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sony 1000xm2 vs xm3?
Dec 24, 2018 at 12:49 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 9
Califinest

Califinest

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Recently purchased the Sony 1000xm2 on a clearance sale for $199.. Great headphones, but comfort is OK. Gets a little tiring after wearing for extended periods of time. Was considering maybe the xm3 which I hear is more comfortable..However its a $150 price increase... worth it? Thanks
 
Dec 24, 2018 at 1:28 PM Post #2 of 9
I recently compared the m3 vs my own m2 in store. The m3 is definitely more comfortable but the sound is more v shaped. I plan on changing to the m3 at some point even though I like the sound signature less. Clarity was better though, less muddy.
 
Dec 24, 2018 at 5:58 PM Post #3 of 9
Gosh no, it's not worth it. The XM3s are the only headphones I've ever returned. I had the X and still have the XM2. The noise cancelling on the 3 is quite a bit worse, and I A/B tested 3 separate pairs from different sources in different environments. Especially on planes and on BART (commuter train in San Francisco), they let in so much more noise that they were annoying vs. the 2s. At some point there was a suggestion that they do much better blocking out voices. Also not true. Soundwise there was some improvement in there being less distortion at high volume, but overall not much better, with a smaller soundstage. I agree that clarity was better and they are lighter and more comfortable. I also made the mistake of ordering the "silver" model which is actually as beige as mid 90s Apple devices.
 
Dec 27, 2018 at 9:56 PM Post #4 of 9
robo24 said:
Gosh no, it's not worth it. The XM3s are the only headphones I've ever returned. I had the X and still have the XM2. The noise cancelling on the 3 is quite a bit worse, and I A/B tested 3 separate pairs from different sources in different environments. Especially on planes and on BART (commuter train in San Francisco), they let in so much more noise that they were annoying vs. the 2s. At some point there was a suggestion that they do much better blocking out voices. Also not true. Soundwise there was some improvement in there being less distortion at high volume, but overall not much better, with a smaller soundstage. I agree that clarity was better and they are lighter and more comfortable. I also made the mistake of ordering the "silver" model which is actually as beige as mid 90s Apple devices.
Click to expand...

This is the first time and the only time in all my research on hundreds of sites for the XM3s that I have seen someone saying they are worse than the XM2s aside from subjective opinions on build and materials. :thinking:
 
Dec 27, 2018 at 11:25 PM Post #6 of 9
Who knows. Perhaps my partner and I have weird ears or I had a superlative XM2. We both agreed testing a running dryer, A/C, stove vent, and vacuum cleaner and the 2s were the clear winner for both of us in noise cancelling. I thought maybe I had a bad pair of 3s. I checked in a Best Buy and again in an airport store, in addition to two different planes. In all cases the NC was better on the 2s. The 3s are still pretty nice overall and the NC is excellent, but just a clear step down from the 2s, but better than the Sennheiser PXC 550s (which isn't hard to do). The 3s were definitely better in charging, comfort, weight, and sound was kind of a wash, IMHO. I haven't seen reviews where they A/B the NC on the 2 sets. I have medium ears and my partner has small ears. I noticed even with passive NC (HP off) the 2s let in less noise for me, so maybe that's the difference.
 
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