Sony WF-1000XM4 Test: The King of Wireless Headphones

For a while, I was the owner of the successful Sony WF-1000XM3 headphones, the predecessor of the latest model. And except for a few details, I was very satisfied. The new Sony WF-1000XM4 has improved these imperfections and for the recommended price of 279 € you can hardly find better headphones. Yes, the price is high, but I think the novelty will defend it.

I will not avoid comparison in this test. Both with its predecessor and with the AirPods Pro headphones, which I also had the opportunity to try. I currently own Galaxy Buds +. My experience with Bluetooth headphones is quite varied and I will try to explain why the new WF-1000XM4 is as great as it is said.

Sony WF-1000XM4 package: Necessary basis

The headphones come in a gray box made of hard paper. The emphasis on ecology is noticeable here. You won’t find any plastics inside, everything is paper. In addition to the necessary documentation and pictorial instructions for connecting to a smartphone, there are also some accessories. The most important will be the spare foam attachments.

There are a total of three, in sizes S, M and L. Personally, I sat M and S, most often I used a medium size. There is also a short charging cable. On the one hand, the USB-C (which goes into the charging case), on the other hand, it is terminated with a classic large USB connector. Of course, I must not forget the headphones themselves with the charging box.

What has changed?

First of all, there is a new design. The headphones are smaller, lighter and look more modern. The charging box is now significantly smaller, which was the most discussed problem of the predecessor. Finally, it fits easily into a trouser pocket. In addition, it also comes with wireless charging.

The good news is that the underside is straight, so it can normally stand on a flat surface. The previous model, but not even the AirPods Pro, can’t do it.

New foam attachments

When I first looked at the foam headphones, I wasn’t very excited. The WF-1000XM3 bothered me that the headphones didn’t hold very well in my ears. It even happened to me that I missed one on public transport, fortunately I found it. The new foam attachments are similar to the legendary Koss SparkPlug. I also owned these headphones, but that’s why they had to go away. It was necessary to first squeeze them, insert them into the ear and then wait until they return to their original state in the ear. The advantage was excellent passive insulation of the surrounding sound, but for me the impracticality of this solution prevailed.

Fortunately, the novelty does not suffer from this problem. It is relatively easy to insert earphones. Just insert and turn a few times to get caught in them. Again, I praise the excellent passive noise cancellation. However, sharper movements can be a problem. Also when opening my mouth or a stronger facial expression, I registered that the surrounding sound got into my ears a little more.

For the convenience of my Galaxy Buds + it does not have this solution. They fit perfectly in my ears, they fit well and are removed. However, they lag behind in sound quality and do not offer active noise cancellation. But about that later.

Apple has solved this quite well. AirPods Pro fit well in my ears and there is even ventilation that balances the pressure in my ears with the ambient pressure. Fortunately, the new product from Sony does not suffer from vacuum or overpressure in the ears. In my opinion, the worst was the Redmi AirDots headphones, but we are already in a completely different price category.

Anyway, I can’t complain. The headphones fit quite well in my ears. Prolonged use could be a problem, as they can be felt and listening to music for longer could cause ear pain. Personally, after about an hour, I felt that my headphones were starting to get a little uncomfortable.

The design has matured

Fortunately, the charging box is matte, which I am very pleased about. It does not capture fingerprints and looks very good. I tested the black color variant, white is also available. Compared to the WF-1000XM3, which also doesn’t look bad, the new headphones are significantly more attractive. And in every way, the design has simply matured. And let me not forget, we finally have water resistance here, specifically with IPX4 certification. It’s not for diving into the water, but the headphones can handle the rain or sweat without any problems.

Touch control offers many options

Each handset has a relatively large touchpad that allows you to control selected functions. And it can be set for each handset separately. I can skip music, pause, pick up a call, adjust the volume, activate the ANC function and so on. Various functions can be set for a single tap, double or triple, as well as for longer hold. Again, for each handset separately.

I praise not only the size of the touch surfaces, but also the reaction to the touch. There is a short beep after each tap, so I know I touched the handset and my touch was registered.

Sony WF-1000XM4: The application deserves to be upgraded

I have mixed feelings about the application called Headphones. On the one hand, it offers all the necessary functions and settings, which are arranged quite clearly, on the other hand, I find its environment somewhat out of date. If she looked like this 3-4 years ago, I would have absolutely no problem. However, the design of the application deserves a refresh.

Enough criticizing, let’s take a look at the options it offers. First of all, right at the top I see the current battery status of each handset and charging box separately. That’s how it should be. The basic menu is divided into three tabs – Status, Sound and System.

Adaptive Sound Control offers interesting options. When activated, the headphones behave according to the environment I am in and what I am doing. I can set it all up nicely. If you want active noise cancellation to be activated automatically while walking, like it. During the run, I can set the headphones to transmit more ambient sound. Or do I leave everything to automatics? Automatic mode switching is even possible based on position.

Basically, I have three options. I can turn off Ambient Sound Control completely, I can set the headphones to focus on the surrounding sound and emphasize it (I can even check it to emphasize the voice) or there is so much talk about active noise cancellation.

Of course, there is a 5-stage equalizer, which is fully customizable. Speak-to-Chat detects when you’re talking and automatically lets more ambient sound into the headphones. Everything is nice automatically and it works great.

Quality sound is the key

One of the best features of these headphones. The sound quality is simply excellent for small Bluetooth headphones and it’s hard to compare. My Galaxy Buds + also don’t play badly, but they don’t even catch on with quality.

First of all, I praise the maximum volume, which is incredible. Add to that the beautiful balanced sound, which is full of bass (but not too much), precise mids and good treble, listening is simply an experience. Whether I’m sitting in the vehicle, on the couch at home or walking, the sound is just great.

I will also mention the fact that when you pull it out of your ear, music playback automatically pauses, and when you reinsert it, it resumes. You can read the technical details of the sound and various sensors in the article Sony WF-1000XM4 officially: Legendary headphones got a successor.

The best active noise cancellation on the market

The active noise canceling function is no longer new in the headphones and is offered by all better models. However, ANC is not like ANC. And it is the headphones from Sony that want to be the ones that will be talked about in this regard. And the manufacturer succeeded. The previous model already offered great ANC.

To get things right. Do not expect active noise cancellation to completely suppress all tones. That will not happen. Rather, it is an attenuation of lower disturbing tones, for example when traveling by train, bus or plane. Clapping and similar tones are not very soundproofed. No such headphones will.

If I had the Sony WF-1000XM3 compare to the AirPods Pro or Galaxy Buds Pro, then yes, the ANC have the best. Quite unequivocally. However, this does not mean that the mentioned competition is bad. The differences are not that big.

The difference in the sound I hear is really significant. All unpleasant tones are muted to a minimum, I have no problem even in noisy public transport, where I can listen to my favorite music at lower volumes. Hat down in front of Sony, active noise cancellation is really top notch.

I also appreciate the excellent soundproofing of strong winds, which other headphones tend to have a problem with. And I perceive this problem quite strongly, because it really annoys me. In this case, I have the option to choose to suppress such noise in the ANC settings. And to my surprise, it works great. I would say that the biggest credit for this goes to the firm grip of the headphones in the ears.

Endurance and charging

Battery life is one of the better ones. The headphones themselves can handle up to 8 hours without a charger, with ANC activated. The manufacturer boasts that the total endurance is up to 36 hours (without ANC). With active noise cancellation it is 24 hours (8 headphones + 16 box). Thanks to fast charging, just 5 minutes in a charging box is enough for an hour of music playback.

My test only confirmed the stated endurance. No, I didn’t listen to music seriously for 8 hours without a break. In the first hour of listening, my battery level dropped by about 10 percent. By the way, as soon as you remove the headphones from your ears, the music is automatically paused.

Sony WF-1000XM4: Final rating

The Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones are expensive. There is no doubt about that. Can they defend their higher price? I think yes. They are not much more expensive from AirPods Pro, but they offer better durability, better sound and better active noise cancellation.

Quality is paid for and the price is determined by the market. If people are willing to give almost 300 euros for quality headphones, then why not? However, some shortcomings would be found in the lobby. The application could be more modern, although it offers all the necessary functions. The headphones hold relatively well in the ears, but not the best, such a system could interfere with someone. The best features include high-quality active noise cancellation and good quality full sound.

Pros

• New more compact design
• wireless charging
• excellent passive sound insulation
• the best ANC on the market
• great sound
• a number of intelligent functions

Cons

• the application deserves to be upgraded
• ears may hurt from prolonged listening

Sony WF-1000XM4: Competitor

Apple AirPods Pro

AirPody is a strong competitor to almost all wireless headphones. The version has been on the market for some time and is still quite expensive, but headphones from Sony are even more expensive. It offers active noise cancellation, which can be especially useful when traveling by plane, train or bus. Quality sound is a matter of course in this case. They lose endurance on a single charge, sound quality and Sony offers better ANC.

Galaxy Buds Pro

Headphones with very similar endurance and also excellent active noise cancellation. Their advantage will be the price, you can get them even 100 euros cheaper. They will also offer a better application. However, Sony still leads in sound quality and ANC.