The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones (sold on Amazon) are considered by many to be the top model in the premium range, also and above all for the care in managing active noise cancellation. Trying them, you immediately breathe an air of very high technology in a product born to excel. But this also applies to many other products that offer overlapping functions and ambitions in the same range, among these competitors there are also the AirPods Max or the Bose Noise Canceling 700. The market is strong and fierce, will they be able to stay ahead?
Sober box, inside the minimum
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are the latest proposal in chronological order for high-end listening headphones from Sony; with them the Japanese house follows a path that was already promising in 2017 when the MDR 1000X model was launched, from which the WH-1000XM4 are the direct descendants.
To tell the truth, it does not manifest all the technology that, as we will see, distinguishes the model we are testing. The box is discreet, in cardboard although with good graphics; inside we basically find the hard case with the Sony WH-1000XM4 inside, a jack cable for analog listening, with also the two-way adapter for the plane and the USB-C charging cable, plus a small instruction manual for basic operations (useless for those who use the App).
How Sony WH-1000XM4
The design did not differ much from the MDR 1000X; we find only some improved aesthetic details and, in our opinion, thanks to quality materials. It is a “soft touch” plastic that is very pleasant to handle; the cushion of the arch in contact with the head is made of a material that replicates the appearance of the skin.
Aesthetically, the headphones are also characterized by the Sony writing in relief just above the joints between the arch and on the pavilions and a very small screen printing of the name WH-1000XM4 between the end of the upper cushion and the core of the metal headband (of the same headphone color), plus a border surrounding the two external microphones for the ANC.
There are also physical controls organized in the left pavilion, accompanied by the jack input for the analog connection: the USB-C connector for charging and touch controls for volume and playback are relegated to the right pavilion.
Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are available in four colors: Black, Silver, White and Dark Blue
The buttons are small and perhaps not very intuitive to find due to their position. If you wear gloves they are practically useless. Touch control is very good; interesting is the choice of making the control inactive when the headphones are not worn; so you avoid changing the volume by taking the headphones in your hand or moving them.
Only downside, Sony's headphones don't support bad weather and obviously can't go underwater. In short, you can use them on the road, on the train or plane, at home but better to avoid using them at the sea or by the pool: sand or water could be fatal.
The dynamism of the structure is guaranteed by the folding joints, for a more comfortable transport
Support app like no other
As in all headphones of a certain range and of major brands, the Sony WH-1000XM4 have another appai support; it is the Sony | Headphones Connect for iOS and Android; obviously the headphones also work without them because the pairing takes place in the traditional way but it must be said that unlike what happens with other similar products, giving up the application means losing most of the advantages that the headphones have.
First of all, the App controls everything, absolutely everything, of the headphones, including the Device to which they are associated (and when we associate them with a Mac or PC, however the setup is performed from mobile): which means the response of the suppression system of the noise, which we will talk about shortly, the equalizer, the reproduction of music with a small player (and if you want Sony also has a second App, Music Center in support, which however appears superfluous), the Device in pairing, the update firmware and even shutdown (which can also be done from the physical button).
Some of the initial stages of the set-up via App, illustrating some of the functions, such as 360 audio and ANC
The App is so integrated with the headphones that the initial connection phase can also be done from here, without going through the Bluetooth control in Settings.
Application plays a decisive role also for the part relating to the ANC. We know what someone is thinking: many noise-canceling headphones and many earphones, even in the entry level range such as the Soundcore Liberty Air 2, have an app management. but here we are at a much higher level. Noise suppression is in fact managed through a precise analysis based on external microphones, but also by geolocation and analysis of the environment where we are.
One of the most interesting functions given by the App is Speak-to-Chat: in practice, thanks to the App we can listen to the music by doing other things but, as soon as we start talking, it pauses, giving priority to our dialogue: everything works quite well, even the system proved to be a bit too strict in the activation; often, we had to manually reactivate the music instead of waiting for the software to do it.
The App offers powerful and versatile functions, but it is often not very intuitive
Cancellation like no other
That the Sony WH-1000XM4 have an active noise reduction system of another level compared to the competition is understood immediately during the pairing phase, when the App asks on the one hand to analyze the external noise present at that moment. around us and, subsequently, also to take a picture of our ears (there is an automatic framing system) to better adapt to the specific configuration for each user.
With this system, Sony has made the concept of standard “Noise Cancellation” reductive, customizing it to the extreme. A capable user can customize the experience for each environment individually, letting the headphones (and the App, which also works in the background) decide from time to time which attenuation to apply, automatically changing it as the user's status changes. (with a small sound warning).
The noise cancellation modes, aided by the two microphones placed above the pavilions, are four: Remaining, Walking, Running and Transport, each with a slider from 0 to 20 for the power of the filter and a selector that allows you to privilege the voices, to get lost as little as possible of the people around us.
The learning function of the anti-noise system is surprising, something never seen in any competitor also for the ability to “learn” which is the best mode for each situation. The headphones analyze the state of the noise in a certain place and reapply it when necessary or when you are in that specific place, which can be recalled manually or automatically by following the position via GPS. Furthermore the system is intelligent and, with the user's permission, changes according to what we are doing, so the status Remaining (a bit bizarre name that identifies the situation in which we are stopped in a position) changes to Walking, automatically , when we get up from the chair and go out for a walk or to go to work, adapting the parameters to the default set-up.
Noise suppression is extremely selective. On a day out in the open, with rain, buses, car noises, we can hear only the faint ticking of the rain, or a slight background hum, or everything, while leaving the voices always clear and distinguishable.
The only flaw, to “tame” such a complex and sophisticated system you need a bit of experience and an advanced ability in managing the various menus: more advanced users will have no problems and will indeed appreciate Sony's effort to embrace the user in a automatic but satisfying experience, those less “geek” will either completely skip the ANC configuration or will have to rely on Sony's automatisms, which in any case do a good job on their own.
Three-dimensional music
The headphones do not support AptX code (useless on iPhone), but LDAC and AAC standards are present. In this model Sony has introduced a new Sony QNe1 processor that enables the new DSEE Extreme audio standard, which improves many of the frequencies to their maximum.
The 40mm dome driver (CCAW coil) allows a frequency response from 4 Hz to 40,000 Hz with the DSEE Extreme or LDAC function active. This mode increases consumption, so it can be switched off. In this way the frequency response is halved.
Inside the case there are the headphones and all the cables for transport
During the test we tried the various equalizations, but apart from those dedicated to the voice, we liked the basic one (Disabled) and Enthusiast very much, the latter very much (while Luminoso seemed too extreme).
In this preset we do not think we can be proven wrong if we say that the musical response of the Sony WH-1000XM4 has been superb at most of the headphones of this range that we have tried over the last few years and this with all the songs, from the simplest ones like Welcome To Taylor Swift's New York to more complex ones like Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, through Nothing compares 2U by Sinead O'Connors a Shout by Tears For Fears, as well as Enya's Orinoco Flow and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (in 'Remastered 2011 edition).
The tones of the headphones are mostly warm and with a recognizable sound imprint in spite of other models such as the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 which instead has a more generic tone. This of course can like it or not. But we liked it very much.
The presentation of the bass is perfect and does not suppress the mids, here processed by the Enthusiast preset (but it seemed to us good even the basic one) and also songs where the voice is dominant we liked it a lot, as well as the use for some TV series (during the test we really appreciated WandaVision, more in the last episodes than in the first ones, and the drama The Undoing ).
Note separately for the 360 Reality Audio function, which makes the music “spatial” and moves the sound source in a 360-degree virtual space; it is a technology that is now very fashionable in the world of video games (but without a real standard) and that Sony wants to start imposing in the music sector.
To appreciate this function on the Sony WH-1000XM4 you need one of the compatible apps, which we did not have available since we used Spotify for the test, but which can still be tasted and tried with some songs with the App Artist Connection.
By listening to tracks compatible with the 360 Reality Audio standard, in practice, the two pavilions dose the audio of the various tracks in a skilful way, simulating the movement of the single original audio source in a virtual room. By associating this with a moving video, we can hear the audio moving in sync with the movement of the camera and the implied movement of the instruments.
An undoubtedly pleasant and futuristic experience: we will see if the artists will appreciate this possibility by giving space to this new listening mode.
Finally, a word on the microphone: the distance between it and the mouth does not allow this model d i be at the top in terms of clarity and definition but we are not talking about headsets that are born for telephoning or for conferences. In any case, we are well beyond sufficiency.
Autonomy
Intelligent noise cancellation, the use of the DSEE Extreme for music, some equalizations and clearly the use of Bluetooth all pay in terms of consumption, although on this point we can say that the size helps. In addition, it must be said that the Sony WH-1000XM4 support app warns you when you are using a function that significantly reduces the autonomy and this allows you to better manage the system.
Sony declares 30 hours of autonomy with ANC active and 38 without, and thanks to the fast recharge we have a duration of five hours with 10 minutes connected to a power supply, values that we take for plausible with a certain margin: we have never reached them, but we often came close. Which makes these headphones one of the models with most autonomy on the market.
Conclusions
As we said at the beginning of the review, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are considered by many to be the top model of a very difficult market where the choice is not lacking, because practically all the big brands have (at least) a model that stops in this range of market, not least Apple with the AirPods Max, which, however, compared to most models has a stratospheric cost and which for these reasons will hardly become widespread.
Our experience says that if they are not the absolute best headphones on the market, they are the best we have tried to date in this range. They excel in music quality and the amazing work Sony has done in integrating such a powerful and flexing noise cancellation system. One more note for the perspective that the 360 Reality Audio function offers, for the moment only interesting for a niche but which could have a big impact in the future and represent an important parameter in the purchase of a pair of headphones from here shortly, as the ANC is today.
The price, in line with that of the competition, is another strong point. There are headphones that cost as much or even more (if not much more like the AirPods Max) that offer comparable music quality, lower if not significantly lower noise cancellation.
Pro:
• Simple design and highly advanced technology • Revolutionary noise cancellation function • Outstanding sound response • Excellent battery life
Cons:
• The musical imprint is characteristic • The App is functional but not really simple
Price:
• 380.00 Euro
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are available from the parent company's website, where you can also find all the features, as well as on Amazon.it, these days with an interesting offer in the Black model.
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