[Brave Heart]

Improved NC and the ability to switch sources on the fly were plenty for me. SQ is a bit better too.

After much indecision, I went ahead and ordered them from Amazon.
I can always return them if I don't think it was worth it.

 

[TaffyinLA]

Thanks - I am currently using a USB mic and wired IEMs or my M-100s and was looking to get a few things out of this:
1) ability to untether and walk around a little bit (sounds iffy at best with my computer)
2) improved comfort from my current IEMs for long days
3) replace my M-100s for gaming (sounds like this isn't going to happen)
4) have new travel headphones to replace my M-100s

Wondering if I will be better off looking at some of the gaming headphones that come with dedicated USB adapters to get around the bluetooth issues with Windows

I've thought the same about using wireless gaming headset. I have a set of logitech G533s which work great, but damn, I look silly on Zoom calls! They totally suck for music too, so that didn't pan out. Maybe Audeze Penrose is a good solution for home working and music but at this time I don't really want to buy another set of cans.

You might have better luck with the XM4s if you're on a Windows PC too.

 

[noobandroid]

I do, but you have to pick your battles. My ideal was to have the XM4's paired to my phone and my Mac at all times. Take Zoom / Teams calls on whichever device is most convenient and listen to music when not on calls.
The reality is there are serious software issues. When paired to two devices, incoming calls from certain apps on the mac (MS teams, Gotomeeting) causes the headphones to unpair from the mac. Incoming calls and apps on the phone work fine.
The mic is shocking through the computer, yet fine through the phone. If I take a teams / Zoom call on the computer, other attendees say my voice drops out a lot. Same apps on the phone are fine.

After wrestling with them for a few weeks, I've ditched the XM4s for working @ home on the computer and use a wired set of headphones and good quality desktop USB Mic, which works great but obviously ties me to the desk.
On the move, I switch to the XM4s and use my phone for all meeting apps where possible. I carry a pair of wired earbuds with mic if I need to present powerpoint / screenshares from the computer while travelling, I just can't rely on connectivity and voice reliability the XM4s to the computer.
(If I only pair the XM4s to the mac, the same issues with voice occur, but the incoming calls don't cause the phone to drop the BT connection)

for it to work on multiple device you need to turn on multi pairing in app, but then sacrifice bt codec cause only up to aac can be used

 

[bronco1015]

Is anyone using these in a work from home setup? My trusty M-100s are getting pretty rough looking and starting to fall apart, so I am looking for some new headphones to replace them. I will use them for occasional travel when COVID restrictions ease, but I will probably be 25% music listening through my phone, 25% gaming, and 50% zoom/teams meetings from my computer until then. I was looking at the Bose 700s, but found these and got them on the big Amazon sale yesterday, just not sure if I they are the right next headphone.

i haven't used the XM4 for multipoint, but my bose Soundware companion has been getting a lot of use paired to work phone and comp for meetings and calls and has worked really well. Get the wireless freedom and nothing on my ears.

 

[KPzypher]

These are on sale for $278, and just picked one up from Amazon. Not expecting too much with sound. Just looking for a portable HP w/ stellar ANC, and I think these fit the bill.

 

[PointyFox]

They're better at canceling sound than making it

 

[SparkOnShore]

These are on sale for $278, and just picked one up from Amazon. Not expecting too much with sound. Just looking for a portable HP w/ stellar ANC, and I think these fit the bill.

They're better at canceling sound than making it

I don’t understand you all here expressing a rather negative opinion regarding the xm4’s sound quality. I have not heard them myself but I’ve read this:https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wh-1000xm4-review-38011/
and this:https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm4

I just wonder do you hear different things from these professional audio journalists? Or from the presented frequency response curves? Just wonder...

 

[KPzypher]

I don’t understand you all here expressing a rather negative opinion regarding the xm4’s sound quality. I have not heard them myself but I’ve read this:https://www.soundguys.com/sony-wh-1000xm4-review-38011/
and this:https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm4

I just wonder do you hear different things from these professional audio journalists? Or from the presented frequency response curves? Just wonder...

I don’t buy wireless ANC HPs for the ultimate sound, not primarily. I buy them for convenience and features. I don’t expect them to perform at the same level as my wired headphones working off of good components.

Professional audio journalists?
Do they have better hearing than you do? They're more like sponsored reviewers and I rarely find their impressions useful or unbiased.

Frequency response?
Harman curve is not my reference point. All it is a general listener preference and does not universally apply to everyone. Not everyone perceives peaks and dips differently. Knowing what you like/dislike or having a clear reference point is more important IMO than blindly relying on FR graphs, particularly when you establish a preconceived notion based on graphs without hearing them for yourself.

I don't have an overhyped expectation on how these will sound. But if I thought they were bad, I wouldn't drop $300 on these.

 

[TaffyinLA]

I'll throw in on this as I've been pretty critical of the XM4s on this thread, but not about sound quality, ANC capability or comfort which I'm very happy with and would put the XM4s with the best bluetooth sets available today.
It's everything else that's bad the Mic quality when connected to a computer, support for mic mute control in video conferencing apps, multi point connection to my mac and phone. I've documented the issues in earlier posts. All of these are software interoperability issues and Sony need to recognize that a set of headphones like this need to work flawlessly especially in these working from home times.

I don't think the people who do the reviews try to use them as a productivity tool, so you never see these issues come to light.

 

[PointyFox]

I guess I'll reiterate my impressions of the XM4. The sound was very boomy and muddy. I know they're open, but I prefer the $25 Koss Porta Pro by quite a bit. The closed-back Audeze Mobius destroys them in terms of sound quality at a similar price. The ANC was ok, but it replaced most noises with a low pitched hum. I was only able to connect the XM4 once before it stopped playing audio. I've been getting weird audio distortion off and on after connecting the XM4. I made a thread for my issue here.
Not all the XM4 reviews are positive. I just clicked on the first review I found as I'm writing this and it's pretty negative and corroborates what I've said: https://www.headphones.com/blogs/news/sony-wh-1000xm4-review-but-how-does-it-sound


" When it comes to detail and image clarity, the XM4 is nothing special "
" In fact, it doesn’t even compete all that well when compared with less expensive closed-back headphones, and is easily beaten by the similarly priced Audeze Mobius (and its various iterations). This is an important comparison because the Mobius is also a wireless, closed-back headphone with lots of features. "
" For speed, the XM4 is once again a bit on the sluggish side. The sense of immediacy for the initial leading edge isn’t particularly strong, meaning that tones lack the kind of tightness and control that makes music engaging with great headphones. Once again, this is done far better on the Audeze Mobius. The lack of control also isn’t done any favors by the XM4’s frequency response "
" Using the analog connection, I found the XM4 to have a noticeable channel imbalance at various points. This is to be expected with feature-rich wireless headphones, but in the case of the XM4, it’s particularly bad. "
"This makes everything sound thick and muddy, boomy and overbearing. Things are made worse by the substantial V-shape "

 

[SparkOnShore]

I'll throw in on this as I've been pretty critical of the XM4s on this thread, but not about sound quality, ANC capability or comfort which I'm very happy with and would put the XM4s with the best bluetooth sets available today.
It's everything else that's bad the Mic quality when connected to a computer, support for mic mute control in video conferencing apps, multi point connection to my mac and phone. I've documented the issues in earlier posts. All of these are software interoperability issues and Sony need to recognize that a set of headphones like this need to work flawlessly especially in these working from home times.

I don't think the people who do the reviews try to use them as a productivity tool, so you never see these issues come to light.

Yes you’re right and i also would never use this particular headphone as productivity tool. That said, normally multipoint should work flawlessly between Mac and iPhone. You mentioned phone. Maybe there is a hiccup if your phone is Android and you try to multipoint with a Mac? Also as far as I know all these headphones cooperate better with phones than with PCs. Bluetooth implementation varies on PCs and it is generally considered problematic in some cases. I believe such problems may get rectified in future software updates. That’s why the main review topics we need to focus on initially are the basics that you mentioned, which are the most important for most of us, audio, anc etc, and on which its performance seems to be quite remarkable according to many. As I said before I have not heard it myself but I will do so soon, only via aac on Apple Music which is satisfactory to my ears. So I cannot express opinions on ldac and such since Apple devices do not support it. I guess that is the way sites are reviewing these as well.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Do they not get products sent to them for an "honest" (chuckle) review? Then they're not free of bias. They don't need to receive direct commission. Are they not running monetized YouTube channel? Introducing products they get sent from manufacturers? Are they not running special deals or giveaways? Do they not run advertisements on their website? I hope you get my point here. I'm not saying they're good or bad. I'm indifferent.

If you value them and if their impressions mostly coincide with your own findings, then good for you. Not sure why you keep referring them to me?

Anyways, lets not belabor and get back to the topic. Shall we?

You may be right, but I need to point out that not all manufacturers get 9/10. At the same time all of them provide the reviewers with products and promotion deals. For example Apple AirPods Pro got a high score, but Apple Beats studio 3 got something like 6/10, which by the way was right, since its audio was really mediocre (I used to own them and I am aware). So, according to your point of view, do reviewers get more benefits from Sony for example, than what they may get from another equally major manufacturer, so they give to Sony a 9/10? I would not believe so, but it is just my opinion.

 

[Bassheadd]

I just ordered a pair on Amazong and it will be here tomorrow.

But then I hear about the headbands still cracking like taco shells.

Has anyone tried bending their XM4 upwards, in the complete opposite direction (like do a complete 180) to see if this problem has been fixed or did Sony re-use the same cheap taco shell headband from the XM3?

 

[KPzypher]

Darn it. I just found out these are also available in midnight blue from Bestbuy. Wish I would've known before pulling the trigger earlier today.

 

[KPzypher]

These appeared at my doorstep today.


After spending some time with them, I’m happy to add them to my growing collection, but can’t say I’m overly impressed.

Build wise, I think they’re fantastic. I like the soft coating on the matte earcups and the overall muted/understated aesthetics, which I think is perfect for travel use.

Comfort wise, not the best. Although the interior pad diameter is sufficient for an average ear, the heavily padded and weirdly shaped tilted driver housing touched my ears and created some hotspots after an extended use. I wish the pads were slightly thicker or a bit firmer. Of course YMMV.

As expected, and although sound out of the box was respectable, it was nothing to write home about. I think they’re more or less in line with other popular ANC options. However, after playing around with the limited in-app EQ, I was able to get them to sound closer to my liking, and much more natural sounding. I’m glad it doesn’t have the fake treble shimmer that I get with the QC35s. Bass on the other hand was bit sloppy, perhaps in an attempt to keep up with the quantity. I think the overall sound is respectable, considering its wireless ANC roots.

When ANC is on, there is a very pronounced low-level hum that is more present than on the QC35s. And when ANC was off, I thought the overall sound was considerably worse vice ANC on. The adaptive sound control was a bit frustrating/annoying too. When automatic switching (based on activity) is on, there is a loud beep whenever the status changes. And the ambient sound when turned-up was lackluster and didn’t sound natural at all. I also noticed a slight channel imbalance, perhaps due to the proximity sensor inside the left earcup. The motion control is bit glitchy as well. When I put my hand over the right ear cup for the quick attention mode, it would sometimes activate the voice to chat function instead, which was frustrating.

Overall, can’t say it’s a big step up from the Bose QC 35 or other competing ANCs for that matter. On the surface, they seem feature packed. Unfortunately, a lot of the advertised features on this HP feel more like a gimmick than useful functions.

And as always, YMMV.