Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones with Mic for Phone-Call and Alexa Voice Control, Black WH1000XM4

Showing 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

1. 

   dvn – January 13, 2025

   I’ve lost 2 different pairs of in-ear TWS earphones (thankfully cheaper ones) so I decided to buy something large and harder to lose (lol). It was between this and the Bose QC45 for me. My primary headphones for 8 years now are the Audio Technica ATH-M50x which are a solid pair of wired neutral headphones, so I’ll use those as a reference for audio quality.Short read: Why I picked this over the Bose QC45 – sounds marginally better overall (with loads of room in the low end for those who like heavy bass), equally comfortable, better battery life, better app/customisability, and also a bit more discreet. I don’t want people knowing I’m carrying around pricey headphones so I’d rather have a pair of plain looking Sonys than a Bose pair that screams expensive. Also, the carrying case is actually pretty great and protects these well. I wear these headphones everywhere, even at the gym.- Amazing battery: LDAC + DSEE Extreme on gives me a full week of use with 2-3 hours of use per day, at around 60-70% volume. Nice to not have to worry about charging these all the time (uses USB-C).- Audio: Super weird out of the box- very boomy and muddy low-mids. I EQd this and it went from sounding like an average set to an incredible one. It’s just a bit bizarre to me that they’d hamstring this pair so severely out of the box when they’re capable of so much more.It has great frequency response and articulation, you’ll hear tons of detail once it is set up right, so credit to the drivers they’re using. I’m including an EQ preset for your reference, which should be good for blues, jazz, folk, country, and classical (anything with nice vocals). Compared to the M50x, they have much better bass so anyone into EDM will like this set as well.- Comfort: They’re wonderfully comfortable. Super light, doesn’t clamp your head or ears, and you can wear them for hours. The cushions are soft and don’t hurt your ears. Orders of magnitude more comfortable than my M50x, and easily the best other than the Bose QC line. You’ll forget you’re wearing them, they’re that neat.- ANC: They completely block out low hums and noises coming from fans, ACs, and in-flight rumble, even with no music playing. Makes sense since they seem to be designed primarily as travel/commute headphones. Voices and other sounds can still kinda be heard but are drowned out if you’re listening to music at anything above 30-40% volume. I don’t think it’s meant to block out these sounds, so I’m not particular about it. I can sit through an entire flight and hear nothing, which by itself is completely worth it to me.- Multipoint: works as advertised, I was able to use it fine with my Samsung Galaxy phone and Macbook pro upon testing. I don’t use this feature though since I prefer LDAC and that is only possible with multi-point off. However if MP is useful for you, know that it works pretty seamlessly.Conclusion: If you can afford these headphones, I would easily recommend them to you. They sound genuinely amazing for a wireless closed back pair, are very customisable, comfortable, and the battery lasts for days, literally. The ANC is best-in-class and made for frequent travelers. It’s one of those things that will last you years and years of use if you look after them. They also go on sale quite frequently, so wait for one before you buy (I got it for INR ~15,500). It’s rare that I spend this much on a luxury item and still consider it a bargain. Cheers.

   [...]
2. 

   Dusky – January 13, 2025

   Sound Quality (5/5)These are the first headphones I’ve owned that when first listening to them I didn’t immediately flinch and look for the nearest EQ. I’m no sound engineer, but definitely it has great bass and great quality for mids & highs.Noise cancelation (5/5)Although this is my first set of headphones that support this feature. I’m really blown away by it. I have an air purifier in my office, and even at medium setting. The fan is pretty noisy. But with these things on, I can barely hear it, and that’s with no music/movie playing. But as soon as I turn on a movie or song, I seriously can’t tell it’s on.I read some people say they could hear a waterfall or something in the background. I can’t hear anything other than silence, or what I’m listening to.Wireless/Wired (4/5)Being able to use the headphones with them powereoff with a wire, or have them connect wireless via bluetooth is an amazing feature. And it works really well!I was really surprised however that I don’t seem to be able to use this headset with the bluetooth of my main PC. It has a really think glass panel, so I’m wondering if it’s not because of that. If you own a case with a glass panel, maybe double check with another set of bluetooth headse/earbuds to see how the conenction goes.Audio Delay/lag on Bluetooth (5/5)I own a mini laptop and it only has bluetooth 4.1. But for some reason when I watch videos or movies, I’m virtually unable to tell whether there is lag. Unlike any other bluetooth earbuds I’ve owned. The delay is amazing. Obviously your mileage may vary, but it’s something that drove me insane with my previous wireless earbuds. Don’t have this problem here!Gestures (4/5)I wasn’t really looking forward to the gestures pad. But it turns out to be working really well. Once in a while an action won’t register. But it’s really rare for me.Play/Pause on a PC can be a little weird though. One day I was listening to spotify while working, and then with the tab still opened I started watching youtube after work. And after pausing said video and unpausing it, using the headset. It ended up starting the playback of both my spotify tab, and my youtube tab.Comfort (4/5)First day I wore them I was a little concerned since, even though I have a small head. I felt like the headphones were pretty tight on my head. But after even just 2 days of use. It’s already leagues better. Either I got used to it, or it’s ‘breaking in’.The cups are pretty comfortable. Wish they would be just a tad larger, not sure if I have big ears. But I can tell that part of my right ear touches the pad. And I’m wondering if I ever end up pulling a really long work, or gaming session if it’ll end making my ear feel pinched. One of my older headsets did that.One thing that I was happily surprised was the weight of the headset. With such an impressive battery life and suite of features. I was expecting this thing to be rather heavy. Compared to a Corsair Void (probably a bad example) it’s light as a feather.Pairing Headphones with 2 Devices (3/5)First thing, this feature is only possible via the headphone’s native app. Meaning you can’t perform this type of sync with the physical sync button. Once you have the devices regisered on the app, then you can enable a setting and select which 2 devices you want.On the topic of “2 devices”, I guess Is should have read more on this feature. But I use 2 PCs at home, a media and a work/gaming PC. And I really would have liked to be able to on the fly, switch between audio of both. But it turns out that you can only connect to 1 phone, and something else. It can be 2 phones, but not 2 PCs.Included Accessories (3/5)The case it comes with is great. Hard-shell clam design, with some neat nook where you can shove the USB C charging cable, audio cable and airplane adapter thing. But as much as I like the quality and how it snuggly holds on to and protects the headphones. Not sure if mine is a fluike, but whoever decided to sew the elastic mesh bag on the ‘bottom’ part of the clam. Kind of silly.The audio cable is ‘OK’ if you use it for your phone. But if you want to use it for a PC you’ll for sure either need an extension or a longer cable period. But at least it’s a usesable lenght albeit a little conservative.But the USB type c charging cable. I hope you have a USB hub available. Depending on the case/setup you have. I’m pretty sure a lot of people wouldn’t be able to use that cable to connect the headphones to their PC’s back USB ports. Well you could do it, but depending on your case or setup. The headphones won’t be able to rest on either the top of your case, or the desk/floor it’s own. They’ll end up dangling. (Which I think would be a bad idea.)

   [...]
3. 

   Joce C – January 13, 2025

   Review completo como consumidor y profesional dedicado al audio, si te da flojera leer, de entrada te digo que esto vale cada centavo, no lo dudes ni esperes, rompe el cochinito porque te lo estás perdiendo.Ahora si para los que dudan de Dios:Hace 3 años adquirí los MDR-XB950N1, mejor conocidos como los Sony Extra Bass. Sin duda fueron una compra demasiado buena, pasé de unos Skullcandy Hesh 2 a los Extra Bass y vaya que la diferencia es muy considerable.Ahora, 3 años después decidí hacer un “upgrade”, yo me dedico a la música, soy estudiante de la materia y me dedico al audio, la verdad es que no puedo llevarme mis audífonos de estudio fuera de casa, necesitaba unos que realmente ofrecieran buena calidad, portabilidad y facilidad de uso con mis aplicaciones. Encontré estos después de hacer un par de búsquedas en internet, los comparé con varias opciones y al final me decidí por comprarlos.En primera debo decir que he quedado impresionado por la tecnología que traen estos audífonos. Puedes personalizar el audio acorde a tu oreja, así es, a la forma de tu oreja, Sony te pide que tomes un par de fotos para que se puedan analizar y proveer mejor experiencia, nunca en mi vida había visto algo así.Desde que los abres se denota un producto bastante premium y que vale el dinero que se paga por él, ya que de hecho no es nada barato.La experiencia de abrirlo es excelente, pero es cuando bajas la aplicación que empiezas a ver lo brutal de estas máquinas. De adelanto estos audífonos ya vienen con carga máxima, o al menos así fue en mi caso, no te pide que los cargues ni nada, funcionan desde que los sacas de la caja. Son extremadamente cómodos y si eres miope como yo y usas fierros para ver, estos audífonos no te van a incomodar en ningún momento.No es que quiera advertir, sino más bien dar aviso de que por defecto los audífonos se oyen un poco flojos, el sonido está un poco saturado, y si te gusta escuchar música como el Heavy Metal o música clásica te quedas pasmado, no se oyen para nada como los Extra Bass que al salir de la caja otorgan un sonido fino y bien configurado. Estos no, pero entiendo por qué lo hacen, ya que como mencioné, la experiencia de verdad comienza cuando bajas la aplicación que tiene como mil opciones de configuración y optimización de sonido, así que prepárate para estar ahí unos 25 minutos de tu vida, que sin duda alguna por supuesto, lo valen.Una vez que has pasado las optimizaciones, toca jugar con el ecualizador, yo recomiendo configuración 400: 1 1K: 3 2.5K: 7 6.3K: 8 16K: 5 Clear Bass: +5 o +7 para escuchar Heavy Metal y música clásica, aunque si eres fan de los medios tal vez quieras mover un poco más, pero como dije, esto es libre y Sony te prevé todas las herramientas para que esto quede sabroso.Ya con todo listo, toca escuchar música, y ahí es cuando te da el golpe. Sabía que habría una diferencia entre los Extra Bass que tengo y los M4 que son estos, pero no sabía que realmente se fuera a notar tanto. Estos no son audífonos, son interfaces de audio andantes, además, Sony te regala una prueba gratis en cualquier servicio de restringe que contenga su servicio Sony Audio 3D, yo escogí Tidal, pero también puedes escoger otros 3 más, ahí aparece la opción.De verdad que escuchar música en formato de alta calidad como es el FLAC que te ofrece Tidal es algo maravilloso, inclusive después de varios años escuchando lo mismo, logré notar varios elementos musicales extras que antes ni sabía que existían en la canción, ahí es cuando te vas para atrás, es como por fin escuchar las cosas sin filtro. También recomiendo el formato “Loss-less” de Apple music en caso de que sean usuarios de iPhone o solo para que tengan una tercera opción. Sea cual sea el servicio que escojan, se oye increíble, pero sin duda combinado con formatos de baja compresión esto se vuelve místico.Claro que esto no es tan plano como unos audífonos de estudio, pero sin duda la experiencia se acerca bastante.En conclusión, estos audífonos realmente son un producto bastante premium, te otorgan no solo alta calidad de audio, sino una experiencia tecnológica muy innovadora, además vienen con su porta audiófonos y cables correspondientes, son muy cómodos y portables. Los recomiendo al 100% no duden en adquirirlo para nada.

   [...]
4. 

   Daniel Oliveira – January 13, 2025

   Dentro da categoria dos fones com cancelamento de ruído, ele é excelente. Um dos melhores sistemas de cancelamento que já tive oportunidade de utilizar.Sobre o cancelamento, funciona de uma forma que eu não esperava. Realmente deixa o ambiente super silencioso. Funciona melhor ainda para sons mais constantes. Então para som de ventiladores, viagens de carro, avião e trem funciona muito bem. Caso aconteça algum barulho do seu lado, ainda escutaremos, porém muito baixo.O app do fone tem vários ajustes para melhorar a experiência de uso. Como ativação e ajuste baseados na sua localização. Controle de som adaptativo, que vai aprendendo sobre a sua voz pra que depois de um tempo, ele possa reduzir o cancelamento de ruído quando você iniciar uma conversa. (ótimo para ambientes de trabalho).A qualidade do som é boa. Não é profissional, peca um pouco nos agudos, mas para quem gosta de graves, é ótimo.O microfone é ok. Se você pretende conversar com alguém em locais barulhentos, não é um bom fone. Em um escritório com barulhos medianos, é bem aceitável.Sobre a bateria, estou na primeira recarga, usando a mais de 10 horas e o fone está em 90% ainda. Então me parece uma bateria com duração excelente.Qualidade do material é excelente. Assim como a maioria dos fones é feito de plástico, mas muito bem acabado. É um fone muito bonito. Sobre o conforto, é super macio, não esquenta muito na orelha, e parece que não estou usando fone durante horas.Resumindo, eu adorei o fone e recomendo pra quem quer um fone de cancelamento de ruído ativo de qualidade, bonito e confortável. Ele não vai te decepcionar.

   [...]
5. 

   Bárbara Sousa Serra – January 13, 2025

   Esse definitivamente é o melhor fone/abafador de ruídos. Comprei para uma amiga autista e a qualidade, performance e funções dele são incríveis!!!! Só compre!!

   [...]
6. 

   Genna Daniels – January 13, 2025

   Great Headphones
   I purchased these headphones so I can focus at work and while studying for the Series 65 exam.They have great noise cancellation and are extremely comfortable! I have worn these for hours worth of studying with zero discomfort.Battery life seems very good as well, but I like to use the aux cord to plug into my laptop which does not drain the battery life at all.The headphones and aux cord fit really nicely into the carrying case and it barely takes up any room in my backpack.Sound quality is good too, but I would recommend downloading the app and adjusting to your liking. I’m a bit hard of hearing so I feel like the volume on these doesn’t go up super high. However, for my needs I don’t need to have anything at full volume anyway.These seem very durable too, so I have a good feeling they will be a “buy for life” pair of headphones. I’m very satisfied with the quality, especially since I got them on sale for $200.Overall, these are an extremely well rounded pair of headphones! I’m very happy with my purchase. I was considering the Bose QuietComfort, but these check more boxes for me. Would highly recommend! :)

   [...]
7. 

   Lio – January 13, 2025

   Great Product, Great Customer Service – Best Overall Headphones
   Customer Service: 5/5I purchased this item on Amazon through the seller Focus Camera.The pair I received had a volume defect that effected one side of the headphones constantly making it louder. After some firmware updates and messing with EQ, it was apparent that this was a manufacturer issue. However, when I went to try to initiate the return Amazon was only giving me the option of a full refund when I wanted an exchange. I then reached out to the seller who initiated an exchange for me without any further questions asked – In fact, I was surprised to have the shipping label in their initial reply.Product: 5/5Now that I have a new functioning unit, I can say these are some of the best all-around headphones available right now.As an Apple AirPods Pro user – and like many of you – I was discouraged at the price of Apple’s first branded headphone. No matter the quality, many of us can’t justify that price.I’ve been looking for a pair of wired-headphones for gaming use, video editing use (wired-in editing is the best for sound editing precision), and of course casual music listening use.As far as features, the gesture controls have worked accurately for me and I’ve welcomed the volume control which isn’t a feature on AirPods/AirPods Pro. Their companion app with built in EQ and detailed setting is a God-send for us Apple users who want more customization options in their products. The battery is as long as advertised and it’s nice knowing you don’t have to charge them daily (with my use). Speak-to-Chat is a great idea that has some real-world use cases. Noise Cancellation is probably the best in this mid-tier range of headphones. But if listening to your surroundings is most important to you be aware that the microphones used to listen to your environment – “Ambient Sound” Mode – seem to be located near the top of each headphone can and this appears to face up, as a result the ambient mode is not as effective as Apple’s AirPods Pro’s Transparency Mode (which I’ll assume that the same quality extends to the AirPods Max). The AirPods replicate your surrounding sounds perfectly in real-life quality as if you didn’t have anything in/on your ears. So big FYI; Apple is still king in “Transparency/Ambient” modes. Lastly, they’re extremely comfortable although your ears might get a little warm from the leatherette after prolonged use.I think price is important when considering the review of anything because it determines value. I bought these on sale for $278. With the price being so close to Apple AirPods Pro at $250, I personally feel I’m getting more than my money’s worth with a travel case, 3.5mm audio cable, charging cable, and airplane audio adapter all included with the cost at a great deal. These have a retail price of $350. So, given all of the above and the sound quality, I wouldn’t be particularly enthused or feeling like I got a great deal if I paid full-price for them but the convenience and rich sound make it a good investment nonetheless and almost all owners will be happy with them. But, I hope you understand that that means if these are on sale (especially for $250) then don’t even think about it. It’s a no-brainer Purchase them right away if you see them on sale!Lastly: Sound – The sound is great and highly customizable but the headphones themselves seem to lean towards warmer tones and more bass. Don’t worry, they’re not maxed out like the early-model Beats, but I recommend each user download their companion app and try EQ for the perfect balance. As long as you are aware that these aren’t the audiophile headphones for mixing professional music or films, nor the pair of workout/gym headphones, nor even the pair with noise cancellation that will make you sound like you’re in a soundproof room – then you’ll be happy. These headphones will not excel in any of these specific features, but that’s what makes these headphones the best over-all headphones. It’s a jack-of-all trades and so far one of my favorite Sony products ever made. I hope you enjoy yours as I’ve enjoyed mine.

   [...]
8. 

   b – January 13, 2025

   Better Than XM5
   **Disclaimer: I bought mine used like new through AmazonI originally purchased the Sony XM5 because they were soooo highly rated in every article I read. I returned the XM5, got the XM4 and am so much happier. I’ll compare the XM4 to the XM5, Apple AirPods Max, and Bose QuietComfort 45 – just to help anyone choosing between them.**Noise Cancellation (4.5/5): the noise cancellation on the XM4 is crazy, almost comparable to the Apple AirPods Max. I gave the XM4 a 4.5 because I still think the Apple AirPods Max have the best noise cancellation, but the Sony XM4 is very close. I also like the fact that you can turn noise cancelling on/off with a button – which is a feature not available with the Bose QuietComfort 45. The noise cancellation is much better than the XM5 and less finicky. An issue with the XM5 is that the noise cancelling would just randomly turn on/off. Like if I paused a video for a little too long, the noise cancellation would just turn off Overall, I wouldn’t say I it blocks out all sound, but it’s close. I can hear the sound of people talking and music, but it’s quieter and I can’t make out the words. I definitely can’t have a conversation with them on. Also, the XM4 will pick up on when you’re talking to people and turn the noise cancelling off for you – but it does make a little announcement when it does that may be annoying or disruptive.**Sound Quality (4/5): the sound quality is great. Way better than the XM5, not as great as the Apple AirPods Max. I think the Apple headphones are just a little crisper. I think it’s cool that you can turn 360 sound on, but tbh I never really use it (XM5 also has this feature). The sound is clear, and I haven’t experienced any malfunctions/issues with the noise. When I had the XM5, they would just randomly sound muffled (like I was underwater) and, when that wasn’t happening, the sound quality was mediocre.**Comfort (5/5): the XM4s are REALLY comfy. I wear glasses with plastic frames and a lot of headphones just don’t work and are really uncomfy. The Apple AirPods Max were really uncomfortable with my glasses. Obviously, an easy solution is to just wear contacts, but I hate wearing my contacts for long periods of time – especially, when I study/do work. The XM5 were also pretty comfortable, but wouldn’t stay fixed when I adjusted them – they would slip and I would need to readjust them a lot. The XM4 completely cover my ear and the ear pads are soft. They don’t squeeze my head the way other headphones do and they don’t hurt any part of my ear. I will say that the headband part that rests on top of my head does kind of hurt my head after wearing them for almost 10 hours. Also, I have TMJ so sometimes wearing the headphones does cause my TMJ to flare up and I’ll switch to earbuds. But, I think overall these are the most comfortable headphones I have tried.**Product Quality (3.5/5): let’s be honest, they’re plastic and they feel plastic. They don’t feel like super high quality, but let me tell you that they feel way better quality than the XM5 – those felt like a barbie toy. I think the XM4 are sturdy and pretty durable. The Apple AirPods Max are also plastic, but do feel a little more high quality – but also, nothing spectacular.**Aesthetic (3.5/5): If the aesthetic is important to you, I would say they look fine. They’re a little bulky, but not terrible. Not as sleek as some others, but they don’t look ridiculous. If you’re really against a bulky look, then they may not be a great aesthetic match for you. I was worried they would be really clunky, but after getting them and wearing them for a bit, I really don’t think they look bad.**Connectivity (4/5): I only have Apple devices (iPhone, MacBook, etc.) and I think the connectivity is great with these products! When I got the XM5, they had so many connection issues. I wasn’t able to connect them to my laptop, they wouldn’t stay connected to my devices – it was a mess. I was really worried I would have the same issues with the XM4, but I have had no problems so far. I will say it was a little odd to have have to download the Sony Connect app and manage the headphone through that platform, but it’s user friendly and it’s kind of nice to have a control for them (it’s almost like a remote).**Battery Life (5/5): The battery life is insane. I’ve had them for 8 days and have not charged them yet – they still have about 40% charge left. They will turn off automatically to save battery life if you don’t use them for a certain amount of time, which I personally like.OVERALL (4.5/5): I think the XM4 are great headphones for a better price than the Apple AirPods Max. The Bose are apparently really similar, but I’ve never personally tried them. The XM4 is MUCH better than the XM5 in terms of quality and price. They’re comfy, great noise cancellation and sound quality, and have great battery life.

   [...]