[Thesonofkrypton]

Took an international flight in mine and I have to say they reduce engine noise quite well. Not on the same level as the WH-1000XM3 - which I also had on me for the trip - but you can't really compare the sound or ANC of these to headphones or wired counterparts really. 2nd week in, really enjoying mine, the fit is great - and I think that's probably the most important aspect on par with sound, which I also love. Battery life has been brilliant and more than adequate. Been roaming central London previously and Heathrow airport as well as HK for the day and had zero dropouts so far.

 

[TooFrank]

Does anybody have the opportunity of comparing the sound quality of the XM3 with that of Beoplay E8?

 

[Jhericurls]

Does anybody have the opportunity of comparing the sound quality of the XM3 with that of Beoplay E8?

I've been using the E8 for over a year and they sound great. The XM3 sound doesn't disappoint. To my ears the E8 still sounds the slightly better quality. When listening to 'Freya Ridings - Ultraviolet' I get distortion in the highs which is much less noticeable on the E8s. But very enjoy the airy and clarity of the XM3.

 

[WuWei82]

Sorry to hijack the discussion. I am a newbie here and i don’t have enough privilege to start my own thread. Just want to tell you guys who own WF-1000xm3 to try Comply SmartCore sport pro tips!! Not only it solves my fitting problem, but it also significantly reduces the background! High recommend guys! Noisy street becomes a quiet library instantly! Best combination ever!

Thanks for posting! This is just what I’ve been waiting to hear! I have been searching the web for the last few days trying to find someones experience combining the ANC of the xm3 with Comply foam tips. After using the Comply tips on other iem’s and achieving a good amount of external noise reduction especially in the higher frequencies it seems like they could be a very good combination - with the ANC apparently reducing the lower frequencies to a good extent.

So you’re actually achieving close to a fully noise cancelled environment? (In context of noise cancelling head/earphones) No music, just the ANC and the Comply SmartCores? Quiet as a library sounds good to me!

Cheers!

 

[zackzack]

Three weeks of use now and I can elaborate a bit on my earlier comments.

-Battery life is excellent. 6 hours is no problem with DSEE engaged and mid-level on volume with full ANC engaged.

-ANC performance in a transpacific flight is about 85% that of the WH-1000 XM2 (I don't have a model XM3)

-No problem lying on a pillow in a first class flat seat.

-Sound signature is superior to that of the previous WF-1000X. ANC is FAR superior. Probably 70% better.

-They are unobtrusive, I use the putty color ones at work and no one ever seems to notice they're in my ears... the black ones are much more obvious. I use those at home.

-Absolutely useless under a race-fit motorcycle helmet. (As expected)

Unlike the poster above, my connections have been absolutely rock-solid (set to emphasis on audio quality). Latency is somewhat variable- on my iPad Pro with locally stored movies and Youtube, it's almost nonexistent. On some Amazon Prime streaming videos, I have noticed some latency. Both of these source related phenomena are less noticeable on my iPhone XS. Locally stored video has no visible latency, streaming stuff from Youtube has none, and from Amazon Prime it is barely there.

Hit me up if you have any questions.

Have you had any problem pairing these with a laptop like MacBook Pro? Pair easily with my iPhone but not with my 15" MBP.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[calbears89]

Sorry to hijack the discussion. I am a newbie here and i don’t have enough privilege to start my own thread. Just want to tell you guys who own WF-1000xm3 to try Comply SmartCore sport pro tips!! Not only it solves my fitting problem, but it also significantly reduces the background! High recommend guys! Noisy street becomes a quiet library instantly! Best combination ever!

Thanks for posting! This is just what I’ve been waiting to hear! I have been searching the web for the last few days trying to find someones experience combining the ANC of the xm3 with Comply foam tips. After using the Comply tips on other iem’s and achieving a good amount of external noise reduction especially in the higher frequencies it seems like they could be a very good combination - with the ANC apparently reducing the lower frequencies to a good extent.

So you’re actually achieving close to a fully noise cancelled environment? (In context of noise cancelling head/earphones) No music, just the ANC and the Comply SmartCores? Quiet as a library sounds good to me!

Cheers!

I just received the XF-1000XM3 and struggled with a good fit despite Sony including a lot of different tips. They wouldn't fall out, but I wasn't getting a good seal so the isolation and sound quality would change as I moved my head position.

Based on @Toby195's recommendation, I immediately ordered some Comply SmartCore tips from Amazon and can say, as Toby195, the Comply's make a huge difference in fit and isolation. Thank you!

@WuWei82 - I've also used other Comply tips with Etymotic IEMs and get a similarly comfortable fit with the SmartCores. As a test, I just stood under a bathroom fan without playing any music. The Etymotics w/Comply tips reduced the fan noise a little. The Sonys w/SmartCores + Ambient Sound Control OFF was noticeably quieter than the Etymotics. And, the Sonys with ANC ON was significantly quieter. With ANC on, I could still faintly hear the fan, but hardly. I'm very satisfied with the fit and noise cancelling now.

One issue I'm having is that when I tap the left earbud to change Ambient noise/ANC modes, sometimes it beeps and doesn't appear to change mode while other taps gives the voice announcing a mode change. Very possibly user error, but I've not been able to figure out why sometimes it beeps and other times, it changes modes. Any ideas?

 

[reyven]

One issue I'm having is that when I tap the left earbud to change Ambient noise/ANC modes, sometimes it beeps and doesn't appear to change mode while other taps gives the voice announcing a mode change. Very possibly user error, but I've not been able to figure out why sometimes it beeps and other times, it changes modes. Any ideas?

I have this same exact issue. It seems like waiting for a while or taking the earplugs out and putting them in again seems to fix it, but it can be annoying at times.

 

[calbears89]

I have this same exact issue. It seems like waiting for a while or taking the earplugs out and putting them in again seems to fix it, but it can be annoying at times.

Thanks @reyven - yes, I get that behaviour too. Not a huge deal, but strange that it doesn't work more reliably. At first, I thought it might be changing modes without the voice announcement, but I don't think it is. Thanks for confirming that it's not just me!

 

[webvan]

I just received the XF-1000XM3 and struggled with a good fit despite Sony including a lot of different tips. They wouldn't fall out, but I wasn't getting a good seal so the isolation and sound quality would change as I moved my head position.

Based on @Toby195's recommendation, I immediately ordered some Comply SmartCore tips from Amazon and can say, as Toby195, the Comply's make a huge difference in fit and isolation. Thank you!

@WuWei82 - I've also used other Comply tips with Etymotic IEMs and get a similarly comfortable fit with the SmartCores. As a test, I just stood under a bathroom fan without playing any music. The Etymotics w/Comply tips reduced the fan noise a little. The Sonys w/SmartCores + Ambient Sound Control OFF was noticeably quieter than the Etymotics. And, the Sonys with ANC ON was significantly quieter. With ANC on, I could still faintly hear the fan, but hardly. I'm very satisfied with the fit and noise cancelling now.

One issue I'm having is that when I tap the left earbud to change Ambient noise/ANC modes, sometimes it beeps and doesn't appear to change mode while other taps gives the voice announcing a mode change. Very possibly user error, but I've not been able to figure out why sometimes it beeps and other times, it changes modes. Any ideas?

Don't have the Sonys yet so it's good to hear about the results posted here but what Etymotics are they ? I ran a lot of tests a few years ago with the Klispch S4+double flange (equivalent to Etymotics ER-4 in terms of best in class isolation for IEMs) vs Bose QC15s with ANC and found that the result was more or less similar, the difference being comfort and fit with the IEMs putting pressure on the ear canal and the Bose on the top of the head. If anything the Sony's should not isolate as well as "true" IEMs like the ER-4 or Klipsh because they have microphones to capture sound in and out and that "hurts" the isolation (same with the Bose QC-20 or TaoTronics EP-01).

 

[calbears89]

@webvan - I have the Etymotic ER4XR.

I was on a short flight yesterday so a chance to play with the Etymotic and Sony in a more typical use case of flying (vs making my bathroom fan quieter). The Sonys with Ambient Noise OFF was noticeably louder than the Etymotics, though I found with ANC ON, the Sonys were a bit quieter. Of course, it depended on how well I could get the tips seated in my ear. For my ears, the silicon/rubbery tips that came with the Sony don’t isolate nearly as well as with the Comply tips which gave a much better seal. With the standard tips, the Etymotic was much better than the Sony even with ANC ON. YMMV.

I’m also finding that the Sony mic isn’t working well for calls. I’ve had several calls (w/iPhone) where the other party has complained about the sound quality, loss of connection, etc. I need to test more to see if it’s a defect in my unit. UPDATE: Sony support agreed that the mic problem isn’t normal and that the unit needs to be replaced, so I’ll send it back for a new pair.

 

[reyven]

I got the above mentioned Comply tips as well now, and they do make a world of difference as other already mentioned. The only gripe I have with them is they make the earphones stick out of one's ears more, and they just barely fit into the charger case (have to push them in a bit instead of getting that nice magnetic snap)

 

[webvan]

@webvan - I have the Etymotic ER4XR.

I was on a short flight yesterday so a chance to play with the Etymotic and Sony in a more typical use case of flying (vs making my bathroom fan quieter). The Sonys with Ambient Noise OFF was noticeably louder than the Etymotics, though I found with ANC ON, the Sonys were a bit quieter. Of course, it depended on how well I could get the tips seated in my ear. For my ears, the silicon/rubbery tips that came with the Sony don’t isolate nearly as well as with the Comply tips which gave a much better seal. With the standard tips, the Etymotic was much better than the Sony even with ANC ON. YMMV.

I’m also finding that the Sony mic isn’t working well for calls. I’ve had several calls (w/iPhone) where the other party has complained about the sound quality, loss of connection, etc. I need to test more to see if it’s a defect in my unit. UPDATE: Sony support agreed that the mic problem isn’t normal and that the unit needs to be replaced, so I’ll send it back for a new pair.

Thanks for the additional comments. I guess I had misunderstood the first ones because I thought you were saying the Etymotic ER4XR didn't isolate as well as the WF-1000MX3 which wasn't consistent with my own experience with comparable setups, but as you say YMMV

I came across a good YT review here

where he's not too impressed by the ANC performance either, at least not as much as on the WH-1000MX3.

ANC in IEMs is a "difficult" equation as "deep insertion" IEMs like the Etymotic ER4XR or the Klipsh S4 (and probably others) completely block noise coming through your ear canal...but many people can't stand them and those who do can't bear them for hours either, there IS pressure. Then you have devices like the Bose QC-20 (or the much cheaper TaoTronics EP-01) that apply little pressure and "isolate" thanks to the ANC but don't work very well to block voices as they have little passive isolation. So that doesn't leave much "room" for devices like the WF-1000MX3. With good isolation using the comply tips do you still hear a difference with ANC ON/OFF ? If you do it's probably because they let noise in with the microphones used for ANC.

Just to clarify, when you write "With the standard tips, the Etymotic was much better than the Sony even with ANC ON. YMMV." do you mean with the standard Sony tips vs ETY standard tips of Sony+Comply vs ETY with standard ?

 

[SilverEars]

Decent review. I agree with him about the ANC and the isolation. Ety will be much better isolating than the WFXM3.

 

[cho8]

Just had mine delivered today. Pretty decent if you eq a bit. Can’t compare to anything else in the tw range but bass can be pushed quite high and sound is pretty close to some Bluetooth cans

 

[zackzack]

Can you pair these Sonys to a laptop like MacBook Pro? Do you need a software like Sony Connect to do this?