[garethr]

I’ve seen multiple reviews that show the mic quality has improved, but it’s still not as good as the Bose 700’s, especially when blocking out external noise from the mics. This is important for a person working from home while the kids/dogs/etc. are running around the house. I might just hold out to see the Apple headphone reviews then make a decision. I will probably sell my two current wireless headphones to pay for a new pair.

I have the Bose 700 as well. The XM4 is absolutely as good at filtering background noise with voice calls, with the only exception being wind noise. And whilst it’s entirely subjective I do prefer the voice sound compared to the NC700. It sounds more natural to me. I also prefer the XM4’s voice feedback compared to the NC700 too - I feel less claustrophobic if that makes sense.

 

[deadspider187]

I have the Bose 700 as well. The XM4 is absolutely as good at filtering background noise with voice calls, with the only exception being wind noise. And whilst it’s entirely subjective I do prefer the voice sound compared to the NC700. It sounds more natural to me. I also prefer the XM4’s voice feedback compared to the NC700 too - I feel less claustrophobic if that makes sense.

That’s interesting. Thanks for the information.

 

[Hubert481]

Well, i think i will return the xm4 - i am disappointed
I compared it with my QC35

the QC35 fits to my ear perfekt
the XM4 touches my ears, which is not a good fit for me - i habe no big ears, but to big for XM4
never had this problem with a Bose.

ambient sound is not any useful for me - i want to have no NC or full NC - cannot turn it on and of via button, only toogle (on, ambient, off) which is a pain.

on turning louder via touching i would prefer a higer tone, for less volume a lower tone.
why did sony not make two different tones for louder and quieter - a already reported this to sony on testing the xm3

using the NC, the sony has less ground noise level if playing no music
i do not think, it is a broken unit - sony seems to have a rather high signal noise by turning on the NC

i will continue testing for some days, but i think, i will return the XM4

there is very little new innovation compared to XM3, so it is a XM3.5 and not really a XM4 for me.
users from XM3 do not need to change, except they need 2 bluetoothconnections

NC of XM4 is very good, but only minimal better compared to previous versions - no big step

for really loud environments, i prefer X5A

maybe i get used to it after some days - time will show

one bug on iOS
headphone app shows no headphone-connection, but spotify is playing on headphone
curious

second bug
use the XM4 for telefone call, the other person does hardly understand me - switching to iphone micro, understand is fine - so must be a problem with telephone calls using latest firmware 2.0.6


EDIT
did some more telephone call testing
Bose QC35 has much better quality in a quiet room
XM4 is always interruped for some milliseconds and sounds.
i did several cross checks - always the same result
maybe a bluetooth problem or a microphone problem with 2.0.6 or anything else
i send the wh-1000-xm4 back
i am not interested in waiting for a new firmware and testings all different possibility's
sorry, that i have no better information

 

[ubs28]

They're a bit thicker than I remember from the 3's but not massively different so if you had issues before I'm not sure these would fix it.

I've been really enjoying them for the past few days, definitely a better experience from my Walkman rather than my phone

I tested these today and I can indeed confirm that the cup size issue is not fixed at all. My ears touches the inside of these headphones again. I cannot say I am suprised as I have given up the hope that Sony will fix this problem some day.

I am quite surprised how every year how none of the reviewers point out this major flaw of the Sony headphones (Bose headphones like the QC35II and NC700 have plenty of room for the ears)

 

[Malevolent]

Well, I've just got myself a 1000XM4 today, and I must say, it's quite decent, sound-wise. It sounds similar to the 1000XM3, so that's a good thing. Along with the comfort factor, the myriad features make it a great wireless headphone. Plus, the ANC is superb on the 1000XM4. All in all, it was a great buy!

 

[XM3orZ7m2]

Well, I've just got myself a 1000XM4 today, and I must say, it's quite decent, sound-wise. It sounds similar to the 1000XM3, so that's a good thing. Along with the comfort factor, the myriad features make it a great wireless headphone. Plus, the ANC is superb on the 1000XM4. All in all, it was a great buy!

I'm curious what frequency band you think the "Clear Bass" part in the EQ is. And I'm wondering what your EQ settings for that is.

 

[BananaOoyoo]

Wonder if Sony Korea will have a trade-in program this year for the XM4

 

[jetpacksam]

They still won't test against the Aonic 50 knowing they will get their asses kicked.

 

[Blurry]

Basically... you'll never get full LDAC quality. I might even go as far as to say that this has been a bait-and-switch by Sony. What they claim technically about the capabilities of LDAC is not completely incorrect so much as it is based on a 990 kbps connection -- which will never work in real-world situations, as it will always automatically downgrade to 660 or 330 kbps. See this detailed analysis for more info.

Yea, i figured as much. I guess with this setup I can't expect the best sound. But the XM4 sounds great already just paired with my phone and I'm a happy customer

 

[MacedonianHero]

Ok...new firmware updated. Comfort/form factor is about the same as the XM3 with slightly plusher earpads and likely the most comfortable NC headphones I've used. Noise cancelling has been improved even further...incredibly good for higher frequencies now and the best I've experienced. The ability to connect to multiple devices is a huge welcome as is the "talk to mute" feature. Very impressed so far!

 

[hifi80sman]

Ok...new firmware updated. Comfort/form factor is about the same as the XM3 with slightly plusher earpads and likely the most comfortable NC headphones I've used. Noise cancelling has been improved even further...incredibly good for higher frequencies now and the best I've experienced. The ability to connect to multiple devices is a huge welcome as is the "talk to mute" feature. Very impressed so far!

I just picked these up last night and the talk to mute/open mic feature is great. I've actually used it several times and the delay is only 0.5 seconds or something like that. I don't have my XM3 on hand to compare (left them at my mom's house), but the XM4 with DSEE Extreme seem to sound clearer with better mids/vocals and more controlled bass. This is the same impression even with DSEE Extreme off. It sounds fairly organic/analog.

So far, so good! Hopefully, they can update the firmware so LDAC can be used via multipoint.

 

[dragion]

Received mine today from Best Buy after a delayed in shipping...preordered on 08/06/2020.
Purchased the XM3 a couple of weeks prior before the announced release of the XM4, but was still in the return period so back they went.
Granted I purchased the XM3 for only $226 USD new, but thought it would be a worthy upgrade to the XM4.
Used my $50 Best Buy Rewards and also received a 10% discount from my Birthday coupon, making the XM4 only about a $40 difference.
Pairing with my Xperia 1 II with Tidal streaming app.
No issues streaming Master audio in LDAC 990 kbps connection.
Need more time testing, but so far so good...a worthy upgrade from the XM3.
But time will tell.

 

[hifi80sman]

Received mine today from Best Buy after a delayed in shipping...preordered on 08/06/2020.
Purchased the XM3 a couple of weeks prior before the announced release of the XM4, but was still in the return period so back they went.
Granted I purchased the XM3 for only $226 USD new, but thought it would be a worthy upgrade to the XM4.
Used my $50 Best Buy Rewards and also received a 10% discount from my Birthday coupon, making the XM4 only about a $40 difference.
Pairing with my Xperia 1 II with Tidal streaming app.
No issues streaming Master audio in LDAC 990 kbps connection.
Need more time testing, but so far so good...a worthy upgrade from the XM3.
But time will tell.

Curious as to your impressions on differences in sound.

 

[dragion]

Curious as to your impressions on differences in sound.

A bit too early to say, but the little time I had with the XM3 they seemed to be more pronounced on the mid lower bass and less sparkle on the high end compared to the XM4.
The XM4 has a bit "clearer" range sound and vocals seem more direct.
Different genre to genre will be a factor how much difference between the two are.
The ability to utilize the graphic equalizer in LDAC with no degrading to a lower codec is a major upgrade and the DSEE Extreme processing for lower bit audio is also a plus for me.

I feel the XM3 are an excellent headphone and worthy of ownership, especially now discounted...a better buy than the XM4 for the price.
If it wasn't for the discounts I had, I would have been very happy keeping the XM3.

 

[hifi80sman]

A bit too early to say, but the little time I had with the XM3 they seemed to be more pronounced on the mid lower bass and less sparkle on the high end compared to the XM4.
The XM4 has a bit "clearer" range sound and vocals seem more direct.
Different genre to genre will be a factor how much difference between the two are.
The ability to utilize the graphic equalizer in LDAC with no degrading to a lower codec is a major upgrade and the DSEE Extreme processing for lower bit audio is also a plus for me.

I feel the XM3 are an excellent headphone and worthy of ownership, especially now discounted...a better buy than the XM4 for the price.
If it wasn't for the discounts I had, I would have been very happy keeping the XM3.

Same impressions here, most notably for me cymbals, which sound sharper, cleaner. Definitely less bloated overall.