Sony WH-1000XM4, the king of ANC Bluetooth headphones
Sony WH-1000XM4 premium ANC headphones.
I remember reviewing the original Sony MDR-1000X headphones in 2017 and being so impressed that I bought a pair for myself after I returned my review unit. The only real competitor for my money at the time with great sound quality and ANC (active noise cancellation) were the Bose QC35s.
I didn’t get the opportunity to review the successors to the original headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM2 or WH-1000M3, but I think most people who are considering the XM4s are like me who have used and loved the originals, but now feel it’s time for an upgrade.
The XM4s are not a dramatic change in terms of design over the originals. They come in black or off-white with soft earpads and a cushioned headband that provides superb comfort for long listening sessions. On my original, one side of the headband cracked and broke. I read others who have reported the same issue so it may have been a design flaw. However, the XM4 has much thicker material on the headband, so it’s good to see Sony has fixed the problem with the originals weak point.
My review unit was the off-white version and I love the style and look. The accents of gold on the Sony logo and around the external mics is a touch of class making them look premium.
On either earcup are the external mics that pick up ambient sound and of course your voice. There’s a USB-C port on the base of the right earcup which is used for charging along with the 3.5mm port for the audio cable for purists who prefer wired audio or for when the batteries run out of juice. However, you can have the best of both worlds by using the cable while powered on with ANC.
On the left is the power/pairing button, and a Custom button which by default controls ANC/Ambient modes. You can customise these settings using the free Sony Headphones app.
The XM4s use touch-based playback controls via the right outside pad of the earcup. These work far better than they did on the original which was prone to accidental inputs to the point it was annoying. Simply swipe up or down for volume control, swipe forward or back to skip a track, tap the centre twice for pause/play or answer/reject a call.Â
They also work with Apple Siri or Google Assistant by pressing and holding the centre. Sony has a proximity sensor built into the left ear cup which enables automatic pause/play when you take the headphones on and off. If you find this annoying, you can turn it off in the app.
Holding your hand over the right earcup will automatically turn the volume down and activate the external mics so that you can hear sounds around you or talk to someone without having to take off the headphones.
New to the XM4s is the speak-to-chat feature, which uses the external mics to great effect. This works, when enabled in the app, by detecting your voice and automatically pausing audio and then turn on the external mics so that you can have a conversation without having your hand over the headphones or taking them off.
I tested Sony’s 360 Reality Audio sound feature using Tidals 110, 360 soundtracks which included Elvis, The Wombats and Kodaline. These 360 tracks will work with many other headphones but Sony uses the app to customise the sound to your ears and actually takes photos of both your ears in the process.
You can now finally, connect the XM4s to two devices simultaneously. The only caveat is it only works with AAC. To save battery, the headphones will automatically turn off when inactive.
Active noise cancellation is exceptional and a distinct improvement over the original. You get full ANC and also a new Adaptive Sound Control which can make adjustments to the audio performance based on your environment and how loud or quiet it is.
The XM4s provide lots of customisation from all-out ANC performance to ambient sound controls. This provides the user with fantastic control of the sound in their environment from being able to block out all but voices to blocking out most sounds around you. The ANC is incredibly effective at reducing most sounds and when you play music, you can say goodbye to the world around you.
There’s also an improved automatic ANC tuning process which detects the pressure within each earcup and customises the ANC for optimal performance for an individual.
The app provides some custom settings including a five-band equaliser. You also get support for Edge-AI (Artificial Intelligence), DSEE Extreme (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) which improves compressed audio by using upscaling algorithms.
Bluetooth 5.0 is also present along with AAC, SBC and LDAC codecs, but unfortunately, it doesn’t support aptX like the originals. LDAC supports the highest bit rate of any codec and all the Android phones I tested the XM4s on defaulted to LDAC.
NFC is one of my favourite features on the original headphones and thankfully, it’s still present here on the XM4. I really don’t know why other headphones makers choose to leave it out. It makes pairing and switching so much easier.
Sony claims battery life up to 30 hours which is excellent, but with ANC turned on this goes down to a respectable 22 hours. A full charge from flat will take three hours, but a mere 10 minutes on the charger will see you good for up to five hours playtime.
I love that the XM4s comes in a hard-shell case which protections them. It has a fabric finish instead of the faux leather of the original. Inside the case are the headphones, a 3.5mm audio cable sans inline controls, and a USB-C charging, an airline jack adapter (not much use in 2020 but future-proof nonetheless).
Many will buy the WH-1000XM4s for its features but they sound exceptional too. I bought the originals over the Bose for this reason alone and the XM4 has made major improvements. I love the way Sony has tuned these headphones which offer improved bass and stunning clarity in the mids and highs. Only audio purist will find fault with these for sound and while we all have different tastes in music, the XM4 will suit the majority of listeners.
The WH-1000XM4 headphones are an improvement over the originals in almost all areas. The combination of all it’s features makes these the best headphones you can currently buy. They’re so enjoyable to listen to music on, watch videos and block out the world around you for a fully immersive experience.
Available now RRP €389
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