[KPzypher]

Ok. Not in UK. WHAT is normal US price?

Sorry to hear that. I believe $349.99 is the MSRP. It's been on sale here in ymthe US for some time now.

 

[Soundizer]

Sorry to hear that. I believe $349.99 is the MSRP. It's been on sale here in ymthe US for some time now.

Ok. Just seen that price has been reduced here from £349 to £315. So that’s not bad.

 

[noobandroid]

Oh my gawd. No itchy velour please. I dislike the material feel. I thought XM3 pads were so comfy. I heard people say they prefer the Bose due to more ear room however.

its because of the weather here, which is hot and humid all year round

i've been using it on my hd650 and like it

 

[noobandroid]

i wanna ask why does the xm4 sound louder on my mobile compared to using on hiby r5?
both on ldac too

 

[Infoseeker]

i wanna ask why does the xm4 sound louder on my mobile compared to using on hiby r5?
both on ldac too

Does your phone have one of those Dolby Atmos system like a Samsung phone? It probably is adding an EQ profile to your sound.

Swipe down from the top of your phone and deactivate Dolby Atmos. (Unless you are enjoying the new sound)

 

[noobandroid]

Does your phone have one of those Dolby Atmos system like a Samsung phone? It probably is adding an EQ profile to your sound.

Swipe down from the top of your phone and deactivate Dolby Atmos. (Unless you are enjoying the new sound)

i normally do disable atmos
both using same deezer track
only difference is on note 10+ i installed the headphones app and wavelet

 

[SilverEars]

I recently heard fhe XM4 and not too happy. I don't like the sound. It's too warm and reducing the boomy bass doesn't help. I can't hear a lot of the sounds due to how warm it sounds. I know Bose QC35 sounds leaner, and don't like it's treble quality, but I prefer it's sound over the too warm XM4.

I know I liked the XM3, but the XM4 just doesn't sound as detailed, overly warm with sounds being drowned, and upper-mids are mostly heard.

XM4 has issue with 990kps LDAC comnection. I don't recall such issue with XM3 if used at home. Perhaps there's some interference at my current place of residence.

 

[Kevin333]

After reading the reviews of this headphones from this website, I think the m4s are not worth the upgrade if you have the m3s.

 

[noobandroid]

don't know bout you guys and how you configure your xm4, but mine sounds magnificent, replacing all my headphones and iems for portable

 

[Soundizer]

Price just increased from £300 in uk to £329 Amazon.co.uk

 

[GrussGott]

I recently heard fhe XM4 and not too happy. I don't like the sound. It's too warm and reducing the boomy bass doesn't help.

don't know bout you guys and how you configure your xm4, but mine sounds magnificent, replacing all my headphones and iems for portable

Yeah, I think the M4s sound great - i've resisted getting a pair of wireless noise-cancelling as there are better sounding non-ANC options with decent passive noise isolation so why deal with the crappy sound? Well for the M4s, they're the first ANC that cross the bar for me. Here's a mini-review:

* Need to have useful-to-me ANC

- For me Bose ANC, Sony wh1kM1-M3 and others just don't eliminate the sounds I care about and ultimately all of them were returned​

- The M4s finally have fixed the ANC problem with much higher performance in high frequency ANC​

- h/t to soundguys for great visuals on passive isolation and ANC versus frequency:​

​

* Must sound decent

- Bose have always sounded like garbage to me *and* are hard to adjust​

- The M4s start with a fairly flat response:​

- And the M4s, of course, have the Sony app that comes with an EQ which, with about 10 min of work, allows you to dial it in or at least worked for me​

- One note about the sound: codecs matter of course, and they're still wireless so like most they have that kind of synthetic sound - more on that in a minute​

​

* They gotta be comfy: at least two hours + a few extras are appreciated

- These are most definitely light and comfy; with many headphones I have trouble with the head "hotspot" but not these​

- These have no IP rating so not good for workouts in general, but I use them for treadmill work and some weight training because I don't drip sweat and they sound better than earbuds​

- In general I prefer buttons not a touchpad, but it works fine here so whatever​

- The proximity sensor is a great feature - makes it super easy to take them off, step away, then come back and pick up right where you left off - excellent feature!​

Now on to the sound - i'm not gonna get all audiophile-talk, just some notes:

- The ANC works awesome so immersive and black levels in high noise environments, exactly as you need and expect - all notes are wireless with ANC on and background whitenoise on (an air purifier)​

- Yeah, so they're wireless so they ain't gonna be like your $10k desktop setup - like all wireless I've tried, they kinda have that synthetic tinge ... kinda like stevia vs sugar: still sweet, but a little different​

- Stagewidth/depth isn't big for me, they're more in your head type and imaging is good but, again, in your head; said differently there is no imaging, but there is good instrument separation, so just depending on how you define it​

- If you're picky you're gonna have to spend some time on the EQ - out of the box they're not ideal. at all. But they can easily get there with 5-10min work, at least they did for me.​

- I have a set of tunes I use to test all my equipment and these did really well - plenty of emotional engagement but, again, not like my desktop setup, but then duh - super enjoyable in many more useful situations obvs though​

​

- Some notes on tuneage, all streamed hi-fi from Tidal via LDAC (also used aac, not important enough to change anything here so ignoring)​

​

+ Angry Eyes - Loggins & Messina: this tune is all about the drums and harmonies - the drums at ~43 seconds should sound like someone hit your ear drum and here they do - pass!​

+ Dry Country - B-52s: this one is challenging for HPs like the Aeon v1s, sounds super flat; not here! Properly adjusted this song is all 80s glory - pass! so hot. here come the girls!​

+ Arlington - Wailin Jennys: key here is the opening bass, seperation with the guitar and then the vocals - excellent. Note that, again, not as emotional as on a desktop system, but pass!​

+ Hey Lion - Sofi Tucker: Ok, this is really tough for just about every HP I've tried and only the best can deal with it. The M4s are just barely passable here and it's a song I'd have to readjust to listen to. Fail.​

+ A Thousand Kisses Deep - Leonard Cohen: so this is all about Cohen's voice and backing instrument separation - it's there, it's big and it works. Pass!​

+ Hard Liquor - Thomas Dybdahl: ok this another tough one for many HPs, here there's bloom and definitely muddiness, not the best, but listenable, so low-pass.​

+ This Feeling - Miguel Migs: What an awesome deep house tune, sounds pretty good here, though that @SilverEars boomy bass makes an appearance, but decent: medium pass.​

+ Try and You Try - Cleo Sol: lord what a track, this chick could talk me into anything and that includes over these M4s so while there's the boominess is here a bit too, her vocals! geezus. pass!​

+ Guess I'm doing Fine - Beck: again here we get a little too much boom and they need a stitch of adjustment but they do fine and i'm bobbing my head and into it - pass!​

+ Too Damn Low - DJ Snake: yeah, so the boomy thing but who gives a crap here, this is just damn fun! Boom-Boom-Boom! pass!​

+ Program - DJ Crush: oh boy. just no. Granted this track is mastered pretty bad, but still no. fail.​

+ Chameleon - Trentemoller: Frankly I didn't expect the M4s to do as well as they did, it's actually listenable, but still I think in the spirit of fairness we gotta give it a fail.​

+ Elements (Orchestral Version) - Lindsey Stirling: I'm not gonna lie, on my desktop setup I cry every time I listen to this; sure, the M4s can't dredge up all my life's sorrows and failures into 4 min like a great desktop system does, but it's still damn good - pass!​

+ On and On - Erykah Badu: this is a tough one for tons of HPs: deep bass and a knocky instrument that can ruin your hearing on some headphones; while a bit boomy/bloomy the M4s jam this one out so I'd say it's a big pass!​

+ Mentality - Da Lata: if this song doesn't make you get up and dance offensively in someone's face, you don't like music. The M4s wireless features make this super easy to do, so it's a big pass!​

+ Youth - Daughter: this is another one of those vocal tracks where I'm basically ready to propose at the end of it. The M4s work great in the beginning with just the vocals but struggle with the bass and overwhelm the vocals ... it's a low pass.​

+ Swimmers - Zero 7, Jem Cooke: So basically if it's dusk and you have a motorcycle don't listen to this track unless you're cool with driving for next 4 hours and maybe changing the direction of your life. The M4s do nothing to prevent this. Pass!​

​

SUMMARY
If you need ANC tuned to cancel out voices and higher frequencies these are about the only game in town, so they're worth it just for that. Soundswise, yeah, they're not just good, I'd say really good for wireless headphones ... though if you're looking for sound quality with ANC being secondary then the clear choice is the Dali iO-6s with the Senns a second choice. Overall, they're a great ANC and sound package. If you have the M3s should you upgrade? If you want the higher frequency ANC then yes, otherwise I'd wait. Personally I don't care about airplane engine/wind noise or steady hum noise so ANC wasn't worth it to me until these M4s which are able to cancel crying baby noise, at least enough to be worth it. So, yeah, if you care about that, buy 'em!

 

[SilverEars]

Yeah, I think the M4s sound great - i've resisted getting a pair of wireless noise-cancelling as there are better sounding non-ANC options with decent passive noise isolation so why deal with the crappy sound? Well for the M4s, they're the first ANC that cross the bar for me. Here's a mini-review:

* Need to have useful-to-me ANC

- For me Bose ANC, Sony wh1kM1-M3 and others just don't eliminate the sounds I care about and ultimately all of them were returned​

- The M4s finally have fixed the ANC problem with much higher performance in high frequency ANC​

- h/t to soundguys for great visuals on passive isolation and ANC versus frequency:​

​

* Must sound decent

- Bose have always sounded like garbage to me *and* are hard to adjust​

- The M4s start with a fairly flat response:​

- And the M4s, of course, have the Sony app that comes with an EQ which, with about 10 min of work, allows you to dial it in or at least worked for me​

- One note about the sound: codecs matter of course, and they're still wireless so like most they have that kind of synthetic sound - more on that in a minute​

​

* They gotta be comfy: at least two hours + a few extras are appreciated

- These are most definitely light and comfy; with many headphones I have trouble with the head "hotspot" but not these​

- These have no IP rating so not good for workouts in general, but I use them for treadmill work and some weight training because I don't drip sweat and they sound better than earbuds​

- In general I prefer buttons not a touchpad, but it works fine here so whatever​

- The proximity sensor is a great feature - makes it super easy to take them off, step away, then come back and pick up right where you left off - excellent feature!​

Now on to the sound - i'm not gonna get all audiophile-talk, just some notes:

- The ANC works awesome so immersive and black levels in high noise environments, exactly as you need and expect - all notes are wireless with ANC on and background whitenoise on (an air purifier)​

- Yeah, so they're wireless so they ain't gonna be like your $10k desktop setup - like all wireless I've tried, they kinda have that synthetic tinge ... kinda like stevia vs sugar: still sweet, but a little different​

- Stagewidth/depth isn't big for me, they're more in your head type and imaging is good but, again, in your head; said differently there is no imaging, but there is good instrument separation, so just depending on how you define it​

- If you're picky you're gonna have to spend some time on the EQ - out of the box they're not ideal. at all. But they can easily get there with 5-10min work, at least they did for me.​

- I have a set of tunes I use to test all my equipment and these did really well - plenty of emotional engagement but, again, not like my desktop setup, but then duh - super enjoyable in many more useful situations obvs though​

​

- Some notes on tuneage, all streamed hi-fi from Tidal via LDAC (also used aac, not important enough to change anything here so ignoring)​

​

+ Angry Eyes - Loggins & Messina: this tune is all about the drums and harmonies - the drums at ~43 seconds should sound like someone hit your ear drum and here they do - pass!​

+ Dry Country - B-52s: this one is challenging for HPs like the Aeon v1s, sounds super flat; not here! Properly adjusted this song is all 80s glory - pass! so hot. here come the girls!​

+ Arlington - Wailin Jennys: key here is the opening bass, seperation with the guitar and then the vocals - excellent. Note that, again, not as emotional as on a desktop system, but pass!​

+ Hey Lion - Sofi Tucker: Ok, this is really tough for just about every HP I've tried and only the best can deal with it. The M4s are just barely passable here and it's a song I'd have to readjust to listen to. Fail.​

+ A Thousand Kisses Deep - Leonard Cohen: so this is all about Cohen's voice and backing instrument separation - it's there, it's big and it works. Pass!​

+ Hard Liquor - Thomas Dybdahl: ok this another tough one for many HPs, here there's bloom and definitely muddiness, not the best, but listenable, so low-pass.​

+ This Feeling - Miguel Migs: What an awesome deep house tune, sounds pretty good here, though that @SilverEars boomy bass makes an appearance, but decent: medium pass.​

+ Try and You Try - Cleo Sol: lord what a track, this chick could talk me into anything and that includes over these M4s so while there's the boominess is here a bit too, her vocals! geezus. pass!​

+ Guess I'm doing Fine - Beck: again here we get a little too much boom and they need a stitch of adjustment but they do fine and i'm bobbing my head and into it - pass!​

+ Too Damn Low - DJ Snake: yeah, so the boomy thing but who gives a crap here, this is just damn fun! Boom-Boom-Boom! pass!​

+ Program - DJ Crush: oh boy. just no. Granted this track is mastered pretty bad, but still no. fail.​

+ Chameleon - Trentemoller: Frankly I didn't expect the M4s to do as well as they did, it's actually listenable, but still I think in the spirit of fairness we gotta give it a fail.​

+ Elements (Orchestral Version) - Lindsey Stirling: I'm not gonna lie, on my desktop setup I cry every time I listen to this; sure, the M4s can't dredge up all my life's sorrows and failures into 4 min like a great desktop system does, but it's still damn good - pass!​

+ On and On - Erykah Badu: this is a tough one for tons of HPs: deep bass and a knocky instrument that can ruin your hearing on some headphones; while a bit boomy/bloomy the M4s jam this one out so I'd say it's a big pass!​

+ Mentality - Da Lata: if this song doesn't make you get up and dance offensively in someone's face, you don't like music. The M4s wireless features make this super easy to do, so it's a big pass!​

+ Youth - Daughter: this is another one of those vocal tracks where I'm basically ready to propose at the end of it. The M4s work great in the beginning with just the vocals but struggle with the bass and overwhelm the vocals ... it's a low pass.​

+ Swimmers - Zero 7, Jem Cooke: So basically if it's dusk and you have a motorcycle don't listen to this track unless you're cool with driving for next 4 hours and maybe changing the direction of your life. The M4s do nothing to prevent this. Pass!​

​

SUMMARY
If you need ANC tuned to cancel out voices and higher frequencies these are about the only game in town, so they're worth it just for that. Soundswise, yeah, they're not just good, I'd say really good for wireless headphones ... though if you're looking for sound quality with ANC being secondary then the clear choice is the Dali iO-6s with the Senns a second choice. Overall, they're a great ANC and sound package. If you have the M3s should you upgrade? If you want the higher frequency ANC then yes, otherwise I'd wait. Personally I don't care about airplane engine/wind noise or steady hum noise so ANC wasn't worth it to me until these M4s which are able to cancel crying baby noise, at least enough to be worth it. So, yeah, if you care about that, buy 'em!

Soundguys measurements doesn't look accurate. I'd look at Rtings. The difference between XM3 and 4 are the upper-mids and presence region. With XM4, I think they went the wrong direction. They cut the presence region and then shot up the upper-mids, which creates even more of a contrast between the presence region and upper-mids, and that transition area just doesn't sound as tonally right at the XM3. Causes odd mids sound with upper-mids sticking out too much.

 

[GrussGott]

Soundguys measurements doesn't look accurate. I'd look at Rtings. The difference between XM3 and 4 are the upper-mids and presence region. With XM4, I think they went the wrong direction. They cut the presence region and then shot up the upper-mids, which creates even more of a contrast between the presence region and upper-mids, and that transition area just doesn't sound as tonally right at the XM3. Causes odd mids sound with upper-mids sticking out too much.

Could be, I don't have an M3 to test, but then it wouldn't matter for me either way since my primary purpose is the high frequency ANC which no other HP has. The Pandas are great if you don't need ANC, though I'd probably get the Dali iO-6s either way (and frankly probably will in a few months).

I think it comes down to what you need the HPs primarily for:

* Business use? Low-freq hum only? Bose
* All arounders? Travel? M3s for low-freq hum ANC, M4s for high-freq ANC
* Sound quality? Dali iO-6
* No ANC need? Pandas or the Dalis

 

[mugbot]

Could be, I don't have an M3 to test, but then it wouldn't matter for me either way since my primary purpose is the high frequency ANC which no other HP has. The Pandas are great if you don't need ANC, though I'd probably get the Dali iO-6s either way (and frankly probably will in a few months).

I think it comes down to what you need the HPs primarily for:

* Business use? Low-freq hum only? Bose
* All arounders? Travel? M3s for low-freq hum ANC, M4s for high-freq ANC
* Sound quality? Dali iO-6
* No ANC need? Pandas or the Dalis

Don't forget the Shure Aonic 50 - these cans are amazing.

 

[GrussGott]

Don't forget the Shure Aonic 50 - these cans are amazing.

Great point, I've read about them but have no direct experience - what would you say their strengths are? I have to say the latest set of wireless headphones is really great, yes not as good as desktop, but good enough to get the toes tapping and give you the freedom to move around and do stuff. Right now i'm listening to a classic: Crystal Gayle's Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue and it sounds fantastic!