Sony WH-1000XM3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones with Mic, 30 Hours Battery Life, Quick Charge, Gesture Control, Ambient Sound Mode, with Alexa Built-in – Black
Copper detailsCopper detailing adds an additional level of style to the WH-1000XM3 headphones
” data-position=”triggerHorizontal” />Lighter weight20g lighter in weight than the WH-1000XM2 for an even more comfortable fit!
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High-res audio
Music as the artist intended
Hear music that sounds true to the original recording with more detail and clarity
Digital Sound Enhancement
Restore all of your compressed files
DSEE HX upscales compressed digital music files, bringing them closer to the quality of HiRes Audio
Smart headphones
Get more with our smartest headphones yet
Tailor sound to you with SENSE ENGINE and use Adaptive Sound Control with the Headphones Connect App
Check out the Sony Wireless range
 WH-1000XM3 |  WH-1000XM4 |  WH-H900N |  WH-CH700N |  WH-CH500 | |
| Noise Cancelling | Industry-leading NC with QN1 | Industry-leading NC | Digital Noise Cancellation | Digital Noise Cancellation | No |
| Battery life | 30 hours | 30 hours | 28 hours | 35 hours | 20 hours |
| Quick charge | Yes, 10 minutes = 5 hours | Yes, 10 minutes = 5 hours | Yes, 30 minutes = 3 hours | No | No |
| Motion sensor | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| High-res audio | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Bluetooth | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Speak to chat | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Wearing detection | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Weight: | 260 g |
| Size: | 1 |
| Dimensions: | 1 x 1 x 1 cm; 259.99 Grams |
| Model: | WH1000XM3B.CE7 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Colour: | Black |
| Dimensions: | 1 x 1 x 1 cm; 259.99 Grams |
| Size: | 1 |
Fantastic noise cancelling
My 2nd pair. Tried WH-1000xm4 but due to no aptx codec, latency was bad and unable to use with tv. This pair are comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Amazing sound out of box and ability to customise via sony app. Noise cancelling blocks out all unwanted sounds including noisy neighbours.
Love i
This headphone provides an exceptional audio experience coupled with impressive noise cancellation technology.
The battery life is just amazing. The gesture control feature adds a touch of convenience to my listening experience.
It is a premium choice for anyone seeking top-notch audio quality, impressive noise cancellation, and a host of convenient features. With their long battery life, quick charging, gesture control, ambient sound mode, and built-in Alexa, these headphones truly excel in every aspect.
Great Headphones
My second pair of these headphones after previous pair were stolen. Great sound and sound cancelling
I conducted a lot of research prior to buying my first pair of noise-cancelling headphones. The newly released Sony WH-1000XM4’s were deemed by some reviewers to be one of the best and highest scoring noise-cancelling headphones available. What was also notable was the comparison to the WH-1000XM3’s.
Many reviewers noted little difference between the XM3 and the XM4, except for the price: on average 100 cheaper.
For my first pair I was happier paying 160 rather than 270.
The headphones themself: I’m impressed by the build quality, the carry-case and the accessories that come with them. Charging is quick, and battery life – for me – is more than sufficient: 2 5hour flights plus a few nights of a couple of hours listening to music was easily done on a single charge.
I have recently started to use these at work for both listening to music and teleconferencing. Connected via Bluetooth for circa 8 hours a day the battery dropped 20%. Sound quality I have found to be excellent too (I can’t go into details like some others can but, this produces some of the cleanest, and solid bass sounds I’ve experienced).
I have rated the noise-cancelling function 4 out of 5 on the basis that I have no real comparison and on occasion I can notice some background noise but it does a great job in blocking out a lot of the nuisance noises you want to cancel out: plane engines, general chatter…
Overall, I am pleased with my purchase. I believe these to be a bargain for the price I paid for them.
Great sound and noise cancellatio
Very pleased with these headphones, good quality with excellent noise cancellation. Also comfortable to wear for long periods as over ear headphones.
One of the best headphones with NC
I bought M3 instead of M4 and did not go wrong for my choice. The new M5 that are now on the market it’s seems to be a little disappointment.
Fantastic noise cancelling.
Noise cancelling was brilliant on some long haul flights and routinely leads to my other half sneaking up on me in the kitchen and giving me a good scare.
Can’t ask for much more!
Great headphones, easy to use, sound quality is good and the custom equaliser options is very good. Nice to have a wired option aswell as being wireless. If your ever in London, it will be the quietest the tube ever is, very good at limiting the ambient sound. When on phone calls I’ve been told the voice quality is also good even with windows down in the car. Well worth purchase
Good quality but slightly annoying
The sound quality and noise proofing are superb. The noise cancelling is next level. However whenever they switch on noise cancelling is auto enabled. This can be a real battery drain and sometimes the high pitch noises annoy me. Only minor niggles though
Comfortable way to listen to classical music free from distracting ambient noise
Far from being tech-savvy even this old geezer, with a little help from his friends in getting started, is able to take advantage of some of the excellent features of these wonderful comfortable to wear headphones. On long country walks I use them for classical music on BBC Sounds from a smart phone. I also use them with Waze for route finding when driving. Much more secure than the very small type of phones that kept dropping out of my ears. Also, with better sound helped by the noise cancellation feature. Currently available significantly cheaper than the later 1000XM4 model.
Budget Friendly Headphones
For the price tag, these headphones are extremely well designed. They’re comfortable to wear, they sound decent when using your own custom EQ settings and they also support LDAC, which for example, enhances your listening experience with FLAC audio files (there are more formats aside from FLAC).
Overall, if you’re looking for headphones that offer decent sound quality – these are for you.
Depends on your needs
Everyone’s needs for headphones are going to be different. I bought myself these mainly for at home for when my partner is on might shifts and I need to be quiet. These enable me to listen to music or watch films and not disturb the misses sleeping. I’ve also worn them out on on a dog walk too, I tested out the noise cancelling function and it blocked out everything which felt slightly unnatural, I adjusted the level on noise cancelling to a more comfortable level for a while and I had no issues hearing everything in the immediate vicinity.
I’m fully aware I haven’t used these to there full potential and capabilities. Although for my individual needs they have been perfect.
Five Stars for the WH-1000XM4!
Yes these are fabulous headphones. The only reason they haven’t been given five stars, is because I would reserve that for the newer WH-1000XM4. The newer model resolves the only issue I have with the WH-1000XM3. You cannot connect to more than once Bluetooth device at a time. Thus in order to switch from phone to tablet etc, you have to switch the headphones off and then switch them back on again putting them into pairing mode to connect with the tablet. The whole pairing process has to be repeated every time you want to connect to another device.
This can be annoying if you change devices regularly.
Sound cancellation and transparency are both good (not as good as Apple EarPods Pro, but still good). The swipe functions are very responsive and make it very easy to manage audio and calls. If you’ve got the spare cash, go for the newer WH-1000XM4 but for what these cost, you won’t be disappointed.
The best so far...even in 2022
These headphones are the best so far, even 3 years since their original release. I haven’t actually listened to the 1000xm4 so can’t really compare it with those but they seem to sound better than every other one I’ve tried even Sony’s own WH-HB900N (and those are pretty good too – except for the noise cancelling function). The sound quality, battery life and noise cancelling are brilliant.
If I had to find a few flaws, the only issues I have with these are:
1. It doesn’t have aptX-LL (it does have aptX-HD) so a minor lag is visible when watching TV. However, I’ve been able to correct it using the AV sync function on the TV so that’s solved it.
2. When paired to multiple devices, there’s no easy way to switch from one device to another, especially when using headset-mode with the laptop and audio-mode with the phone, (or when switching between phone and TV) but really these features are probably out of the realm of what Bluetooth is capable of anyway. To do this, I simply turn off Bluetooth on the device I don’t want it to automatically connect to.
Great help against upstairs neighbour noise
I was new to active noise cancelling when I tried on a pair of the successor to these at an electronics shop. To me they were a revelation, so I researched ANC further and decided to take the plunge when these were reduced to a price to suit my pocket. I live in the ground floor of a Victorian house and the property is noisy, even when upstairs neighbours take care, so I get all sorts of intrusive noises. These cans have really helped as they cancel out the most irritating lower frequencies of thuds and creaks, as well as plane noise (property is also under a flight path). I even wear them on silent and they do cancel out all plane noise. They’re comfortable to wear for up to 1-2 hours, but I try to take breaks so I don’t become even more sensitive to ambient noise.
Great noise-cancelling, mediocre sound.
I really don’t see how the hi-fi press raved about these headphones. Yes the noise-cancelling is first rate, and they’re very light and comfortable. But what is more important in headphones that sound quality? These are overly bass-heavy at the low-end and muffled at the high-end. They need some serious EQ to make them sound good. Luckily, the Android app Wavelet has an autoEQ preset for these headphones that improves them quite dramatically. The bass is tamed, the top end opens up and everything becomes a LOT clearer. But in my book, if a set of headphones need EQ to sound good then it’s a fail. My Audio-Technica ATH-DSR7BT sound perfectly balanced without any EQ. If it wasn’t for the background hiss and flaky bluetooth stability I’d still be using them.
I can only really recommend these ‘phones to people who need good noise-cancelling. If you don’t need NC, there are much better sounding (and cheaper) alternatives.
I bought these a year and a half ago, and have used them almost daily. I’ve used them wired and wireless, with my pc, phone, tablet, and tv.
There are three “modes” –
– Noise cancelling – don’t expect to switch them on and just hear silence, that’s not how they work. But as soon as you play some sound, they do indeed cancel out noise from your surroundings, and they do it very effectively. If you play music, even fairly quietly, you won’t hear a person talking next to you.
– Ambient – you literally hear both your music/game/movie/etc and your surroundings, so you can hear your doorbell or someone talking. I was really impressed how clearly i could hear someone talk (considering I’m wearing headphones), although i never have a need for this option. There is a headphones app (on android at least) where you can adjust the balance of how much outside noise you can hear. Very useful.
– Ambient sound control off – IMPORTANT NOTE, this is not the same as them being switched off entirely. If you use these wired but leave them switched off, the sound quality will be AWFUL. Muffled, flat, just awful. But if you switch to the mode that says “ambient sound control off”, it’s what you want from them as simple headphones. No special noise cancelling, no special ambient sounds, but just headphones. In this mode, which I use the most often, you get great sound. The only downside is that it still uses battery, since they are technically “on”.
These headphones are very comfortable for long periods at a time, and my glasses don’t get in the way at all.
They look amazing and considering I use them almost daily, they still have no signs of wear.
One click of the power button tells you the battery level, and the battery life is excellent. I use my samsung phone charger to charge them and it’s quite quick.
The touch controls can be a little awkward, but I almost never use them.
In fact the only thing I don’t like about these is that when you cycle through the modes, or switch them on/off, the sound is LOUD. You can disable it, but it becomes very hard to tell which mode you’re on, and you won’t hear the battery level.
I bought these a year and a half ago, and have used them almost daily. I’ve used them wired and wireless, with my pc, phone, tablet, and tv.
There are three “modes” –
– Noise cancelling – don’t expect to switch them on and just hear silence, that’s not how they work. But as soon as you play some sound, they do indeed cancel out noise from your surroundings, and they do it very effectively. If you play music, even fairly quietly, you won’t hear a person talking next to you.
– Ambient – you literally hear both your music/game/movie/etc and your surroundings, so you can hear your doorbell or someone talking. I was really impressed how clearly i could hear someone talk (considering I’m wearing headphones), although i never have a need for this option. There is a headphones app (on android at least) where you can adjust the balance of how much outside noise you can hear. Very useful.
– Ambient sound control off – IMPORTANT NOTE, this is not the same as them being switched off entirely. If you use these wired but leave them switched off, the sound quality will be AWFUL. Muffled, flat, just awful. But if you switch to the mode that says “ambient sound control off”, it’s what you want from them as simple headphones. No special noise cancelling, no special ambient sounds, but just headphones. In this mode, which I use the most often, you get great sound. The only downside is that it still uses battery, since they are technically “on”.
These headphones are very comfortable for long periods at a time, and my glasses don’t get in the way at all.
They look amazing and considering I use them almost daily, they still have no signs of wear.
One click of the power button tells you the battery level, and the battery life is excellent. I use my samsung phone charger to charge them and it’s quite quick.
The touch controls can be a little awkward, but I almost never use them.
In fact the only thing I don’t like about these is that when you cycle through the modes, or switch them on/off, the sound is LOUD. You can disable it, but it becomes very hard to tell which mode you’re on, and you won’t hear the battery level.
1 year review
I’ve had these now for nearly a year, most reviews are for new products so what are these like after a year…
In a word – amazing. The noise cancelling is superb, I use these primarily when practising the saxophone, it’s a loud instrument but these are perfect for the job. The revelation to me was using them when driving.
The sound quality is excellent, as I write this I’m using them to block out a noisy neighbour’s chainsaw, whilst piping in some music – peace!
I saw a few comments on the durability of the headphones – I have used them pretty much every day for the last year for anything up to an hour, they are in perfect condition – as new, unmarked and as comfortable to wear as on day 1.
The way forward
I used to use a cabled expensive pro set of headphones, however having managed to pull the cable out as the input was in the centre of the tv I damaged the input, although it’s being repaired I decided to have a go with these no wire blu tooth phones, this seemed to have the most positive reviews and seeing as they were a little over 200 I got them.
Not thinking for one minute they would be as good as my pro studio pair I was delighted to decide that they will be my late night headphones for tv for the duration!
Easy to pair and pair to iPhone so you can change the eq on the film, or switch to the iPhone to listen to iTunes and many other streaming music platforms.
Charge lasts for ages, when needed plug them in (buy a longer cable) and keep them in my draw.
If I want to go out and use them that’s all good as well, a lot of people want to exercise using them.
Impressed at that price, and I’ve been used to phones at 3x there price.
Actual noise cancelling
Working from home I needed something to remove the sounds of others around the house so I went much more expensive than I really wanted to as other noise cancelling headphones I’d tried weren’t that effective. These really do cancel out the noise. My kids can have their TV on at normal volume in the next room and I will barely hear it. My wife can be having a conference call in another room and I won’t be able to make out what she is saying.
The battery life is fantastic, it’s great to not have to keep recharging them every day. They are comfortable, I wear them for hours at a time with no issues.
Playing music through them is really good too, they are a big step up standard earbuds – I don’t know how they compare to studio quality headphones but I can hear bass lines and individual instruments with the Sony’s that I don’t usually hear with standard speakers unless I’m listening through a proper stereo system.
I use them for phonecalls regularly and they work just fine although it is best to switch them from noise cancelling to adaptive control or it can be hard to hear yourself speak; but I think that is what that mode is for…
They are expensive, no doubting that but if you value the functionality it’s worth it.
Good sound, other issues
I got these and the Bose QC35 II, ended up keeping these.
The good:
1. Good sound. Not amazing, but good. I’m used to the Sony sound as I love my Sony earphones. When I first tried the Bose ones, they sounded different but also poorer quality in higher registers. These ones have the typical Sony sound, and no quality issues like the Boses had. I’d say these are not as good as the earphones, which are wired, but very nearly as good.
2. Noise cancellation. I don’t know if it’s any better than the Bose ones, but it’s definitely good. These days my neighbour has been tearing up his extension’s foundations. With the door to my room closed, and these headphones on, I can feel the jackhammer’s vibration in my desk without hearing any sound.
3. Zoom calls. It’s fine for that. From reading reviews it sounded like people had issues with this headset, but all I can say is that it works fine for me. I don’t use them out and about, but from my home office it’s perfectly fine. I would say the sound of my voice isn’t crystal clear; I’ve heard playbacks from recorded calls, and there is always a very slight distortion on the voice, but it’s slight and others think my sound is very clear.
The average:
1. Comfort. They’re ok but not as comfortable as the Bose headphones. I do find myself moving them around on my head from time to time as they start to annoy my head after a while. Bear in mind (a) I am bald, so that undoubtedly contributes; and (b) I wear them for about 10 hours straight most days. They’re definitely not uncomfortable headphones, just that they could be better.
2. TV watching. Prior to these headphones I used a much cheaper BT headset which had Bluetooth 5.0. I never noticed any sync delays with those. With these ones I do. However it isn’t consistent – sometimes I notice no delay at all, other times there seems to be a slight delay. It doesn’t bother me much, especially as I mostly watch subbed anime. But if TV watching is your primary purpose for these, then I’d choose another set that has BT 5.0 or higher.
3. The swipe functionality for volume and previous/next is kinda cool, but for some reason my swiping motion to put the volume up often enough does a “next” instead. Obviously the direction I’m moving my finger is the wrong angle, but I wouldn’t have this issue with proper buttons, so it can be a bit annoying.
The bad:
1. These headphones will connect automatically to my PC if bluetooth is enabled when they are switched on. That’s the only scenario where that happens. If BT is enabled after they are switched on, they won’t auto connect. If I move away from the PC and the connection drops, and I’m away for more than about 5 seconds, they won’t auto connect. On my TV, in no scenario will they ever auto connect. Both the Bose and my old cheaper headphones auto connected in all those scenarios.
2. Quality. I’m on my second pair of these. The first very quickly developed this strange issue where after about 30-60 minutes of being turned on, one of the ears would start making this sound I can only describe as a gentle blowing in my ear. Not consistent, sort of as if you were listening to waves on the shore or something. Turning off and back on wouldn’t get rid of it, however leaving off for a prolonged period e.g. overnight would, though it would be back not long after it was turned on again the next day. This is only an issue when noise cancelling is enabled. From reading online it appears this is an issue more than a few have experienced with this model, and there doesn’t appear to be a known fix.
I returned it and got another one in its place. I have actually experienced the same thing briefly a couple of times with this new headset, but that’s it – the rest of the time it’s been perfectly fine. So I decided to keep it, especially as my company is paying for it, but there does appear to be some underlying problem with the noise cancelling functionality of this model.
So why these over the Bose QCs?
1. Sound is much better on the Sonys. Both for music and TV.
2. Zoom calls on the PC with the QCs were bizarre – as soon as the mic was enabled (i.e. any time it goes into recording mode, e.g. as soon as you join a Zoom call), it would actually play in my ears any sounds the mic picked up, instead of only transmitting them as “outgoing” audio. So on any call I’d constantly be getting an amped up “room environment” sound in my ears, any typing I did would be super loud, etc. Not a zoom issue as I could recreate it by putting them in recording mode outside of zoom. I tried to find a solution, tried various things I found online to address this, but none of it worked. Also, I never had this issue with any other headset I used on this PC, just the QCs.
For those reasons I went with the Sonys.
Awesome Cans at A Great Price now
So I have been using these for over a week now and as per most reviews these are an impressive set of headphones. These were an upgrade to my beats solo 3 and it’s incredible just how much better these are. Originally I upgraded to the beats studios but sent them back with total disappointment as they didn’t sound as good as my solo 3.
So onto the unboxing and the first thought was how good they feel in hand they really feel like a quality well made set of phones, the earcup foam is so soft I really hope it will stand the test of time we will see.
Chose these over the MX4 due to the price difference and after reading the reviews there’s really not that much difference in fact some people who have upgraded to the mx4 from the mx3 have said they preferred these.
So set up is a breeze you only have to connect to your device once via your devices settings then every time you switch on the headphones they should connect again automatically this has been the case for me so far.
Once set up put them on and the first thing you notice is just how comfortable this set is I mean they are just so comfy you hardly know you have them on.
Personally I find them just as if not more comfy than the bose QC so no worries there.
The next thing you will notice is the noise cancellation which is phenomenal. I have enjoyed wearing these on the train on the commute and you seriously can hardly hear the train, they do a good job of cutting out the voices of others to a decent level which also makes me really happy.
So onto the sound a very important factor. It’s brilliant a really decent bass, not as bass heavy as the beats which is a good thing indeed. Really nice mids which the beats lack completely and highs are crisp clear. Very impressed with the sound on these absolutely thrilled for the price.
Now the controls, well this is taking a bit of getting used to and I have not mastered it yet and am sure with a bit more practice and getting used to something new it will be fine. Unlike the beats there are no physical buttons but rather swiping on or tapping on the right earcup is how you control these.
Also there is an app to fine tune everything which i really like great feature.
So overall these give you more more than i expected I can highly recommend these cans as an upgrade from whatever but especially if you own a set of beats and thinking of upgrading just go for i
Bought these to replace a pair of dropped and broken much loved Sony MDR1BT headphones. Surprised that the sound quality of the XM3 was not quite as good as the MDR1BT especially with high bitrate music files played via wired c/w a headphone amp.
Putting that aside the noise cancellation is top notch for wireless listening and to be fair the sound clarity is excellent with plenty of punchy bass for my tastes.
The earpieces can also get rather sweaty with prolonged use especially on a hot day.
Battery life is on another level to anything I’ve used before. I’m still on my first charge after a week of daily use.
The touch controls on the right earpiece will take some time to get used to, not that I’m a great user of this function. The Google assistant works as expected and can be useful if your into utilising it.
Haven’t used the headphones during a call yet so can’t comment on how good the quality is.
All round I’m more than happy with my purchase so far.
Originally, I went with the Bose. After all Bose make some of the best in sound, right?! Wrong! Everything about the Bose 700s that is wrong (from Bluetooth instability issues, to build quality problems, to bizarre behaviour with the headphone controls, to limp unimpressive sound) Sony has managed to get right with the XM3’s.
I bought the XM3’s with fairly low expectations to be honest. If Bose left me unimpressed, what chance do Sony have? Well, Sony… You have certainly impressed. The Sound is wonderful, noise cancelling phenomenal, in 6 weeks not a single issue. The only issue I have now is that I really hate taking the XM3’s off – life is just better with these cans on!
Pros
– great sound quality & ANC
– good bass
– bluetooth feature works well and sound quality is great.
– this is more affordable compared to the new version WH-1000XM4
– good clean design. Doesn’t stick out and better looking than the rival product imo.
– good response to changes in equaliser settings from phone app. It can sound very different according to settings.
– never experienced latency.
Cons
– peak of head hurts after long use.
– lack of multi-device connectivity. Only one at a time.
– sound leaks out a lot. Don’t think I could use it in the office without interrupting other people unless I listen at low volume.
– Mic for phone calls can sound distanced. People have found it difficult to hear me well. Used for iPhone.
I think it’s a great buy overall, and it has been good for working from home with music to stay motivated.
I am very happy with my purchase of Sony noise cancelling headphone (Sony WH-1000XN3).
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown since last year, I have been quite happily placed under ‘Hikikomori’ mode in my room studying and working. The only issue has been that my room is situated on the side of the road and I have zero tolerance to noise of various kinds, which include traffic noise outside my house day and night by big lorries, noisy motorbikes and cars driving above the speed limit often blasting music out loud, people’s slamming the car doors after getting out of the car, people walking and talking (quite often loudly on mobile), screaming and shouting school kids on the road during school run, walkers with barking/yapping dogs , and many more etc. Even with the secondary glazing installed on the windows, my study/ work still gets constantly interrupted by the noise outside, which has driven me almost insane! Then I came across this noise cancelling headphone while trying desperately to find any solution to alleviate the noise issue.
The headphone really works by shutting most of the unwanted noise out. It doesn’t mean it will be 100% noise free depending on where you are, but it actually takes the edge off the unpleasant noise when I wear it and it’s almost as if I were sitting in a soundproof room. The good thing is that when I wear it in my room, I no longer hear most of the noise I mentioned above and I can now concentrate on my study/ work. If you have an aversion to noise like me while trying to concentrate on your study or work in a room, this is the one for you to buy!
The price mark at 200+ pounds may put off some people, but you won’t be disappointed with the product. There is also an ambient sound option too, but I would prefer not to use it as simply wearing it paired with my laptop or other device is sufficient enough for me. Battery power is long enough for me too. Having worn it over 1 week (using on average 4 — 5 hours a day), I still have 20% battery power left.
In terms of the comfort level of wearing this headphone, I am quite happy wearing it over long hours (around 1 hour+ at a time). I have large ears and it has taken me a few days to get used to the headphone first, but my large ears fit into the headphone cups just about, so it doesn’t give me discomfort or pain, provided that I take a little break at regular interval. The only tiny issue could be that it may generate heat for wearing it for a long period of time. It’s not so bad in the winter time (at the time of writing this review), however I would be interested to find out the comfort level when I use it during the summer time (or the nasty heatwave).
Some people may use the headphone outside, but I would very much prefer to use it indoors. I have also tried and tested listening to a variety of music (pop, rock, classical, Jazz and opera from my collection) from my laptop. The sound quality is good enough for me, after all I purchased the headphone purely for noise cancelling effect, so I am not that bothered about if it provides a mega bass sound effect etc. The headphone is a heaven sent and I have to make sure to take good care of it for the longevity.
I am very happy with my purchase of Sony noise cancelling headphone (Sony WH-1000XN3).
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown since last year, I have been quite happily placed under ‘Hikikomori’ mode in my room studying and working. The only issue has been that my room is situated on the side of the road and I have zero tolerance to noise of various kinds, which include traffic noise outside my house day and night by big lorries, noisy motorbikes and cars driving above the speed limit often blasting music out loud, people’s slamming the car doors after getting out of the car, people walking and talking (quite often loudly on mobile), screaming and shouting school kids on the road during school run, walkers with barking/yapping dogs , and many more etc. Even with the secondary glazing installed on the windows, my study/ work still gets constantly interrupted by the noise outside, which has driven me almost insane! Then I came across this noise cancelling headphone while trying desperately to find any solution to alleviate the noise issue.
The headphone really works by shutting most of the unwanted noise out. It doesn’t mean it will be 100% noise free depending on where you are, but it actually takes the edge off the unpleasant noise when I wear it and it’s almost as if I were sitting in a soundproof room. The good thing is that when I wear it in my room, I no longer hear most of the noise I mentioned above and I can now concentrate on my study/ work. If you have an aversion to noise like me while trying to concentrate on your study or work in a room, this is the one for you to buy!
The price mark at 200+ pounds may put off some people, but you won’t be disappointed with the product. There is also an ambient sound option too, but I would prefer not to use it as simply wearing it paired with my laptop or other device is sufficient enough for me. Battery power is long enough for me too. Having worn it over 1 week (using on average 4 — 5 hours a day), I still have 20% battery power left.
In terms of the comfort level of wearing this headphone, I am quite happy wearing it over long hours (around 1 hour+ at a time). I have large ears and it has taken me a few days to get used to the headphone first, but my large ears fit into the headphone cups just about, so it doesn’t give me discomfort or pain, provided that I take a little break at regular interval. The only tiny issue could be that it may generate heat for wearing it for a long period of time. It’s not so bad in the winter time (at the time of writing this review), however I would be interested to find out the comfort level when I use it during the summer time (or the nasty heatwave).
Some people may use the headphone outside, but I would very much prefer to use it indoors. I have also tried and tested listening to a variety of music (pop, rock, classical, Jazz and opera from my collection) from my laptop. The sound quality is good enough for me, after all I purchased the headphone purely for noise cancelling effect, so I am not that bothered about if it provides a mega bass sound effect etc. The headphone is a heaven sent and I have to make sure to take good care of it for the longevity.
Not disappointed
I tend to always buy Sony, mainly for compatibility across devices, but also for the general assurance of quality and this product is no exception.
Everything is as expected or better than I might’ve hoped. I’m no expert on sound engineering to give any kind of professional opinions on sound quality however from my layman perspective the sound is as I’d hoped, the noise cancelling is unbelievably effective and the ambient sound feature is also fantastic, as mostly I wear the headset out and about on walks.
I can still hear everything around me from birds to cars and traffic, fellow pedestrians, all of it blends together seamlessly yet somehow remaining distinctive and identifiable. My only gripe would be the necessary yet tiny provided USB C cable as needed for the fast-charging feature as I understand it.
Other than that the headset has exceeded my albeit humble expectations and then some.
Took a chance on these as I was at the end of my tether with very noisy neighbours coupled with the fact noise just comes through my walls like they’re made of paper. I had at one point been on the brink of spending thousands of pounds on sound proofing the walls but in the end decided against it as I wasn’t confident even expensive sound proofing would actually work. In the end , instead of spending thousands on soundproofing my walls I spent 240 on these noise cancelling headphones. And they really do work! Wow. I’d never owned a pair of noise cancelling headphones before and was a bit sceptical. But my mind is blown by how much noise they block out.The constant 24/7 chatter from my neighbours is blocked out when I have these headphones on even if just the noise cancelling without music.They’ve saved my sanity.
The quality of sound when playing music is beyond fantastic- simply wonderful and a huge choice of settings with the equaliser using the app.
The headphones are really comfortable and I can wear them for hours without them irritating me like some headphones do.
I have waited a couple of months after purchase to write this review. Are these great headphones? Absolutely the noise cancelling and sound quality are superb. Are they worth 200+? I’m not so sure. To get the best out of the headphones you have to use the Sony app.
1 You can save 2 custom EQ’s for your listening preferences however the app does not recall what specific EQ was last used and always defaults to none. So any time you start using the headphones be prepared to go back into the app and choose your EQ
2 You can only connect one device to the headphones at any given time (I believe with the xm4s you can have two). This means when listening to your tv through the headphones, you are unable to change any settings without disconnecting the tv and reconnecting your phone through the app. You would have to do this several times to find your desired settings for any given video you are watching.
These 2 issues should be a simple software update but given these headphones are now a few years old I would have thought this would have been dealt with by now.
3 If like me, you are using these for home recording purposes, you are of course going to require a longer cable. Due to the design of these headphones, not all standard cables with fit in to the socket. After trying two different types, I resorted to buying an extension cable and using that along with the cable supplied with the headphones. Not exactly a major hardship but for this price I would not expect these issues.
Anyway, great headphones but there are some issues.
I’ve had my Beats Solo3 Headphones for almost 3 years now and I needed an upgrade so I started looking for quality rather than just ‘hype’ stuff that look good. After reading too many articles, reviews, lists ranking best headphones, it was clear that Sony was a winner at the top of the headphone market.
If you’re here because you’re on somewhat of a budget and don’t want to spend over 300 for the latest 4th generation of these headphones, don’t worry you’re not downgrading. These are amazing and were ahead of their time back in 2019, and are still ahead of their time now in comparison to other big brands like Beats or dare I say the new Apple AirPods Max (over 500 :o).
Noise cancellation works wonders. If you haven’t used it before, you’ll get used to it very quickly after a few headaches. It’s refreshing to just have silence, especially if you’ve been stuck at home with your loud family due to Covid. There are so many settings and features you can put on noise cancellation too with the app for these headphones. It’s pretty easy to use, connectivity is quick and simple. The download for the software update did take a while but no more than an hour (might be due to WiFi or connectivity issues).
Sound quality is great, bass is perfect and a little heavy just like I like it, but, again, with settings you can customise the bass and treble and everything to what you like, and you can save those to backup for future use instead of continuously changing it. A huge upgrade from my Beats.
The right ear is touchpad controls. You can pause and play, volume up and down, skip forwards and backwards. While this is pretty convenient, when I lay down in my bed or brush the touchpad by mistake, it pauses or skips. Seems pretty touch sensitive. I’m more traditional and would prefer simple buttons so these type of accidents don’t happen, but I understand that these are travel headphones so people this is marketed towards aren’t likely to be sleeping with them on or whatnot.
They feel a little plasticity – because they’re made with a plastic finish – but the second you put them on I swear it feels like a pillow. They’re incredibly comfy, I feel like my face is getting hugged. Not sure about durability since I haven’t had them that long to test that out, but so far so good. They look great, they sit around your neck perfectly too, you can turn the ears inwards.
One thing that confuses me is the case, because the headphones don’t completely fold in. It’s like a semi-fold. Either have them open or closed Sony. But you can easily buy different cases on Amazon that fit these perfectly.
The differences between MX3 and MX4 is very small and not worth any extra 100 in my opinion. These are already advanced in the industry, you don’t need to spend more. These are perfect if you’re looking for noise cancelled experience away from reality and just an everyday pair. If you’re looking for better sound quality for music, I would suggest checking out Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Pioneer. Music production headphones are probably the best if you want the highest quality of music.
I’ve had my Beats Solo3 Headphones for almost 3 years now and I needed an upgrade so I started looking for quality rather than just ‘hype’ stuff that look good. After reading too many articles, reviews, lists ranking best headphones, it was clear that Sony was a winner at the top of the headphone market.
If you’re here because you’re on somewhat of a budget and don’t want to spend over 300 for the latest 4th generation of these headphones, don’t worry you’re not downgrading. These are amazing and were ahead of their time back in 2019, and are still ahead of their time now in comparison to other big brands like Beats or dare I say the new Apple AirPods Max (over 500 :o).
Noise cancellation works wonders. If you haven’t used it before, you’ll get used to it very quickly after a few headaches. It’s refreshing to just have silence, especially if you’ve been stuck at home with your loud family due to Covid. There are so many settings and features you can put on noise cancellation too with the app for these headphones. It’s pretty easy to use, connectivity is quick and simple. The download for the software update did take a while but no more than an hour (might be due to WiFi or connectivity issues).
Sound quality is great, bass is perfect and a little heavy just like I like it, but, again, with settings you can customise the bass and treble and everything to what you like, and you can save those to backup for future use instead of continuously changing it. A huge upgrade from my Beats.
The right ear is touchpad controls. You can pause and play, volume up and down, skip forwards and backwards. While this is pretty convenient, when I lay down in my bed or brush the touchpad by mistake, it pauses or skips. Seems pretty touch sensitive. I’m more traditional and would prefer simple buttons so these type of accidents don’t happen, but I understand that these are travel headphones so people this is marketed towards aren’t likely to be sleeping with them on or whatnot.
They feel a little plasticity – because they’re made with a plastic finish – but the second you put them on I swear it feels like a pillow. They’re incredibly comfy, I feel like my face is getting hugged. Not sure about durability since I haven’t had them that long to test that out, but so far so good. They look great, they sit around your neck perfectly too, you can turn the ears inwards.
One thing that confuses me is the case, because the headphones don’t completely fold in. It’s like a semi-fold. Either have them open or closed Sony. But you can easily buy different cases on Amazon that fit these perfectly.
The differences between MX3 and MX4 is very small and not worth any extra 100 in my opinion. These are already advanced in the industry, you don’t need to spend more. These are perfect if you’re looking for noise cancelled experience away from reality and just an everyday pair. If you’re looking for better sound quality for music, I would suggest checking out Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Pioneer. Music production headphones are probably the best if you want the highest quality of music.
Sound Quality: Sound is as you would expect for a 200+ headphones, Amazing. I had Sony WH-CH700N before this and this one blew it out of the water. Can hear parts of songs I never knew existed and really does sound 4D. Bass and treble can be adjusted via an app and they have pre-set surround functions which helps adapt to what you are listening to.
Build Quality: Very nicely built with a nice smooth finish to it. Very stylish and soft on the ears.
Noise Cancelation: Can hardly hear anything outside (Good thing). It auto adapts to your surrounding making sure it takes the white noise away from the background but can still faintly hear people when you have no sound playing from the headphones. Takes away any train noises or car noises. Id assume it would take the sound of a plane away when on it.
Battery life: Last a long time so you don’t need to worry about charging it every day. If you constantly use it for work or running then you only need to charge once a week and it will also tell you when its running out of battery so I doesn’t leave you stranding when you need it the most.
Overall 5/5, well worth the money spent on it.
All-round excellent product.
I’d been after some decent headphones for a while, as my previous (non-Sony) headphones had broken. Found these and have been using them ever since. Noise cancellation is excellent – whenever a loud noise is detected, the NC immediately kicks in. Audio quality is superb – I’ve got a B&O speaker and the audio quality is on par with that. Only minor issue I have is that connecting & reconnecting to different devices is a bit of a hassle (but no more so than other Bluetooth headphones) – it would be useful to be able to connect to several devices at the same time and have audio play from whichever device is playing audio. Battery life is superb as well – I listen to music regularly while working & I only need to charge the headphones every 4 days or so – if you only use them for a few hours per day, you could easily go a full week without having to charge it.
Overall, a fantastic product and it’s hard to see how other companies can match it, let alone produce a better product.
I have access in my household to BOTH the Bose QuietComfort 35ii and this Sony WH-1000XM3 headset. Both sound similar to me for listening to music straight out of the box and I prefer the Bose for the sound and comfort. This is my personal preference.
Active Noise Cancellation ANC: While both are excellent, I must say Sony has exceeded on this front in how their app allows one to mix the level of ambient room noise into the music being listened to. You can cancrl all noise or allow some through via the Sony app. Bose only give you 3 settings for this via the app, and I find Sony’s is more functional for me in that regard. But Bose cancels all noise out completely as well and I have tested it with the washing machine on as well, which I could hear but it wasn’t jarring.
APP: Sony wins, more functionality and controls over Bose. The Sony app allows you to adjust your music more granularly using their enhanced software so you can have more Bass, concert, arena mode etc.
Comfort: Bose wins hands down. Bose feels lighter on the ears and is in my view one of the most comfortable pair of headsets I have worn. Bose you can wear for hours. With Sony, sadly my ears got warm, cups are not as breathable.
Overall winner for me is Bose because I like their sound and I love their comfort.
If you like enhanced Bass, then Sony app allows you to get enhanced bass levels via their software so you will like it for that.
Verdict: I will be using use Bose more regularly as I prefer their sound and I like the design and most importantly, comfort.
Now that I have left the honeymoon phase I can safely say that these are trhe best headphones I have owned overall. Which, of course is extremely anecdotal information. The sound quality is good accross the board, particularly for wireless cans.
The noise-cancelling is very good for the most part, completely dampening all ambient noise, completely erasing it with mid to low volume music. The only criticism I have for the noise-cancelling is that it goes a bit weird after sudden temperature change. If they have been warm indoors for hours, and you go outside wearing them during the winter the noise cancelling seems to bug out for the 20 seconds or so, which is honestly nothing.
Another issue with the noise-cancelling is that very loud sudden noises sometimes somehow get through the noise-cancelling. I have noticed this mostly with glass. It can be jarring and uncomfortable due to the rest of the world being almost mute until this happens. This has mostly happened when closing the front door of my house, and also when unloading the dishwasher and putting glasses back in the cupboard, if they clink together.
The battery lasts as long as I would ever need it to, probably not quite 30 hours, but easily a full day and a half of intense usage. A woman disables all sound output at 20% to tell you that the battery is low and you should recharge, and again at 10%. I find her a little obnoxious, a quick chime would be better, rather than making it impossible to hear anything for 3-4 seconds, particularly if you are using the headphones for a call.
As far as comfort goes, these are above average. I haven’t had any issues personally, I could wear them literally all day with no issues, provided my ears got a few breaks just so they can breathe a little; not because of pain. I find them very comfortable, but I usually have less issues than most with headphone comfort.
The only other critiques I have of the Sony1000xm3’s is that the headband has a cushion of foam which can’t be removed or replaced, meaning that if it eventually decays or goes bad, you are stuck with it. Mine is still nice and fresh, but it has only been one year, and I try to clean the pads and band with an alcohol wipe weekly. It is also annoying that it is not capable of being paired with multiple devices simultaenously.
Overall. Despite Sony’s silly product names, I love the Sony WH1000-XM3’s, very close to the perfect wireless headphones for me. XM4’s do not seem worth the upgrade for me, and I am quite happy to continue using the XM3’s for years to come.
I will update this review should they ever die, or if I retire them to give an indicator of the XM3’s lifespan.
Now that I have left the honeymoon phase I can safely say that these are trhe best headphones I have owned overall. Which, of course is extremely anecdotal information. The sound quality is good accross the board, particularly for wireless cans.
The noise-cancelling is very good for the most part, completely dampening all ambient noise, completely erasing it with mid to low volume music. The only criticism I have for the noise-cancelling is that it goes a bit weird after sudden temperature change. If they have been warm indoors for hours, and you go outside wearing them during the winter the noise cancelling seems to bug out for the 20 seconds or so, which is honestly nothing.
Another issue with the noise-cancelling is that very loud sudden noises sometimes somehow get through the noise-cancelling. I have noticed this mostly with glass. It can be jarring and uncomfortable due to the rest of the world being almost mute until this happens. This has mostly happened when closing the front door of my house, and also when unloading the dishwasher and putting glasses back in the cupboard, if they clink together.
The battery lasts as long as I would ever need it to, probably not quite 30 hours, but easily a full day and a half of intense usage. A woman disables all sound output at 20% to tell you that the battery is low and you should recharge, and again at 10%. I find her a little obnoxious, a quick chime would be better, rather than making it impossible to hear anything for 3-4 seconds, particularly if you are using the headphones for a call.
As far as comfort goes, these are above average. I haven’t had any issues personally, I could wear them literally all day with no issues, provided my ears got a few breaks just so they can breathe a little; not because of pain. I find them very comfortable, but I usually have less issues than most with headphone comfort.
The only other critiques I have of the Sony1000xm3’s is that the headband has a cushion of foam which can’t be removed or replaced, meaning that if it eventually decays or goes bad, you are stuck with it. Mine is still nice and fresh, but it has only been one year, and I try to clean the pads and band with an alcohol wipe weekly. It is also annoying that it is not capable of being paired with multiple devices simultaenously.
Overall. Despite Sony’s silly product names, I love the Sony WH1000-XM3’s, very close to the perfect wireless headphones for me. XM4’s do not seem worth the upgrade for me, and I am quite happy to continue using the XM3’s for years to come.
I will update this review should they ever die, or if I retire them to give an indicator of the XM3’s lifespan.
I conducted some research on these and found the Sony noise cancelling chip to be far superior to any other. Was going to buy in store (curry’s pc world) so I could try myself but as is more frequently happening they didn’t have available stock so lost the sale. Amazon had them listed 34 cheaper anyways so 1:0 to me! The guy in store also advised these to be the best on the market. The only set I’ve found better are their replacement model the xm4 but at 100 cheaper I’ll take these. Sound quality, features, build all amazing. Unbelievable noise cancelling; had the wife on a call to a friend sat next to me, one tap of a button and she disappears (just the voice unfortunately ). Save the bother researching, I’ve done it for months! These are the ones to go for in this price bracket, if you can fill up the extra 100 replacement model within your budget then great but from where I am that’s the only thing beating these bad boys! Very well impressed
Given that these are pretty pricey, it took me a long time to summon up the courage to buy them. I did so on the recommendation of a work colleague, and haven’t regretted it. They do a great noise reduction job, particularly if that noise is a constant, relatively stable volume/pitch noise e.g. background road traffic, or aircraft cabin interior during flight. The bluetooth connection works reliably with my personal Android phone and tablet, a work-supplied iPad, and my Windows laptop. There is a downloadable app for both Android and iPad OS that will help with the setup and pairing.
The battery life is very impressive (about 30 hours), being the best, by far, of the all the top-quality headphones out there at the time I purchased it. Additionally, just 10 minutes of charging will get you around 5 hours of use – very handy!
Even if the battery is completely depleted, the item can still function as a ‘basic’ headset by plugging it in using the supplied mini-plug cable (assuming of course, the device you are plugging it in to has a mini-plug socket – so many newer devices don’t!). Of course, a depleted battery means you won’t have the noise reduction facility, but you can still listen to whatever it is you are plugged in to.
If you can stretch to the price, recommended!
Good Sound, Easy To Pair, Light & Comfortable to Wea
I appear to have just bought an excellent pair of 1000X-M3’s although it seems this is not a given reading the reviews of the various Wireless headphones. I had a pair of PX’s which constantly broke Bluetooth connection which had to be immediately returned to Amazon.
I am also taking into account that at least half of what I paid has been spent on the Wireless/Noise Cancelling/App etc so you cannot expect the M3 to perform on par with a 230 headphone (what I paid as the release of the new M4 has reduced the price pof the M3).
With my Samsung S20, I’m using LDAC high quality music, Ambient is off, NC on and with only WAV lossless music the music sounds great. Only a little more bass than I would prefer but most like a good amount of bass even those buying very expensive audiophile headphoned at +1,000. The mids for vocals are nice and open, there is enough treble so I’m happy to forego the equaliser option on the app.
Testing the M3’s with their cable linked to my Chord Hugo 2 dac/amp and listening to Nightwish’s wonderful Midnight Sun track at the Tampere concert on YouTube, Floor Jansen’s voice sounded beautiful, the bass guitar was certainly discernible but not at all overpowering. This track is lossless and the additional quality was plain to hear compared to listening to Spotify Free. Again listening to Floor Jansen and Henk Poort singing Phantom of the Opera on YouTube was a pleasure so I suggest M3 owners try and listen to lossless music whenever possible as the benefit in sound quality is very worthwhile.
I agree with others when they complain about the lack of on/off light and I can see how this could lead to many unintentionally leaving their M3’s on until the battery runs down, Sony should provide an on/off light.
The M3’s come with a hard case, USB C charging cable (long enough for me!), an aircraft adapter and a 3.5mm cable. I already have a cheaper pair of AKG N60 Wireless NC’s but I wanted a better SQ, a little more sound isolation (my gaming computer is a bit noisy) and the Sony M3’s have ticked those boxes for me. They are also much more comfortable than the AKG N60’s which sit on my ears.
Straight off the bat, these are very good headphones!
To give you a brief overview of my experiences so far, i’ve had many headphones and become somewhat of a collector if you like, i just thoroughly enjoyed seeing what companies would bring out and enjoyed the unboxing experiences (not always) and that first listening experience. I have grown out of that now (to some extent) and have settled with just the 1 pair, my beloved V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless. I’ve tried B&O, B&W, Sennheiser, Blue (i don’t mean Bluedio, i had the Blue MoFi headphones), Beats (the originals when they were being done by Monster), House of Marley, Beyerdynamic, Master and Dynamic, Bose, V-Moda… nearly everything.
Now let me just be honest and say i didn’t buy these straight away. I tried out the B&W PX5s first because i am a huge fan of B&W and there on ears have previously been known to have a better sound quality and better bass then the over ears but although the sheer class remained in the unboxing experience and in the build quality of the PX5s i was extremely underwhelmed by the sound and their app which was a huge let down, i really hope they improve these as they are a quality brand and company!
I then opted for Beats. Why? because i’m in the Apple eco system and assumed they would be good. Silly. My first pair of beats ever we’re when they were partnered with Monster and these just delivered. When they got taken over by HTC it just went downhill. I would have hoped under Apple it would have picked up, and considering they are in their 3rd line off headphones now i’ve given them plenty of time but no. The airpods pro outperform them in every aspect. I have the airpods pro – i’ve tried many wireless earbuds but have found absolutely non, regardless of price, that have the stable connection you never ever have to worry about that the airpods have. And the pros have exceedingly good sound quality!
I then opted for Sony XM3s. I didn’t go for the Momentum’s because quite frankly they look like they just will not suit my head. It’s a non starter. I have had some Sony’s before which were underwhelming which is why i didn’t just jump at these straight away but my word, what a pair of headphones!! The app is so detailed, but not in a bad way, it’s intuitive and all making the overall experience with the headphones that much more enjoyable (you have to try it to understand). The standard sound quality is great, nothing to jump up and down about but clear with a nice clean bass. Then you get on to the EQ setting within the app…. this literally takes these headphones to another level. This isn’t your standard EQ like you may get in the settings part of your phone, this is proper! The EQ actually fully transforms the speaker in the headphones and makes them sound incredible depending on what your listening to. “Bright” is perfect if your listening to something like Butterfly Culture by Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Press the setting icon at the bottom, turn up the “Clear Bass” to 7 on the Bright EQ, then play your Electronic music or whatever your listening too which has deep bass and trust me, these will be thumping on your ears! I listened to Matriarch by Conduct and these were absolutely rumbling! There are times when you want to relax, so just put in the EQ “Relax” and chill out with some calm music from your playlist. There are times when your listening to something cool and easy but you really want to hear the detailed instruments, so put on “Bright”, there are times when you just want some proper thumping bass and to turn it up!! So wack on “Bright” and turn the Clear Bass up to 7. Your Welcome .
Overall, these are not the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless which are still my favourite headphones, but damn, these are good. You will be making an excellent choice getting these! the app is enjoyable, the EQs make these extremely customisable depending on your mood and what your listening too and these change the game, massively!
Straight off the bat, these are very good headphones!
To give you a brief overview of my experiences so far, i’ve had many headphones and become somewhat of a collector if you like, i just thoroughly enjoyed seeing what companies would bring out and enjoyed the unboxing experiences (not always) and that first listening experience. I have grown out of that now (to some extent) and have settled with just the 1 pair, my beloved V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless. I’ve tried B&O, B&W, Sennheiser, Blue (i don’t mean Bluedio, i had the Blue MoFi headphones), Beats (the originals when they were being done by Monster), House of Marley, Beyerdynamic, Master and Dynamic, Bose, V-Moda… nearly everything.
Now let me just be honest and say i didn’t buy these straight away. I tried out the B&W PX5s first because i am a huge fan of B&W and there on ears have previously been known to have a better sound quality and better bass then the over ears but although the sheer class remained in the unboxing experience and in the build quality of the PX5s i was extremely underwhelmed by the sound and their app which was a huge let down, i really hope they improve these as they are a quality brand and company!
I then opted for Beats. Why? because i’m in the Apple eco system and assumed they would be good. Silly. My first pair of beats ever we’re when they were partnered with Monster and these just delivered. When they got taken over by HTC it just went downhill. I would have hoped under Apple it would have picked up, and considering they are in their 3rd line off headphones now i’ve given them plenty of time but no. The airpods pro outperform them in every aspect. I have the airpods pro – i’ve tried many wireless earbuds but have found absolutely non, regardless of price, that have the stable connection you never ever have to worry about that the airpods have. And the pros have exceedingly good sound quality!
I then opted for Sony XM3s. I didn’t go for the Momentum’s because quite frankly they look like they just will not suit my head. It’s a non starter. I have had some Sony’s before which were underwhelming which is why i didn’t just jump at these straight away but my word, what a pair of headphones!! The app is so detailed, but not in a bad way, it’s intuitive and all making the overall experience with the headphones that much more enjoyable (you have to try it to understand). The standard sound quality is great, nothing to jump up and down about but clear with a nice clean bass. Then you get on to the EQ setting within the app…. this literally takes these headphones to another level. This isn’t your standard EQ like you may get in the settings part of your phone, this is proper! The EQ actually fully transforms the speaker in the headphones and makes them sound incredible depending on what your listening to. “Bright” is perfect if your listening to something like Butterfly Culture by Benjamin Francis Leftwich. Press the setting icon at the bottom, turn up the “Clear Bass” to 7 on the Bright EQ, then play your Electronic music or whatever your listening too which has deep bass and trust me, these will be thumping on your ears! I listened to Matriarch by Conduct and these were absolutely rumbling! There are times when you want to relax, so just put in the EQ “Relax” and chill out with some calm music from your playlist. There are times when your listening to something cool and easy but you really want to hear the detailed instruments, so put on “Bright”, there are times when you just want some proper thumping bass and to turn it up!! So wack on “Bright” and turn the Clear Bass up to 7. Your Welcome .
Overall, these are not the V-Moda Crossfade 2 Wireless which are still my favourite headphones, but damn, these are good. You will be making an excellent choice getting these! the app is enjoyable, the EQs make these extremely customisable depending on your mood and what your listening too and these change the game, massively!
Simply incredible. The sound quality on these is exceptional – I tested it out on some of my favourite songs and it was so good I had the hairs on my neck stand up!
I mainly bought these for long haul flights. I’ve done 12hrs to Mauritius with these (13hr battery life so figured it was a great test) and a 9hr Chicago – both ‘sleeper service’ night flights on the way home.
I almost bought the Bose option but didn’t like the design of the newer model and felt the QCs seemed a bit dated compared to this. I tried them out in a shop before ordering on Amazon and these were the solid winners at that time.
Set Up
The packaging is great and the quality of the headphones are the best I’ve seen and hands down are built better than the Bose ones.
A little frustrating to set up to begin with – you have to download 2 apps that will work with the headphones and then set them up using this. Took about 10mins or so but it had a lot of options for level of noise cancellation etc etc.
Quality
The headphones are crisp, clear – great on the bass and all round gives exceptional sound for movies and music
Comfort
Great padding around the ears, little sore after a few hours of wearing them around the top of my head where the headband bit goes. Perhaps I need to loosen the headband one more notch on each side but it was the same on both long haul sets of flights – after a few hrs it was nice to take them off a bit.
Noise Cancelling
Exceptional. Sat on a Boeing 777-200ER running GE90 engines and sat in the centre of the aircraft at the window looking at the engines is noisy. For the second flight I was in a Boeing 787-9 Dtreamliner (known to be a lot quieter than older aircraft so figured it was a great comparison).
After takeoff I put my Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones on and left them on for at least 3-4hrs or so. When I took them off I didn’t realise how loud the aircraft actually was! It was so quiet and nicely insulated from the noise wearing the headphones that when I took them off it sounded and felt like I was hanging out the window! I had the same experience on the 787 too. The noise cancelling is exceptionally good and easily class-beating.
Quirks
One thing that I still don’t get is every now and again when using the headphones for at least an hour I get a ding noise from the headphones – and it’ll randomly turn passive hearing on or off itself. Bit random and when it happens – a little frustrating.
Features
It has sensors in the sides allowing you to brush the sides up, down, sideways etc to change things like volume, song, passive mode etc.
Passive mode is particularly good – it activates microphones on the headphones that allow you to have a conversation with people – for example, the cabin crew – whilst leaving the headphones on. I tried it and it works really really well but the one thing I kept thinking was “I know this has passive chat but this cabin crew girl doesn’t” so took them off out of fear for coming across as rude!
Battery
Says it’ll last for about 13hrs and it sure does! Amazing battery life