Sony WH-1000XM4 vs Sony WH-1000XM3: Master or apprentice?

Sony has been at the top of the ANC (Active Noise Canceling) throne for years and is mainly due to the Sony WH-1000XM3. Competitors start facing the crown every few months, although none have dethroned Sony. Now is the time to see if Sony’s latest flagship, the Sony WH-1000XM4, takes the lead.

The two headsets look almost identical – Sony hasn’t been overly adventurous in that regard – but the incremental improvements can’t be missed. Changes come at a sacrifice, however, so you may end up reaching for the classic instead of the new edge. Let’s split both pairs up to see which one comes up.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 offers the same functions as the WH-1000XM3 and a few more

Both noise-canceling headphones have touch controls on the right ear cup that allow you to play, pause, adjust volume, and skip tracks with a series of taps and swipes. The controls have remained largely the same, although the sensitivity is day and night. Where the Sony WH-1000XM3 was extremely sensitive and often suffered from accidental inputs, the WH-1000XM4 is the opposite. Adam Molina, our reviewer, noted that the touch controls became unresponsive so he avoided them whenever possible.

Both headsets are connected to each other in terms of the software functions of the Sony Headphones Connect app (available for iOS and Android). You can create EQ profiles or use presets and access Sony 360 Reality Audio. The Sony app is also a must-have if you want to create noise-canceling profiles for different environments or prefer connection stability to sound quality.

One of the new tricks we referred to is the speak-to-chat feature, which pauses your playback every time you speak. It works well – maybe too well – as playback would often be interrupted when Adam laughed too hard at a joke on a podcast. This can be disabled in the app if you find that media playback is interrupted too often.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 also has a number of additional sensors that detect whether you are wearing the headset or not. Playback stops as soon as the sensors detect that you have removed the headset. This is the fastest way to stop the music.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 differs in connectivity

While the features are largely the same between the Sony WH-1000XM3 and WH-1000XM4, the connectivity options offer a true head-to-head ratio. The new pair has been updated with the Bluetooth 5.0 firmware and supports multipoint connections as well as the high quality AAC and LDAC codecs. Unfortunately, Multipoint only works with AAC – not Sony’s own LDAC – but at least it’s easy to switch between devices.

The older WH-1000XM3 from Sony is back in Bluetooth 4.2, but supports the aptX codec, which is an advantage for Android users: It is more consistent across devices than LDAC. Despite this practical advantage, Multipoint is nowhere to be found. So if you want to switch between devices, you have to do it manually by disconnecting one before connecting to the next.

Deciding which pair will win the battle for connection quality depends on which phone is in your pocket. Apple users will likely prefer the Sony WH-1000XM4 for multipoint connectivity, and aptX is not a necessity for iPhones. Android users might be tempted to grab the older WH-1000XM3, however, as AAC just isn’t that good on non-Apple devices.

Both headsets are paired via NFC, so you can update your connection by holding your phone to the earcup. Sony has also kept the 3.5mm jack on both pairs so you can listen without worrying about battery life.

The Sony WH-1000XM3 leads the way in terms of battery life

Sony boasts that both pairs can achieve an impressive 30 hours of battery life – and we’ve found that isn’t entirely true in either case. We found that the new Sony WH-1000XM4 clocked in just under 20 hours, which is still a solid rendering. Not to be outdone, the older Sony WH-1000XM3 lasted 24 hours on a single charge to retrieve the crown. Our tests are performed with a playback set to a 75dB output with maximum noise reduction intensity.

While Sony may have overdone the battery life a bit, keep in mind that by disabling ANC or listening at a lower volume, you can get a little more playback out of either pair. Either way, you’ll have a hard time finding a pair of wireless earbuds that will last 20 hours.

Which pair offers superior noise cancellation?

The Sony WH-1000XM3 held the fort for several years with a combination of active noise cancellation and a good ear cup seal. If the WH-1000XM4 surpasses these, it means Sony has made the best even better. The real test is how well headphones filter out low-end sound, as most high-frequency sounds can be countered by passive isolation.

Our tests have shown that the Sony WH-1000XM4 actually offers superior noise cancellation. It peaks around 200 Hz, which means it should offer great – or as Adam put it – flawless noise cancellation if you are frequently commuting on a bus or plane.

Exact sound or consumer-friendly convenience?

Don’t get us wrong, both the Sony WH-1000XM3 and WH-1000XM4 sound great. They are accurate across the entire sound spectrum and almost all music sounds accurate and accurate. However, the two pairs are not exactly identical in their emphasis on sound. The WH-1000XM4 offers a more neutral sound, while the WH-1000XM3 boosts the bass by about 5 dB, which makes a noticeable difference. Ultimately, this means the drums and bass guitars will sound a little louder on the older couple, and it could be the top pick for EDM lovers.

We’re not complaining about the difference at all, just emphasizing the fact that the sound profiles appeal to different listeners. Bass boost might be suitable for the average consumer, especially if you don’t have to tinker with every setting. Audiophiles may turn to the neutral sound of the WH-1000XM4, but you can always set up a custom EQ in the Headphones Connect app. When you do this, SBC streaming is used by default.

The Sony WH-1000XM3 microphone may have been used once

We were impressed with the WH-1000XM3 microphone when it came out, but it wasn’t perfect. Internal microphones, in fairness, sacrifice sound quality for a compact design. Unfortunately, Sony seems to have forgotten what it did right as the microphone system on the WH-1000XM4 sounds rather pedestrian.

The new headset emphasizes the bass range and at the same time amplifies the high-frequency sounds so that deeper voices come through on the quiet side. It’s likely an attempt to thwart the proximity effect, but we’re missing the older microphone setup.

If your just planning on making calls this should be fine, but we would have liked another good mic. Sony could improve this with future software updates, as we’ve seen Shure with its Aonic 50 headset. Listen to each pair below and decide for yourself:

Sony WH-1000XM3 Microphone Demo:

Sony WH-1000XM4 microphone demo:

Sony WH-1000XM4 vs Sony WH-1000XM3: Which Should You Buy?

We’ve gone through the categories and done the calculations and we’ve come to the $ 350 question – which pair should you buy? If only the answer was that simple. The new Sony WH-1000XM4 can do almost everything that its predecessor can, although some of the compromises aren’t for the better. No aptX means Android listeners will get stuck on Sony’s LDAC, which is great but inconsistent. If you’re frustrated with tricky controls, the older couple is probably the way to go, but the controls are difficult on their own.

Apple users are likely to have the easiest choice as aptX doesn’t matter and they can just enjoy the multipoint connectivity and improved sound accuracy. At the very least, you can change a couple’s sound signature in the Sony Headphones Connect app.

While this was an all-Sony showdown, this isn’t the only name out there. The Shure Aonic 50 is a great middle ground with full codec support and great noise cancellation, although it’s far from cheap. Sennheiser also offers something similar with the PXC 550-II, although the noise suppression is not quite as strong.

See also: The best bluetooth headphones

If improvement is your be-all and end-all, then you need to deal with noise cancellation. The Sony WH-1000XM3 is no eye catcher and beats almost everything else on the market, but the WH-1000XM4 really is the king of the castle. If you’re commuting on public transit or just spending a lot of time in the noise, there’s no better option than Sony’s new Hotness.

Check out both widgets when you’re ready to make your choice: