Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless noise-canceling headphones review

18 September 2020
Sony has brought minor improvements across the board and further refined what was already a good product.

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These (and the Bose 700) make both Sony and Bose earlier models a best buy, as their price has dropped, and new models aren't much of an improvement.
Bose QuietComfort 35 II already does a bluetooth piggyback sorta thing for around $200.
Sony 1000XM3 or Bose QuietComfort 35 II are good choices, and personal preference is the only tie breaker.

    Annas, 19 Sep 2020Right and i fully agree with you At 399$ Im waiting to see... moreYou know if it detects L/R, the comfort and ergonomy will be seriously diminished.

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      • Annas
      • nDy
      • 19 Sep 2020

      Sukhotaal, 18 Sep 2020This internet is full of lies firstly i see the revies of t... moreBased on your gramma its clear you dont understand English, so maybe all the reviewers say the same thing but you understand differently

        • A
        • Annas
        • nDy
        • 19 Sep 2020

        Anonymous, 19 Sep 2020For $350 I really don't know what I paid for.. The who... moreRight and i fully agree with you
        At 399$ Im waiting to see the Apple Studio with leather and steel, that has auto detection for L and R...magnetic cups auto pair and unpair, auto play and pause and so on

          • A
          • Annas
          • nDy
          • 19 Sep 2020

          Im waiting to see the Apple Studio that has auto detection for L and R...magnetic cups auto pair and unpair, auto play and pause and so on

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            • Fatalise
            • dNZ
            • 19 Sep 2020

            really nice and detailed review, I didn't know that LDAC with high res works just on really short distances.
            Myself I bought Marshall monitor II ANC and they are avesome, although the ANC isn't as advanced as SONY's mostly I you don't hear the difference, if you listen to music.
            But I agree, if you just wanna nice headphones, you can buy wired ones for 50$ that will sound same

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • 3Rs
              • 19 Sep 2020

              Firmware 2.0 and above had worse Noise Cancellation (NC) with WH-1000XM3.
              Mine came with 2.0 from box and it was worse than previous versions.
              Also many of those who upgraded from 1.4 faced same loss of NC.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • PZs
                • 19 Sep 2020

                Sukhotaal, 18 Sep 2020This internet is full of lies firstly i see the revies of t... morethe Internet is also full of truth ... just be comfortable with your tastebuds, the sweets and sours, how red how white how black, are always different from one person to the other

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • gWj
                  • 19 Sep 2020

                  For $350 I really don't know what I paid for.. The whole headset is all plastic, no premium materials anywhere. The sound was muddy at best, even after messing with the EQ. At least Best Buy has a 30 day return policy..

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                    • Shahar
                    • gDm
                    • 18 Sep 2020

                    Great review, too bad Sony removed the aptx support really bad decision!

                      Sukhotaal, 18 Sep 2020This internet is full of lies firstly i see the revies of t... moreNever heard of basic measurements?
                      https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#16490/3992/678

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                        • Sukhotaal
                        • rKN
                        • 18 Sep 2020

                        This internet is full of lies firstly i see the revies of these headphones on ratings site which is known to be most accurate they say that it has more bassy sound and gsmarena says it has less bassy sound which one to believe that's why i say internet is full of lies

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                          • Giovanni
                          • Qba
                          • 18 Sep 2020

                          Kangal, 18 Sep 2020The biggest letdown is the microphone. I'm holding th... moreYa I had a similar issue. The call quality is really bad when I connect to my PC but fine on my phone. It bugs when connected to PC in my opinion

                            Anonymous, 18 Sep 2020audio quality is poor. not as good as for example dt770, an... moreIt uses one simple dynamic driver, no planar, 250+ohm, BA or multiple drivers. Still I like how it sounds, its close to xm3, enough bass, enough highs. At least you don't need to use external dac, its more mobile.
                            Maybe someday will come open planar headphones with an anc, but anc is not there yet to be that useful i open headphones - not everyone got 50W dac yet, forget mobile one.

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • YQP
                              • 18 Sep 2020

                              Are you sure WH-1000XM4 have BT 5.1?

                                • d
                                • dao
                                • IbG
                                • 18 Sep 2020

                                I had the same issue with the airplane sound on the left earcup, but this was a defect according to Sony. Got it replaced and no longer hear that irritating sound.

                                  • p
                                  • pan
                                  • sxr
                                  • 18 Sep 2020

                                  am already good with not heavy bass sound...
                                  gsmarena really knows how to be nitpicky on sony products with their side comments as i found most as subjective... but at least it works like a warning not to expect that its the best can out there... which is again, a bit subjective...
                                  good enough with the details of the review, though it feels like halfbaked as it wasnt compared enough to the previous generation...

                                    • j
                                    • jezrite
                                    • gM$
                                    • 18 Sep 2020

                                    Like I've said before about these headphones, I'll reiterate and underscore my opinion - these are a DOWNGRADE! It's essentially the 2019 model being sold as the 2020 model with a few marginal, gimmicky "improvements" over the XM3s and major downgrades like lack of AptX support and poor battery life. Folks were hoping for something much grander after Sony made everyone wait 2 years for this, but they cheaped out big time - be it with the Mediatek chip which doesn't support AptX or AptX Adaptive, the same noise canceling chip, same (lesser) battery life, same design, same poor call quality and the list goes on....Needs to be seen if this still has the same old issues in cold weather like the XM3s. Really wish the competition for BT over the ear headphones heats up so that hyper-greedy companies are compelled to innovate and bring better features to market.

                                      The biggest letdown is the microphone.
                                      I'm holding them now, and it's really bugging me. They've fixed the bug where it was super-distorted, but now it's just a heavily-compressed low quality sound from the microphone. Plus, there's a notable lag in voicecalls, and not very loud, so you have to speak up.

                                      The Apple AirPod v2's are tiny compared to these, so Sony should see what they're doing there to get much more decent sound. The Bose 700's, I'm not a fan, but the microphone quality is also acceptable.

                                        Dear Mr Reviewer, 18 Sep 2020What breakthrough do you actually want to see from a pair o... moreGood sound, great soundstage, good mics for call, control scheme, durable materials and good value ... you know, the usual.
                                        Breakthrough would be if Sony would not release good ANC headphones, but exceptional headphones that have no competition.