[Wasaabi]

To me the XM4 sounds slightly different and the XM3 might have been marginally better without eq but with eq I prefer the XM4. The anc and battery life is better on XM4 (battery much better, I get near 10 hours vs 4 hours with same settings (anc and eq enabked )) and the ergonomics of the XM4 are better (and smaller) though I never had problems with the XM3. To me the upgrade is worth it

Thanks for your reply! Has xm4 improved the wind noise?

 

[nc8000]

Thanks for your reply! Has xm4 improved the wind noise?

Marginally but I always turn anc off when out in wind

 

[Wasaabi]

Marginally but I always turn anc off when out in wind

hahah, so do I!

 

[ryanmatic]

Back when I used the XM3s daily, I discovered that there’s a specific wind setting for ANC, one notch below full ANC on the slider in the app. It’s easy to miss; in the event you haven’t used it, definitely give it a try. Loses some ANC effectiveness but cuts the wind right out.

 

[jasonb]

Back when I used the XM3s daily, I discovered that there’s a specific wind setting for ANC, one notch below full ANC on the slider in the app. It’s easy to miss; in the event you haven’t used it, definitely give it a try. Loses some ANC effectiveness but cuts the wind right out.

I'll have to try this. It's always a little breezy where I live so this will be useful on dog walks if this works like you say.

 

[nc8000]

Back when I used the XM3s daily, I discovered that there’s a specific wind setting for ANC, one notch below full ANC on the slider in the app. It’s easy to miss; in the event you haven’t used it, definitely give it a try. Loses some ANC effectiveness but cuts the wind right out.

I never found that that setting really made any meaningfull difference, there was still way too much wind noise for my liking

 

[gLer]

I never found that that setting really made any meaningfull difference, there was still way too much wind noise for my liking

Doesn't the XM4 have a dedicated wind NC feature? I've never used it, but it was one of the selling points.

 

[nc8000]

Doesn't the XM4 have a dedicated wind NC feature? I've never used it, but it was one of the selling points.

Yes it does and it is slightly better than on the XM3 but still too much noise for my liking so I just turn anc off if I’m out in wind

 

[joshnor713]

The wind cancellation works pretty well for me. Takes a few seconds to engage when you turn it on.

 

[CoolerCat]

Alright, so I couldn't resist the urge and splurged over for these. So, in order after 4 days with these, my first first impressions (on headfi):

On sound quality, these I would describe as warm but not dark, with a wide sound stage. The emphases would be on the low and low-to-mid frequencies, I assume that's the Sony house sound ppl are talking about. Still, there's lots of definition and separation. If anything I really think the mids are well controlled and the bass is not too overwhelming. Treble is less prevalent than the bass but it's still there. To my ears it isn't fatiguing or sibilant which I find pleasant. Fortunately these respond quite well to EQing, so you can tune them to your liking. I think that the Treble boost preset is my favorite so far.
Something I find interesting, regarding SQ is that the sound signature can change dramatically depending on the fit and isolation. Less isolation and they sound more congested and thumpy, at least to my ears. Idk if anyone else has this.

ANC, with the provided tips is great, features are really great. Can't complain there. Battery life is solid too, tho I suppose I'll have to see how that goes in the long term. I think that most ppl that buy these would be satisfied with the tuning and SQ and the feature-set of these.
Things I don't like: they're a little heavy in my ears and take getting used to; sometimes ambient sound control is a hit and miss, tho not often; case is small but bulky.

Other point of interest: I discovered that LDAC at highest setting doesn't play nicely with my crappy ISP wifi router, getting disconnected frequently. I blame the congestion of the bandwidth. Better buy dual band router and set up 5Ghz. Also, DSEE set to auto doesn't kick in at all, at least according to the app, when listening to highest quality Spotify. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

My settings: LDAC locked at highest bit rate, ~75-80% volume, Treble boost EQ, absolute volume disabled, Android 11, Pixel 3a, listening mostly to Spotify highest available quality, DSEE set to auto, stock large tips.

 

[Hearforthemusic]

Does anybody else have lackluster noise canceling? Compared to my full-size whxm3s the noise canceling seems very weak. I can hear only some difference with noise canceling on and off. I’m on an iPhone with the headphones app on the latest firmware of that matters.

I’ve tried googling it but with out much help. I’m mostly curious if my expectations are too high. I’m just getting more sound leakage than from a decent pair of isolating iems like shure or ety’s

Ive been feeling the same, sat there with the tv on and pressing noise cancelling on and off via the app, and feeling a bit deflated that the difference was fairly minimal. At the gym, I was feeling a bit disappointed I couldn’t play quieter style tracks without hearing the clanking. Especially as I also have the wh xm3s and 4s, where I find myself cut off from any noise.

i then watched a Korean site review the b&o eq true wireless set (English subtitles thankfully), and they do a part of the review where they present what you hear wearing the earphones listening to a tannoy announcement at an airport, I then watched a few more of their videos and am now at peace with the ANC. Yes, I’m sure some better ear tips could help create a better seal and improve the noise cancelling - using Sony hybrids and app says they’re sealed - but they sound decent so I’m happy to keep them.

 

[Nintendam]

Spinfit CP360 tips if you want the most top end and most clarity. The ePro TWS tips are a close second, but aren't quite as bright. Anything silicone is going to sound better than the stock foam tips.

My revised tip preferences: SpinFit 360, Azla SednaEarfitLight Short, JVC SpiralDot++, Sony stock tips. The SpinFit tips are the brightest, with excellent integration across the spectrum; I also find them to be the most comfortable.

Picked up the Spinfit CP360's, L/M. Super nice! Most definitely enhances the top end and overall clarity, esp the mids. Feels like an overall upgrade across the board, going to give them a few days before posting thoughts. Using the medium sized buds, large I couldn't get a good seal for some reason.

going to check out the ePro TWS horn ones too. I'm a pretty bass heavy listener... how do the ePro's compare to the Spinfits? Also I can't find my jvc spiraldot's, does the ++ really impact vs the original that much? the ++'s are like 40 bucks online! the orginals are on amazon and also like 40 bucks lol... I assume I lost these with the jvc fx 700 buds i sadly misplaced.

 

[jasonb]

Picked up the Spinfit CP360's, L/M. Super nice! Most definitely enhances the top end and overall clarity, esp the mids. Feels like an overall upgrade across the board, going to give them a few days before posting thoughts. Using the medium sized buds, large I couldn't get a good seal for some reason.

going to check out the ePro TWS horn ones too. I'm a pretty bass heavy listener... how do the ePro's compare to the Spinfits? Also I can't find my jvc spiraldot's, does the ++ really impact vs the original that much? the ++'s are like 40 bucks online! the orginals are on amazon and also like 40 bucks lol... I assume I lost these with the jvc fx 700 buds i sadly misplaced.

The ePro's I feel are a bit less bright, which may make them seem to have more bass. Not a huge difference though. I prefer the CP360's over them, but it's not a big difference.

 

[brazy001]

Some impressions after a week or so of use. This thread is pretty hot so will try and add some potentially different perspectives or elements to the discussion.

Noise canceling (NC):
Surprisingly, my favorite feature of the NC is that it really helps with the occlusion effect sounds. This makes me want to pick these up in situations when:
- talking on the phone
- eating
- walking

The negative of NC is that wind noise is more prominent when activated and the 'wind noise reduction' feature is not as effective as just turning NC off. Also there is slight white noise when NC is on but not noticeable when music is playing.

NC comparison to fully enclosed, all BA IEM:
I haven't tested extensively however in most cases there is not a huge disparity and NC really only shines with low droning noises. For general chatter and noise spikes, fully enclosed IEMs tend to do better and softening these sounds. As above, the benefit reducing thumps from the occlusion effect is real winner when on the go.

Unfortunately I do not have other NC TWS to compare against but this is done to great extent by others.

Bluetooth Connection:
No issues for my usage, I can make it to the front letter box with the phone still in the home office connected via LDAC. This is probably 12-15m or so.

It's hard to compare with something like the Fiio UTWS3 however on the Fiio there is a sound that comes through the connected BT unit which is quite noticeable and is masked with music, this is non-existent on the xm4.

Fit & comfort:
There is some discomfort in one ear where the helix of the ear curves into the concha. I guess this is unusually and particular to these because of the bulkiness of the units and their position within the concha. overall comfort is ok and a non issue for listening sessions less than an hour or so.

These are obviously less stable than the utws3 which is an ear hook. I haven't tested these at the gym hitting the heavy bag although when I shake my head my glasses feel more unstable than the buds (if that's a good reference for anyone). Finding a suitable tip is probably critical like all TWS and I used the MS and ML Sony hybrid silicone tips from my M9s. The different nozzle length helps my mismatched ears get an even insertion depth. Also silicone tips make sense to me for TWS for that convenience factor of popping in and out and also grip my ear better.

Sound:
these have an impactful/wet/full sound (non-frequency response related characteristics) which is quite engaging and enjoyable. I compare this to Sony's IER-M9 which has a reasonably similar tonality in FR but much quicker and dryer in its presentation. I know some people use these characteristics when describing Amplifier sounds characteristics.

I quite like the tonality and have EQd slightly with +3db at 2k, +2db at 6.3k and +2db at 16k. i also use poweramp equalizer in the background and boosted all sub-bass frequencies below 86 by +2db.

I did notice a bit of detail missing at both extreme ends with a slight blurring of deep bass tones and separation of instruments. the highs also missing some detail however I find it present enough. I am doing loose comparison's here to my main wired iem's in Sony m9, Westone w60, Fiio fh3 so there are many factors and differences at play here.

Usability:
The large case on the UTWS3 is what I had in my mind as stopping me from using these regularly and although I cannot discern FLAC from high quality mp3, I felt that all the attached IEMs didn't sound as good as wired. The xm4s case meets my main use case, suit jacket pocket on public transport with/without taking a bag. I think these will probably get used when wanting some music when doing the house chores or walking the dog however overall the convenience factor is not a game changer and the tradeoffs of cutting the wires is another device to charge. Sometimes cabled iem's using plug and play is just as convenient. Things might change in time!

If you got this far, thank you for following along with my scrambled thoughts.

 

[Devodonaldson]

Ok, just created favorite tips for these, as I own several different brands. I took the orange foam from the stems of the Symbio W tips, and placed it around the stem of the epro 01. The stems of the epro are soft, so they don't irritate the ear canal like the symbio, and the bore is wider on the epro, so no treble degradation at all. The foam creates a better seal than the ePro tips had originally. Actually I love the Symbio foam and would choose to place it on any of my silicone tips be it epro or Spiral dot to make the ultimate version of those.