Sony WH-1000XM3

Unlike most of my reviews I'll just cut to the chase for this one.

The Sony WH1000XM3s have long been regarded as the king of ANC headphones. If only ANC is concerned then I have no doubt that it's truly the best ANC headphone money can buy along with the XM4. Ironically, I do not think the XM4 offers any improvements in the ANC department. Our local SONY flagship store is literally 20 minutes walk away from where I live, so I take my XM3s there to compare to the XM4s pretty often. From what I can hear the XM4s cancel certain frequencies better than the XM3s, but the XM3 outdoes it in other frequencies. It's a toss-up. Comfort wise both headphones are excellent. They are nowhere near as comfortable as, say the QC35, but apart from the shallow earpads they are pretty comfortable. I can wear them for several hours at a time before my ears get too hot.

It's in the sound quality department where the XM3 really, really falls short. I don't usually criticize a headphone to this extent but my god, the XM3 sounds truly AWFUL. The latest 4.5.2 firmware makes it a slightly better headphone, but for my set it produces a very noticeable amount of hiss that's absent on earlier firmware. I've tried all three early firmware, 2.0.0, 4.1.1, 4.2.2 and let me tell you, you do not want to listen to music on any of these firmware. At default settings the bass sounds very one-note. It's a confused mess with no depth or impact. Mid range is all right. Treble is at the same time muted and a little peaky. I don't know how that's even possible. Every time I try to listen to music I would just end up using the computer speakers instead. Those are infinitely more tolerable than the XM3s. What's actually funny is that BOSE's QC35, despite not supporting APTX, sounds so much more agreeable than the XM3s ever will be. For one the QC35 actually sounds pleasant. It doesn't resolve like a wired headphone, but the low end extension is there. The bass has dynamic and depth. Mid-range is good, and treble is very clean. The whole package sounds so much more transparent and enjoyable than the XM3. It's for this reason that I never listen to music on the XM3s. I use them to listen to podcasts on a subway or on a train. For that purpose they are fantastic.

That sums up my review. These headphones are truly special, they are one of the 3 headphones with a sound that I absolutely cannot stand, but they also have the best ANC of any ANC headphones on the market. So yeah, grab them if you commute often, listen to a podcast or watch YouTube videos, you will truly find yourself making good use of your time on the subway. Do not grab them if you don't commute or don't spend much time in noisy environments.

I'm a big fan of Sony products, I have the Z7m2 and previously had the 1am2 headphones. They all share the Sony house sound which is V shaped, big bass and sparkly treble. This one is a little different, theres way too much mid bass bleed and while the mids are not really recessed theres too much warmth and body. However, everything else is really well done. Not sharp in the treble and decent extension. Bass is a bit boomy and rolls off in the lower frequencies but not difficult to get used to.

The bluetooth connection is quick and very stable and has excellent range. Battery life is excellent, with the large battery case, I can go over a week without charging usually. Negative is that the battery case is large and not very practical for keeping in your pocket.

I have large ears and ear canals so the fit or weight for me is not a problem but I can see it being a problem for others.

Ambient mode and noise cancelling are fairly weak and don't work great, I just never use these modes because its useless to me.

The worst aspect of these iems is the microphone. Whenever I try to use them for calls, the person on the other end can never hear me properly and always ask if they are on speakerphone.

Otherwise, its quite good sound quality wise especially considering they can be found at largely discounted prices now.

The Sony WH-1000XM3 is the third iteration of the original Sony MDR-1000X. At the time the 1000X was released, I hesitated between this one and the Sennheiser Momentum M2, and finally went for the latter.

Finally, three years later, I got the 1000XM3 as I wanted a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones for work and travelling.

The first thing you'll notice when getting these on your head is how light and comfortable they are, even when wearing glasses. Not many headphones are as comfortable and forgettable on the head as these ones, and I've been able to keep them for hours without any problem. The only headphones I've tested so far with a better comfort are the Sennheiser HD 58X, which are huge in comparison, and without any electronics inside.

The noice cancelling feature works very well, although it doesn't block every sound, but it works fine. Definitely enough to not have to push the volume up when travelling, which is a huge plus for me.

On the sound quality, now. I've tested these headphones with many, MANY genres. From blues to rap, from rock'n'roll to pop, from heavy metal to classical music, to get a good idea of how they sound. I've owned these for several months now.

So. There is too much bass. This is a very big problem that can't be overlooked no matter what. The problem is that the huge bump in the low frequencies has an impact on other frequencies as well such as the mids, and it gives a slightly dark and muffled sound overall, which is not something I particurarly like, even on electronic musics or rap.

After listening for dozens of hours, I've finally found a good EQ settings to make the headphones sound better (to my ears at least) : +0 dB / +4 dB / +7 dB / + 7 dB / + 5 dB, and -2 on Clear Bass. You can apply these settings through the Sony Headphones app on mobile.

With these settings, you get less bass, the overall presention is more airy, the instruments separation becomes better, the balance between instruments as well, and you get a more neutral yet very engaging sound.

To conclude, after EQing, the headphones sound very good, and with all the features packed in it, I think it's easy to say they are the best-in-class headphones for this price range. If you don't care about noise cancelling for instance, there may some interesting alternatives like Drop + THX's Panda.