Sony is largely responsible for the health of the wireless in-ear headphones with active noise cancellation market, and with the WF-1000XM4 the company has combined performance, ergonomics and build quality more effectively than ever before. They’re not perfect, but overall they’re hard to beat. The Sony WF-1000XM4 are some of the best true wireless earbuds on the market, and the experience is top notch in this category. Noise reduction, sound quality and ease of use are all top notch, as Sony has a vested interest in improving aspects that can potentially improve users’ lives.
The Sony WF-1000XM4 Recycled Paper Headphones packaging includes the charging case, three sizes of polyurethane foam earbuds, the headphones and a charging cable. Various documentations will help you set them up, as this is a smart product like any other, and there are a few things to consider when connecting the voice assistant and other integrations. To be fair, the setup process is fairly straightforward, although you’ll need Sony’s Headphones Connect app to get the most out of the headphones.
The app contains all kinds of features, such as change control scheme, update virtual assistant, change earphone sound, etc. They offer even more powerful noise cancellation, so much so that they approach over-ear headphones. Audio quality has been further refined and Sony has added key features that were sadly missing last time, such as IPX4 water and sweat resistance. The 1000XM4 also set new standards for wireless audio and battery life in noise canceling headphones.
Design and comfort
The WF-1000XM4 continues Sony’s tradition of oddly shaped headphones. They have a weird spherical design with golden steampunk openings for streaming microphones. It’s certainly peculiar, but whether it’s appealing is up to you. The outer shell of the headphones has large touch areas for gestures. Touch them lightly to activate gestures. It’s definitely better than banging your ears as many other headphones require.
Inside the headphones are optical proximity sensors that detect when the headphones are inserted into the ears and play or pause audio accordingly. Yes, the sensors on the back are such that if you place the earbuds on a surface in a certain way, the sensor is blocked, tricking the earbuds into thinking they are back in your ears. We often found that the sound continued even when we removed the headphones and placed them on the table, even if we weren’t wearing them. This is definitely an oversight on Sony’s part.
Noise canceling
Sony is known for its outstanding digital noise cancellation, and the WF-1000XM4s are no exception. Despite their small size, the headphones do a great job of blocking out most surrounding noise. Compared to cheaper headphones on the market with this feature, the WF-1000XM4 have a much more comprehensive noise filter. It covers a much wider part of the audio spectrum of ambient sounds, including mid and high frequencies, whereas cheaper models often only cover low frequencies. The end result is much more complete control of ambient noise. The weak point of the WF-1000XM4 is the quality of the transparency mode, which Sony calls Ambient Sound. The feel is that of a somewhat artificial sound compared to other alternatives like the AirPods Pro. The OnePlus Buds Pro also have a more natural transparency mode.
Battery life
The Sony WF1000XM4 have very good battery life. They last around 10 hours on a single charge, more than the advertised eight hours. The case also contains some additional costs. Battery life may vary based on actual usage. Unlike the Beats Solo Pro Wireless earbuds, they have an auto-off timer to save power, and you can use one earbud while the other charges in the case.
Audio quality
The WF-1000XM4 uses relatively small 6mm dynamic drivers. You get support for SBC, AAC and LDAC as well as Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity. The tone of the WF-1000XM4 is geared towards warmth. There is a greater emphasis on the bass region and a de-emphasis on the treble region. The bass is smoother than most Sony headphones, so it doesn’t drown out the sound in excessive bass energy. There is a more progressive bass range that begins in the upper bass region and extends into the lower octaves. The wider dispersion avoids noticeable explosions in certain areas and boosts bass more evenly throughout. The midrange is much more balanced, especially in the lower ranges.
As a result, male vocals sound neutral and full-bodied, with just a hint of residual warmth from the bass boost. The mids taper off a bit in the highs as they move into the highs, which can cause female vocals to come back into the mix with drums and strings. The rest of the treble continues this downward motion and is noticeably quieter compared to the rest of the frequency range. Sony has toned down this area compared to the WF-1000XM3, making the highs a little dull and muddy at times. This may not be a problem with recordings that tend to be crisp, especially 70s and 80s pop music, but modern, well-recorded tracks lack treble bite.
Connectivity and Reliability
The WF-1000XM4 performed largely reliably in our tests. There were no connection issues when testing with SBC and AAC codecs, and audio never dropped. With LDAC, the results are a bit more erratic. While 330kbps and 660kbps worked perfectly, 990kbps sometimes caused quite severe audio drops, requiring a reduction to at least 660kbps. The weird thing, however, is that this didn’t happen all the time, as in some cases playing at 990 kbps was no problem.
Issues with LDAC were also found with the WH-1000XM4 when we tested it in 2020. This seems to be a recurring issue with Sony products, which is odd considering it’s a Sony codec . However, this is only a problem if you want to manually set the bitrate to 990 kbps; if you leave the automatic adjustment, you will have no problem.
Sound profile
The Sony WF-1000XM4s have a smooth and warm sound profile. Although they lack muffled bass, the mids are fairly balanced, and vocals and lead instruments are present and clear. However, high frequencies are underemphasized, so sibilants sound particularly dull and displayed. If you prefer a different sound, the attached app offers graphic equalization and presets that allow you to tweak the sound to your liking. If you prefer a more neutral sound from your headphones, you can try these custom EQ settings.
A comparison between this custom EQ setting and the headset’s default setting is also available. All default settings seem to lose tone at 7.5K in the treble range, and there seems to be no way to fix this, even using custom EQ. Therefore, the default setting “EQ OFF” provides the best treble response. We also did subjective listening tests with a Samsung phone with AAC codec, and you can clearly hear the unemphasized treble in the songs.
conclusion
We hope that this notice has been understood and appreciated. Sony’s new WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones offer enough quality features to warrant an upgrade, even if they’re a bit more expensive. The more compact design makes the Sony WF-1000XM4 more comfortable and easy to carry, while the included app makes it easy to adjust controls and EQ settings to keep up with the best headphones.