[PixelSquish]

Transparency is active while you hold it. Otherwise you cycle as you described to have it on permanently

That's somewhat useful but at least for me transparency is something I want to quickly turn on while I run into a store, then tap to turn it off and restart the music with one control when I leave the store. Or when I need to talk to somebody on the street.

I live in an urban environment so it's pretty common. I need my hands in a store not one pressing on the ear but all the time, And same when I'm talking to someone for a few minutes.

Sony control system is just inferior here compared to most other newer TWS.

Like the other features a lot it's just that is annoying.

 

[nc8000]

That's somewhat useful but at least for me transparency is something I want to quickly turn on while I run into a store, then tap to turn it off and restart the music with one control when I leave the store. Or when I need to talk to somebody on the street.

I live in an urban environment so it's pretty common. I need my hands in a store not one pressing on the ear but all the time, And same when I'm talking to someone for a few minutes.

Sony control system is just inferior here compared to most other newer TWS.

Like the other features a lot it's just that is annoying.

The Sony way is perfectly fine for my use case so no complaints there. I never use transparency except for the press situation so I have completely removed it from the circulation so only have anc or off

 

[jsmiller58]

That's somewhat useful but at least for me transparency is something I want to quickly turn on while I run into a store, then tap to turn it off and restart the music with one control when I leave the store. Or when I need to talk to somebody on the street.

I live in an urban environment so it's pretty common. I need my hands in a store not one pressing on the ear but all the time, And same when I'm talking to someone for a few minutes.

Sony control system is just inferior here compared to most other newer TWS.

Like the other features a lot it's just that is annoying.

I think in the app you can choose what the left bud tap does - you can simply deselect either ANC or OFF - for example you can the toggle between ANC and Ambient with a single touch by disabling “Off”. I might be wrong, but I think that’s the way it works.

 

[PixelSquish]

I think in the app you can choose what the left bud tap does - you can simply deselect either ANC or OFF - for example you can the toggle between ANC and Ambient with a single touch by disabling “Off”. I might be wrong, but I think that’s the way it works.

I have that. It's still not good though. I am not selling these but Sony has dropped the ball on their controls. These days it's usually common to be able to set transparency to a specific control, and you can choose if that will auto-pause the music or not in the app as well. It's great that for some people they don't need it, but plenty do, and this is why other companies are clearly providing a product that does this feature. It's simply useful. They could easily fix this in an update but it's been so long I doubt they will do anything about it.

 

[jsmiller58]

I have that. It's still not good though. I am not selling these but Sony has dropped the ball on their controls. These days it's usually common to be able to set transparency to a specific control, and you can choose if that will auto-pause the music or not in the app as well. It's great that for some people they don't need it, but plenty do, and this is why other companies are clearly providing a product that does this feature. It's simply useful. They could easily fix this in an update but it's been so long I doubt they will do anything about it.

You say “Sony has dropped the ball on their controls.”

It’s all in what the customer is looking for! You want more than Sony offers in the XM4 so it is a miss for you, but fortunately there are competing offerings that come closer for you. For me, this is not a big deal so not a disqualifying fault.

Gotta love competition - more opportunities for everyone to get close to what they are looking for!

 

[PixelSquish]

You say “Sony has dropped the ball on their controls.”

It’s all in what the customer is looking for! You want more than Sony offers in the XM4 so it is a miss for you, but fortunately there are competing offerings that come closer for you. For me, this is not a big deal so not a disqualifying fault.

Gotta love competition - more opportunities for everyone to get close to what they are looking for!

So we can't criticize Sony for a clear design flaw? I don't really understand your point. I mean I own the headphones, but I shouldn't even have to own them to give constructive criticism.

Their controls are just not as good as the industry standard right now and that's really not that hard to admit.

 

[nc8000]

So we can't criticize Sony for a clear design flaw? I don't really understand your point. I mean I own the headphones, but I shouldn't even have to own them to give constructive criticism.

Their controls are just not as good as the industry standard right now and that's really not that hard to admit.

Sure you can but just because it is a problem for you and you want it to do something it dosent you can’t say they dropped the ball, after all it is not a custom product made specifically for you to your spec but a generic product for millions of users. It is what it is and if that don’t suit you then move on and buy a product that does what you want and then accept whatever else that product don’t do

 

[jsmiller58]

Sure tiu can but just because it is a problem for you and you want it to do something it dosent you can’t say they dropped the ball, after all it is not a custom product made soecifically fir you to your spec but a generic product for millions of users. It is what it is and if that don’t suit you then move on and buy a product that does what you want and then accept whatever else that product don’t do

Thanks, you responded way better than I could!

 

[mt877]

Possible safety warning... The Walkman Blog posted an article about exploding battery in WF-1000XM4 while charging.
https://thewalkmanblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/sony-wf-1000xm4-explodes-while-charging.html?m=0

 

[jb2unique]

Possible safety warning... The Walkman Blog posted an article about exploding battery in WF-1000XM4 while charging.
https://thewalkmanblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/sony-wf-1000xm4-explodes-while-charging.html?m=0

Thanks for the heads up. It doesn't look like an explosion to me. There's no smoke or burnt residue. More like the adhesive no longer held the unit together and popped off.

I had the battery drain issue and once the case and buds warmed up that first time, it will no longer take and hold any charge. Battery is no good. Any reattempts of charging would only further degrade the buds being trapped in the case. I tried twice and it was no good so common sense for me was to contact Sony and leave the unit alone.

 

[mt877]

Thanks for the heads up. It doesn't look like an explosion to me. There's no smoke or burnt residue. More like the adhesive no longer held the unit together and popped off.

I had the battery drain issue and once the case and buds warmed up that first time, it will no longer take and hold any charge. Battery is no good. Any reattempts of charging would only further degrade the buds being trapped in the case. I tried twice and it was no good so common sense for me was to contact Sony and leave the unit alone.

The comment on the 2nd pic at the article does mention that the battery split apart. The battery probably expanded and split the battery and the shell. Does make me wonder if there was a loud popping noise as well, hence the 'explosion' narrative. Anyway not a good thing. I'm still using my wf-1000xm4. I haven't had any battery drain issue and getting good life from the batteries. So 'knock on wood' that everything stays good for me.

 

[magicang]

I just bought a new phone, Samsung S23. After connect my ear buds to this phone, i feel that the sound is better
Is it because Bluetooth 5.3, or the LDAC processing is better on new phone ?

 

[nc8000]

I just bought a new phone, Samsung S23. After connect my ear buds to this phone, i feel that the sound is better
Is it because Bluetooth 5.3, or the LDAC processing is better on new phone ?

If you came from a phone that didn't support ldac that would make a difference but I'm sure bt and ldac implementation could also vary

 

[ticoss]

Maybe because Dolby Atmos is disable by default on the S23. Check it on the "Sounds and vibrations" menu.

 

[Markttp]

Xm4s used "A" for 180euros at CEX.. I'm sure there are sales on XM4 but probably not 180... worth it or just go new?

Depends how urgently you need them, but yes they did fall to £160 (€180) brand new in recent November/December/January sales.

Currently €180 on amazon.de

https://amzn.eu/d/7XtobAR

I would go for brand new every time with a battery based product. Even though appearance may be like new, I never have faith that the battery is "like new" . Not sure if CEX guarantee battery life though.

(I do and did purchase these as used earbuds, usually to try them and sell them again for no loss, but if I like them, I usually end up selling them and buying brand new when I see a good price.)