[Wholelottalove]

After reading all the glowing reviews about these headphones, especially in regards to it's sound quality, I decided to buy them. However, after trying them for a couple of days I am...disappointed. They sound good, but not great. I am coming from a Fidelio X2 (which I love), but I wanted something more practical. The Sonys sound is a bit lacking. The treble is a bit to harsh for my taste. The bass (which is very important) is more muddy and boomy rather than punchy and impactful, which I prefer. The mids are also kind of boring.

My question is. Will the sound get any better or do you have any other recommendations? I have also tried the B&W wireless and the H9i, but they were even worse. Do you have any other recommendations?
Maybe not only wireless ones. Something close to the Fidelio X2, but a bit more intimate and with a punchier bass.

 

[mattiav]

I have only had mine briefly, and I'm a relative newbie in headphone land. For what they are - compact, excellent ANC wireless cans with very generous of support for all types of Bluetooth codecs - they are quite excellent. I A-B'd them with sennheiser HD1/Momentum Wireless BT cans, which did not convince as much - slightly tighter bass, but less defined. This may well be due to my source (iPhone) and the fact the Senn does not support ACC, so the streamed quality is simply worse. Will test with my Mac before deciding which one to return.

I don't think you will find wireless cans that will compete fairly with full sized open back headphones. Nature of the beast. Both my HD6XX and HE4XX are nicer sounding than the Sony's but the Sony's are 'good enough' and far more practical for things like commuting or listening where open backs aren't appropriate.

 

[329161]

I have only had mine briefly, and I'm a relative newbie in headphone land. For what they are - compact, excellent ANC wireless cans with very generous of support for all types of Bluetooth codecs - they are quite excellent. I A-B'd them with sennheiser HD1/Momentum Wireless BT cans, which did not convince as much - slightly tighter bass, but less defined. This may well be due to my source (iPhone) and the fact the Senn does not support ACC, so the streamed quality is simply worse. Will test with my Mac before deciding which one to return.

I don't think you will find wireless cans that will compete fairly with full sized open back headphones. Nature of the beast. Both my HD6XX and HE4XX are nicer sounding than the Sony's but the Sony's are 'good enough' and far more practical for things like commuting or listening where open backs aren't appropriate.

Yes but should you make that excuse for them? If anc isn't a top priority then get something else. The Aventho wipes the floor with it when personalised to the individual. They cost more with no anc but they're worth it. Baas is tight, punchy with tremendous definition. The whole spectrum sounds balanced d and resolving. Treble is perfect. It sounds like a very good wired can without that compressed Bluetooth sound.

 

[mattiav]

Yes but should you make that excuse for them? If anc isn't a top priority then get something else. The Aventho wipes the floor with it when personalised to the individual. They cost more with no anc but they're worth it. Baas is tight, punchy with tremendous definition. The whole spectrum sounds balanced d and resolving. Treble is perfect. It sounds like a very good wired can without that compressed Bluetooth sound.

I haven't tried the Aventho, but I don't like on-ears much, at that point I'd rather use IEMs. I did test the Amiron Wireless, which was very, very impressive - but it should be at over twice the cost (found a good deal on the Sony mkIII). I wanted a wireless headphone with good ANC for commuting and air travel, with excellent battery life and I think the Sony is good enough. As my only set? No. As one of the mix, likely yes. Still test driving before I decide whether to keep them.

I see you have the mkII Sony, which is supposed to be a step down sonically from the mkIII, is that purely for travel? What are your thoughts on the sound of those?

 

[329161]

I haven't tried the Aventho, but I don't like on-ears much, at that point I'd rather use IEMs. I did test the Amiron Wireless, which was very, very impressive - but it should be at over twice the cost (found a good deal on the Sony mkIII). I wanted a wireless headphone with good ANC for commuting and air travel, with excellent battery life and I think the Sony is good enough. As my only set? No. As one of the mix, likely yes. Still test driving before I decide whether to keep them.

I see you have the mkII Sony, which is supposed to be a step down sonically from the mkIII, is that purely for travel? What are your thoughts on the sound of those?

I sold the mk2 a while ago. The sound was more balanced than the mk3. Bass was tighter and punchier. One owner on the mk3 thread described the m3 bass as "pillowy" and I think it's a good description. Just not very well defined and overblown too. Treble rolled off as well. Every 2nd owner in that thread seems to be trying to make big eq adjustments or modding to fix the sound. I'd just get a can that sounds good in the first place. If ANC was essential I'd go for the qc35. Better balance and more resolving . As always YMMV.

 

[Wholelottalove]

Thanks for the advice! I don't want a "on-ear" headphone, would rather have something bigger. Yes, I am really disappointed in the X3. From all the reviews and things I read I thought they would be amazing. The bass is the most disappointed thing. Muddy, overblown and boring.

 

[SilverEars]

I'm surprised you'd think treble is harsh. People generally state the treble is on the darker side, and the measurement show there is some recession below the target curve with certain treblr ranges. I was fine with the treble myself.

The bass does get strong, but it's something you can EQ down with the music player app.

It's not the most precise sounding headphone due to being a closed-back as others have said, and that's a bit of a trade-off due to what what this headphone really excells at, ANC. ANC makes the most difference in environments you cannot use an openback due to high environment noise. Perfect setting is inside the airplane cabin.

It's one of those headphones that serves a practical purpose for commuters and office workers. Some people would have this for certain purposes only (particularly if you fly a lot or you commute in a train) and would use the xm3 for that and have a open-back setup for critical listening at home. So, it's not not a be it all headphone for everybody.

Noise makes a huge difference in how clearly you hear the sound, and that's what ANC provides. In this way ANC provides better sound quality believe it or not.