[rkw]

Spotify maxes out at 320Kbps bitrate using Ogg Vorbis format.
Bluetooth AAC maxes out at 250Kbps (?) bitrate.

I was* considering moving to Android in order to try LDAC, but it seems sticking to Spotify won't make a difference at all when using the M3s because of its max bitrate. Am I correct?

I was curious and did a comparison just now with my XM2, playing Spotify on iPad (AAC) and Galaxy S9 (LDAC). I was expecting to strain to hear a difference, but to my surprise LDAC was noticeably better. I listen primarily to classical music and played some complex orchestral passages of Shostakovich. With LDAC, I could pick out more detail in the instrumentation, the strings sounded smoother, and the whack of the tympani sounded cleaner and more convincing. Honestly I wasn't expecting to hear such a clear difference.

I think the logical conclusion is that the Spotify Vorbis encoding is higher quality than what most people give it credit for, and transcoding to 250 AAC degrades the quality. I'm just one data point, and I hope that others who have both iOS and Android devices would also do a comparison.

 

[329161]

I've had the first generation Sony's since they came out, and use them almost exclusively for taking conference calls (about 6-8 hours / day) in my home office. The first pair broke as others have reported (where the headband connects to the cups) after about 4 months, but Sony replaced it for free and the second pair has been trouble free so far (fingers crossed).

I really can't stand using them to listen to music, though, because the sound is so "tubby" (i.e., bassy, congested, rolled off) compared to my current favorites (Aeon Flow Closed) - are the third generation units significantly better in this regard? If so, I might consider placing them on my "wish list", even though my current pair is still serviceable for conference calls.

Unfair comparison with the AFC as it's over twice the price and is wired. However, imo the xm3 sounds worse than Sony's wired mdr 1a (being $200 aud less) and this is telling.

 

[qba3d]

I noticed funny thing. I tried to set up the EQ with different settings and well, sometimes felt for a moment that its good , sometimes that not so good. Then recalled what I have to go through with B&W PX ( looooved the sound after some time / hated the comfort => sold / sometimes regret ). I touched the inner part of mk3 and felt where the center of speaker cover is - there is a slight plastic cone center and placed them so they more less aim at my ear drum. That meant that I had to move the headphones much lower then I normally wore them. They do not rest so firmly on my had but , instantly I felt bass to be tighter, less boomy, and mids and upper mids to come to the foreground. I turned off EQ in headphones.. and well they sounded cool. Really closer to balanced. Could any one try that too? Maybe its just me and placebo doing its magic.

 

[lifeinabox]

I'd argue that what you're paying for here is some good ANC and portability. I had a listen in-store over a wire connection to my phone and whilst with a crap source the sound quality was middling with overpowering bass that actually started to give me a bit of a headache, the noise cancelling and comfort were very good. From the pictures it looks like it folds up into something very light and portable, something which I'd imagine the Mobius does not achieve

Maybe one day we'll get the holy grail of portable ANC cans with high sound quality

Bingo! The folks arguing you can get better SQ for half the price are missing the point. I've had every competitor from Bose, B&W, B&O, Senn... and the XM3 is the best of a flawed lot until the holy grail arrives. Inherent are a set of compromises and for the target consumer (commuters) these work well.

 

[329161]

Bingo! The folks arguing you can get better SQ for half the price are missing the point. I've had every competitor from Bose, B&W, B&O, Senn... and the XM3 is the best of a flawed lot until the holy grail arrives. Inherent are a set of compromises and for the target consumer (commuters) these work well.

In many others' opinions it's the worst of that lot. I own the QC35, previously owned the HD1, and have heard the PX. The Sony sounds the least balanced, refined , and the most flawed overall.... YMMV obviously. Even the Crossfade Wireless 2 sounds better to me.

 

[guitardave]

My local audio shop in Sydney has sold 500 units in a week. Proverbial hot cakes. I took a listen today and unfortunately IMO they sound congested, thick and rolled off. Ie my opinion mirrors that of many on Headfi. Eq can be used fairly effectively to fix frequency anomalies, but it can't be used to fix the congestion, lack of resolution, low transparency, closed soundstage and subpar layering. I will wait for the Möbius and Grado gw100. In the meantime bring on the xm4

Wow, not sure what you listen to normally, but something was wrong there. Are they equal to my Utopias or Stax? No, but they cost $300 and have noise cancelling, Bluetooth, and sound much better than the previous model. They definitely are not closed in or congested. Yes, the bass is up a bit, a bit like my Z1r’s but not in any way annoying. Also,they are now 95% as comfortable as the bose.

 

[ryanmatic]

I noticed funny thing. I tried to set up the EQ with different settings and well, sometimes felt for a moment that its good , sometimes that not so good. Then recalled what I have to go through with B&W PX ( looooved the sound after some time / hated the comfort => sold / sometimes regret ). I touched the inner part of mk3 and felt where the center of speaker cover is - there is a slight plastic cone center and placed them so they more less aim at my ear drum. That meant that I had to move the headphones much lower then I normally wore them. They do not rest so firmly on my had but , instantly I felt bass to be tighter, less boomy, and mids and upper mids to come to the foreground. I turned off EQ in headphones.. and well they sounded cool. Really closer to balanced. Could any one try that too? Maybe its just me and placebo doing its magic.

This matches my experience. I have a fairly large head but for whatever reason, I don’t need to extend the headband of the Sonys at all. The fit is snug but the pads are so comfortable I almost don’t notice it. Not sure how much of this is due to pad softening or driver burn in, but over AAC and with mild EQ, the bass is plenty tight, the midrange is detailed, and the layering is excellent. They sound better to me than my P7Ws.

Bingo! The folks arguing you can get better SQ for half the price are missing the point. I've had every competitor from Bose, B&W, B&O, Senn... and the XM3 is the best of a flawed lot until the holy grail arrives. Inherent are a set of compromises and for the target consumer (commuters) these work well.

Agreed. And I’d add that the ANC for the Sonys is a plus to the sound quality, in a way the ANC in others like the PX is kind of a minus: it’s extremely effective and it doesn’t have a huge influence on how music sounds. The trade off is in hearing more details all of the time, rather than all details some of the time.

 

[jqgw]

Thanks for testing this.

I tried pairing the headphones with my wife's iPhone 7 in case the echo was related to Android, but it is still there.

Since they were out of the return period, I called Sony while using the headphones so they would hear the problem. They agreed to replace them.

I will post once I receive the replacements.

Thanks

I called a relative this morning and spoke for 5 mins and it was also super clear. Both iPhones, me on Verizon and them on TMobile. No echo or issues at all.

 

[dudeman135]

Thanks for testing this.

I tried pairing the headphones with my wife's iPhone 7 in case the echo was related to Android, but it is still there.

Since they were out of the return period, I called Sony while using the headphones so they would hear the problem. They agreed to replace them.

I will post once I receive the replacements.

Thanks

Good to know. Thanks for the info and definitely keep us posted.

 

[hvking]

Is 1000MX3 better than B&W P7 Wireless and Momentum 2 in terms of sound quality?

 

[visanj]

Sony WH1000XM3 has received both CNET's Editors Choice award and Whathifi award. Its very rare that a product receive award from both cnet and whathifi. The other audio product which has received both awards is Sony STR-DN1080 av receiver (2017 year)

My question, is the reason for the award is just because the noise cancelling is so good? In that case I can ignore as my priority is sound quality

I have MDR-1ABT which I like but not much. Can anyone compare the sound quality of MDR-1ABT with WH1000XM3?

Thanks
Visaka

 

[hallucynogenyc]

I can't believe whathifi just wrote this, I'm never trusting them again for sound:

"Tonally, there’s a generous extra helping of lovely, deep bass, which helps the WH-1000XM3s produce a satisfying rendition of SBTRKT’s throbbing Trials Of The Past. But this extra bass never threatens to unbalance the presentation – instead it simply reinforces the overall delivery, adding weight and richness in a pleasant, natural and, dare we say it, analogue way."

 

[rkw]

My question, is the reason for the award is just because the noise cancelling is so good?

Read the reviews to find what they liked.

 

[visanj]

Read the reviews to find what they liked.

I can see the positive remarks on both noise cancellation and sound quality but more on noise cancellation, hence the doubt

 

[visanj]

I can't believe whathifi just wrote this, I'm never trusting them again for sound:

"Tonally, there’s a generous extra helping of lovely, deep bass, which helps the WH-1000XM3s produce a satisfying rendition of SBTRKT’s throbbing Trials Of The Past. But this extra bass never threatens to unbalance the presentation – instead it simply reinforces the overall delivery, adding weight and richness in a pleasant, natural and, dare we say it, analogue way."

Why do you think so? Is it not matching with your views on sound quality?

CNet's Guttenberg has not reviewed this extensively but

"I gave the headphone to Steve Guttenberg, who writes CNET's The Audiophiliac column, for a listen. Steve can be hard on Bluetooth headphones but had very positive things to say about the WH-1000XM3: Nice treble, warm, natural midrange and bass that was deep but also defined. He didn't have any real complaints about the sound."