WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones with Mic for Phone-Call and Alexa Voice Control, Black WH1000XM4

**Disclaimer: I bought mine used like new through Amazon I originally purchased the Sony XM5 because they were soooo highly rated in every article I read. I returned the XM5, got the XM4 and am so much happier. I'll compare the XM4 to the XM5, Apple AirPods Max, and Bose QuietComfort 45 - just to help anyone choosing between them. **Noise Cancellation (4.5/5): the noise cancellation on the XM4 is crazy, almost comparable to the Apple AirPods Max. I gave the XM4 a 4.5 because I still think the Apple AirPods Max have the best noise cancellation, but the Sony XM4 is very close. I also like the fact that you can turn noise cancelling on/off with a button - which is a feature not available with the Bose QuietComfort 45. The noise cancellation is much better than the XM5 and less finicky. An issue with the XM5 is that the noise cancelling would just randomly turn on/off. Like if I paused a video for a little too long, the noise cancellation would just turn off. Overall, I wouldn't say I it blocks out all sound, but it's close. I can hear the sound of people talking and music, but it's quieter and I can't make out the words. I definitely can't have a conversation with them on. Also, the XM4 will pick up on when you're talking to people and turn the noise cancelling off for you - but it does make a little announcement when it does that may be annoying or disruptive. ****Edit Nov. 2025 (re Noise Cancellation): Sooo, when I first wrote the review, I didn't mention there is an app ("Sound Connect") where you pair your XM4 (and XM5) headphones and can adjust some settings. I wrote my review based on how the headphones performed without the app (with their default settings). But, with the app, you can adjust the noise cancellation, ambient sound control, adaptive sound control, noise cancelling optimizer, speak-to-chat, 360 audio, etc. After adjusting the settings on my XM4s, I was able to fix some of the issues I mentioned in my original review - like, I turned off the the adaptive sound control and announcements for noise cancelling. I did use the app with the XM5s but it never fixed a lot of the issues I had. The app is kind of... meh. It's user friendly in the way it looks (like I think everything is pretty easy to find), but it doesn't really explain what anything means/does. Also, sometimes the noise cancelling setting just randomly changes anyways, which is a little annoying (like the app really wants noise cancelling ON, even if you don't). **Sound Quality (4/5): the sound quality is great. Way better than the XM5, not as great as the Apple AirPods Max. I think the Apple headphones are just a little crisper. I think it's cool that you can turn 360 sound on, but tbh I never really use it (XM5 also has this feature). The sound is clear, and I haven't experienced any malfunctions/issues with the noise. When I had the XM5, they would just randomly sound muffled (like I was underwater) and, when that wasn't happening, the sound quality was mediocre. **Comfort (5/5): the XM4s are REALLY comfy. I wear glasses with plastic frames and a lot of headphones just don't work and are really uncomfy. The Apple AirPods Max were really uncomfortable with my glasses. Obviously, an easy solution is to just wear contacts, but I hate wearing my contacts for long periods of time - especially, when I study/do work. The XM5 were also pretty comfortable, but wouldn't stay fixed when I adjusted them - they would slip and I would need to readjust them a lot. The XM4 completely cover my ear and the ear pads are soft. They don't squeeze my head the way other headphones do and they don't hurt any part of my ear. I will say that the headband part that rests on top of my head does kind of hurt my head after wearing them for almost 10 hours. Also, I have TMJ so sometimes wearing the headphones does cause my TMJ to flare up and I'll switch to earbuds. But, I think overall these are the most comfortable headphones I have tried. **Product Quality (3.5/5): let's be honest, they're plastic and they feel plastic. They don't feel like super high quality, but let me tell you that they feel way better quality than the XM5 - those felt like a barbie toy. I think the XM4 are sturdy and pretty durable. The Apple AirPods Max are also plastic, but do feel a little more high quality - but also, nothing spectacular. **Aesthetic (3.5/5): If the aesthetic is important to you, I would say they look fine. They're a little bulky, but not terrible. Not as sleek as some others, but they don't look ridiculous. If you're really against a bulky look, then they may not be a great aesthetic match for you. I was worried they would be really clunky, but after getting them and wearing them for a bit, I really don't think they look bad. **Connectivity (4/5): I only have Apple devices (iPhone, MacBook, etc.) and I think the connectivity is great with these products! When I got the XM5, they had so many connection issues. I wasn't able to connect them to my laptop, they wouldn't stay connected to my devices - it was a mess. I was really worried I would have the same issues with the XM4, but I have had no problems so far. I will say it was a little odd to have have to download the Sony Connect app and manage the headphone through that platform, but it's user friendly and it's kind of nice to have a control for them (it's almost like a remote). **Battery Life (5/5): The battery life is insane. I've had them for 8 days and have not charged them yet - they still have about 40% charge left. They will turn off automatically to save battery life if you don't use them for a certain amount of time, which I personally like. OVERALL (4.5/5): I think the XM4 are great headphones for a better price than the Apple AirPods Max. The Bose are apparently really similar, but I've never personally tried them. The XM4 is MUCH better than the XM5 in terms of quality and price. They're comfy, great noise cancellation and sound quality, and have great battery life. EDIT 11/6/25: I have these headphones over 2 years later and still use them almost everyday. They are still in great condition (almost the same as when I bought them) - they still look, sound, and operate great. I only really use them at work, when I'm doing chores, or going on a walk (not working out or anything) and I store them in their case - but STILL, some headphones die before they even hit a year. The only thing I've noticed is that the part where you can adjust the headband size has gotten a little weaker, but not by much - so I have to readjust them every so often, but this isn't that big of an issue for me.

I purchased these recently while they were on sale intending to use them while I work from home and listen to music, podcasts, or take a work call. They can dually connect to both my computer and phone as I often switch between the two as I'm working. But the switch is not as great or seamless as it could be, sometimes it struggles, causing me to miss something being said at the beginning of the meeting when crossing over from one Bluetooth connection to the other. Pausing whatever device is actively playing media, then switching starting a call, or playing a video on that second device is a lot more seamless this way. Upon first use I was actually surprised by how light the headphones were and how comfortable the padding on these were, but I will say after wearing them for nearly 8 hours, I did notice a little bit of soreness around the tops of my ears but it's nothing compared to what ear buds feel like and what other headphones feel like only 2-3 hours. I cannot really speak on the audio quality as I'm not necessarily a huge expert in that area and I'm largely deaf in one of my ears so half of this pair of headphones is pretty much usless to me... none the less, it sounds great to me, great clear, crisp audio. And I will make note that coworkers that I had to speak on the phone with many times previously and always struggled to understand, regardless of if I have the call on private mode and turned all the way up, speakerphone, or earbuds. But with taking phone calls with these headphones I do not notice this same issue. To mention being largely deaf in one of my ears, these headphones do have a noise canceling features, and although I don't need too much help in the noise canceling area... I can attest that I feel almost completely deaf with these headphones on. Even with other noise canceling headphones, I can hear myself typing on my keyboard, or the sound of resonance of my feet hitting the ground while walking with headphones on, but I do not experience those things with these headphones at all. And so far from about a week and a half of use, the battery life has been great so far, and I am seeming to get about a day and a half (~12 to 14 hours give or take) of battery life from one charge before I get the battery low message, that is when decide to charge mine, but I'm sure you'd still have a good amount of charge left. Also, the case that these headphones come in, and are stored in, is so amazing and such good quality. I always return them to their case after I'm done using them for the day, as the case is strong is really helps keep your headphones safe and protected. I have a habit of throwing my headphones into a bag if I feel like I may want them, but in that bag is also so many other things, and I never worry about my headphones because of how sturdy and strong the case for these are.

Clear crisp sound

I have a pair of Bose wired QC-35 so this is my base for comparison. I bought these because I was tired of having the cable in my way all the time. Context: I use the XM-4 mostly with my laptop but they're also paired with my Galaxy S10. The only noises I have in my environment are my wife sitting about a meter away from me in our home office and she speaks very loudly when she is in a virtual meeting (and she has quite a lot of them and the keyboard clicks. So, noise cancelling is mostly used for surrounding voice. Let's start with noise cancelling: The Sony XM4 have about the same noise cancellation quality as the wired QC-35 but the XM4 have a white noise that is a bit bugging me when I'm not listening to anything, just using them for noise cancellation while the QC-35 do not have a white noise and can cancel noise as well as the XM4. I mostly use noise cancellation because my wife is sitting about one meter away and she very often takes phone meeting and she speaks quite loudly. The XM4 and the QC-35 cancel about 60% of her voice so when I listen to music, even at low volume I don't hear her at all. Sound: The sound is a bit better than the wired QC-35. The bass is deep and all the frequencies are crisp and clear. I can hear every single instruments very clearly so I can enjoy my music better than ever before. These headphones should definitely be able to satisfy the most demanding audiophiles out there. Also they can play loud enough to damage your ear drums which is pretty good for wireless headphones. The sound is as good whether it comes from my laptop or my Galaxy S10 phone. Calls using my Galaxy S10: If I receive a call on my Galaxy S10 while listening to music on my laptop (or my phone), the XM4 will pause the music and ring in the headphones. A simple double tap on the touch sensor and I can answer the call or reject it by holding a finger on the touch sensor. The quality of the audio during calls is excellent; I can hear very well and I'm told that the sound on the other side of the conversation is very good. I never tried them in a noisy environment or outside when the wind is blowing but Sony states that the XM4 will cancel most of the ambiant noise to keep the other side of the call clean. Features: I love the many features the XM4 offer. Here are a few features I particularly like: 1. When listening to music, I just have to take the headphones off and the XM4 will automatically pause the music thanks to the proximity sensor inside the left can. I simply have to put them back on for the music to start again. 2. When I listen to music and I want to talk to someone, I don't have to take them off, I just have to start talking and the music will automatically pause and the mics on the unit will make sure I can hear what's being said so I can carry a conversation without taking them off. Then, 15 or 30 seconds (configurable) after I stop talking, the music starts again. 3. Finally, the multiple commands I can use on the touch sensor such as volume up/down, next/previous song, fast-forward/backward and more. Another feature that is nice for those who want to use it is the integration with Alexa or Google assistant. However since I do not use any assistant, I cannot comment on this. Comfort: I have regular size ears so the cups surround them completely and do not put pressure on any part of my ears. I was able to wear them for 9 hours straight (while wearing glasses) with one short break in the middle for lunch and I felt no discomfort. Comparatively, the QC-35 have about the same size cup but the leather on the QC-35 is more comfortable than on the XM4. App: The Sony "Headphone" app is pretty good and complete, helping you customize your headphone sound and behavior very easily. You can configure an equalizer to adjust the sound to your specific preferences, customize the function of the second button on the left ear piece, turn on/off different feature of the XM4, update the firmware, and more. If your willing to give the app GPS location permission, you can have different configuration depending on where you are, home, office, commute, etc. This is a big one for me, I'm not forced to give GPS location permission to the app, contrary to the Bose Bluetooth headphone app. With Bose, if you don't give GPS location permission, you can't even pair your headphones! I won't comment on the location feature of the XM4 since I'm not using it but I'm happy I'm not forced to give this permission. Cons: I had to think hard to find any cons but here they are. 1. I cannot use the headphones while charging but this is minor since the battery life is so long and you can use them with the supplied 3.5mm cord but without the mic function. 2. The cushions on the QC-35 are more comfortable, softer than the ones on the XM4. I've read a lot of reviews mentioning problems with TV sound so I tested my MX4 with my Samsung Smart TV; the pairing was easy enough but the sound was constantly choppy so I would not recommend them if you want to watch TV with them. Summary: As far as I know, as of now these are the best wireless headphones on the planet! Great sound, feature rich and very comfortable but not recommended for TV watching.

I have gone through a lot of reviews on various platforms before buying this product, but at some few places i observed people mentioning about the headphones causing them 'tinnitus', but as far as i am concerned i havent observed the same in my 10 days of usage so far. I am dividing my review into the below categories followed by pros/cons. 1. Design and build quality: The design on these is a decent one, the build is definitely plastic, but dont get me wrong, they definitely feel premium, and even though thet used plastic on these, but its definitely good quality. 2. Comfort: This is by far one of the most comfortable piece of headphones i have used so far, i mean literally wear them for 3-4 hours and you wont feel that you have it on ur head on those times. Although i havent stretched by wearing them for longer periods than that, but i am pretty confident, anyone will hardly have to worry on that aspect. 3. Battery: I have found the battery life to be okay on these, they advertise a 30 hr backup but i think u can easily get 20+ hours on these, so yeah this department is fine as well but in current market i have seen different vendors like Marshall doing a phenomenal job with the battery by providing close to 80hrs in their 'Major 4' model of headphones, so yeah if you are some one for whom battery life is of utmost importance, i would suggest you to get something similar to the Marshall Major 4s. 4. Sound-Quality: The sound quality is amazing on these, and why not, these are Sony's, we can expect the same from them, the low are detailed, mids are well tuned, highs are balanced, the bass is good enough, but this is subjective, i mean these are not heavy bass set of pairs, for heavy bass you may look for something like the XB series of the Sony's. But talking about the overall quality i am compelled to say that these are definitely a bang for your buck. 5. Noice-Cancellation: I kept this topic for the last but i dont think i need to talk much on these as these definitely nail it, these are the king of ANC as i have already heard earlier at many places. they also give u the option to customize the level of noise cancellation. As per me they are only 2nd to noice cancellation after the Apple airpods max, but given the price point they completely justify what they are offering. Regarding call quality, i didnt get much time to check the call quality except a couple of occurences but found them to be decent. However if you are specifically looking forward to call quality, the bose 700s can be a better option for you. Pros: 1. Great amount of customization provided by the sony app. 2. Timely firmware updates for the headphones. 3. Good enough carrying case of the headphones. 4. Less weight as compared to other premium offerings in this segment. 5. Decent battery life. 6. Mesmerizing sound. Cons: 1. Lack of aptx/aptx-hd codec: At this price point atleast they should offer aptx codec. 2. Lack of water/splash resistance: Given the premium segment, they should atleast offer splash rating to these. 3. At this premium price point they should atleast offer a couple of years of warranty like the Skullcandy's 4. Less number of support centers for these. 5. Lack of detachable earcups. Verdict: If you are ready to shell out this premium, then these headphones are definitely a good choice for you if you are looking for an allrounder.

Sound Quality (5/5) These are the first headphones I've owned that when first listening to them I didn't immediately flinch and look for the nearest EQ. I'm no sound engineer, but definitely it has great bass and great quality for mids & highs. Noise cancelation (5/5) Although this is my first set of headphones that support this feature. I'm really blown away by it. I have an air purifier in my office, and even at medium setting. The fan is pretty noisy. But with these things on, I can barely hear it, and that's with no music/movie playing. But as soon as I turn on a movie or song, I seriously can't tell it's on. I read some people say they could hear a waterfall or something in the background. I can't hear anything other than silence, or what I'm listening to. Wireless/Wired (4/5) Being able to use the headphones with them powereoff with a wire, or have them connect wireless via bluetooth is an amazing feature. And it works really well! I was really surprised however that I don't seem to be able to use this headset with the bluetooth of my main PC. It has a really think glass panel, so I'm wondering if it's not because of that. If you own a case with a glass panel, maybe double check with another set of bluetooth headse/earbuds to see how the conenction goes. Audio Delay/lag on Bluetooth (5/5) I own a mini laptop and it only has bluetooth 4.1. But for some reason when I watch videos or movies, I'm virtually unable to tell whether there is lag. Unlike any other bluetooth earbuds I've owned. The delay is amazing. Obviously your mileage may vary, but it's something that drove me insane with my previous wireless earbuds. Don't have this problem here! Gestures (4/5) I wasn't really looking forward to the gestures pad. But it turns out to be working really well. Once in a while an action won't register. But it's really rare for me. Play/Pause on a PC can be a little weird though. One day I was listening to spotify while working, and then with the tab still opened I started watching youtube after work. And after pausing said video and unpausing it, using the headset. It ended up starting the playback of both my spotify tab, and my youtube tab. Comfort (4/5) First day I wore them I was a little concerned since, even though I have a small head. I felt like the headphones were pretty tight on my head. But after even just 2 days of use. It's already leagues better. Either I got used to it, or it's 'breaking in'. The cups are pretty comfortable. Wish they would be just a tad larger, not sure if I have big ears. But I can tell that part of my right ear touches the pad. And I'm wondering if I ever end up pulling a really long work, or gaming session if it'll end making my ear feel pinched. One of my older headsets did that. One thing that I was happily surprised was the weight of the headset. With such an impressive battery life and suite of features. I was expecting this thing to be rather heavy. Compared to a Corsair Void (probably a bad example) it's light as a feather. Pairing Headphones with 2 Devices (3/5) First thing, this feature is only possible via the headphone's native app. Meaning you can't perform this type of sync with the physical sync button. Once you have the devices regisered on the app, then you can enable a setting and select which 2 devices you want. On the topic of "2 devices", I guess Is should have read more on this feature. But I use 2 PCs at home, a media and a work/gaming PC. And I really would have liked to be able to on the fly, switch between audio of both. But it turns out that you can only connect to 1 phone, and something else. It can be 2 phones, but not 2 PCs. Included Accessories (3/5) The case it comes with is great. Hard-shell clam design, with some neat nook where you can shove the USB C charging cable, audio cable and airplane adapter thing. But as much as I like the quality and how it snuggly holds on to and protects the headphones. Not sure if mine is a fluike, but whoever decided to sew the elastic mesh bag on the 'bottom' part of the clam. Kind of silly. The audio cable is 'OK' if you use it for your phone. But if you want to use it for a PC you'll for sure either need an extension or a longer cable period. But at least it's a usesable lenght albeit a little conservative. But the USB type c charging cable. I hope you have a USB hub available. Depending on the case/setup you have. I'm pretty sure a lot of people wouldn't be able to use that cable to connect the headphones to their PC's back USB ports. Well you could do it, but depending on your case or setup. The headphones won't be able to rest on either the top of your case, or the desk/floor it's own. They'll end up dangling. (Which I think would be a bad idea.)

La réduction de bruit ne fonctionne que dans une seule oreille