Отзывы о Наушники Sony WH-1000XM4

These headphones are the most expensive cans I’ve ever bought, and I’ve bought plenty in my time !
Have you got a spare bit of cash for a pair of headphones ?......BUY THEM ! Don’t let the cost put you off.
Unbelievable. The sound quality is awesome. I was worried the full volume wouldn’t be adequate as I found with a pair of expensive Beats wireless ones I once owned. Sometimes you need a bit of power when you’re a metal guy like me....No probs, had to turn them down !
Noise cancellation is awesome, I can’t hear Coronation Street now when I’ve got them on which is worth £350 quid of anyone’s
money !
Comfortable & light, extensive use isn’t an issue, the deep bass which is missing off a lot of cans is there in abundance, and anyway you can alter to suit your taste
Battery life speaks for itself is a no brainier. 30 hrs is ridiculous but a fact

Pro’s.....The whole package. Get them !
Con’s... None

In my opinion this is the best pair of cordless headphones I’ve ever used. They won’t cheap, but the sound quality is very good. I’ve only given it for, as you have to play around with the graphic equaliser settings either on the device you’re listening on, or on the headphones app, to get it right. Anyway that having been done things are a pleasure. Great comfort! I can comfortably listen to these for for five or six hours at a time, on the rare occasions I have the time to do so! The noise cancelling even cuts out the wife’s nagging, so what could be better! The battery life is probably around 25 hours, with noise cancelling on.

Be aware that the USB cable that is shipped with ease is about a foot long, so he’s pretty much useless! These are USPC, so you might be as well investing in a longer cable when you buy them. They come very well packaged, die haven’t decided to keep the storage box.

These are best suited for home use, as they are quite big and quite heavy. Yes they fold up, but at the best part of 400 quid, not sure I’ll be taking on the train any time soon. If you want to be able to enjoy music without being hassled, have a good excuse to ignore your Mrs, and have a few hundred quid to buy yourself something that is a pure luxury, these are for you. I used to own a pair of Sennheiser HD 650s, which were the best pair of corded headphones I’ve ever heard. These come very very close to those.

NOTE: I've been a big fan of Sony headphones since I bought the MDR 1-As in 2013, then the WH1000XM2s in 2017.

These headphones are the best I've ever owned.

They have an insanely long battery life compared to just about everything I own, they sound amazing to most people (by that I mean that they have a slight emphasis on bass, but that doesn't make it sound muddy at all; the drivers do a good job of giving a lot of room to the mid and treble), and best of all, they are insanely long lasting and durable AF.

I initially bought my first pair on launch in 2020; and they've been in heavy use ever since. Around late 2021, I noticed a small popping sound in my right earcup; after telling Amazon support, they offered a full replacement (out of warranty), something which surprised me a lot, but they were very easy to work with and gave me an entirely new pair, that has also been in heavy use since then.

You already know about this pair if you've done any research anyhow: their noise cancelling is second to only the XM5s, but in my opinion, I don't quite like how the XM5s don't fold, which is why I prefer this pair. Obviously there are better headphones that are more audiophile grade with flatter sound, but if you have an LDAC phone and want to listen music wirelessly, these beat out the competition by miles. Even when plugged into a desktop, these are great, and they sound even better when you turn them on and plug them in (though I don't, they sound just a bit worse when not turned on and plugged in, and it means that it's not using its battery).

All in all, you can't really go wrong with these, especially if you have LDAC devices.

I've owned my Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones for over a year now. The sound is very good, as described in many other reviews - although I have not owned other headphones in this price range, so cannot compare these against competitor models. They're comfortable to wear for extended periods. Great battery life.

Why only 3 stars?

-The noise cancelling is very good when background noises are reasonably constant, but totally ruins phone calls when I'm doing anything like chopping vegetables or washing dishes. Anything where the background sounds are intermittent, the noise cancelling is actually worse than nothing: the sound of the person I'm speaking with cuts in and out, making it very difficult to follow anything they're saying. Doing chores at home while having a phone call is not an edge case, but the noise cancelling cannot handle these situations.

-Some of the other features don't work consistently. For example, when you take the headphones off, music is supposed to pause automatically. This often doesn't work. I suspect even a tiny bit of condensation blocks the sensor. I'm not talking about wearing these while running and getting all sweaty: more like strolling down the street in mild, dry weather.

-These headphones are warm because of the way they envelop your ears, so not that great in summer. They have no waterproofing whatsoever, so not great in the rain. Try wearing them under a hood and the hood rubbing against the headphones will cause tracks to skip forwards and backwards, volume to change, etc.

-The supplied charging cable is only 4 or 6 inches long. This means it fits very easily in the case, but it's often pretty annoying to charge these headphones. You need a plug socket on the ground (which most are not) and you need to leave your headphones lying on the floor waiting to get stood on. Or you have to buy your own charging cable. These are £250 headphones and something as simple as charging them becomes a frustrating experience.

TLDR: they sound great but features regularly malfunction in various common use cases and they're not great in hot or rainy weather, and Sony have intentionally supplied a very user-unfriendly charging cable. Were they worth £250? I'm not so sure.

The noise cancellation is incredible, sound quality is top tier, and I use them all day and only charge every 2 days. I feel minimal discomfort wearing them for long periods of time. You can't use them wirelessly whilst they charge, but that's hardly an issue as they charge extremely fast. If you want to use them for gaming, you will find that the audio quality is quite poor when it's also trying to use it's inbuilt microphone, but this is a Bluetooth issue, rather than an issue with these headphones.

I love these headphones. I spent around an hour in John Lewis trying all of the ones around this mark, these, the xm5s, bose 700s, bose 30s, marshal, Senheisser (forgive spelling) etc. These were way better than all of them but it is a taste thing I guess. I was going to go for the XM5s but didn't like the look nor feel. The XM5 pads seem too soft and whilst comfortable, it was a guess as to how long they would remain effective, also the XM4s have a more compact case and feel more premium.

Love em.

I was rooting for these to be good after reading all the positive reviews. I was hoping that through the headphone market this was Sony's glorious return to blazing trails in the portable audio space once again.

Initially everything was great, sitting listening to audio in my new pair of cutting edge Sony cans. Pairing was seamless and quick, assistant notifications through the studio handy and music/ call clarity great. The only slight annoyance was not really being able to hear my own voice during a call, so had no idea if I was speaking to load or quiet outwith some guesswork based loosely around the other callers interactions.

Battery life seemed good and at this point most use was indoors, with my device nearby to control the audio. Finally it was time to download a podcast and venture out for a stroll rocking my new headphones. Setting off the first thing I noticed was I could hear the audio crystal clear and in the background little else but the woosh of cars going by. I wondered how it would detect traffic and as my first pair of "top of the range" noise cancelling headphones was really surprised how clever and good job it was doing.

Walking on, I was almost perfect silence apart from the cars going by and the podcast.... then "CREAK"... from my left ear cup. I ignored, putting it down to a once off and continued walking. But it wasn't a once off "CREEEAAK".. oh that's annoying, I'll reposition the band a bit.... walking on... CREAK, CREAAK!! Oh FFS ... where's the pause/ stop on this thing? There I was tapping and sliding my finger all over the ear cup touch sensitive controls to no avail before finally submitting and pulling my phone out and pressing "STOP".

Taking off the headphones, I thought... l'll adjust the band length slightly maybe that will work. It was cold out, so the phone was back in the pocket at this point so again I ventured in to waltzing and tapping my fingers over the ear cup to find play and increase the volume only to be met with spontaneous and sporadic medley chaotic audio control.... I finally succumbed and out came the phone again... "PLAY".

About 6 steps later, you guessed it... "CREEAAKKKKK". Agggghhhhhh... off they came again.... "But you are £250 quid headphones" I'm shouting at them in the middle of street like a looney. "Noise cancelling? More like Noise Making!" I'm continuing to curse. ""Only music, nothing else" Sony say in their ads... more like Only music, nothing else... apart from the sound of a plastic creaking headband" I'm rambling on.

Then I get a grip if myself, realising in the grand scale of life how silly it is to get annoyed over a creaking plastic headband.. but I'm still kind of annoyed.

I Google "wh-1000xm4 creaking" then I'm like "wow, this is actually a thing?".

It's a shame, Sony have made a lot of decent products but often seem to fall at the final hurdle. These would have been great but just let down by poor controls and an lack of quality control, which at this price point isn't really acceptable/ forgivable and back to Amazon they go.

If you’ve heard about this before and wondering if its worth it, it’s absolutely is. Sound quality is amazing, noise cancelling is on whole another level. Comfort wise its great. The battery is also good. I love the touch control system on the right pad. Everything is seamless except you have to be careful with it to not get any scratches or marks on it.

First of all, the presentation when delivered is exceptional. The headphones come in a lovely, solid case with minimal branding except the Sony zip featuring the copper-like colour which is also features on the headphones themselves. Inside the case is a small instruction sheet on how to use the headphone controls alongside an airplane adaptor, a cable for physical connections and a charging CABLE. I decided to purchase the black colour and, truthfully, when I picked up the headphones, they really did look the part. They’re very comfortable and feel extremely high-quality.

Setting up the headphones via the app was seamless, not to mention the numerous features that the app offers that leave you spoilt for choice regarding personalising settings and sound. The app features an equaliser to adapt the sound to the specific type of music you’re listening to, and this works brilliantly, with presets like “bright”, “mellow” and “bass booster”. You also have the opportunity to create your own custom equaliser settings too. Other flagship features of the app also include adaptive sound control, DSEE Extreme and the opportunity to change the function of the custom button to suit your needs, i.e. personal assistant or turning off ambient sound control (noise cancelling.) Something that I found very interesting was the “Speak-to-Chat” function which momentarily lets the outside world’s sounds in upon detecting your voice. However, this I decided to disable - with singing along with the music being a guilty pleasure of mine.

Using the headphones themselves is fantastic, and this brings me on to the controls that they offer. Examples are swiping up on the right ear cup to increase the volume or holding your hand on the right ear cup to momentarily let in ambient sound. I expected a few hiccups with the controls, and thought they’d be very temperamental. However I was wrong, they are very efficient and are a pleasure to use. This was a huge relief and a surprise, to be brutally honest, for me personally.

The noise cancelling is second to none. No other words. It is exactly as described. Traffic noise becomes non existent and I feel totally immersed in my music. This is the reason why I decided to purchase these headphones. They offer total immersion into your music, using this noise cancellation, that other headphones don’t. The immersive experience is why I always go for these types of headphones and not others out of personal preference.

The sound quality is nothing but a sheer compliment to the noise cancellation, it’s phenomenal. I can hear all the details in the music I listen to, and with my eclectic taste in music, they thrive with all genres, I find.

The 30-hour battery life, I find, is not the case for these headphones and an overestimation. Why this is the case I’m not sure - some day it’s having DSEE enabled, others say it’s the noise cancellation, and then others say it is the speak-to-chat function. With noise cancellation and DSEE enabled, I only managed to get about 15 hours of playback from the headphones - 20 at MOST. This is slightly disappointing, of course, as I’m sure these 2 very strong features are the reasons people buy these headphones instead of other products. One would assume you can use these features without compromising the battery life to an extent that is - in my opinion - quite significant. I have had to come back to this review and amend it as I feel it is grossly inaccurate to assert that these headphones can last up to 30 hours - when in my experience this is only achieved when abandoning the use of the features that make these headphones so expensive and advanced. So personally, I feel that not using the unique features of the Sony XM4s is defeating the object of the device itself. So please, don’t expect these to last 30 hours most of the time! However if you’d want to listen to these headphones with a cable in all of the time, no noise cancellation, no DSEE, no adaptive sound control, a lower-end volume and no speak-to-chat function, then go ahead - and you’ll get your 30 hours...

I personally don’t experience any discomfort after wearing these headphones for a while. I find them extremely comfortable and can wear them for very long periods of time. Regarding wearing the headphones, they can be adjusted to fit different sized heads (big or small).

I really cannot fault the headphones at all. I’m planning on using them for the next few years to come, and so far I can’t see me having any troubles along the way. I use them more in a formal sense (studying, relaxing) instead of exercise as they don’t offer any form of water resistance, and judging by my last pair of Bose QC35s that didn’t take well to humidity, these may not either. And after spending over £300 I won’t be taking the risk, either! For people who love music and enjoy it, these can become your pride and joy - they certainly have for me. Although they come at a high cost, through using the headphones for the past few days I can see the reasons why: particularly the noise cancelling, audio quality and battery life, which I believe are superior to many other headphones on the market. The only feature I would say is lacking with these headphones is microphone quality when making phone calls. They let in a lot of background noise and may not be very useful when used for softwares like Zoom. This is the only thing I can specifically point out that needs improving.

I don’t regret buying the headphones. I’m very much looking forward to using them in the years ahead and feel that they’re the best wireless headphones on the market currently. With exceptional noise cancellation, what more could you ask for? Like a lot of people, I was sceptical about paying a price such as this for merely headphones but they are a lot better than I thought they would be.

I've been using the original 1000X for about 5 years and they're still working fine. Wanted an upgrade primarily for the multi point bluetooth connection. The sound quality is amazing, as always, making listening to any type of music a joy. The controls are intuitive and work perfectly. The only thing that is not great is the microphone. It picks up background noise quite a lot, making phone calls in public spaces a bit interesting, which has been a problem in the original 1000x too. That being said, i still love it and wouldn't choose another headset for any reason.

Been using these all day everything on them is perfect save for this one little nitpick the case that stores them is very tight the headphones only fit in the case when the extendable arms are completely collapsed meaning you have to dial in your fit every time you take them out the case apart from that literally perfect

Good build quality and decent ANC for commuting on train journeys.
Very happy with quality of calls when walking outside in noisy environment. No complaints either side.

Only 2 let downs for me. Firstly the touch controls on the headphones can be hit/miss sometimes.
Secondly they might be 5* music sound quality to many but I don’t find them musically engaging. This is probably because I’m used to wearing high end wired headphones and no Bluetooth headphones is going to match those due to limitation of technology. Having said that my far cheaper Q30’s are more engaging than XM4 in the music listening area. That’s the only area they beat the XM4.

It’s great for audio books, podcasts, social media videos and Netflix movies but just not quality music listening.

First a side note. Do NOT order this item for overnight delivery. It is a password protected delivery which means that someone will be at your door at 4:00 AM asking for the magic incantation.

I have the comparable Sony earbuds so I knew what to expect. Others will have to contend with micro-printed docs on 5 lb paper and a weird wordless diagram which requires a translation from pantomime to one's native language. HOWEVER, the Sony website has ample documentation in a readable format. Also, you need the Sony headphone app to fine tune the setup.

I have acute PTSD, a consequence of gun violence. My building is undergoing major construction in th4e form of concrete restoration. I suspect that, for most people, the noise from the machines is a mere inconvenience. For me that is not the case. It's a pile driver inside my head.

My earbuds were doing the job (these products have the best noise-cancelling of any device I have tried). However, they have limited battery life. The headphones solve that problem. I CANNOT HEAR A SOUND FROM THE CONSTRUCTION. Moreover, I have modest hearing loss in one ear. Hearing aids balance things out and the headphone can be worn over the aids.

I have a large music collection (mostly jazz and classical) ripped losslessly (flac) to large USB drives. The drives are attached to an Nvidia Shield Pro which is an Android TV device. Bluetooth paired right up, has decent range (not requiring LOS) and connects via LDAC (which is what you want for the best quality). I then use Kodi for playback of music and movies.

On the left side is an on-off button and another button that can be programmed via the app. On the right, the side of the speaker is actually a mouse pad which allows you to control both volume and your player (Kodi is imperfect in that regard but it works fine with the app on my phone).

The music is flat AS IT SHOULD BE. Competing devices seem to be made for the average 16-year-old, artificially pumping up the bass. If unnatural noise is what you want, there are plenty of IOS and Android equalizer apps. In any event Mr. Mozart sounds like he should. Most jazz includes a bass that comes through exactly as it would in a live performance. Well, not exactly because we experience bass physically as well as through hearing.

One final note. These things are big. I have an average-sized head (something my former employees would disagree with). The earpieces are not extended at all and the thing is a bit bigger than my headspace. Also, I wish that they were just a tad lighter.

So, in the final analysis, these offer excellent sound reproduction that is accurate, rich and natural. The controls (which include a mouse pad on the right speaker) allow you to control your device and volume. The noise cancellation could not be better. There are no compromises making this a reasonable value.

After buying the WF-10000XM4's and losing the case (replacement is $150. I paid $225 ish for the set), I thought I'd give the WH's a try. I got them for $228 or so, so opted to not get the XM5's due to the price difference. I've only had them for barely a week, but my initial thoughts are certainly positive.

Fit. Here's the deal, I have some big ears, with 3/4" gauges. With my gauges in, I do get some pain in my neck. I have pain issues, so this was no surprise, nor is it a fault of the design. My ears fit fairly comfortably inside the cups to help lock out sound, minus the gauges. The polypropylene(?) material is quite soft and moldable, making wearing them for an hour or more easy and comfortable.

I have a kinda funny shaped head (IMO. But I'm highly critical of myself and the world), but these look really slick placed on my dome. I got black, because black goes with everything, and I don't wear color. Look and fit much better than cans I've owned in the past.

Noise cancelation. The ANC is good, but not great. I found the ANC on the WF's more thorough, which is a bit odd considering they're earbuds. However, they do form a more legit seal in the ear canal, so it could be that. There is some "hissing", but part of that is also my tinnitus. I find that there seems to be some slight hissing even with the ANC off. It's akin to being in a super silent room, and you hear the "hissing" from an AV system with it powered on, but with no sound. I've not flown with them yet (Which is a huge reason why I got these), but I assume they'll be just fine for passenger and engine noise.

Sound quality. So, I'm pre-burn in on the drivers. There is usually 100 hours or so of burn in on every new speaker/driver on the planet, and these are no different (I have not researched this in actuality. I was in AV for several years, and have some knowledge). But, so far, they sound very pleasant and accurate. I opted for an EQ setting (Excited) just to bring out certain details in the instrumental/electronic music I'm currently listening to. You can hear the trilling of the tongue on a flute, and the fingers against guitar strings. The detail is fairly rich, while maintaining a fairly neutral overall tone. The sounds seem to be reproduced fairly accurately and are fantastic for instrumenal music.

For the price I paid, these are great. However, for the normal asking price of around $350, I expect the soundstage and sound field to be superior to what it is. It is evident that you are hearing music played through 2 speakers often times, instead of an amalgamation of speakers 180 degrees in front of you, or listening to a live performance where the sound comes from everywhere. Think of this as 3D sound if you will, similar to Dolby Atmos. I understand they have the real 3d audio whatever, but right out of the box, they should be fully immersive.

Battery life/Bluetooth. Battery life seems to be ok with ANC on. I use ANC exclusively because I like to drown out reality while listening, especially during meditation. I suspect you could easily get 8 hours of consistent listening with ANC on before needing to recharge, which is plenty for half the flights on this side of the world (North America). What else can I say about battery life??

Bluetooth connectivity is very strong and nearly instant. I can walk from my apartment to my neighbors apartment with my phone in my apartment and still have unbroken connectivity. THAT is freakin awesome.

Overall, I'm very pleased with these cans, especially for the price I got them at. At the normal asking price, I'd recommend checking out the XM5's since their so similarly priced. If you're looking for a solid set of cans, and these are on sale, don't mess around, just buy them. You won't be disappointed.

so ill start from top to bottom. the headphones over all are fantastic. they don't get too hot or uncomfortable after long use. the ear pieces are holding up well and ive beating them up in the last few weeks ive used them. so i mainly use them for the gym. theyre great for doing everything BESIDES having to lay down to do any kind of workout. giving theyre not ear buds its not a big deal.
noise cancellation is fine and youre able to fine tune it. the option is there whenever i do need some quiet space to do work or anything. but i end up not using it much. the transparency mode is great. i can hear people loud and clear doesnt sound muffled its almost like im not wearing them. the sound quality is great. i was daily driving in ear monitors and going these didnt feel much of a difference. theres alot of room to play with EQ BUT i would not use EQ built in the apps. it throws alot of the sound off and it doesnt feel right. i would tune everything from within their app. bass quality is great. some days I want more of pump and they easily can push out a good amount. or when im just listening to a podcast it makes the vocals very crisp. over I love them. they are on the pricy side but I personally think they're way better than the airpod maxx. ALSO side note. if you got really big ears these are great they still hold in place there is plenty of room inside the cups themselves and are super soft and dont get annoying. and i can work out for a few hours and still be okay.

I left a lengthy review of the Jabra Evolve2 85 (E285) vs Bose Quiet Comfort 35 II (QC35II) vs Bose Noise Cancelling 700 (B700) vs Sony WH-1000XM4 (SX4) (in order of when I received them) for the E285. Since that review is out there, I'll reduce this one only to E285 and SX4.

Microphone and Playback
The E285 was notably better than the SX4, as evidenced by my recordings while drumming. It’s neck and neck as far as clarity of voice goes.

Akin to the E285, the SX4 are quite good as far as pick-up goes. But unfortunately, they were a little too good (or simply worse at distinguishing background noise). A co-worker and I had a Zoom meeting with ourselves in the same closet (to maximize productivity), switching between the headsets. Whoever had the E285 could hear themselves through the headset. At first, I thought it was because of the function where you hear yourself through the headset. But alas, upon one of us leaving the room, the echo went away. This meant the SX4 was picking up the other’s voice! The main killer of the SX4 is that you have no way to mute yourself from the headset. As a pair of headphones to be used in the office, this is crucial. You never know when someone may decide to butt in your closet (or office, for most people) and shout “HHHHEEEYYYY!!”. In contrast, the E285 offers two ways to protect yourself from such intrusions – by raising the boom arm or by pressing the button on the boom arm, leaving you to look down simply in resignation at said co-worker without having disrupted the meeting. The one drawback with the E285 is that sometimes the first word or two don’t quite make it through, so you may develop a stutter of your introduction. “I’m Jason – oh – I’M JASON – oh you can hear me now? I’m Jason”. Good news is, you shan’t be soon forgotten. Despite this, it’s more favorable than not being able to mute myself, though I can understand disagreement with this point. Win for E285. Runner up is SX4.

Audio Output - DISCLAIMER - I'm not an audiophile
Both associated apps come with decent equalizers (unlike Bose). Honestly, it was difficult to tell the difference between the E285 and SX4. I think the amount of bass you get is comparable, however I think the SX4 is capable of producing an ever-so-slightly louder sound. Win for SX4. Runner up is E285.

Brand
Jabra: doesn’t require my location. Instead, it lets me know if I desire to give it my location, it will use it to locate my headphones. No, but thank you for giving me an actual choice!

Sony: same as Jabra, though with a caveat. The SX4 offers more utility when given Location permission, which will be addressed later on. They were not pertinent to me, however, so my location remains an enigma for Sony and Jabra (and Bose). Tie between E285 and SX4.

ANC
When playing on a drumpad, the E285 did a noticeably better job than the other headsets. It sounds like the pad is being muffled (which is what I’m looking for), whereas the others don’t quite succeed. The E285 does a better job with impact noises (or maybe it’s just higher frequencies) than the other headsets, though the SX4 is perfectly satisfactory.

In addition, the hear-through function of the E285 is awesome. It almost makes it sound like you’re not wearing them (tested at maximum hear-through). The SX4 has essentially the same feature, with an added “Focus on voice” option. I couldn’t tell a difference when that was on/off. Besides that, the SX4 didn’t do as good a job at allowing sound through as the E285. Win for E285. Runner up is SX4.

Connectivity
The E285 and SX4 have longer ranges than the QC35II. The E285, most of the time, reconnects automatically when coming back into range. Unfortunately, I don't remember specifics about the SX4. SX4 and E285 have a 3.5 mm jack. Why doesn’t the B700? Because it sucks.

Double-connection to my PC (independent of range): E285 is easier because it’s just plug-and-play, no downloads or “connecting”. The QC35II and SX4 are only Bluetooth, so you have to do the standard “add device”, etc. One annoying thing about the SX4 is you have to use the app to establish a Bluetooth connection to another device. Not a big deal, but for comparison’s sake, the E285 is better. An added feature of the Jabra is Jabra Direct, a software you can download to better manage your Jabra. It gives you a few more options and is worth using, in this writer’s humble opinion.

Response time: The SX4 is the fastest, though we’re talking minute (not 60 seconds) differences. The E285 is on the cusp of being slow enough to be annoying, but not quite. The E285 and SX4 have the cool feature of pausing media when the headphones are removed from your skull. Again, the E285 feel lack-luster in comparison because they take approximately 4 M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-I seconds to pause, whereas the SX4 is half that time. For the E285, I’ve noticed the ear detection only works properly when playing music from your phone and not the PC. When using it with the PC, if I remove the headphones, the music will pause as it should. But it doesn’t resume when I put them back on. If I pause the music with the button, then remove the headset, it resumes. Again, cool feature, but needs work, especially when using it with the PC. So SX4 is better about ear detection (presumably because it's laser-assisted).

App connectivity: some issues with E285. Some issues with SX4. LOTS of issues with B700 (Bose Music). Unfortunately, apps are prone to some bugs every now and then. I can’t say which of the two (Sony/Jabra) had more, so neither bothered me much. Winner is SX4 (better media response time). Runner up is E285.

Voice Assistant
The E285 and SX4 worked exactly as expected. No setup or anything, I just pushed the button and my assistant came up. The caveat for the E285 is you have to pull down the boom arm to use the feature (you can still press the action button with the boom arm up and have the assistant prompt, but because the arm is up, the microphone is off so it’s pointless). Tie between E285 and SX4.

Controls
On the E285, the buttons take up little surface area and are rather flat. Muting is done with the E285 by simply raising or lowering the boom mic. In contrast, the SX4 doesn't have any way to mute yourself.

After just a little use of the “touchless” controls (B700 and SX4), I can see their usefulness. It’s certainly easier to play/pause music and use the Voice Assistant (which is no easier to actually setup because Bose sucks). Changing volume is annoying because every click up/down requires an extra swipe. As debilitating as this is, one would not likely be changing by a bunch of increments at a time. After more use of the touchless controls, I much prefer the them over the physical ones. Win for SX4. Runner up is E285.

Comfort and Style
Comfort is pretty much a tie between E285 and SX4. I've worn both for hours and hours without any issue. But I prefer the style of the SX4 - it just feels more premium. Winner is SX4. Runner up is E285.

Extra
The E285 has the hear-through feature, which I really like because I use ANC only when there are sounds I actively don’t want to listen to, like from mine or my roommate’s drumming, running water, laundry, phone call, or pooping with the fan on. Other than those times, I want some awareness of my surroundings because there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to get the attention of someone with headphones on (especially at work). In addition, the E285 and SX4 have ear detection (discussed previously). The E285 has a great way of handling multiple calls with its huge button on the right cuff. You can switch between two phone calls by putting one on hold and accept/end/reject calls using it. This is RARELY used, but it's cool.

Issues
There’s some variability with functionality of the Google Assistant with the E285. At the very least, the action button on the arm activates the assistant. But sometimes the input for said assistant is on the phone rather than the arm. Most of the time it works as expected. I think the additional connection to the PC adds complexity that needs to be vetted out for seamless functionality for the E285.

Final verdict, best to worst: E285, SX4 (killer - no mute function, worse hear-through), QC35II (killers - older BT connection, worse audio, poor ANC). Literally wouldn't buy B700.

UPDATE: It's been several weeks since I returned all but the Jabra Evolve2 85 (I use it 3-10 hours every single day) and my final rating is four stars, same as the SX4. When the E285 works, it's great. But it doesn't work all the time, unfortunately. I can't say the same for the SX4 since it was ultimately returned. I ended up choosing the E285 over the SX4 because it has an edge when it comes to office use, for one main reason - you can't mute yourself on the SX4. But if muting yourself directly from your headset isn't important to you and you're not typically in a noisy environment during calls, then I would honestly recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Honestly, there was a part of me that was worried that these headphones would not be the best pair to own after the issues that I experienced with the prior generation of them: the WH1000xm3. The main issue that I had? The build quality: the plastic around the headband snapped due to a flimsy connection, resulting in me having to tape both headbands together so that the headphones don't fall apart on me. I tried several alternate brands to see if they would work, but they never came close to giving me the same level of satisfaction while wearing them as the WH1000xm3 did, even with the taped headband taken into account. So I decided that the best replacement for a Sony headphone was another Sony headphone, and I invested in the M4, which succeeded the M3 last year (as of this writing).
My initial thoughts were as follows: the headphones were a definite improvement upon the originals, retaining what I liked most about the original headphones (largely the overall comfort) while also improving the headphones in other small ways (especially in regards to the special features-the M4 are way more feature-packed than the M3 were, incorporating many elements that are being found on most other headphones these days). My favorite thing that was fixed, however, was the sound quality. You see, the original sounded amazing, and honestly sounded better overall than the likes of Bose and Sennheiser, which I have tested as potential replacements for the Sony headphones. And that is despite the fact that the headphones have a relatively small 40mm driver inside, instead of a more traditional 50mm driver. However, the one minor issue I had with the M3 was that the low frequencies were heightened a bit more than I would have liked, making songs sound a bit bass-heavy even when the EQ was turned off (the only way I was able to fix this was by setting the EQ to 'bright', which isn't ideal since the EQ does degrade the battery life). With the M4, Sony improves this by tuning down the low ends, resulting in the headphones having a very flat frequency response, which in turn results in every song having a much wider sound stage than the M3 did (and almost making them sound as good as the various open-back headphones I have tried, including the Sennheiser 650, which is my personal favorite open-back headphone).
In terms of the special features, I think they were implemented quite well in these headphones. The noise cancelling is exceptional, much like it was on the M3, and the transparency mode is somehow even better than it was on the prior generation headphone, sounding a lot more natural and less tinny overall. The auto activation of transparency mode during conversations is fantastic, and enables me to talk to people naturally without ever having to remove the headphones from my ear. This also means that I don't have to awkwardly tap my hand on the earcup with the M4, either. The DSEE Extreme audio enhancer really helps to make music sound a lot more full, even when using devices that don't support the LDAC wireless standard. It isn't as good as listening to lossless files wired, mind you, but it is still an amazing feature that helps to take advantage of the flat sound stage and frequency response of the headphone drivers.
Now, this isn't to say that these headphones don't have issues, mind you. The auto-pause when removing the headphones from your ears is very much a gimmick, and doesn't always pause the song (and may even resume the music before you have a chance to place the headphones back on your ear). Since the headphones use a light sensor to tell if you are wearing your headphones or not, it means even a simple shadow can cause the headphones to think that they are back on your ears and restart music playback. It is quite obnoxious, and it is best left out. Another, more minor issue is the touch controls. While I personally have no issue with them, I know that there are many people that don't like them whatsoever. So I will just make a note that they are still here, and they work in much the same way as they did on the M3. Finally, I should mention that the flat soundstage, while amazing for my listening experience, may not be for everyone. Bassheads in particular would likely prefer extra pronunciation on the lower ranges. And while they will never be quite as bass-heavy as the Skullcandy or Beats line, the EQ can still bring the bass levels up quite a bit, using a 'clear bass' slider that reminds me of the slider on the Skullcandy Skullcrushers: raising the bass without causing distortion.
Overall, the headphones turned out to be quite an exceptional pair, especially when it comes to listening to music during commutes. The great noise cancelling, beautiful audio, and fantastic transparency mode definitely make these headphones a winner in my book. And the app only helps to improve the flexibility of the headphones, allowing for many different features to be unlocked. And while these headphones certainly have some issues (no pair of headphones are perfect, after all), I think the benefits more than outweigh the issues for me, and put these at the top of my list of best closed-back headphones that I have worn. Hopefully Sony will continue to make amazing headphones like these in the ears to come.

I will start this review by stating that I am not an audiophile. I know there is a law of diminishing returns when you get past a certain point in the pursuit of audio reproduction. And while I have owned decent systems and headphones over the years, I have not been one to chase those last few precent that leads to exploding costs.
That said, I have thoroughly enjoyed studio monitors and headsets from AKG to Sennheiser. I have been nonplussed by sets that others raved about. I have been pleasantly surprised by underrated gear. I place these phones in the category of the latter. It may be that the tuning specifically matches the anomalies of my own hearing.... But these headphones have blown me away

Sounds are well rounded. Bass is smooth and full without muddying the waters or overwhelming the sound. Vocals ring out clearly. Drums stun me. I hear the decay of each tap, separated out. For reference, I listen to Florence + The Machine, Miles Davis, Steely Dan, Smashing Pumpkins, Mitski, Everything But The Girl and much more. These headphones have played nice with all of them.
Noise canceling is fantastic. I work from home and have a world of distractions I need to make go away. These have suited my purposes well. I can't speak to how they measure up on planes, trains, etc.

I know the XM5 is supposed to offer marginally improved performance across the board... And maybe that is true. But these have proven to be tuned well to my hearing, are supremely comfortable and make the outside world melt away. And they were a flat out steal at the black Friday price point where I got them. That said, I would be no less happy had I paid full price.

If you are debating, stop. You will NOT be disappointed with these headphones!

02/22/23 Update: I grow fonder everyday. The thing I have come to love the most is the separation. I clearly hear elements in old favorites that had previously been lost in the mix for me. As these break in, I only fall more deeply for them!

The Sony WH-1000XM4’s is a comfortable pair of headphones, designed for comfort, convenience, and to provide a whole new hearing experience with music and audio. Its base focus is ergonomic meaning it has adjustable bands, a comfortable padding, and smart controls that you can customize to suit your preferences. In March 2021, I was searching for a new pair of headphones for my birthday and this happened to come up. At that time it was priced around $300 but I did some further research and thought that these headphones would be a good investment because for one; I like to listen to music and two; I loved the features.

Some of the strong aspects of the Sony WH-1000XM4 include the smart features, the app, customizable controls, battery life, and an ergonomic design for comfort. The smart controls can also be connected with the Sony Headphones App and it can also connect up to two devices at once. There is also a speak-to-chat function meaning that if you are wearing the headphones with music on and you start to talk to someone, it will automatically pause the music for you. Once you stop talking, it will resume the music. Besides this, it also has an ambience, normal, and noise-cancelling mode. It can be switched with the side button. Another one of its strengths is that these headphones have the ability to read the environment. When I used to ride my bike to the park while listening to music, they would switch to ambience mode for me to hear the cars and the music would be on low. As for the customizable controls, you can control the sound elements that you want either to be higher or lower within the app to maximize your listening experience. They also have some presets available but I usually stick with the ones I customize. I used them almost everyday and these are the most comfortable headphones so far. The hold is not too tight or loose. They also have Google Assistant and Alexa Built-In. But my most favorite part about these headphones is that I can change the track, change the volume, or make calls with just a tap or swipe on the right ear. The paddings are comfortable. The battery life on these are 30 hours and just charging for 10 minutes will give you 5 hours.

Despite these strengths, there are also some flaws. Sometimes when I talk to someone, having the music stop can become annoying. But I changed the controls in the app so that it does not pause the music. Another flaw is that the microphone on these headphones are not good. I heard that from most of my friends, it sounds muffled and unclear. I have to carry the Apple Wired Earphones if I have a meeting to join because the microphone quality on those are better than the Sony WH-1000XM4 (though I heard that the newest one 1000XM5’s have a better microphone). However, I think it is partially my fault for not setting up the microphone. I also wished they came in more colors.

Overall, these are one of the top industries’ best headphones. It is a great investment that will improve your audio/music experience. I recommend it to those who have to study a lot, travel a lot, or maybe those who like to up their music game. For the final grade, I give it an A. Depending on what you look for in headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM4’s are a good investment that will bring value to your lifestyle. Wear it with an outfit and it will also become part of the look.

I'm not an expert! these are my first pair of expensive(for me) headphones

comfortableness:
pretty comfortable, doesn't slip off my head easily as I'm bending over. got a headache only after I wore them all day long and my ears were sore, too. I have some pretty big ears tho, haha. they aren't heavy at all either.

noise cancelling:
I have never owned noise canceling headphones...
i was in zoom class and had my laptop volume maxed, my teachers voice was pretty loud. after putting the headphones on, his voice was just a whisper. i was amazed.
sometimes my dorm neighbor plays his guitar, and the headphones cancel out the noise so I don't hear it at all. it can get pretty loud.

the battery is pretty long lasting.
headphones are also pretty smooth.
I think the sound quality is the most amazing I've heard too. I really love these headphones. worth.

UPDATE #2: After returning the first set of these headphones, I ordered another set on Prime Day and have now had a little more than a month to try them out. Based on this experience so far, I'm raising the rating from 2 to 4 stars. Trying not to jinx things, but the new unit does not have the right earcup static issue that plagued the first set (and that a not insignificant number of users have complained about). I'm not sure whether one of the firmware updates addressed the issue or whether the first set had a hardware issue of some sort, but the new set has not had the issue.

I now believe the "bluetooth stopping for no reason" issue noted in my prior update is not a defect, but the speak to chat feature, which stops the playback whenever it detects a human voice. I understand the point of this feature, but Sony should calibrate it better. As it is, even when set on low sensitivity and not to focus on voice, it still stops playback at even low human voice volumes. As a practical matter, this means you can't sing or hum along to songs without having the playback constantly cut off. I've wound up disabling this feature.

Other than that, the new headphones have been great -- super noise cancelling and music quality, decent phone call quality (maybe not best in class but more than serviceable), and day-in, day-out comfortable. The only reason I didn't rate them at 5 stars is that this set, like the previous one, has a very high default volume, such that sometimes when you turn the headphones on, the music will start blasting out at an uncomfortably high volume. (I think that if you use another set of headphones, as I sometimes do, the XM4 will forget its last volume setting.)

UPDATED: I decided to mark these down from 3 to 2 stars because, in the last few days, the bluetooth has started to act buggy. Audio files simply stop playing for no apparent reason (in some cases, my music has stopped apparently because someone else with a bluetooth device gets within about 30 feet of me, but in other cases the music stops for no apparent reason at all). At other times, there are skips or pops. While the noise cancellation is fantastic, and I'm still thinking keeping them for this reason alone, I'm now more likely to return them -- $350 is just too much money for these kinds of problems.

These are great headphones -- outstanding in many respects -- but they have some issues that, given the $350 price, do not merit a 5-star review. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, but decided on the lower rating given the very high price for this product.

PROS:

1) ANC -- by far, these have the most effective noise cancellation of any ANC (or other) headphones I have used, including Bose. They drown out almost all ambient noise -- including close lawn mowers, leaf blowers, revving car engines, etc. -- even when you're not playing music or listening to another kind of audio file. When playing music or an audio file, you are very much in your own world. I did have an issue at the beginning where I could hear a static-like sound when ANC was on but no audio was playing. A software or firmware update pretty much, but not entirely, eliminated the issue; it's still noticeable from time to time, but at a very low volume, lower than the older set of wired Bose ANC headphones I still have. It's no longer an issue for me; I think that this kind of noise is a "feature" of ANC headphones.

2) Comfort -- by far, these are the most comfortable set of headphones I have used. The ear pieces in particular are outstanding. I bought another brand of (much less expensive) headphones right before I got these and wrote a review in which I said those were very comfortable. However, I wound up returning those because, after about a week, they became quite uncomfortable. These Sony headphones, however, have withstood the test of time, seeming to become more comfortable as time goes on. I can comfortably wear these for hours.

3) Music quality -- excellent, what you would expect of Sony.

4) Gesture controls -- the gesture controls for turning music on / off, picking up a phone call, volume and next / previous song work quite well. I had a set of Sony 900 headphones prior to these, and the gesture controls work a little better on these.

CONS:

1) Default volume -- for some reason, these headphones, like my prior Sony 900 headphones, seem to have a high default volume and there is no way in the Sony Headphones or Sony Music Center to change them (and there is also no native iPhone setting that works, either). The result is that, all too often, music comes blasting out at an uncomfortable, probably unhealthy volume when you put the headphones on and start playing music. Beside the Sony 900, none of the other (many) headphones I have used have had this issue. I have now become accustomed to checking the iPhone's bluetooth volume when I put the headphones on, but all too frequently when the iPhone shows a low bluetooth volume, the volume resets itself to a much higher (almost max) volume when I actually start playing an audio file. I believe the problem must be related to the fact that all the settings for these headphones are run through the Headphones app and there is no control for default volume in that app; apparently, Sony sets a near-max default volume and doesn't allow users to change it. It's really quite annoying, and I may wind up returning these headphones for this reason. For $350, Sony could do a lot better on this metric.

2) Phone call quality -- meh. Some calls are good, others not so much. Nobody on the other end has complained about call quality. However, on my end, the other person often sounds distant, low volume, in a tunnel, etc. Every other set of wireless headphones I have used with phone call capability has been at least as good as these headphones, and some have been better. I read that the MX4 is supposed to have corrected the problems of the MX3 regarding phone call quality issues but, if that's the case, I can only imagine how bad the MX3s were.

3) Making you register with Sony in order to get updates -- as noted above, I needed to do a software or firmware update to get rid of the static noise when ANC is turned on. However, to get software updates, Sony requires you to register with it (provide email, etc.). It is obnoxious of Sony to require users to provide this kind of personal information that it will then market and sell, and presumably also spam you with promotions, as a precondition to getting updates to fix the bugs in its (expensive) products -- particularly where Sony has a history of data breach.

Bottom line, these are mostly excellent headphones, and they are exceptional with regard to the primary purposes of noise cancelling headphones. However, they do have some problems that a $350 set of headphones should not have. I'm likely to keep them, but if the default volume issue noted above does not improve, I may well return them.

I got these primarily for traveling on airplanes, and they work amazingly well for that purpose. They bring the noise down to a super low level, and once you start playing pretty much anything through them, it pretty much completely overpowers the sound of the plane.

Despite getting them primarily for travel, I use them a lot in my day to day life as well. They're quite comfortable, especially around the ears.

The bluetooth range is excellent, the battery life is phenomenal, and you can even use a wired connection if the battery runs out(although sadly, this takes the noise cancellation with it).

They seem quite durable, but also come with a nice carrying case, making damage even less of a concern.

My one small issue with them is that rather than being controlled with physical buttons, they use touch sensors, which are much easier to accidentally set off when adjusting your hair, leaning on your hands, etc...

To give you some context: I've had 3 ANC/noise cancelling headphones now. The Sony X4s are my third. I started with a $40 pair of Taotronics. These are great for a budget pair of noise cancelling headphones. I moved up to a more expensive pair of Taotronics 90 (~$80). The Sony XM4 is my third and at this junction, I was looking for the following features:
1. Better noise cancelling.
2. Better comfort, that I would wear longer than an hour).
3. Better sound quality (for music and podcast).
4. Portability (for traveling).

The Sony XM5 just came out so these XM4 were priced at $228. I'm not used to spending this much on headphones but I'm glad I decided to upgraded to these. I was on the fence about the XM5s but the ability to fold the XM4s up, plus the fact that it was priced much less was all the reason I needed to go with the XM4.

Things to note about the XM4s:
1. ANC - Noise cancelling is great. It covers more of the frequencies than my previous cheap pairs did.
2. Ambient Sound - Ambient noise is pretty bad. When you turn noise cancelling off to talk to someone or to hear the outside world, the sound is hollow. If you want ANC headphones where ambient sound comes through clear, these XM4s are not the best. They have the feature but it's not great. Personally, I just take my headphones off when I need to talk to someone. Otherwise, I only wear these with noise cancelling on.
3. Comfort - The XM4s are very comfortable. I can easily wear these for 2 hours+ without any discomfort. I've slept in these too (to help me sleep). The ear cushions are soft and pliable enough where I don't feel any pain points. As other reviewers have mentioned, because it does such a good job with noise cancelling, there will be heat that builds up inside, especially if you're exerting energy or wearing these on a wam/hot day. It's not unbearable; just something to note.
4. Sound Quality - Sony has an equalizer you can mess with and it helps to fine tune the how music or speech (ie., podcasts) comes through but it's not as good as some of the higher end headphones. But again, for $228, these headphones are a good deal, especially compared to others in the same class.

Note: There are other features like the auto-pause, touch navigation (ie., play/pause/next/prev, and volume), and the hand-over-ear to turn ambient noise on... These work fine for me. I like how it works but I don't consider these as PROs or CONs... They're just different and may be useful based on personal preference.

Summary: I would highly recommend these noise cancelling headphones at the current price of ~$228. If you want comfort, portability, slightly better sound quality than other comparable/competing brands, this is a very good choice. If you're coming from cheaper-type headphones, these are a great upgrade. If you're on the fence between a much more expensive pair of headphones AND need a pair of affordable headphones straight away, these are a great option. I will likely purchase another in my lifetime but these will work for me for years to come until one that has better sound quality for music and speech becomes affordable [for me].

Because I do so many meetings over Teams (I'm a professional software trainer), I thought it would be time to finally invest in a really good headset. Up until now, I'd been using a $50 over-ear set by MPOW with a really nice boom mic. It was great, but it wasn't wireless, certainly wasn't portable, and didn't have the audio quality I'd want when listening to music.

I thought that by splurging more than $300 on a Sony product I'd get something that was beyond all of my expectations. I was almost right, but so very wrong in other ways.

CASE: Let's start here. The case is as slim as can be, very high-quality build, looks nice, feels nice, keeps everything protected. Excellent design here with one flaw: you can't really charge the headphones while they're snug in the case; they don't fold up the right way.

APP: To use most of the features, Sony requires you to download an app to your smartphone. That wasn't a big deal and the app was easy to figure out. It crashed twice on me (once during the first setup, again the next day). It offered some location-based services but I declined and it never asked me again. It wanted me to sign up for a free trial of some 360° music service -- not sure what that is, but I skipped it. I was disappointed that there wasn't a PC version of the app. For example, if I needed to switch which device the headphones were connected to, I can only do that from my phone -- that means my phone always has to be one of the two devices. There's no way to control the advanced features, or the equalizer, from the PC.

PAIRING: Bluetooth pairing was hit or miss, over and over again. If I were only pairing to my phone, I think it would be fine. But I wanted to also pair it to my desktop and laptop. The device supports pairing to two devices at the same time -- which was great -- but nearly every time I wanted to switch devices I had to literally turn off bluetooth so the headset would "let go". Other times, upon reconnecting, the mic wouldn't work. Once, which turned out to be the final straw for me, was when I could not get the headset to work in Teams no matter what I tried, even though it worked fine a few hours earlier. (For context: I literally train employees and other trainers on how to use Teams, so I very much know what I'm doing.)

SOUND QUALITY: Let me say that the sound quality IS exceptional. I had a blast listening to all my favorite songs streaming from my phone or laptop. I really can't understate the quality, base and treble. And the ANC (active noise cancelling) was AMAZING. I could be sitting right next to a whole house fan and not hear it. I was blown away.

RANGE: Twice during the day I tried walking around while on a call. It wasn't until I went downstairs that anyone said the quality of my voice had dropped. If I was less than 25 feet from the device, everything was great.

BATTERY LIFE: After a day of use it was down to about 50% and that impressed me. Then I watched TV and ate dinner and later that evening I put on the headphones and realized that the battery dropped to 10%. I thought the system had an auto-off feature but something didn't quite work.

CHARGING: So after my surprise drop in battery, I plugged it into my desktop with a USB C cable I already had. A little light on the headset turned red. When I woke up the next morning, I was surprised to learn that the headphones were still at 10%. Apparently the USB C cable I use to charge my mouse won't charge the headphones. I guess you need to use the cable it ships with? I'm not sure what the deal was here, but that was pretty annoying.

CONTROLS: I found the touch/gesture controls to be mostly intuitive. Pro Tip: If you swipe up and hold your finger, the volume slowly increments up. Once, however, I accidentally hung up a Teams call when I was trying to adjust the volume. I love the feature that let's me hear ambient sound by cupping my hear -- super cool. Tap the power button to hear the battery level -- very nice touch! However, there's one extremely important flaw in the controls that I was shocked to discover. THERE IS NO MUTE BUTTON. The ONLY way to mute your mic during a call (Teams, phone, Zoom, etc) is to use the mute button on the desktop/phone. The headset, whose very first bullet is "clear hands-free calling", has five built-in microphones, and a dedicated gesture to use Alexa... doesn't have a damn mute button. Sadly, the successor to this (the 1000XM5) has the same flaw.

Individually, the issues I raised wouldn't be enough for me to return the headset or give it a low rating. But for a $350 purchase, I expect it to be able to do what it says correctly. I expect a mute button. I expect it to power off when not in use. I expect any generic USB cable to work. I expect to be able to join a meeting without fussing with bluetooth.

I'd totally keep this if all I wanted it for was to listen to music.