Sony WH-1000XM4 Review: The Best Just Got Better
October 13, 2020The 1000XM4 has big shoes to fill, can it live up to the hype?
Diver unit: 40mm, dome type
Type: Wireless, wired mode available
Battery Life: 30 Hours Music Playback time
Features: ANC, Bluetooth 5.0 , Personal NC Optimizer, Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing, Ambient Sounds, Speak to chat, DSEE Extreme, Google Assistant/Alexa, NFC
Rating: 9.5/10
RM:1,599.00
Here at Gizmos Chamber, we hold the Sony 1000XM4 in the highest regard. It is one of the best sounding over-ear wireless headphones we ever tested. The unfiltered sound delivery, active noise cancellation technology, comfortable ear cups and practical fitment make it a must have device for audiophiles who are willing to cut the cord.
It offered me a compelling reason to ditch my Beyerdynamic and go completely wireless. If you’ve read my review on the 1000XM3, you’d know that I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to headphones. I’ve for a long time, championed the superiority of well calibrated wired headphones over the best that wireless technology had to offer.
My skepticism toward this cord cutting ‘fad’ and its effectiveness, was well founded. But the 1000XM3 managed to alleviate my concerns in regard to wireless headphones. That coupled with the fact that it’s convenient to carry, make it a ‘no-brainer’ replacement over a pair of clunky wired cans.
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Not one to rest on its laurels, Sony has introduced a follow up model to the ‘almost perfect’ 1000XM3. It’s the 1000XM4, and it’s an absolute stunner. Though similar in appearance to its predecessor, it’s sleek and nicer to hold. The textured surface offers a premium feel, and allows one’s fingers to glide effortlessly over the ear cups when executing touch gestures.
Admittedly, here’s nothing revolutionary about it compared to its predecessor. Sony has chosen the evolutionary path instead. But, the minor niggles that I had with the 1000XM3 seems to have been ironed out here, and rightly so. The small improvements here and there, amount to a spectacular overall experience.
Like Sony’s various other earphones, it’s essential to download the headphones app. It allows you to fine tune the music delivery based on your ear shape,pressurisation, tolerance and music preference. It’s high tech stuff, which is something that its competitors can’t seem to manage properly. The app ‘fudges’ the data to create an immersive and unrivaled music experience.
While it works its magic, you will need to keep the headphones on without any music playing. It takes a while, but trust me, it’s well worth the wait. Once done, you will have the option of enabling active noise cancellation, allowing ambient sounds to pass through or keeping both off. These settings can be enabled through the app, which provides for an interesting experience.
Once ANC is enabled, you’re completely shut off from the rest of the world. It’s a surreal experience, watching the world go by, without ever hearing it. The chattering of noisy colleagues, the blaring of car horns during standstill traffic jams or the hustle and bustle associated with city life, are clearly visible, and yet, completely inaudible.
Some ambient sounds do make it through, but only if you’re sitting really close to someone who’s speaking loudly and that there’s no music playing through the headphones. The ANC is really effective at isolating the wearer from the world around them. But once the music starts playing, nothing can get in. Such is the effectiveness of the technology.
Complete pandemonium could break out around you, but you wouldn’t be aware of it. The headphones closes you off from the outside world by pumping in crisp and rich sounding music. It hits you in waves, providing for an illusion of space, similar to what you’d experience in a music booth. The reverberation of the vocals add to the richness of said delivery.
It’s a neutral setup, when moving across genres. The 1000XM4 offers a good amount of clarity without much detriment to bass. And because the earcups form a decent seal, the acoustics within each ear cup is impressive. However, they aren’t the best choice for people who love bass heavy music. These headphones aren’t biased to a certain genre. It does ‘em all with gusto.
As a result, it’s easy to distinguish the music coming from the foreground, from that pulsating from the background. It’s an impressive feat for a pair of wireless headphones, being able to offer a comparatively music listening experience to that of decent wired ones. But that doesn’t mean that the 1000XM4’s delivery is perfect.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this is the best pair of wireless headphones we’ve tested, but there is still room for improvement. The bass of certain music tracks aren’t reproduced accurately. At times the delivery can seem a little muddled, but only just. But I’m just nitpicking here, because these flaws will only be apparent to the most ardent of audiophiles.
Besides the excellent music quality, you’re getting a whole lot more. Sony has spent a great deal of time trying to improve on the 1000XM3. This is evident the moment the 1000XM4 is turned on. You’re greeted by a friendly voice, informing you of the battery percentage remaining and connection status. Then, it sets itself up, based on your preference.
The events that transpire during this time, occur seamlessly. Though I don’t consider myself a ‘techie’, it’s difficult to not ‘nerd out’ on how well this technology works, to the point where, you’re completely oblivious to what’s happening. This is the same meticulous level of detail that Sony places on very device it makes.
When it comes to software ‘intelligence’, Sony has everyone licked. It’s able to accomplish a great deal without ever showing it. The moment you utter a word or two, the headphones understand this as an attempt to converse with someone. As such, it pauses the music and lets in the ambient sounds, allowing you to communicate, unhindered.
The system then waits a couple of seconds to make sure you’re done with your conversation before resuming the song. Alternatively, placing your hand on the right earcup has the same effect. But this offers a much quicker reaction time, a better option when attempting to speak to a waiter. But the 1000XM4 reacts quickly to both responses.
This same surface is also touch sensitive. Swiping your finger forward or back on the right earcup, skips to the next or previous track. Taping on it once, pauses or resumes your music. However, tapping on the top or bottom sections either increases or decreases the volume respectively. The touch interface is quite sensitive, so a light tap is more than enough to activate the intended function.
Like the rest of Sony’s wireless earphones/headphones, the onboard voice assistant is able t read your messages aloud and alert you to certain notifications. It does so, in a pleasing and friendly tone. The cadence employed offers a hyper-realistic feel to the entire experience. It’s far removed from the monotonous response of lesser headphones.
If you choose to take off the headphones at any time, the sensor inside the ear cup, picks this up and immediately pauses your music. Once you’ve reseated the 1000XM4 on your ears, the music resumes immediately. It’s almost magical, in the way it able to accomplish these things. And the best part, it is able to do so without any hiccups or loss in music quality.
There’s nothing haphazard about how they operate, and their transitions are swift and effortless. The entire user experience isn’t intrusive, allowing you to enjoy hours of uninterrupted music enjoyment. This coupled with the exceptionally good sound drivers, make these headphones one of the best wireless headphones in the market.
It’s what justifies the hefty asking price. Very few wireless headphones are able to offer a great music listening experience. Fewer still are able to do so, and provide features such as ANC, Ambient Sounds and touch gestures. But the 1000XM4 is able to do this while offering about 30 hours of battery life! Need I say anything more?
Should I Buy One
I may never run out superlatives to describe these headphones. They make decent sounding music sound even better and offer a level of convenience that is almost non-existent. It’s a marked improvement over the 1000XM3, which speaks volumes of its capabilities. It bests its predecessor on several areas, which is something that is quite difficult to do.
That said, the 1000XM4 isn’t for everyone. It’s targeted at people who can appreciate good music and are willing to pay a premium for it. If you fall into said category, then you’re going to love this. It’s so much more than just a great pair of headphones, because it’s also a helpful virtual assistant that listens for announcements and notifications. It’s an all-in-one for people who appreciate good music.
