Sony WF-1000XM4

amazon Sony WF-1000XM4 reviews

With Sony, when it comes to their Flagship products, we always have a good reason to call Sony “the Great” in the Audiophile village. After nearly two years of launching the WF-1000XM3, Sony started a journey to lead in the high-end True Wireless headset segment with noise cancellation and top sound quality at that time. Then, of course, the arrival of heavyweights like Apple AirPods Pro, Bose QC Earbuds, Jabra 85t, or Sennheiser Momentum TWS 2.

Sony WF-1000XM4 beat all of its rivals to claim the top spot of the best TWS headphones today? Let’s go through each section in turn to know more about the WF-1000XM4.

DESIGN

The design of the WF-1000XM4 is completely different from the old versions, with a rough outer shell and 10% smaller size as announced by Sony. But, with this new ergonomic design, it feels like the Sony WF-1000XM4 is much smaller and easily fits people with small ear cavities, which is difficult and a minus point of the old version WF -1000XM3.

The large circular touch surface occupies most of the faceplate’s area; the highlight to mention is the prominent cylindrical recording mic next to and the Sony logo on the top edge of the headset.

The wearing feeling of the WF-1000XM4 combined with new noise-canceling ear tips is almost similar to the wearing feeling of IEM headphones on the market today with very good soundproofing and certainty.

IPX4 water resistance is also a small highlight for the Sony WF-1000XM4 when we can now use the WF-1000XM4 when doing light exercise or exercising in the gym, and remember to dodge the pool when ready. IPX4 is only resistant to light rain, sweat, and dust, not capable of being submerged in water.

The WF-1000XM4’s carrying case cum charging box has now been much smaller, with a ratio 40% smaller than the old version. The size of the WF-1000XM4 box is now equivalent to those from companies like Jabra or the AirPods Pro box. The charging case uses a USB-C charging port for charging and can charge Qi wirelessly through the bottom of the charging case.

HIGHLIGHTS OF WF-1000XM4

– Noise-canceling has been upgraded to a new level, which is considered almost on par with the noise-canceling of headphones.

– Sound quality is improved, upgraded to suit the tastes of listeners.

Even with active noise cancellation (ANC), excellent battery life enables and delivers high-quality sound and is rated one level above the competition.

– A detail that is not too big but extremely useful and one of the shortcomings of the WF-1000XM3 added on the WF-1000XM4 is IPX4 water resistance.

NOISE CANCELLATION

With a long lost position in the noise-canceling ability of AirPods Pro and Bose QC Earbuds, the return of the WF-1000XM4 is simply a step to regain its No. Using its latest chip called V1; the WF-1000XM4 takes ANC technology to a new level. The noise cancellation of the Sony WF-1000XM4 is said to beat AirPods Pro completely and slightly better than Bose QC Earbuds in ambient noise filtering. And this has brought the noise-canceling quality on the Sony WF-1000XM4 closer and almost equivalent to the noise-canceling ability of high-end Sony headphones.

But to achieve this peak noise resistance, it is impossible not to mention the new pair of ear tips that Sony designed specifically for the Sony WF-1000XM4. If we are used to Sony often providing accessories like ear tips with silicone ear tips and hybrid ear tips, this time with the WF-1000XM4, there will only be three new pairs of noise-canceling ear tips with a hybrid combination of foam. Sea and high-quality silicone with a new design that is extremely grippy to the ear increase the headset’s noise resistance.

Using two high-performance noise-sensing microphones for noise cancellation has helped the Sony WF-1000XM4’s noise-cancellation to be maximized. With noises such as in cafes, subway stations, or in crowded areas such as supermarkets or commercial shopping malls, turn on the ANC function, everything almost disappears and is completely silent. Some reviewers overseas even use the WF-1000XM4 in a bar, and with music playing at 60% volume with ANC on, there’s almost nothing that can affect the listening experience.

And the noise cancellation not only works in music mode, watching movies, and works very well when we use it with the talk function. With the ability to detect when you are talking and when you are not speaking, the Sony WF-1000XM4 has performed very well when almost eliminating most background noise, helping us hear more clearly what the caller is saying.

About the Ambient Mode of the headset, Sony has improved and reproduced it more naturally. With Sony’s Headphone Connect application, we can customize the amount of sound that can be reproduced through Ambient Mode or can customize the combination of ANC and Ambient Mode noise cancellation depending on the current location, such as at home, work, gym, etc. Sony can remember these options and change them automatically when it detects you are changing your surroundings or activity.

An interesting function that Sony brings from the headphones to the WF-1000XM4 is “speak-to-chat.” When this mode is turned on, the headset will automatically stop the music when it detects that someone is talking to you, and after you stop chatting for a few seconds, the music will play again. With this mode, you will never miss any conversation around you. In addition, we can also activate Ambient Mode when pressing and holding the left ear to be able to listen and chat with the opposite person; the Sony WF-1000XM4 will automatically switch to Ambient Mode and gradually reduce the music volume.

SOME BASIC OPERATIONS ON HEADPHONES

One-touch: Switch between ANC/Ambient Sound/Mute in the left ear and Use/Play music in the right ear.

Two-touch: Via post/Receive a call on the right ear.

Three-touch: Move the post to the right ear.

In addition, you can customize and assign additional functions to these operations through the Headphones Connect app. By default, the WF-1000XM4 will automatically stop the music when the headset is removed from the ear and playback immediately when we put the headset back on.

where can you get a Sony WF-1000XM4 online

Sony WF-1000XM4 Industry Leading Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with Alexa Built-in, Black: Buy it now

Sony WF-1000XM4 Industry Leading Noise Canceling Truly Wireless Earbud Headphones with Alexa Built-in, Black (Renewed): Buy it now

CONNECTION AND DISCOVERING TECHNOLOGY

With the V1 chip used in the Sony WF-1000XM4, Bluetooth 5.2 connection becomes more efficient than ever. In addition to saving energy and stable connection, Bluetooth 5.2 also supports many audio codecs, including LDAC, which has been a strong point in Sony’s wireless decoding technology from the past until now.

With LDAC codec support comes the explosion of music streaming services with two big brands, Apple and Spotify. Then, with LDAC support to increase the ability to transmit music quality up to 990kbps, the WF-1000XM4 puts one more foot in the top position in supporting decoding and connection to achieve the highest sound quality for TWS headphones on the market today.

It should be noted that currently, LDAC technology will only appear on Android devices that support LDAC but not on any Apple devices. Apple’s iOS devices will still support the highest codec, AAC, for audio quality at 250kbps.

As for the stable connection, with Bluetooth 5.2 attached to the V1 chip, phenomena such as loss of connection in one ear, an unstable connection is almost non-existent on the Sony WF-1000XM4. According to the source, headset A to headset B will be connected with the old versions through headset A. But with the new V1 chip, the source will play directly to both ears, make sure the connection is always stable.

In addition, there is a small but not redundant part that is Sony has brought DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) technology which is very famous on Sony music players, to the WF-1000XM4 with a new version called DSEE Extreme. This technology will help to reproduce compressed sounds to increase the experience when enjoying music. In short, with lossy audio files (compressed music files) such as .mp3, .m4a, when going through DSEE mode, the details will be improved better.

BATTERY TIME USE

Fast charging technology is something that Sony cannot forget to integrate into their flagship product. In addition to the extremely impressive usage time, the integrated fast charging makes the experience of the WF-1000XM4 uninterrupted. If you are in a hurry, with just 5 minutes in the charging case, we have 60 minutes of use on the headset. And with some smartphones with Qi charging technology and battery sharing function, we can also use that function to charge the WF-1000XM4.

In normal use and ANC mode: when the common ground of the headphones is on average 4-5 hours of use for a full charge, sometimes less if a few more features are enabled, such as noise cancellation or prioritizing sound quality. But not with the WF-1000XM4, with just a full charge and running parallel with ANC mode, the Sony WF-1000XM4 can operate continuously for up to 8 hours on ideal conditions. Some foreign reviewers have tested and obtained 7 hours and 45 minutes, quite close to the parameters announced by Sony. When the noise canceling mode is turned off, the operating time of the WF-1000XM4 can be increased to 12 hours continuously. Including a rechargeable charging case for the headset two more times, a total of 24 hours of operation with ANC mode, and up to 36 hours if ANC mode is turned off.

An extremely impressive number when Sony has reduced the size of the charging box to a more compact size but increased the usage time and officially beat all its competitors in the battery life used on the WF-1000XM4 model.

In LDAC mode: it is a double-edged sword that affects the battery life of the WF-1000XM4. As mentioned above, if we listen to music continuously with ANC mode on, we can use it continuously for up to 8 hours. But with the addition of LDAC, the total usage time is now reduced to about 5 hours continuously. The volume of technology and tasks to be handled on a TWS headset is completely acceptable because no competitor on the market can do this like the WF-1000XM4.

SOUND QUALITY

Bringing a lot of technology on its flagship Sony WF-1000XM4, Sony has not forgotten the true sound quality of the headset. With a 6mm dynamic driver capable of hitting from 20Hz to 40kHz, certainly, the WF-1000XM4 will still be classified as a Hi-res headset.

Regarding the sound quality of recent Sony commercial products, they are often tuned in “marketing,” with the sound quality often following the current music trend. It is not surprising that the sound quality of the WF-1000XM4 carries within itself the characteristic of recent Sony products, which is the sound quality that tends to be warm and full.

According to a review from the page “The Verge,” the sound quality of the WF-1000XM4 is described as follows:

“With Dua Lipa’s songs, the bass is thicker and more solid. With Olivia Rodrigo’s album Sour, the WF-1000XM4 shows too well the bass and low-mid; in addition, the main vocals, backing vocals, and acoustic guitar are all performed too perfectly without any harshness.

It’s easy to close your eyes and immerse yourself in tunes from Billie Eilish’s Lost Cause, where whispers pierce the ears in crisp detail throughout the song. With John Mayer’s latest single – Last Train Home, the music space has been extremely detailed and airy by WF-1000XM4. Even if you switch to different genres of music, it’s hard to find a moment where the WF-1000XM4 can’t shine. From the electric guitar on the Rock music of the 70s to a little Soul music, Sam Cooke’s warm voice is still very delicately expressed by the WF-1000XM4. With electronic music, hip-hop, the bass of the WF-1000XM4 has never been broken or redundant.

CONCLUDE

With all that has been shown above, the Sony WF-1000XM4 fully deserves the throne for TWS headphones at present. A product with the most advanced technologies, impressive battery life, and an inseparable Sony sound quality. That is a worthy achievement for Sony and how Sony shows us that it will be the best if they put their heart into a product.

Possessing the two biggest strengths for a TWS headset, sound quality and noise cancellation. Sony even takes the WF-1000XM4 to a new level thanks to a completely new design that is more compact and fits more comfortably in the ear help; this headset can beat all competitors in this high-end segment. With the money spent to own a Flagship product like the WF-1000XM4, it’s completely worth spending.