[pcook80]

Hi, is anyone familiar with both of these, I appreciate they are very different beasts and all that but I'm trying to get a handle on the actual sound quality rather than the handy advantages the Sony's have being wireless and noise cancelling. So for example if you were feeding both a quality input and sitting in a quiet living room would the Sony's outshine the AKG's ?

 

[episiarch]

I really like K550 (on its own but even more so with Sonarworks correction software) – but I think I'm in the minority. A lot of people say it's too sharp and treble-focused, and eyeglass wearers or listeners who just didn't get a good fit find it lacking in bass. I will agree that a good seal is essential.

I haven't heard XM4, but The Verge's review says the sound is the same as XM3, which I hated. To me it's muffled, diffuse, lacking clarity and air. When I finally went to Bluetooth settings to click Forget this device I said, my sentiments exactly. To me it is everything bad about popular headphones. But here again I seem to be in the minority.

Edited to add: FWIW I did like my friend's Bose 700. The sound's not impeccable compared to reasonably nice wired gear fed by reasonably nice electronics, but it was absolutely good enough that I could easily enjoy my music without feeling distracted by the headphone's deficiencies.

 

[pcook80]

Thanks for the response, I have the K550's (ver 1) and I do like them but was wondering for various reasons if the Sony's would be better but I have been dubious of bluetooth headphones as far as sound quality goes but then again I've not tried and 'decent' ones.

What's the 'Sonarworks correction software' ? Edit: looked it up and as I dont listen via computer currently it's not of use to me, but good to know that it exists...

 

[Noone025]

Odd pair to face off.
Start with how much bass you want, if you want Bluetooth, open vs closed, etc.

 

[pcook80]

Odd pair to face off.
Start with how much bass you want, if you want Bluetooth, open vs closed, etc.

Hi, not that odd really I didn't think, both closed backed dynamic headphones, one with cable one bluetooth both not outrageously different in price range (when taking into account all the extra stuff in the Sony's). I was considering bluetooth for various reasons and I appreciate they will both have a different sound, but didn't want to sacrifice much in sound quality just for having bluetooth.

 

[SilverEars]

Go with the XM4 for the most practical value.

 

[pcook80]

Go with the XM4 for the most practical value.

Even if you already have the K550's ?

 

[SilverEars]

Even if you already have the K550's ?

If you already have it, then think if you need ANC or wireless BT. If not, pass on it. The premium you pay for the XM4 is the ANC. If you just need the BT, there wider range of options out there. Just that XM series tend to have the best ANC, and it only makes sense for ANC.

ANC is for those often encounter noise environments that must be reduced noise to hear stuff though the headphones like in Aircraft cabbins or commmuter transports. If you don't fall under this catagory, there's no reason to spend that much on ANC.

It makes no sense to listen to some high-end headphone on a such high level of noise environment. Noise demolishes fidelity. You have to get rid of the noise first, therefore ANC is better fidelity than any so called 'high-end' cans in noisy environments. Sometimes you got to be practical for situations that calls for it.

 

[pcook80]

If you already have it, then think if you need ANC or wireless BT. If not, pass on it. The premium you pay for the XM4 is the ANC. If you just need the BT, there wider range of options out there. Just that XM series tend to have the best ANC, and it only makes sense for ANC.

ANC is for those often encounter noise environments that must be reduced noise to hear stuff though the headphones like in Aircraft cabbins or commmuter transports. If you don't fall under this catagory, there's no reason to spend that much on ANC.

It makes no sense to listen to some high-end headphone on a such high level of noise environment. Noise demolishes fidelity. You have to get rid of the noise first, therefore ANC is better fidelity than any so called 'high-end' cans in noisy environments. Sometimes you got to be practical for situations that calls for it.

Thanks , that's the conclusion I'm coming to...

 

[ringo9]

That's the exact VS I was thinking of till couple of weeks ago. I use the K550 the last 7 years but it is time I switched to BT for ease of use. Not travelling much so no need for ANC (or at least the very best ANC out there) or any other fancy features like gestures, auto environment detection, assistants etc. Just need to be listening in good quality but wirelessly. The XM4 is the headset that shows up higher with a Google search about good sounding BT headsets but on deeper investigation it seems that "amazing sound" in its reviews means merely a bit better than typical commercial headphones. In other words, it's not "350EUR good", rather the cost is justified mostly due to all the digital gizmos and features it offers, which for anyone not being out and about very much are probably irrelevant.

I like the clarity and detail of my K550 and how well the bass seems to be separated and not muffled with the low-mids and I would like to get at least a similar quality in wireless. After reading as much as I could I ended up going for the Shure Aonic 50 (well not bought yet but it's decided upon). Everyone seems to agree it's one of the best sounding wireless headsets at the range of 300-400EUR, quite flat but with warm and clear bass still, while actually doing the portability thing very well too (great ANC, good autonomy although not as good as the XM but with 20hr defo above my needs, multipoint, easy operation etc.). I'm looking forward to get it and compare its sound to the K550 although for various reasons this won't happen until November probably.

 

[pcook80]

Ringo9: many thanks for the reply, it seems you are having the same thoughts as me. I would be interested how you find the Shure's as and when you get them. Any updates would be appreciated..

 

[ringo9]

Ringo9: many thanks for the reply, it seems you are having the same thoughts as me. I would be interested how you find the Shure's as and when you get them. Any updates would be appreciated..

I'll definitely provide a comparison VS the K550 when I get them, I am a long-time member in some other forums of different fields and I value the importance of participating and providing useful feed-back that will others in forums very much (much more than FB or other "instant" platforms tbh but that's another discussion). The only issue as I said is that for various reasons I am not able to make the purchase imminently so I fear I might be too late if you're on the market right now.

 

[pcook80]

Ringo9: I'm in very early stages of what to do so I'm not likely to be purchasing anything soon so no worries...