[dylansmith]

I have been using IEMs my entire life, all the way from the classic UE TF10s and now to the VSonic GR07 Bass.

Recently, I have been reading a lot of rave reviews about the Sony 1000x series and decided to give the v2 a spin. Noting some of the reviews say that the 1000x has set a new standard for ANC headphones (aka being comparable to traditional IEMs/headphones), I was quite disappointed with the audio quality. It sounded flat, with a lack of bass and the vocals were also not crisp as what the reviews raved about.

Am I the only one who felt this way? I paid probably 3-4x more over the GR07s and expected it to be at least on par. The only saving grace was the ANC, which was really impressive.

 

[dylansmith]

no comments from fellow audiophiles?

 

[moogman]

I've only just got my WH-1000XM2s this morning so they're not broken in but I find there's plenty of bass. It's a bit muddy at the moment and occasionally I've resorted to the Sony Connect app equaliser to reduce it a little as it gets quite tiring with bass heavy EDM but I'm hoping this will improve over time. Did you get a good fit over the ears? Did you try the equaliser?

Despite the reviews you've read I don't think Bluetooth headphones/IEMs are ever going to be as good as audiophile wired ones due to the compression used and are a compromise of convenience over SQ.

 

[dylansmith]

I've only just got my WH-1000XM2s this morning so they're not broken in but I find there's plenty of bass. It's a bit muddy at the moment and occasionally I've resorted to the Sony Connect app equaliser to reduce it a little as it gets quite tiring with bass heavy EDM but I'm hoping this will improve over time. Did you get a good fit over the ears? Did you try the equaliser?

Despite the reviews you've read I don't think Bluetooth headphones/IEMs are ever going to be as good as audiophile wired ones due to the compression used and are a compromise of convenience over SQ.

Yes I have a good fit, and also tried the EQ, but it is really no where near my GR07 IEMs, or even the cheapo Xiaomi Pro HD IEMs too. quite disappointing to be honest.

 

[Peddler]

The WH1000XM2 is without a doubt the best Bluetooth headphones I have yet tried - both from a noise cancellation point of view and sound quality. If you are adjusting the EQ using the app then you're not using the best connection - APTX HD is simply stunning on these. Definitely my favourite all round full sized headphone so far.

 

[Monstieur]

They do sound lifeless compared to a reference IEM. I've owned both the 1000X (for a day before returning it) and the 1000XM2. I also own the BeoPlay H7. It goes to show frequency response graphs don't mean anything. They all extend well below 20 Hz, but the bass is weak comapred to my SE846, calibrated home threatre, or planar magnetics.

I suspect this is due to the high distortion. It's way above 1% well into the mids even at 90 dB SPL. The Bose QC35 II is mostly < 0.1% in comparison but has huge distortion spikes above 3 kHz which are audibly harsh.

In short don't believe the hype. The fact that multiple electronics companies rush to pump out the same product with the same feature set every year at the same $349.99 price point is a give away of a mass market unrefined product.

I suggest you try the Audeze Sine or Oppo PM-3. They are the only reference sounding portables with < 0.1% distortion.

 

[Monstieur]

The upcoming Audeze Mobius also shows promise. You can use them in stereo mode via Bluetooth.

 

[ohsigmachi]

For everyone who had less than stellar impressions of the XM2 can ask what your source was/is?

I'm using XM2s with an LG V30+ playing through Tidal (mostly MQA) with the LDAC settings set to prioritize SQ it should pump a 24bit 96kHz stream.

I think it sounds amazing. It's a very detailed, full, rich, and immersive sound.

YMMV

 

[Monstieur]

For everyone who had less than stellar impressions of the XM2 can ask what your source was/is?

I'm using XM2s with an LG V30+ playing through Tidal (mostly MQA) with the LDAC settings set to prioritize SQ it should pump a 24bit 96kHz stream.

I think it sounds amazing. It's a very detailed, full, rich, and immersive sound.

YMMV

256 Kb/s AAC is completely transparent. A simple trial is enough to hear such obvious shortcomings in a headphone’s sound. You’ve been fooled if you think all those gimmicks you mentioned above make any difference.


I agree with this review completely.

 

[ohsigmachi]

256 Kb/s AAC is completely transparent. A simple trial is enough to hear such obvious shortcomings in a headphone’s sound. You’ve been fooled if you think all those gimmicks you mentioned above make any difference.


I agree with this review completely.

I just A/B'd these with Phillips Fidelio X2HRs, the X2s win out only in sub-base extension, but I can't hear my neighbors kids screaming if I have the Sonys on.

I disagree with pretty much everything he (and by extension you) said...

 

[Monstieur]

I just A/B'd these with Phillips Fidelio X2HRs, the X2s win out only in sub-base extension, but I can't here my neighbors kids screaming if I have the Sonys on.

I disagree with pretty much everything he (and by extension you) said...

I've given my WH-1000XM2 to other people and they've all told me the sound quality was amazing and it's one of the best headphones they've heard. Ironically they are the worst headhones I've ever owned. I have several other headphones that are "inferior" on paper, but all of them sound much better to me.

Beyerdynamic Amiron Home - High bass distortion, poor bass extension
BeoPlay H7 - Poor sound stage, high bass distortion, coloured sound
Klipsch X10i & X11i - Coloured sound

My reference headphones are the Shure SE846, and the Audeze LCD2C (Reveal plugin + equal loudness compensation).

If the term "boring" means neutral, then the two headphones above should be boring but they are not. The WH-1000XM2 sounds like it's underoging some sort of dynamic range compression with every beat.

 

[nevrsumr]

I just got the 1000mx2 after I lost my 100abn's and I think they sound pretty good. I feeI they are pretty neutral. I did a slight treble increase for a bit more sparkle and no complaints after. I have heard a couple songs where they were playing the the region these headphones are bass boosted and it got a bit much but nothing that really bothered me. The best part is that no matter what the ANC setting is, there is no difference in the audio quality from what I could tell. Super comfy too. I didn't watch the video above but if that is a negative review, that has to be one of the very few. Pretty much every review I saw had these as the best ANC bluetooth headphones out.

 

[int_architect]

I just got the 1000mx2 after I lost my 100abn's and I think they sound pretty good. I feeI they are pretty neutral. I did a slight treble increase for a bit more sparkle and no complaints after. I have heard a couple songs where they were playing the the region these headphones are bass boosted and it got a bit much but nothing that really bothered me. The best part is that no matter what the ANC setting is, there is no difference in the audio quality from what I could tell. Super comfy too. I didn't watch the video above but if that is a negative review, that has to be one of the very few. Pretty much every review I saw had these as the best ANC bluetooth headphones out.

These are definitely a winner in my book and to my ears.

 

[Peddler]

I have the WH1000XM2's and rate then very highly.

Note that I also have the following in my collection:

Sennheiser 598sr
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10's
1MORE Triple Driver iem
Apple Airpods
Magaosi K3 Pro

In all fairness I don't think the Sony's are the best sounding headphones in my collection but they're still very good with no significant shortcomings at all. Many of my other headphones have at least one aspect to them that I don't like so much. For example:

Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10's - getting the right fit.
1MORE Triple Driver IEM's - fit too shallow for effective noise cancellation.
Sennheiser 598sr - leak too much sound out.

You get the idea. I rate all the headphones in my collection very highly and feel that the ownership of each one can be justified (at least in my twisted mind).

The two that have impressed me the most are the Apple Airpods and the Sony's. The combination of perfectly acceptable sound quality coupled with their convenience make them winners.

Using LG V20 with APTx HD on the Sony's and so cannot access eq settings which suits me fine because I hate having to twiddle around with the sound settings whilst listening to music. I also tend to listen to the Sony's with the noise cancelling switched off (for me their passive isolation is enough most of the time).

One last point - for me the Sony's were extremely expensive but they have effectively stopped me looking at other headphones irrespective of the price - food for thought!

 

[Monstieur]

One last point - for me the Sony's were extremely expensive but they have effectively stopped me looking at other headphones irrespective of the price - food for thought!

I recommend you try the Oppo PM-3 or Audeze Sine (with the Cipher cable only, since it needs frequency response correction) for closed-back over-ear, or the Shure SE846 for IEMs. They're far better than the WH-1000XM2, especially if you listen to music with 20 Hz bass.