[Cliffy02]

You're kidding right?

Seriously, it's occurred to me that I could just rip off the headband padding off the xm3 and have a better-looking, lighter, more comfy headset. Wish the Sennheiser Momentum 2 headband design could be used with the Sony, but keeping the close-to-the-head look of the XM3.
If the headband padding was zippable, then those who like their band flairing flat&wide towards the middle could just remove the padding, and those who like extra padding could zip on something thicker? Just dreaming.....

 

[zhenya]

By now, it seems well-known what the 2019 model must/mustn't feature: no XX-Bass, (much)improved controls, improved passive isolation, improved Bluetooth connectivity, (further)improved ANC, lighter weight, easier & cheaper-to-replace ear-pads. Last, but not least, the fuggly thick&narrow, TeleTubby-ish padded headband center-piece should maybe be replaced by something flat&wide, and possibly unpadded, for better comfort and looks. Did I miss anything?

I think you'll get a slightly tweaked sound profile and an improvement in the touch controls. Possibly multiple simultaneous BT connections and a higher bit-rate while using the EQ. I would not expect major design or sound profile changes when the overall consensus is these characteristics are already at or near class-leading. It's safe to say the sound profile is intentional.

 

[Cliffy02]

I would not expect major design or sound profile changes when the overall consensus is these characteristics are already at or near class-leading.

Creative Tech's Super X-Fi could well find its way into some headphones; this could be the answer to the limited sound-stage of closed-back/sealed devices. Anyway, there's a sxfi android app to try although, in its selectable list of headphone profiles, the XMs are not included.

 

[NewForce]

By now, it seems well-known what the 2019 model must/mustn't feature: no XX-Bass, (much)improved controls, improved passive isolation, improved Bluetooth connectivity, (further)improved ANC, lighter weight, easier & cheaper-to-replace ear-pads. Last, but not least, the fuggly thick&narrow, TeleTubby-ish padded headband center-piece should maybe be replaced by something flat&wide, and possibly unpadded, for better comfort and looks. Did I miss anything?

What i can say is, not one design suit everyone.

From Sony Engineer's stand point, they designed XM3 with better 3-points support thus better ergonomics and the headphones weights more balance cross the head therefore people can use it for much longer listening. Also call it sweet & lovely Tele-Tubby XM3 if you want, it surely don't have the Senn M1/M2 "Mickey-Mouse" effects.

 

[Cliffy02]

...... the overall consensus is these characteristics are already at or near class-leading.

An early '19 contender for leadership?
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/jabra-elite-85h-best-noise-canceling-headphones-ces-2019/

Finally, rain&dust-proofing for an over-ear ANC headset.

 

[alchemical]

Am I missing something with the auto shut off feature of these? I’ve got it set to 5 mins, but they stay on even after that time has elapsed with no audio playing.

 

[Graham Baker]

Yes this setting is a bit stupid, it will shut down the headset after a BT connection is terminated which on most devices doesn’t happen even when they are switched off, the BT connection remains, the headphones remain powered up until the battery dies regardless of this setting...
This feature should be changed so that the timer switches off the headset after a predetermined number of min of no audio playing

 

[alchemical]

Thanks for the reply. How bizarre. I’d assumed it was the typical case of powering down when no active audio is detected - which a few reviews even said was the case (but probably just assumed too). Having to manually disconnect the bluetooth connection in order to achieve a power off just seems to make the feature redundant.

 

[Graham Baker]

Thanks for the reply. How bizarre. I’d assumed it was the typical case of powering down when no active audio is detected - which a few reviews even said was the case (but probably just assumed too). Having to manually disconnect the bluetooth connection in order to achieve a power off just seems to make the feature redundant.

This is the one major problem with this headset - the BT connection...
It’s archaic in that unlike all the competition it will only connect to one BT source at a time and it won’t connect to a different BT source until disconnected from the current/previous one, a major bloody nuscience when you have a few BT devices that you wish to use with the headset...
Why on earth Sony have dones this? The cynic in me says so that we will all update to the next version later this year....

 

[NewForce]

It's wasn't even a problem for most users. I hate to repeat, but as I've said before, no one design suit everyone. That's also why we have plenty of choice, don't like Sony solutions just buy other brand and full stop.

 

[Fabdube]

Has the True-Fi iOS app worked well for folks? I couldn't get it to actually load any of my local files on my iPhone or my iPad (music I own, not music I stream). Last I looked on the App Store page, I wasn't the only one with those issues. Haven't had any issues with the macOS app though.

At any rate, that's good that they added an XM3 profile—I'll download the app again and give it a try.

How do you find it ? Better than your custom EQ ?

 

[ryanmatic]

How do you find it ? Better than your custom EQ ?

Heya, sorry for the delay in replying. True-Fi includes three profiles: headphones off, ANC on, and Ambient Mode on. After a few days of primarily using ANC on, I'm pretty impressed. It really does tame the lower end of the XM3's stock signature, and its volume limiting/pre-amp function on macOS is a nice touch which makes the XM3 pair even better with my DragonFly Red. I still slightly prefer the extra bit of air and treble sparkle that the Radsone player's EQ provides by comparison, but in truth, both that player and True-Fi provide excellent ways to bring out the best in these headphones. It really is a shame that Sony put these on the shelf with their stock signature, because once you 'correct' for that by EQ-ing your source properly, these really become excellent mid-tier all-rounders. The midrange is just so clear once the bass is dialed back.

So yeah, True-Fi makes a very positive difference for the XM3, and the three profiles they've included should provide a lot of versatility depending on how you're listening. In fact, even the 'headphones off' preset helps quite a bit as well, which is impressive considering what a hot mess these headphones (well, all ANC headphones) are when they're powered off and plugged in. That said, I wouldn't expect much beyond what folks here have already attained with proper EQing, but if you carry the XM3 around with you, it's always nice having another easy way to get the most from them.
Also, whatever issue I was noticing with the True-Fi iOS app seems to be fixed with the update from last week; it shows and plays all local music on my iPhone and iPad

 

[Pro-Jules]

This is the one major problem with this headset - the BT connection...
It’s archaic in that unlike all the competition it will only connect to one BT source at a time and it won’t connect to a different BT source until disconnected from the current/previous one, a major bloody nuscience when you have a few BT devices that you wish to use with the headset...
Why on earth Sony have dones this? The cynic in me says so that we will all update to the next version later this year....

That's a deal breaker for me. Need to be able to take phone calls

 

[zhenya]

That's a deal breaker for me. Need to be able to take phone calls

Perhaps someone else can confirm, but I believe that while they can't generally connect to two devices simultaneously in the way we'd like, you can connect to two devices simultaneously if one of them is connected to the Phone profile rather than both to the Music profile.

https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/portable-audio/wh-1000xm3-pairing-with-multiple-devices/td-p/2531277

 

[Fabdube]

Heya, sorry for the delay in replying. True-Fi includes three profiles: headphones off, ANC on, and Ambient Mode on. After a few days of primarily using ANC on, I'm pretty impressed. It really does tame the lower end of the XM3's stock signature, and its volume limiting/pre-amp function on macOS is a nice touch which makes the XM3 pair even better with my DragonFly Red. I still slightly prefer the extra bit of air and treble sparkle that the Radsone player's EQ provides by comparison, but in truth, both that player and True-Fi provide excellent ways to bring out the best in these headphones. It really is a shame that Sony put these on the shelf with their stock signature, because once you 'correct' for that by EQ-ing your source properly, these really become excellent mid-tier all-rounders. The midrange is just so clear once the bass is dialed back.

So yeah, True-Fi makes a very positive difference for the XM3, and the three profiles they've included should provide a lot of versatility depending on how you're listening. In fact, even the 'headphones off' preset helps quite a bit as well, which is impressive considering what a hot mess these headphones (well, all ANC headphones) are when they're powered off and plugged in. That said, I wouldn't expect much beyond what folks here have already attained with proper EQing, but if you carry the XM3 around with you, it's always nice having another easy way to get the most from them.
Also, whatever issue I was noticing with the True-Fi iOS app seems to be fixed with the update from last week; it shows and plays all local music on my iPhone and iPad

Thanks for the reply ! I really like the sound the true-fi app does on ios but it keeps asking me to authorize spotify and i cannot add songs to my library from there which is a bummer ... I am wondering what EQ settings in the sony app you would use to replicate true-fi’s sound ? I tried a few but it’s not as good ! Thanks a lot.