knocking it out of the park with these 1000x headphones. If they can give us the Surround VPT back, make some improvements to the call quality, and these will be the perfect earphones.
You heard it right, this is everything as you expec
This pair of headphones are truly amazing. It is so comfortable and relatively light in comparison to my other Bluetooth headphones. The technology is just ahead of the others by a long shot.
The noise cancelling, which is the main selling point of this famous Sony headphones at its fourth generations, is absolutely spot on. It learns by itself of your usual surroundings and configures the cancellation mode for you. I can barely hear people talking next to me. This experience is not a pair of 50 anc headphones can provide (I have four pairs).
There are so many functions you can configure in the app provided. And this is smaller and lighter than most other headphones, makes it so easy to carry around on the go.
The quality of both the hardware and the software are truly second to none. If you can splash out this sort of money for a pair of premium headphones, this pair is definitely worth considering.
Off this planet extraordinary!
Never ever have i heard anything as phenomenal as these Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, wearing them feels like a feather hugging my head and ears.
The sound is literally off this planet extraordinary, there’s no getting bored of listening with these,i can’t get enough of them.
It’s a truly immersive listening experience. I must say the most expensive headphones i’ve had until these were
around the 80 mark, i never really knew what a few hundred pound pair could offer that those couldn’t, now i’m not rich, but after experiencing the pure heavenly sounds coming from these i think they’re an investment, they’re worth saving up for.
Listening to them fully consumes me, makes me feel less stressed and offers me time out from reality when i need it. I’m not an expert at describing sounds but the depth and purity along with the bass coming has me not wanting to take them off.
The noise cancelling is extremely good, i can’t hear other noises when listening to tunes.
Sony is such an awesome brand, they’ve blown me away with these!
Fantastic headphones, great noise cancellation.
I was really impressed with these headphones as soon as I opened the box you can just see the quality of these is fantastic, they come in a really nice hard case to store them in which keeps them well protected.
I removed them from the box and downloaded the app and set up the headphones including the speak to chat function which is brilliant, if someone speaks to you and you reply to them it cuts your music out for 30 seconds after you have stopped speaking so you can hear who is talking, Another great feature is if you put your hand over the right headphone it lowers the music so you can hear people around you then when you let go it starts getting back to volume.
To turn the headphones up or down you swipe the right headphone up for higher volume, down for lower volume and tap the middle to play/pause the music.
The sound quality of the headphones are amazing better than any I have ever heard, the songs are so crisp and clear and the bass is really good they are enjoyable to listen to and do not hurt my head like some headphones do if I wear them for a long time, they have so much padding on the top and the earphones them selves that make them really comfortable.
After one charge these last for such a long time, but if your in a hurry and have forgot to charge them a 10 minute charge can give you up to 5 hours worth of play which is great.
I have other noise cancellation headphones that do not work that great so I was surprised how much noise these actually block out.
Overall these are another fantastic product by sony and cannot recommend them enough.
This is what you expect from a high-end headphone from a reputable company. It is absolutely fantastic. It has kept all the great features from the previous model whilst adding new features that improve your user experience. There is so many things to talk about this product I had to break it down into sections. Please see video for a closer look to support this review.
-Packaging and accessories –
The product was well packaged, everything was nicely compacted, and no waste was visible. The product alongside the accessories came in a relatively hard-shell case which is portable and great for carrying around whilst adding a layer of protection for this high-end product. It comes with a manual, an AUX cable enabling you to use this headphone wired without needing to turn on the power, a USB cable to charge the headphone and an AUX adapter that can be used on planes. Whatever the instance these accessories allow you to use these headphones wirelessly, wired and even use it on a plane.
-Build Quality and comfort-
The build quality was excellent. It has a perfect balance of hard, soft and flexible parts in the right places of the headphone. These headphones are extremely comfortable to wear even for long periods due the incredibly soft earmuff and headband. I’m not sure if the earmuff has breathable material but I’ve been able to wear these for long durations with no problem, my ears feel warm afterward but not too toasty. You can easily adjust these headphones to suit the size of your head. The headphone is quite narrow, but it does have some flexibility to suit your needs. No one likes wasting space the and headphone allow you to swivel and fold them for you to pack them away neatly. It’s relatively light and comfortable to the point where you forget you’re even wearing them.
-Sound-
The sound is very nice, clean and crisp. Out of the box I find these headphones to have very punchy treble and bass, if this is what you like you’ll love these. It doesn’t swallow the sound, but it’s definitely is at the forefront. If you don’t like this you can easily adjust EQ to pre-set options for a brighter sound, or you can have complete control of adjusting the sounds to your liking. I also noticed these headphones are slightly quieter when compared to other, despite saying that the noise cancellation sends you in a trance, so it works out in the end. Overall, these sounds so good for music, no matter the genre and even works well for movies, I feel these headphones thrive in intense scenes in movies, just fabulous.
-Features-
The headphones alongside the app come with abundance of features that really promotes the value of the product and makes for a great user experience. Even when the product is off the noise cancellation cuts out most of your surrounding sounds, then it goes to another level when you turn it on. When you turn it on it almost feels like you’ve entered space and 90% of world sound is cut out. You can adjust the noise cancellation intensity using the app.
You have complete control changing the volume, play/pause and changing trackers at your fingertips with the control panels on the right-hand side of the headphone.
It’s also has very cool feature such as quick attention, this is for when you quickly want to hear sounds around you without taking the headphone off, you do this by covering the right side of the headphone with your hand. There’s also features such as pause when take off the headphone and auto shutdown when the headphones are not used for a while. It even has the ability to connect to multiple devices. I personally connect it to my phone and my laptop. It is extremely smart; I could be listening to music on my laptop however if I get a call the headphone will switch to my phone allowing to take to call and talk using the headphones.
The product has an in-built microphone, it’s decent quality which enables you to take phone calls of the go. You can hear the sound quality in the video. I did find when making a call the recipient felt at times when I used the Sony headphone that it was quite choppy, but the microphone was clear, and they could understand what I was saying.
The Bluetooth connectivity is fantastic with it’s 2.4ghz frequency, I’ve able to listen to music from roughly over 10m away from my phone with no disruption, as well as move around the house freely. Very impressive range.
Overall, if you’re looking for a high-end product that gives you complete control and all the feature you want look no further. It’s on the pricey side but if you can afford it you won’t be disappointed. Do ensure you download the supporting App for this headphone. I would highly recommend.
Amazing
These headphones are amazing. Such a great sound out of them! And they are super comfy to wear too.
I’venever had noise cancelling headphones that made any differencebefore,so these were a revelation. Pause your music and see how far away and quiet the world around you is! Wow,just wow.
I love the controls,you swipe up or down on the right ear to change volume, and forwards or backwards to change track.Double tapping starts or stops the music. So simple to use.
I got these in black,they look super sleek. They fold easily to fit in a box, which also contains charging lead and a jack to use on planes.
I’m so happy with these headphones, they hands down beat anything I’ve used in the past.
Amazing Immersive Sound & Comfy to Wea
I’ve had some very decent incredible sounding overheads over the years as I love to listen to music at home or out sunbathing where you can have high volume and still appreciate clarity and here all the little extras you miss when listening with speakers – this really comes alive when you can really hear all the different areas/channels and layers where they’re supposed to me and you can feel completely encompassed by the music for a very immersive serious listening experience – the difference between experiencing this on very decent headphones and relatively poor headphones is phenomenal, so I;ve always considered good headphones worth investing in, though 250 is the most I;d ever spent on a pair previously., and these comfortably beat any previous pair I;ve owned – they sound absolutely amazing and bring any album completely to life (unless it’s an incredibly poorly mastered album, in which case these will show-up every lazy bit of editing and stitching on the album!)
The immersive sensation of being in the music and completely surrounded by it is just awesome with these so they’re great for complex/layered music and live albums that have been mastered well as you feel like you’re right there with the music. The sound quality across the levels is first class and the bass is so good and smooth – not muddy at all and it always stays in context without drowning everything out even at higher volumes. They’re so cosy and comfortable for me as well – could literally have these on all day through work and chores and be perfectly happy, Some of the very good overheads I had many years weighed an absolute ton and would really start to feel uncomfortable after an hour or so, but these are light and easy. Set up is also easy (definitely advise to follow the instructions included re. updating the firmware too) and really couldn’t be happier with them in terms of quality and performance and ease of use! They’re amazing and 100% worth it if you’re looking to invest in a very decent pair of headphones for listening to or making music at home and these are in your budget – they even look pretty awesome to boot.
Best sound I've heard ever using headphones but pricey!
I haven’t had Sony over the ear headphones before and have never spent over 100 for headphones so this Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones were going to be new territory for me especially the fact that they cost 349! For this price I’d be expecting these headphones to perform magic and be perfect in every way.
They come well packaged in a great presentation box which would make an ideal gift (if your willing to spend that much)! Inside are the headphones, 3.5mm lead, very short USB charging cable and plug adapter for in-flight use.
The Sony app, ‘headphones connect,’ has to be downloaded then the headphones can be connected to the mobile.
The headphones look and feel top quality, well cushioned on the headband and the headphone cushions are super soft and comfortable over the ears. They are very good at blocking out some noise without switching them on. They also have a good grip which stops the headphones sliding off yet still comfortable.
Once connected to my phone there are a load of options and settings to tinker with, the first thing that had to be done was the firmware update for the headphones which took about 5 minutes. Once done I selected speak to chat, ambient sound control, priority on sound quality, set up Alexa, turned on sensor control panel and headphone pause when taking them off. With all these settings I loaded up Amazon Music. I must add that Sony wanted me to sign up to ‘360 Reality Audio’ which supposed to make the listening experience even better but I refuse to sign up to yet another music service so I won’t be able to comment on this feature.
Listening to the Amazon Music with these headphones was unbelievable. Firstly I couldn’t hear anyone talk to me in the room which is due to the noise cancellation. My partner was talking right at me and I couldn’t hear a word, normally I always hear the background sounds, be it TV or talking, this was amazing 🙂
The sound quality was unreal, I haven’t ever heard such quality sound from a pair of headphones in my life and I was taken aback. The bass was amazing and I was immersed in the music. The volume control is by the use of sliding your fingers up or down on the right ear piece and to change track its forward or back. It did take a while to get used to this but 95% of the time it was responsive. To pause the music Its a double tap, didn’t always work but you can also take the headphones off to pause the music. When tapping the headphones to pause and talk the surrounding sound seemed amplified so that I could hear what was being said to me very clearly.
These headphones use GPS from the mobile to detect where you are so that the settings can be adjusted accordingly based on surroundings which is cool. The app goes into more detail and can show you a map of places you go to and builds up a picture to provide the perfect sound experience. I did pop to the shops with these and did get the same sound performance and noise cancellation as when I was in the house.
The built in voice assistant is rather good, there’s a custom button on the left ear pad which you press once and you just ask Alexa what ever you want (you don’t actually say Alexa, just say a command). I got her to switch my lights on and off, play the radio and make a call. The headphones do use the mobile phone for all this wizardry and thus if you have no data allowance whilst out and about these functions wouldn’t work! It’s a good idea that a button has to be pressed to activate Alexa rather than saying ‘alexa’ otherwise having an Alexa device in the same room would confuse matters but it would of been good if the spoken word could of been an option while out the house.
The battery is very good, up to 38 hours playback which is reduced to 30 if noise cancellation is switched on. A 10 minute charge will give you 5 hours playback.
A final few things, I noticed a connection problem with the Bluetooth, if moved more than 3 metres away from my phone then the sound would cut off and on again. I had the setting on ‘Priority on Sound Quality’ which basically means don’t stray too far away from your mobile. By selecting ‘Priority on Stable Connection’ I was able to move around the house freely but quality of the sound is reduced slightly (I didn’t notice). I don’t think Sony have come up with a way to cancel out wind. It was rather windy last night and while I was listening to music in the garden I could hear the gusts of wind. I know this isn’t an everyday occurrence but I had to increase the volume to overcome the gusts of wind.
Overall, I think these headphones are really an audiophiles dream come true and along with the design quality, materials used and technology, this all comes together to create this knockout sound experience. Unfortunately these headphones would be out of my price range and would be for most people but if you ever get the opportunity to buy these then I would most highly recommend you do, you wouldn’t be disappointed.
Once again, nice one Sony!
Really, really good audio and 100% hands-free operation.
Sony make fantastic sound related products. I own a couple of their products and they never cease to amaze me. I thought my partner’s Sony earbuds were fantastic but then I used these and I must say, it is really worth the money.
Now, the sound is insanely good. I feel there is no distortion at all, no matter what song I play, how strong the bass is or how loud I play it, it always sounds great. It is hard to describe but it just feels like every sound in a song is so clear, it almost feels like it is being played live in your ears. It’s simply as crisp as it gets.
I think the noise cancelling in fantastic as well, it’s not just that the ear pieces are very good at keeping sound out, the headphones listen to what’s around you and play it back in a different frequency (or something of the sort) so that it cancels itself out and it mutes itself. That’s also the reason why you can let outside sound in, the headphones stop the noise cancelling and listens to what’s around so you can hear it all without having to take your headphones off.
I found the wearing detection to be quite a cool feature, it really allows you to just not have to do anything. You take them off, it stops playing music. No messing around on your phone or anything. Now, what I was actually wowed at when I tested it was the ‘Speak-to-Chat’ feature. If you speak, it literally stops so that you can have a conversation without taking your headphones off. Now, that’s what I call hands-free. I though 350 pounds was a lot for a pair of headphones but it’s not just good sound quality, it’s all these extra features that make life easier that are worth paying for.
I find the battery life to be outstanding. I feel like I don’t need to charge them all that often and I use have used them regularly since I got them. And if you forget to charge them and you’re running low, plug them in for as long as you can, even if it’s a few minutes, and you’ll get a long while extra play time. I do this often as I am quite forgetful with charging stuff so the quick charge is definitely a feature that I have personally found very useful.
The case is very sturdy and it comes with a cable just in case you want to listen to music wired. The headphones fold in on themselves so they take up less space and fit in very nicely in the case.
All in all, this is a fantastic pair of headphones, probably some of the best out there. I personally really, really like them and, despite thinking the price tag was a bit steep, you really get 350 pounds worth of amazing audio. It is a great investment if you listen to music often and you want the best quality sound paired together with ease of use.
So comfortable
If you looking for comfort then trust me, these are soo soft to the touch, soo light and comfortable you might just want to leave them on even when you’re not listening to any music or audible… definitely a great purchase. Most Definitely
Good quality , great sound headphones but could be water resista
This is the best phones I ever had. And my previous ones were in the same price range and these. And these sony ones beat them by miles. These headphones come in a carry case which provides protection for these headphones while travelling. Headphones itself are very light, then I put them on I almost couldn’t feel I wear them. Moreover, the cushions around-ear are so soft it felt like a pillow and were extremely comfortable. Furthermore, quality from a case to headphones are extremely good, as it should be for this kind of price.
Now about the most important part, the quality of sound. And it is simply amazing. The quality is perfect even at a max volume hard bass songs the sound is clean. The noise-cancelling function is good as well. Used them in a tube and couldn’t hear anyone talking, and almost no train sounds. So far these headphones had the best noise-cancelling i ever felt it. Another little feature which is very nice is the headphones react then you remove them and stops playing music, and then you put them on starts to play again. Which is a very nice feature especially then someone talking with you, don’t need to tap or search how to stop the song. Hands-free calling works well, and people have no problem hearing me while I talk through it.
The headphones can be controlled by hands movements as well. The only difference from other headphones it does not have physical buttons and is controlled by finger swipes which are really nice as well.
Moreover, it is possible to download the app, which first keeps the headset updated. And secondly gives you an opportunity to adjust various settings for these headphones and make it more personal.
However, for this price range, I would like them to be water-resistant which would make them ultimate headphones to use in every aspect of life from walking to jogging.
So comfortable
If you looking for comfort then trust me, these are soo soft to the touch, soo light and comfortable you might just want to leave them on even when you’re not listening to any music or audible… definitely a great purchase. Most Definitely
Just Wow!, I get why they say it has industry leading Noise Cancellation.
I was given these to test out and all I can say is Wow. Over the years I’ve gone through many pairs of different headphones and I’ve tried out many of my friends headphones and these are hands down the best sounding headphones I’ve ever used.
Setting them up was super simple, I scanned the QR code, downloaded the app, connected to the headphones and it walked me through the rest. It automatically started a firmware update for the headphones which was cool. The headphone came well packaged in a lovely small box with no wasted packaging. The headphones and all the accessories were already inside the case so it was pretty much ready to go out the box.
As I’ve said, the audio quality of these headphones is amazing, the highs are crisp and clear, the lows are deep and punchy. You get very clear separation with no muddiness of the audio. I don’t think I’ve ever heard music sound so good. The most fascinating thing about these headphones is the noise cancelling, it’s on another level to anything I’ve experienced before. I’m sat at my desk with a fan blasting air on my face and noise coming in from the window. I put the headphones on and yeah, it’s a tiny bit quieter but still noisy, as soon as I turn the headphones on and the noise cancelling kicks in, wow, it’s like magic, the ambient sound disappears almost completely, simply incredible.
Now, there’s no doubt that these are expensive headphones, but you really do get what you pay for with these. So if your looking for some headphones and these fall into your budget, I would seriously consider them.
Excellent sound clarity, super comfortable, good sound isolation, super active noise reductio
Excellent sound clarity, super comfortable, good sound isolation, super active noise reduction
Up until last month, I’ve been quite happily sat there thinking that a pair of Shure SE215 earphones were as good as anyone would really want or need. They had excellent sound clarity. Then a month ago, along came a pair of Panasonic headphones, which cost 150 and provided the same, but better bass and active noise cancellation…
Now priced at 350 Sony have presented these headphones. Do you really get any more than just a brand name for that money?
Upon opening the box, you get instructions and a nice case. Once you unfold the headphones, you can feel the plastic is a very good quality, and the leather around the top of the band and around the ears are very soft. The whole thing screams of quality – first impressions are great and given you’re paying 350, you’re not presented with anything looking or feeling cheap which might ruin that initial impression.
Once you’ve installed the app, the headphones pair up. Now you can choose to either pair up to 2 devices or have higher quality sound. I decided to go for sound at this point, so installed the app on my ipad pro which I was going to use for testing.
Now the best sound quality comparisons for these headphones I had available were the Shures and Panasonic headphones. I ran my usual songs to test, but they were in mp3 format, and I found the Sony sounded a little bit warmer but they still sounded very similar. The issue was that the headphones were better than the quality of the audio source, I switched to 320kbps MP3 which sounded better but still not quite there.
In the end I grabbed an old CD, ripped that into FLAC format and used that.
At this point, you really started to hear more clarity (on all 3 headphones), but the race was already won. The Sony had better sound clarity across the range, was that bit crisper with the sound, and singing was that bit warmer.
Having had 2nd, 3rd and 4th opinions running the headphones back to back multiple times on the same tracks. Everyone thought the Sony sounded the best even though I made no mention of how much any of the headphones cost. Descriptions used were “It was like being there as opposed to just listening to music”, “I could hear more detail in the music and the subtle notes in the background”.
The active noise cancellation was pretty incredible. I had demolition works going on with a pneumatic drill outside, and a digger driving up and down. This managed to reduce that noise to a faint background hum. In the evening, the fan of the PC was completely gone – I mean complete silence. Definitely the best noise cancellation I’ve come across
Battery life is rated at 30 hours, I’ve not done that long yet, but I will update this review if that claim seems wrong.
Pros
– Incredible sound quality
– Active Noise cancellation is best I’ve seen
– 30 hour battery life
Cons
– Incredibly expensive
– Dimishing returns: You over double that of a 150 of headphones to get a marginal increase in sound quality
– Active Noise cancellation and sound isolation does make for a strange experience if you’re talking and using the built in mic
Summary: These are the best headphones I’ve tried so far. The sound quality is pretty amazing, the noise cancellation is amazing too. If you’re on a plane or train, I’m pretty sure you’ll sit in near silence expect your music. The price of 350 is very expensive and if you’re willing to spend that sort of money on these, just make sure you’ve also got decent quality audio files to play to get full potential.
Update 10th Oct 2020: Having used these recently for conference calls, I found that due to great sound isolation and active noice cancellation, when talking you can’t hear yourself talk which is a strange expereince, and you end up talking louder to compensate. So personally I didn’t like it for that. However people on the other side of the call did comment my voice was much clearer and less muffled. I’m making an observation here and wouldn’t say it detracted from the headphones, since I think the same problem exists in other well sound isolated headphones too.
Worthy Upgrade!
I have owned the XM4’s for two weeks now and these are a worthy upgrade from the XM3’s especially with the multi device connection, the speak to chat and the fact that they pause when you take them off and resume playing when you wear them again.
The only thing I would have added is a fresh new design, which is why I got silver instead of black for a change.
Worthy Upgrade!
I have owned the XM4’s for two weeks now and these are a worthy upgrade from the XM3’s especially with the multi device connection, the speak to chat and the fact that they pause when you take them off and resume playing when you wear them again.
The only thing I would have added is a fresh new design, which is why I got silver instead of black for a change.
There is nothing like this headphone on the market. Bravo Sony!
As someone who just joined the headphone craze I did a bit of research and I was thinking of going with the Sony XM3. Then Sony released the Sony xm4 and I decided if I was going to buy, might as well buy the latest one
The verdict. This headphone is something else. The active noise cancellation is so good I forget about the other features it has. The rest is just bonus.
There is nothing like this headphone on the market. Bravo Sony!
As someone who just joined the headphone craze I did a bit of research and I was thinking of going with the Sony XM3. Then Sony released the Sony xm4 and I decided if I was going to buy, might as well buy the latest one
The verdict. This headphone is something else. The active noise cancellation is so good I forget about the other features it has. The rest is just bonus.
OK, so I’ve been anticipating the release of the XM4, wondering what Sony could possibly do to improve upon the 2-year king of ANC headphones the XM3, and I must say that Sony didn’t surprise us with a stunning new look or with an explosive new performance worthy of an immediate upgrade, however, they did exactly what I suspected, they just made some refinements and additions to an already great headphone.
Here are my thoughts:
The New XM4 and the XM3 look remarkably identical so I will be using the Xm3 as a direct comparison. I will be approaching this review as one who has owned the XM3.
PACKAGING:
The packaging is great as always, Sony’s package presentation is not the best out there but they do have a good sense of presentation which I like. Nothing new here it looks exactly like the XM3 with the same unbox experience.
ACCESSORIES:
In the box, you get a quick start guide, user manual, 360 Audio free trial code, a 3.5mm cable (with a right-angled head on one end) very short USB-C cable for charging the headphone, an Airline adaptor and the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphone. same box content like in the XM3 (except the free 360 audio trial code)
DESIGN & BIULD QUALITY:
Sony really played it safe here with the design, keeping nearly 1:1 with the XM3 you will hardly be able to easily spot the difference even from a short distance, however, when you come close you will see the small refinements on the body, you will notice the XM4 has a more matte finish which looks nicer to me. The overall body feels more seamless and nicer to the touch while the XM3 has a more reflective surface around the headband with wider gaps between segments. Build quality is excellent as always, no compromise just like the XM3.
FIT & COMFORT:
The XM4 coming in at 254g feels quite lightweight and comfortable to me although it’s just 1g lighter than the XM3. it also has nice padding on the top arc to minimise pain from long hrs use, and the clamping force is very mild on my bald head and ears. I must say that they do feel different to the XM3, I prefer the feel and comfort of the XM4 it just feels a little bit more lightweight and comfortable.
Features and functionality:
The XM4 comes feature-rich just like the XM3, however, Sony played a game of addition and subtraction. They added new features like speak to chat which can be effective and useful. it works like a charm without you touching the headphone, I found that it also gets triggered when you cough heavy or clear your throat which can be a little annoying. The feature can be deactivated so not a problem. Also if you like to sing along to your favourite tune then speak to chat will break that habit.
Sony also added a proximity sensor which will pause the music once you take the headphones off. this feature is also very welcome in the sony headphone line, and it works effectively.
Another new feature Sony added is a multipoint pairing which enables you to connect and easily switches between 2 devices at a time (Be sure to update the headphone to the latest firmware to fix issues with this feature. One drawback to the multipoint pairing is that the LDAC feature is deactivated in multipoint mode .
ANC on the XM4 is as Stellar as the XM3 but a little bit better, however, don’t expect anything special here, it just sounds a little quieter in the higher – mid frequencies which make for a better ANC performance but not enough to make your jaw drop.
DESEE EXTREME and 360 Audio are nice features to have but personally haven’t found them effective or useful.
Now I mentioned Sony playing a game of addition and subtraction, while they gave us all these new features they also took away some useful old ones like APTX and APTX HD which gave me the mixed feelings with the XM4. This doesn’t matter if you are on an iPhone but android uses might find this very upsetting if you are into Bluetooth codecs and hi-res playback.
SOUND QUALITY:
once again the XM4 delivers a sound similar to the XM3 however when you pay close attention you will hear the subtle enhancements in the XM4 particularly in the soundstage and higher frequencies. The soundstage of the XM4 appears to be wider and instrument separation sounds nicer and pleasing on the XM4, also the treble range sounds more refined and natural on the XM4, I feel it renders the sound of drum cymbals, hi-hats, shakers, Jazz brush sticks, and other Hi-frequency instruments a lot better on the XM4 than on the XM3. however, I did notice a slight reduction in the upper bass punch from kick drums making the XM4 to have a less punchy sound in the bass. Comparing them stock for stock the XM3 has a more punchy bass sound.
Overall these refinements in the sound quality are subtle but they are there and If you know how to listen out for them you will come to prefer the sound of the XM4 better, but if you just listen passively you might not be able to easily tell the difference, both headphones perform well in hip-hop, pop, jazz, rock and a lot more genres.
SHOULD I UPGRADE?:
I already have the XM3 and I love them should I go ahead and upgrade to the XM4? to help you answer that question here are some features to take seriously
– Multipoint pairing
– Proximity sensor
– Speak to chat (can be a good or bad thing)
– NO APTX or APTX HD (android users)
Here are a few features to NOT take seriously.
– ANC (relatively on par with the XM3)
– DESEE Extreme (not much difference in its effectiveness)
– 360 Audio (Available on other headphones)
– LDAC (already on the XM3, only beneficial to select android users)
It’s not a lot of great stuff to prompt an immediate upgrade and because the design of the headphone looks remarkably identical, having the XM4 alongside the XM3 feels more like I just had a major firmware update to my already existing headphone, it doesn’t give you the full satisfaction of a new buy just like you get between the Bose QC35 and the 700 (although different headphones) you get the idea.
CONCLUSION
If you are new to Sony’s 1000X headphones then just go ahead and buy the XM4 it’s an overall much better experience. I now personally like the Sony WH-1000XM4 and will use my XM3 less and less maybe will give it away soon. All the minor improvements sum up together to make yet another New King of ANC while the XM3 follows closely behind.
Hope this helps!
Improved voice call quality, slightly less Bluetooth delay, slightly improved noise cancellation, different sound – Worth 120 extra? – The XM3 can be found here on Amazon for about 120 less than these. If the things mentioned are important to you, then go for it, but if not, then you might save some money and purchase the XM3. The XM4 also has a slightly different sound (some YouTube reviewers have said the XM3 is more balanced and the XM4 maybe has too much high end). You also do not have some of the high quality codec options you had on the XM3.
Really impressed, sound quality is amazing. The headphones are well built comfortable, well worth the upgrade from the XM3’s for the new features.
Free 3 Year Warranty on WH1000XM4 headphones until 30th September2020 from Sony Centre Website.