today's review is on the new sony wh-1000xm4
noise canceling wireless headphones when sony introduced the xm3 back in 2018 it
changed everyone's expectation of what noise
cancelling headphones could sound like the new xm4 looks similar to the xm3
but the improvements sony made have raised the bar even higher
sony listed lots of user feedback from previous xm3 owners
and they delivered everything we were hoping for in this new model
we'll break down all the cool new technology inside right here
as always if you want to read more be sure to click the link in the
description to be taken to our full written review on audioadvice.com at the
bottom of the full written version of this review there's a chart
that breaks down all the major differences between the xm4
and the previous model so be sure to check that out and if you purchase the
new sony xm4 from our website you'll receive
our exclusive tips and tricks video that shows you how to get up and running
fast now let's get started
the new xm4 has the same understated design of the previous model
but there are several changes to the build quality first we'll cover the
similarities the new xm4 comes in black or silver
color options both feature the same shiny copper or
gold scheme around the sony logo and the ventilation ports on top of the ear cups
overall the accents are small but they retain the headphones sophisticated look
and we like that there's not much that has changed here in the box
sony includes a 3.5 millimeter stereo mini plug
an airline adapter and a short usb type a to usb c
charging cable also the same soft shell travel case that was bundled with the
xm3 is here there's no change to the
placement of the buttons but the one that was originally labeled
nc ambient is now labeled custom in the sony headphones app you can
reprogram this to toggle between noise canceling and a transparency mode that
allows sound from the outside world into your headset you can also program
this to toggle amazon alexa or google assistant and if you purchase
the xm4 from us you'll receive our exclusive tips and
tricks video where we'll show you how to set this up
there's still a headphone jack on the left ear cup and a usb
c port for charging the xm4 the most notable change is behind the left ear
cup where there's a proximity sensor this sensor works with a new feature
called wear detection which senses when you are wearing the
headphone so that the music pauses automatically
or resumes playback based on wearing status
the ear cups still swivel and fold so that they fit inside the carrying case
with the included accessories the foldable structure made the previous
version easy to store and carry around with you without the
case so we're glad to see nothing's changed on this
front there are however a few very small alterations to the headband
if you look closely at the point where the yoke joins the headband there's a
small section of plastic that was prone to cracking issues in the original xm3
but sony has re-engineered it with a thicker section that reinforces this
point for superior support and durability sony has also slightly
reduced the padding on top of the headband
to reduce clamping force and pressure on top of your head
the weight is now more evenly distributed around your ears which is
exactly what you want when re-engineering a headphone to feel more
comfortable the next subtle alteration makes the
most impact to your comfort the new xm4 features larger ear cups
that cover about 10 percent more surface area around your ears
that may not sound like a lot but having more room inside the earcup chamber
means your ears will stay cooler for longer
i noticed the new xm4 let me exercise longer without needing to take as many
breaks for my ears to cool off if you like using noise cancelling
headphones to help you stay in the zone then this will be a nice improvement for
anyone wanting to use this to work out as a bonus the more stable fit from the
larger ear pads and the alterations to the headband
all added up to a slightly better sealing experience compared to the xm3
the sounds stayed locked in and the earpads did a great job
preventing outside noise from entering into the ear cups
not only did this improve the listening experience but the tighter sealing
condition improved the passive noise isolation as
well all of these improvements ultimately created a lighter and more
secure fitting headphone compared to the previous model there's a
lot of new features here to unpack so we'll
start with the ones that carried over from the xm3 to the new xm4 first
the great battery life you still get 30 hours of use with active noise
cancellation turned on and 38 hours when anc is disabled
when you stop wearing the xm4 the proximity sensor will detect this and
automatically power off the headphones for you
this new feature saves battery life and it really comes in handy whenever i put
it down and then came back to it later once the xm4 battery does die you still
get five hours of use from just a 10 minute quick
charge which is fantastic the new xm4 uses the same 40 millimeter
drivers so you still get that premium sony sound quality
that the xm3 had across a wide range of frequencies from 4 hertz to 40 kilohertz
the low end energy is well balanced the mid-range is full and punchy
and the highs are just as exciting as they were before but what's new
and exciting is bluetooth 5.0 this opens the door for connecting
with multiple audio sources over bluetooth and sony calls this
multi-point connectivity it means you can finally connect the xm4
with two bluetooth devices at the same time so let's say your
headset is connected to your laptop and then all of a sudden your phone
rings previously you would have had to remove your headphones to answer the
call or worse dig around inside your bluetooth pairing
settings to disconnect one device and pair the headphones with the other
but not anymore this actually enhanced my workflow in
the office because it allowed me to switch back and forth
between my music playing on my laptop and then the audio from an incoming call
on my phone seamlessly one of the biggest updates in
the xm4 is the improved microphone pattern too
there are now five voice capturing microphones instead of just four
and these all combine forces with sony's precise voice pickup technology
to cancel out more interference in the mid to high frequency range
so your voice stands out clearer to the other person
during calls my customers told me that the clarity and definition in my voice was
better isolated when i was using the xm4 people also told me the
reduction of background noises was significantly better on my calls
sony put two more microphones in the xm4 to capture even more ambient noise than
before so it could improve the noise
cancellation as well when out walking around in a vibrant city where there's
sirens honking cars and the sounds of people
talking all around you i was impressed with how well the xm4
canceled out these types of sounds compared to its predecessor wearing the
xm4 in these types of noisy environments is
like being in a private world these extra microphones also work with
the transparent mode that pipes in clear ambient sound from the outside
world whenever you need to hear what's going
on around you and this brings me to our favorite new feature to use
in and outside of the office speak to chat
speak to chat automatically pipes in ambient noise that you want to hear
just by speaking out loud it also pauses your music for you
the moment the voice capturing microphones detect your voice
whenever a colleague tapped me on the shoulder to discuss something
speak to chat made it extremely convenient to shift my attention to a
co-worker just by talking out loud and then once
the conversation was over i was back focusing on my work right
away the music resumed right where i left it
and this is a big hit in our office the only bad thing that i can really say
about this cool new feature is if you're like me and you like
singing out loud with your headphones on the extra microphones work
so well they will pause your music when you sing along to it
luckily speak to chat sensitivity can be adjusted or disabled entirely and our
exclusive video walks you through exactly how to do this
when you purchase the xm4 from our website
at audio advice we are big fans of noise cancelling headphones that can offer
great performance however most sacrifice great sound by choosing to focus on
their noise cancellation technology instead
the original sony mdr-1000x changed all of that
and it set a new standard in performance when sony introduced the wh-1000xm3
in 2018 it changed everyone's expectation again
of what noise-canceling headphones could sound like the new
xm4 may look similar to the xm3 but the improvements have raised the bar
once again now the best noise-canceling headphones are
even better you still get the same premium sound quality that made us all
fall in love with the xm3 plus exclusive features that were
co-developed with sony music studios in tokyo
like edge ai ldac dc extreme and 360 reality audio
but the additional microphones take sony's advanced noise cancelling
performance clear call quality and ambient noise
reduction to the next levels for the same price as its
predecessor we think the new wh 1000 xm4
is a lot more than a successor to the xm3
with so many improvements and useful features we are so impressed with the
xm4 many of us here at audio advice are using
these to help us focus at the office and at home
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