Отзывы о Наушники Sony WH-1000XM4

Works with iphone/ipad but not connecting to MAC OS X. It's quite hard to switch between the three devices. Once connected to Mac OS X it's just baffling the static and disruption sounds for both music or zoom calls. Very disappointed.

They sound great when listening to iphone/ipad but one must turn off "Notification & Voice Guide" otherwise if you're walking around your room - one gets a bell sound every time you stop due to the Adaptive Sound control changing when moving and standing still.

I previuosly used the XM3's for a week or so and then I saw these were coming out so I got the XM4's instead.
Although these XM4's ended up being $80 more, I'm glad I spent the extra money.
I honestly can't tell the difference in the sound quality, but the whole user experience is vastly better in the XM4's.
The cushions feel softer they pause my music when I take them off my head.
The biggest difference however, and what makes it worth that $80 extra, is now I can simultaneously be connected to two devices at the same time.
While working at home I don't have to constantly keep pairing between my phone and laptop depending on which I'm using.
Fantastic sound quality, all day+ battery life, quick charges, and 2 device connection at the same time make these my favorite headphones to date.

Had a pair of the 1000XM3 and returned for sound quality being just okay. Once again, purchased these for a travel only headphone for convenience and noise cancelling for flights. Returned these within a week, sound quality has not improved at all. Bass is loose, highs are not crisp and the mids are drowned by the boomy/dirty bass. Chinese IEMs that cost $50 are dramatically better sounding and at the end of the day, that is why you buy headphones.

Improved BT from XM3, Comfort seemed to be better for long listening sessions, touch controls improved. If you want a travel headphone and you are pleased with airpods or Beats sound quality, this will work for you. If you care about SQ, PASS.

Take it from someone who has gone through 10+ headphones including: Beats Studio 2.0 + 3.0, Tzumis, Skullkandy, Sony xb950N1, Razors, iHome, and some others that I don't miss. My advice: spend the money and get these. I'll go through some quick pros and cons to keep things simple:

EDIT: had these for like 4 weeks and then the right earcup noise cancellation started crackling. Had to get a replacement. If these don't last, I'll start camping outside Sony Headquaters with a pitchfork.

Pros:
-Amazing Noise Cancellation- Supposedly the best in the industry. Definitely, the best I've owned. Far better than Beats FYI. Almost no hiss, just a sight wiss that is hard to notice. I've tried the Bose 700s at Best Buy and those do seem very good as well. I would say these are roughly even, with the Bose possibly edging them out. I think the Bose have zero hiss, however, I've never owned the 700s so I can't tell for sure. I think different headphones cancel out different sounds better too so I don't know if it's possible to name a sure winner.

-BASS (the one thing I know) - If you're someone who loves massive bass, these headphones do an excellent job. Far better than Beats. People say Beats are bass-heavy and they must be nuts cuz they have very little. The default sound setting on these isn't overly bass-heavy so if you aren't a bass fan then you'll be fine. You can adjust the bass settings in the app. Turn the clear bass to +10 if your a bass fan and you should be happy. The only headphones I've had that have more bass are the Sony xb950N1s, and they are very close. The N1s are solely dedicated to bass, so they manage a bit more punch, but don't have half the sound clarity or noise cancellation capabilities.

-Great Build- Just holding these you can tell they are well built and durable. They have a smooth rubberized feel that is very satisfying to the touch.

-Very Comfortable - They distribute the weight amazingly. No pressure points. I've worn these for hours. The most comfortable pair I own.

-Great carrying case

-Great Smart features- the most helpful are the pause sensor when you take them off your ears and then they shut off after a certain amount of time. Saves battery. I don't really use the speak-to-pause cuz I'm a fantastic singer and I don't want my headphones to pause when I release gold. ;)

-The multi-device pairing is pretty good. It's not overly fantastic for switching back and forth, rather it's nice to be able to pick up one of the two devices and not have to go to the setting to connect it.

-The touch features are decent, takes some tech awareness so recruit younger humans to teach you if you are 50+

Cons:
-I wish I could fire Karen from letting me know every time they turn on or connect to a device. They should have just used quick sounds or something like that, but an annoying lady lets you know when you do anything like turn them on/off, turn on noise cancellation, let your dog out, when you've lied to your parents, etc.

-Sony If you see this please fix this: the earcups turn the WRONG WAY. It's hard to explain but when you take them off your ears, the ear cups turn to face you. They should turn away so that you can set them down on a table/it would make it easy to put them in the case.

-That's honestly it. These aren't the cheapest but they are much better than their competitors and even rival headphones that sell starting at $550 and look like alien earmuffs.

I used bose for 15 years, bought this one thinking it was a time to change. What a mistake.

The biggest issue is the microphone in online meeting, and I assume phone as well, terrible. Everybody could not hear me well for a week, I thought it was something else, until I really narrow it down to those headsets. My old QC35II worked great, AirPod Pod worked great, laptop mic worked better, the voice on this one was terrible.

Then, I did some research (too late), and basically many reported the same issue with the Bluetooth and apparently need to buy another dongle, and I am not even sure it will work. Also, I have the latest Macbook 16", so, not sure why I need to buy a Bluetooth adapter for this headset while other always worked.

Also, some features are nice, but other are annoying. When in a call, audio change time to time, kind of tricky to find which setting to turn off while keeping the NC. Also, no way to turn off the voice assistant completely off, always have the voice, "one device connected" "second device connected." I would have loved to be in the product management meeting where it was decided that the user should not be able to turn those voices off (you can turn some off, but not completely)

Anyway, but I wasted $350 on this, I will probably buy the Bose 700 at some point.

On positive note, the sound is good, and some features are good as well. Just wish they would have try to match Bose on the call side.

V.3 is better than V.2, except multiple reviewers (including ourselves), find V.3 has unusably poor telephone conversation quality. We are not retaining this V.4 long enough to discern its telephone call quality.

After hours of use, V.4 seems a tad more uncomfortably tight on our head than prior versions, but that may well be because this is new, and hasn’t stretched out. If you want a more comfortable headphone, you may need to get one that does not have active noise cancelling, as ANC seems to require a bit more clamping pressure against the head to isolate outside noise.

On 14 October, 2020, Ash Vecchio posted an Amazon review claiming this V.4 works intermittently and stutters with their 2018 Samsung T.V., so they are returning the headphone. On 19 Oct., MAGMAN117 posted a similar review about connecting to both his Samsung T.V. & Samsung phone.

We updated this headphone to the latest Sony software, but still have the same issue after pairing this V.4 to our Bluetooth 2017 Samsung T.V. Model UN40MU7000. So like the other two reviewers, We also are returning this headphone.

Ash Becchio claimed difficulty reaching Sony, but when they did, Sony blamed their Samsung T.V. Which may be accurate, but does not help, if using this headphone with certain bluetooth T.V.s is important to you.

We are returning this, but highly recommend it if you are O.K. with both the modest head clamping pressure ANC requires, and do not use it with whatever Samsung devices these do not work well with. We are going back to using V.2 for phone calls, and V.3 for both music and television.

First of all, I am not an audiophile. I don't care about the 95% percent good sound quality to 95% percent good. Nor will I spend thousands of dollars on that. So the sound quality of this is perfectly fine with me. That aside, since the noise canceling is so great, the music sounds even better even you are on a train.

The noise-canceling is, well, freaking amazing. Truly, freaking amazing. And the app can let you adjust it. When you need to talk to somebody, you can put your palm on the right ear cup, then you will be talk and hear others. This is truly a great design. If you want to play with the app more, you can set your preference for each location you an in, and the headphone will auto load that setting. I don't need this, but I can see how useful this could be to others.

Second, the music sounds very good. Some people would argue, you should use different headphones for gaming and music. I find those people stupid or inefficient at least. This headphone should cover all aspects of gaming and music. For music, 360 music sounds good, but it's nothing that you should buy the headphone for. Oh, 360 music literally has a few songs, I mean, a few.

Third, this headphone feels very comfortable. It's the result due to a few designs. The headphone is very thin. Of course, you can't compare the weight to an earbud, but for a headphone, it's very light weighted. And the earcup and band have sufficient cushion. This is important, my last headphone was Sennheiser moment m2 ivory edition. The damn headphone will head my head and ear with only one or two hours of usage. But not with Sony's this headphone, I can easily wear it for days. The ear bud's cushion is way better than m2's. Those germans always bloat about how good their engineering is, but always short on materials. A lot of users with m2 complaining the ear cushion couldn't cover the ear, I can't explain how uncomfortable that is.

Fourth, the app is really useful. The app comes with the headphone has a lot of useful features. You should definitely check it out. Event google has a low score for it.

Fifth, the ability to connecting two devices through Bluetooth is a very good improvement. In short, you can listen to music on your laptop, and if there is a call, you can answer it immediately. When you are done with the call, get back to the music with ease.

Last, the battery lasts 30h. And if it's out of battery, you can charge it for about 5-10 min and be able to use it through the day.

I have owned the Bose QC 35 series I (the originals) for four years now, and just recently replaced the ear pads since they finally deteriorated. I figured after four years there has to be some serious improvements in noise cancelling technology, and since the WH-1000XM3 model got so many good reviews I figured these would be awesome. So I pre-ordered them.

I pulled them out of the box and followed the very quick connect process of downloading the app and using it to pair to my phone. It downloaded a firmware update automatically while I fiddled around with some settings briefly and listened to some music. Super easy, awesome.

The sound is very impressive. Punchy kick drum (I listen mostly to rock/metal) and nice bright sound. I quickly settled on a slightly customized version of the included Bright preset.

But things quickly went downhill from there.

After using the headphones for a bit, the touch controls became frankly annoying and easily susceptible to mistakes (I triggered track skips multiple times just by removing and putting the headphones back on). The volume adjustment is especially tedious...if you want to raise or lower the volume significantly you have to swipe it up or down a large number of times because the volume adjustment is done in small increments. With the Bose QC 35 and its dedicated buttons, you just quickly push the buttons. Simple.

I spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to pair the headphones with my laptop, reading the guide in the app and doing some web searching, thinking it must be provided by one of the two dedicated buttons like on the Bose QE 35s. Nope. It must be done with the app. In fact, everything has to be done with the app except whatever you have the custom button configured to do, and the power. On the Bose I just have to slide the power button, and it goes into pairing mode. Simple.

The above are honestly smaller issues that you could probably put up with since the sound these produce is so good. However, the deal breaker for me was when I connected them with the included wire to the controller on my Roku Ultra to enjoy some TV time after a long day. I always watch movies and TV with headphones. To my horror they produced a clearly audible hissing sound that is incredibly distracting. I turned them off and on again, disconnected and reconnected the cable. No change, still the hissing sound. My Bose don't produce this sound. Ugh.

After listening to them for a couple hours I had a slight headache and felt fatigued, almost nauseous. I know some people are affected differently by the noise cancelling technology, but I don't get this from my Bose, even after listening to them all day.

Additionally, speaking of noise cancelling, I compared my Bose QC 35s to these, and I couldn't tell the difference between the noise cancelling. They sound the same to me. :shrug: I'm sure you could tell the difference with laboratory equipment though.

All-in-all the sound these produce is really good, and the noise cancelling is great (although I can't tell the difference from my Bose QC 35 Series I). But they have 1) lots of annoyances in the touch controls instead of dedicated buttons, 2) the fact that the app is required to do everything (including pairing) except turning them off and activating the custom button, 3) the hissing on the wired connection to my Roku Ultra, and 4) the fatiguing after listening to them.

I'll be returning them.

This is almost the same as XM3, sounding everything is great but it has issues that made me prefer XM3 over this.

First, I didn't try the real 3D included. It's only works with other service like Tidal which has monthly charges. I really don't like they listed this as feature but it wasn't clear you have to pay those service later.

Second, battery life is horrible! It only lasted 6-8 hrs per charge. Upon research, people suggested to leave "DSEE Extreme" off which seems to drain battery life unexpectedly. XM3 has similar feature but I don't remember that has huge impact on battery life.

Until they fix the battery issue, I would suggest you to try similar Bose headphones instead.

Download Sony Headphone Connect App, open box, turn on headphones (bottom of left headphone on/off switch), using Sony Connect App, connect and paired new headphones.
- My headphones were 100% charged out of box.
- Many features in Sony Connect App, matter of your preference and use. I do think the app is solid and useful for my use of these headphones.
- My headphones firmware updated automatically -be patient, process took several minutes. Initial impression; very comfortable, really good noise canceling and sound quality.
- Voice clarity on both ends is outstanding.
- Easily connected two iPhones, my experience switching between them was seamless.
- Used ear profile in-app feature to analyze my ear shape for 360 Reality Audio setup.
- Able to connect to MacBook Pro (2020 version) directly via Bluetooth with no issues.

UPDATE: >30 hours of iPhone X, 8, and Bluetooth MacBook Pro connection.
- The phone call quality is awesome (you can hear
- No video lag/latency on FT and Zoom calls.
- I have found the connection at times can be a bit cumbersome when having two devices connected and receiving calls, it might be a setting or how I am picking up the call --directly from the phone or double-tapping on the headset.
- Great noise suppression to the wind, outside city/road-noise, etc... No reported issues with other people on calls with me. Always told call quality was very crisp and clear... my experience, much better than Apple Airpod Pro for suppression of noise for callers on the other end.
- I have also now used these headphones for Bluetooth connection to Nvidia Shield connected to my TV for over 16 hrs. Easy direct connection directly from Nvidia Bluetooth Settings. TV and Movie surround sound is great, you can hear the slightest sounds.

Bose 700 vs. Sony WH-1000XM4
- Seamless connection - prefer SONY
- Comfort - prefer Sony
- Headphone sound controls - prefer Bose. Sony touch control works ok but the Bose increase/decrease volume seems to work better on Sony
- Noise-canceling for me, both performed in a similar way
- Call quality, for me, both performed in a similar way

I Will continue to test and use Bose but the feel of the headset on my head is not as comfortable as Sony.

UPDATE: Running 7.3 Update
- Not sure if related but the initial bluetooth connection and subsequent connections are problematic;
- I have had to reconnect several times via the app and my phone needs to be very close to the headset;
- Once I am connected it has worked but I have had to repeat the process a few times now;
- Additionally, after significant use, the touch controls are a nice feature but not ideal under some circumstances. For example, if you have a hoodie on, jacket with hood, etc... touch control is sensitive and fabric, cord, ect... will effect the touch controls.
- I am running iphone X with latest iOS, should be receiving iphone 12 Pro this eve and will update with any new comments.

Well, I wanted to like this so bad. I needed to upgrade a 5 year old pair of Bose QC35s I loved dearly and have put through hell and back. I didn't love the design of the Bose 700s and wanted more modern ANC features than the QC35ii, so I chose these after plenty of research. First of all, the sound is way better, though unsurprisingly no where close to my open back Sennheisers. Still much much better than my original QC35s. Noise canceling was surprisingly uninspiring, it really didn't strike me as any better than what my 5 year old pair can manage, though the ambient settings were nice.

Unfortunately, I HATED the ear cup design. So much so that I actually ended up deciding to exchange these for a pair of the QC35ii's because at least I know those will be very comfortable. I have a fairly small ears, and my ears touched the inside of the headphones. The foam inside the ear cups really isn't all that smooth or comfortable, and would definitely catch on my earrings over a lifetime of frequent use. This also caused my ears to get very warm even when wearing these for only a short period while sitting in a cool room. I can't imagine how they'd feel outside on a hot day. And lastly, and least significantly, the faux leather on the ear pieces is definitely less comfortable than the Bose. This wouldn't be a deal breaker for me on it's own, but with everything else, these really aren't headphones I'd be able to wear regularly, much less for the amount of time I'll be wearing these.

I'd definitely recommend these for those less sensitive to ear comfort or wanting something primarily for short travel rather than day to day wear, but otherwise not so much...

Noise cancellation and audio quality exceeded my expectations. If you can afford it, buy it. If you can not afford it, find a part time job so you can buy it.

I receive both a S-brand Bud+ and the Sony XM4 on the same day.
In short, the Bud+ is garbage, no bass, average mid and high.
The Sony XM4 is a must buy if your budget allows for it.
Highly recommended.

1. If you like to listen to music around 70% volume and texts come through, it's very loud. Sounds like 150% and the only way to turn it down according to google and Sony is to turn down the sound. That would mean listen to music at lower volume. Why can't there be separate way to control notifications?

2. "Ambient Sound" mode is always on by default. It's very annoying because I never use it. So you have to open the app, sometimes the app takes 7 seconds to open sometimes 2 seconds. Flip a page. Toggle ambient sound off.

3. The google assistant can tell you "you have an email, or a text from Mr.X". Useless to me because in order for it to read the email subject or the text message, you have to use your hands on it like a babies toy. I can't understand why there is no setting to allow it to read it out without requiring the press of a button. I know I have an email because of unique sound notification. I know who the text is from because custom notification for each person. To me this feature is very useless. It's double the notification and I can't turn it off in the Sony app. I have to turn it off in the google settings.

4. If you are using blue-tooth and you want to plug in the cable, remember to turn off the headphones or else the battery gets drained. Sony says this is not suppose to happen, but it has happened. I sometimes plug in the cable and forget to turn them off.

5.Ambient sound seriously needs improvements. That Sony commercial about walking outdoors and hearing the traffic around you is total BS. If there is a small wind outside, you will hear so much wind you will go insane trying to use the ambient sound. The option menu gives you level 1 to 20, I can't go beyond level 3. Either a dead cat or better software is needed.

6. There is a feature that will pause the music when it hears you speak... if someone doesn't speak for 3 seconds, max 5 seconds, the music should return in my opinion. It's actually set to 15 seconds and no way to change it. So when you say anything, the music will pause 15 seconds before playing.

7. The same size speakers are disappointing. I was hoping for more bass that can be felt.

Sony says they appreciate my feedback and will work on updates. I decline to keep these because it's not worth the price.

So I was stuck between last year's M3 and the Bose 700. I saw these were coming out and wasn't sure. I did more research and was leaning towards the 700's to save money. I am primarily using these for WFH (music/calls) and the mic on the 700's is said to be amazing. As I researched I googled around and found that Bose has been having weeks of software issues and didn't want to get into that. I almost pre-ordered the M4's but decided to sleep on it because it didn't make a difference being in a queue. Finally one day, I found a YouTube video on the M4 and all my concerns were already addressed. I was sold.

Yesterday (Aug 18th) these arrived at my door and I was on calls ALL DAY. They were perfect. Today, I get to enjoy music and silence –– HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

As a diagnosed Autistic Person (Aspergers) I gave these headphones a 5 Star review because even though they have some faults I do think they serve their purpose.
These headphones are great for basic use like travel and at home / at work use. I personally use them to drown out the noise from a very noisy daycare I live next door to, or if i've had a long day of Sensory Processing and I'm drained and can't cope with background noises or volume control of other people's voices any more. I definitely recommend them for people who are ASD or with Sensory Processing issues. I enjoy wearing them when i'm working too as they help me concentrate on my tasks without having my attention diverted by auditory distractions.

The things that aren't the greatest about them -
* I do not recommend them for exercise such as Running. They are very sensitive and even when i go outside I turn down all noise canceling sensors on the app, just to stay quiet at the lowest level.
* The Speak to Chat function is cool, but can be annoying when you just clear your throat and it activates. The headphones are so sensitive that sometimes when I try to return back to Noise Canceling it switches off the function all together.
* Volume adjustment is not the greatest either. Having to slide your finger up and down one little bit at a time makes the whole function extremely slow. The skip or go back swipe function is cool but again, it's so sensitive that if you swipe accidentally or a little off angle it feels that.
* I also don't really like the material they are made of. Be sure to give them a wipe every day as the material easily gathers natural occurring oils form your skin and hair.
* It has this cool all surrounding music function, but you can't get that unless you purchase a specific music app for it. Spotify doesn't support that sadly.
* It's great that it can pair with 2 devices at a time, but sometimes that causes one device's volume to not work and I have to switch off the other device and start all over again with pairing.
* For some reason it constantly switches on itunes every time i connect it to my computer.

But as I said, I do love to wear them a lot and they help me out immensely, especially around the house, everyday tasks and with concentration.

I hope that with future products these things will be adjusted, but for now we're so lucky to have such cool technology.

As of about three years ago, I was an earbuds guy. The wireless over-hear headphones I had tried previously never could approximate the kind of audio immersion you get when you wedge little speakers directly into your ear canals. I never found over-hear headphone noise cancellation to work that well - often, turning it on would create more noise than it cancelled, compromising audio quality and, well, just sucking generally. Not to mention the inconsistent and typically non-intuitive affordances for powering on/off, pairing, and controlling playback on these things.

But then I picked up a pair of Sony's WH-H900N noise cancelling wireless headphones. I basically fell in love with them on day one and used the heck out of them over the past 3 years. So, now I'm an over-ear headphones guy. Specifically, THIS line of over-ear headphones that Sony is putting out.

I still love my H900Ns. But we all know that in tech a lot can change in 3 years time. In fact, I was about to upgrade to the WH-1000XM3s a few months ago but held off after learning about the imminent release of the M4s. So I waited. Then I pre-ordered. Yesterday, I received them.

I've now had about 24 hours to toy around with them and I'm already prepared to say that these are clearly the best headphones I've ever owned. Which is to say: They're everything I love about my WH-900Ns, but better:

- They're noticeably lighter, and based on about 5 hours of use I'm convinced they're more comfortable to wear
- Sound quality is significantly better. I didn't actually expect this amount of improvement, but it's definitely noticeable at both low and high end. Separation of layers is particularly amazing: vocals shine with total clarity, heavy bass tracks shake and vibrate my skull without any noticeable distortion; high-hats and snares are crisp and clear. Very happy with this so far, which i should mention is just using the default settings with songs downloaded from Spotify. I'm looking forward to optimizing further with custom equalizer settings in the sound connect app.
- Small thing but the semi-hardshell case with dedicated accessory storage (pictured) is really nice to have (900Ns just came with a bag...)
- Clarity of phone calls - both input and output (i.e., the mic works well) - is excellent. This is key as I plan to use these to listen to music and take meetings while WFH for the foreseeable future. The 900Ns were also very good in this regard, but the ability to connect to both my work computer and my mobile device simultaneously will really help me out during the work week.

CONNECTING TO TWO DEVICES SIMULTANEOUSLY

One of the issues is figuring out how to connect to these things to two devices at the same time. Given that this is a new and much-anticipated feature, I would have thought Sony would have thought to make it crystal clear to new users how to actually do this. Maybe I missed it, but I couldn't find instructions for how to do this. Here are the steps I discovered through trial and error that allowed me to simultaneously connect to both my iPhone and Mac Mini:

1. You may have to enable the feature from within the Headphones mobile app. For me, it was disabled. See photo I uploaded showing the relevant part of the application.
2. You need to first pair the headphones to each device separately before it is possible to connect to them simultaneously. As far as I can tell, there is no way to put the headphones in pairing mode when they're connected to a device.
3. Then, when the headphones are connected to one of the devices, you should be able to connect your second device to the headphones using the second device's bluetooth preferences.
4. If the second device successfully connects, you'll hear a voice notification through the headphones: "Bluetooth device 2 connected". You'll also see two devices listed under the "Status" tab of the Headphones Connect application.

Not a big deal, but seems silly that something like the above wasn't just in Sony's own documentation.

OTHER MINOR GRIEVANCES AND NITPICKS

It seems that the only way to get the most out of these is to use them with your Android or iOS device. This is because a lot of functionality - such as the ability to customize sound - is only available on iOS/Android devices with the Sony Headphones Connect application. The iOS app is decidedly intended for use on iPhones - it only runs in portrait orientation, making it a pain to use on my iPad (which I almost always use in landscape orientation). But the worst thing about this is that I can't customize anything when listening on a MacOS device, which these days is a lot of the time. Fortunately, these sound excellent even with the default settings - just wish the capabilities of these headphones wasn't dependent on which device I was using them with.

Final minor grievance (for now) is this adaptive sound control feature that Sony got me to try out. It requires location sharing and by default fires annoying and surprisingly frequent notifications on my iPhone about how it's apparently adapting to my ambient environment. I figured out how to mute the notifications but still need to figure out how to shut the feature off entirely, which I frankly have had enough of. My advice is to opt out of this feature when you first set your headphones up. Very disruptive with totally unclear benefits.

FINAL WORD (FOR NOW)

Again, best headphones I've ever owned, and I'm very happy with my purchase. But the minor issues I describe above, combined with the high cost of these things, were enough to knock a star off my rating. Buyer beware :)

UPDATE 1/28/21: After a month and a half, I'm still very pleased with this purchase. Music sounds great and the battery life is amazing. I stand by my complaints, though. And I wound up disabling Speak to Chat functionality as it would sometimes pick up stray noise and pause music, like when washing dishes. Doubling tapping the right earphone is more than adequate if I need to pause. Also, I've been told by others that I sound very quiet on cell phone calls, but haven't it myself. Finally, Bluetooth with my Mac can sometimes be fussy, but I blame that on the abomination that is the Bluetooth protocol and Apple's poor Bluetooth stack.

UPDATE: I've managed extensive testing of the ANC with my 8-year-old twins and their near constant screaming has been reduced to a slight buzzing. Bonus sixth star!

I'm not an audiophile. My listening source are FLACs via a MacBook Pro. Also, my review solely covers the wireless mode. Qualifiers disclosed, these are without question the best wireless headphones I've used.

Over the past week, I've thrown numerous genres at them, spanning Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Anthrax, Rammstein, Beck, Big Boi, Run DMC, Prodigy to Aimee Mann (signaling much?) and the phones have acquitted themselves quite well. The bass is crisp and not distorted even at loud volumes and the highs maintain without becoming grating. The build-in equalizer is good and can dramatically alter the color of the sound to suit your taste. The Noise Canceling is a dream and has clever options, like adjustable ambient sound control, which is easy to cycle through.

The lifestyle features like remove to pause, Quick Attention and ASC are quite nifty. I haven't found the touch controls to be annoying like many others, though you do need to be precise and I've given up trying to control the volume with it and instead use the app, but track skip and tap to play/pause are easy. Speaking of the app, it's not the most straightforward thing, but it has been rock solid on Android and gives you tremendous customization options. I've only done a few calls with headphones, and while the call quality was fine, I don't have enough experience with that aspect to fairly comment.

While it doesn't come with a charger, it does include a ridiculously short USB-C charging cable and an adequate 3.5mm audio cable, which all fit nicely within a compact carrying case. Speaking of charging, the phones will easily last more than a day of serious use and it recharges quickly.

Of course, it's not all flowers and sunshine. They are closed-ear headphones, so they will warm your ears after a few hours. The touch controls are novel and take a bit of getting used to, but work pretty reliably (barring volume control). The Speak to Chat functionality is brilliant, but maddeningly fussy. I'm hopeful that the combination of more tuning by me and future firmware updates from Sony will make it a killer feature and if not, it can be disabled from within the app.

A couple of decades ago, Sony was the benchmark in consumer audio before sliding into also-ran mediocrity. These headphones are a refreshing reminder of that excellent past and I recommend them with minimal reservation.

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Industry Leading Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones with Mic for phone.

PROS :
1) Best noise cancelling on the current market Period in all frequencies.
2) Sound quality incredibly balanced & adjustable with the App to individual taste
3) Exceptionally comfortable, only beaten by the Bose 35s
4) Excellent connectivity stable connection with 2 devices at once
5) 30 hours battery life

CONS:
1) No AptX LL. This is a reason for me to send them back since I watch movies with head phones. In this day & age we need low latency to watch video content.
This is unforgivable since Sony was notified in their previous version the WH-1000XM3 it was a must.
2) Wind turns the ambient sound feature on & off. This is beyond annoying. Thank goodness it can be turned off
3) If it's windy one can hear wind in a phone conversation. This is not a problem with the Bose 700s
4) The ears will get quite warm if the headphones are worn for long periods.
5) I'm still not a fan of the swipe controls. They can be glitchy. For instance when trying to turn volume up or down, sometimes it pauses the music & other times it switches to the next track.

Overall Sony has improved the WH-1000XM4 from the previous generation but it could be better, much better with a few tweaks & recommendations above to become the ultimate noise cancelling bluetooth headphones on the market.

****EDIT**** I had to send the unit back because the automatic quick attention mode where human voices turn the music off went hay wire. Every sound started to turn the unit off. It didn't matter in the app if that feature was on or off, it kept doing it. This is a major flaw in the design. I DO NOT RECOMMEND this model. It's frustrating beyond belief....Now I star

After reading several online articles on the best wireless ANC headphones in the $300-400 range, I chose three to try out:

- Sony WH-1000XM4
- Master & Dynamic MW65
- Bowers & Wilkins PX7

The Sony pair arrived first and my initial thought was that although they had plenty of cool bells & whistles (touch sensitive volume control, automatic pause when removing them from your head) and the ANC was very effective, they sounded surprisingly flat. Even after trying various EQ settings within the Sony app and on my iPhone, the sound was decent but just not good enough for a $350 pair of headphones. And the most important thing to me with headphones is sound quality. I couldn't help but wonder why these headphones had such great reviews on sound quality when to my ears they just sound dull. All bass and mid, very little clarity of treble. To me, it seems the majority of the money for this pair went into the fancy features and not to the sound quality.

Next came the Master & Dynamic MW65 -- a newer company based out of NYC I hadn't heard of until this week. Besides the absolutely stunning design (not the most important thing to me honestly) I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the full, rich sound and crystal clear quality of the audio -- especially on the high end. An absolutely beautiful, well balanced, natural sound -- unlike the Sony's. Bass and midrange are important of course, and these have plenty of low end punch, but if you're like me and you want a precise, clear, open treble (so you can really hear all those delicate cymbals and high hats), then these will delight you. To be fair, they do not have many of the fancy features of other headphones in this price range (and they don't come with an app, which is fine by me), and the ANC isn't quite as effective as the Sony's. But a more subtle ANC is also what keeps the music sounding so great. They're also the only pair of the three that didn't come with a hard case (the case is soft), so to protect these I'm going to spend another $25 on a case. They're worth it. I only wish these were super soft over-ear phones instead of on-ear phones. The earpad leather is very soft and they are definitely comfortable (even to a man with big ears like mine), but I feel after hours of usage an over-ear set would be more comfortable.

Finally the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 arrived. I had high hopes for these because of their reviews, and the reputation of B&W for many years running. So I was as surprised as I could possibly be when I put them on and they sounded as flat and dull as the Sony's. In fact, after an A-B comparison they sounded nearly identical to the Sony's. Plus, the B&W app was buggy and terrible, and didn't even include EQ. (I used the iPhone settings to adjust EQ instead, but it still didn't help the B&Ws much.)

Master & Dynamic was the clear winner of the three, no contest. It amazes me that the Sony and B&W headphones have plenty of glowing reviews from people who rave about the sound quality. All I can think of is everyone's preferences are different, but most likely the people who popped them on and enjoyed them didn't actually do A-B comparisons with other brands. It was when I compared the Master & Dynamics with the others that I really noticed what the other two pair were missing.

Just got my new XM4 yesterday. Did a full charge and downloaded the app. The sound isn't as good as I had hoped. I'm comparing then to my Bose QC 35. The controls are very awkward but I guess I need some time to adjust. The part I don't like is the technology aspect of these headphones. There are several settings to go thru to establish the proper noise cancelling, including location and sending pics of your ears to Sony. Of course I didn't upload any pics, and after lots of quirks, I turned off location. There is a setting that auto mutes the headphone when you speak, so if you intend to sing along with your music, it mutes. You can't even clear your throat or sneeze, otherwise it mutes. How annoying.. bottom line I turned all the technology off which makes them regular headphones. The sound is great when playing music, but call quality is mediocre compared to Bose. In the app, you can change the equilizer presets a however, several are identical which is dumb. You can set a custom EQ setting. I'm considering returning them, but I will give a few more days for me to adjust and see if it gets better.

One solid point I forgot to mention. The new Sonys have Bluetooth 5.0 where as Bose QC35 have 4.1 or 4.2 (depending on when you bought them). The Bose connection is not very stable. The receiving antenna is on the right side of Bose QC, and if my phone were on my left hip, it cuts it or jitters. The Sony's are absolutely solid, and with 5.0, you can literally walk around the house without your phone and it hasn't stuttered once.

Update 8/25/2020: After a couple more hours tinkering with them, the voice assist is horrible, and the worst part, the headphones do NOT announce caller. (Bose do).. I haven't found a solid way to reject a call and it isn't in the help section. While the controls take practice, most of the time I try adjusting the volume, but change the track instead. I definitely prefer the buttons on the Bose as its really easy and intuitive.

Update 11/15/20: these headphone controls are getting worse. I can no longer control volume. I used to think it was just when my hands were moist from being on treadmill. Add off this morning, I washed and dried my hands and still no volume control. This reinforces my previous review of preferring actual buttons. These headphones were a $400 mistake

Update 1/4/21: I cannot reach Sony for warranty. I've reached out to Amazon 2 months ago and still no reply. These are a useless paperweight. Do not buy these if you value quality.

I was very excited about this new product and was finally willing to spend money since I now work from home. They are incredibly comfortable, sound quality is incredible but the microphones are horrible and call quality is non-existent. I was unable to use it for office calls. People said I sound robotic, like I was in a box or I had to speak up. Noise cancellation did nothing for ambient noise at any level. It picked up my dogs outside, the tv in the background and even my wife. It’s unacceptable for a product in this price range. I really don’t understand the rave reviews on this. If you are using them solely for music I completely agree but nothing else. I switched to the bose 700’s and it’s night and day for call quality and noise cancellation. Everyone says I am extremely clear now and they cannot hear anything in the background at all. Sound is good but nowhere near the punchy bass and ambient sound the Sony headphones have. I really tried to love my xm4‘s but could not justify not being able to also use them for work. Note: I did update them to latest firmware and tested every knob and feature in the app. Nothing changed what I was experiencing.

definitely better audio-hi-fi than xm3 -- more openness and definition.

note: to pair with my walkman wm1a i set up bluetooth pairing on walkman, BUT, as with xm3, i have to turn off the headphones first and restart them by PUSHING POWER ON, AND HOLDING IT PRESSED FOR 7 SECONDS. devices then connect.

Owned the WH1000xm4 for a week. Thought the sound was great for a noise cancelling headphone, however if you don’t care for noise cancelling you can get better sounding bluetooth headphones for an even lower price, from Hifiman, Grado to name a few. I bought the Bose 700 a few days later. Sound quality is close between the two. The Bose sounded warm and neutral while Sony sounded a little lean and neutral. With the Bose you are sitting a little closer to the performer because voices sound closer to you, with Sony you are sitting a few rows back with a little wider soundstage. I would say Sony has a little better bass impact compared to the Bose. For a noise cancelling headphone at this price range I would give both a 9/10 in sound quality. However, compared to my $1700 Sennheiser HD800S, both would get a 5.5/10 if the HD800S was a 10. These are not audiophile headphones but sound good enough for non-critical listening.

Both are very comfortable, Sony is cushier, while Bose has a little firmer foam around the ears. Because the Sony is cushy with more surface area contact, your ears can feel warmer, good if you live in a cold area I guess. With this one I prefer the Bose.

Sony has more functionality with its phone app. However, Sony’s AI algorithm DSEE which is supposed to enhance compressed audio cause some loss in audio fidelity. Overall better with it off, at least with my ears. Music untouched and played as close to neutral as possible is best. Sony has a built in Noise Canceling Optimizer which made no audible difference to my ears. These are probably unfinished functionality pushed by the marketing department. I’m not sure. Before I bought this headphone, I was reading a review from Soundguys website where they tested battery life. Anyway, these got just below 20 hrs, not 30. So on par with other brands.

I would have kept the Sony, was happy with it. However, it wasn’t compatible with my Samsung TV(2019 model). Searched online and a few people have the same issue. Noticeable audio lag, and loss of sync between audio and video. With a firmware update from Sony, this will probably be fixed in the future, but I didn’t want to take a chance, especially considering the price of the headphone. So anyway, bought the Bose 700, now zero issues with my tv. Sound quality is identical, build quality and choice of materials is just as good. Final Rating. Sound Quality 9, Build quality 9, Noise Cancellation 9, Comfort 8.5.

I spent both a live chat session and SIX phone calls with Sony customer support trying to get these to work properly, to no avail. This is one of the most disappointing purchases I've made recently. Arguably the biggest selling point of the XM4 over the XM3 headphones is the multi-device connection feature, which supposedly lets you switch automatically between two devices. Without this feature, you may as well buy the XM3 headphones for $100-$150 less. It doesn't work when paired with MacBook Pro and iPhone. I've tried everything — restoring the headphones to default settings, deleting and reinstalling the app, deregistering and re-registering the headphones from both devices — nothing works. Search the Sony subreddit and you'll find a bunch of posts with the exact same problem when using a Mac and iPhone with this feature. The headphones will not switch connection to the second device. Both my MacBook and iPhone are running the latest versions of their respective OS. The MacBook is a 16" model from 2016 and the iPhone is an XS.

It seems completely nuts to me that Sony didn't detect this issue before putting these on the market. After six support phone calls and a live chat session, Sony did not offer to replace my unit. They told me the problem was with my computer and if I would like to return the headphones, I could. It would be one thing if the headphones had a compatibility warning that says "Does not work with MacBook Pros" or something, but there is no such warning. So if you use a Mac and an iPhone and you're thinking about getting these, please realize you may find yourself spending many futile hours trying to get this feature to work. If you don't care about that feature, I'm sure they're a great buy. The sound quality is great and the noise cancelling is excellent. Just pick up a pair of XM3 headphones instead and save yourself a chunk of cash.