Research report
21 December 2020
First Look: Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones
Possibly the best consumer-level headphones on the market.
Sony makes excellent headphones, and the WH-1000 series is the pinnacle of their consumer-level range. In the office here at Consumer a lot of people use the 1000XM3s – our highest-scoring pair of wireless headphones from 2019. The XM4s ($429) are so much better.
Whether you're after tiny ear buds you can go jogging with or getting perfect sound from giant over-ear headphones, our headphones test has got you covered.
The minor downsides
As with most Sony audio products, what lets them down is the software. The Sony Headphones app connects the headphones to your phone – the set-up process takes far too long and switching between devices becomes equally tedious. The software is also a little too smart for its own good sometimes. For example, the speak-to-chat function turns off your music when you speak in case you’re trying to have a conversation with someone, but it also turns it off if you make any noise that even sounds like speech (think coughing). You can turn off this and other functions (including a motion detection function that turns noise cancelling on and off), however they’re on by default.
Part of the set-up involves using your phone to take photos of your ears, so the software can tailor the audio playback to your unique ear pattern. I remain unconvinced that this is a real thing, and I’m worried about the database my ear photos are currently sitting in.
The major upsides
The sound quality on the XM4s is undeniably good. The sounds are crisp and clear, and the bass is nice and rumbly. At no point did I think anything was too harsh or unbalanced. It’s also a very good pair of headphones for 3D sound. On the track Here Come the Warm Dreads I was able to hear the music move around me, including directly in front of me and behind me. Similarly, my test track of binaural rain recordings had a depth to the audio that was incredibly realistic. So maybe the ear photos did help.
The noise cancelling is exquisite. They blocked out almost all of the construction noise currently plaguing the Consumer NZ office and even the sound of people trying to talk to me.
They’re some of the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn. The pressure of the headband keeps them in place without squeezing my (admittedly large) head.
There’s a bunch of other little things as well. They fold up flat to fit in your bag or the supplied carry case. The touch controls on the right earcup are sensitive, but not so much that I set them off accidentally (a massive improvement on previous models).
All in all, the Sony WH-1000XM4 might be my favourite pair of headphones of all time. If we were still flying places, they would be my best travelling companion. Sony’s going to have to pull out all the stops to make their next headphones better than this.
Member comments
31 Mar 2021
Best investment - new to over-ear headphones
I've primarily used in-ear headphones for most of my life and this was my first time investing in over-ear. I'd tried the XM3s briefly before buying the XM4s. I find them soft, and comfortable and legitimately forget I'm wearing them sometimes.
The noise-cancelling is excellent and some of the features - auto-pause when you take them off, auto power-off when paused for more than 3 mins(ish), the ability to lower the volume and temporarily improve external audio intake when you cover one ear with your hand...I find them absolutely worth the investment. My office floor can be really busy, but I've found a great increase in quality of life wearing these.
I didn't have too much time setting them up - but I did take one look at the "scan your ear" feature and roll my eyes so maybe that made it easier. A bit on the pricey side, but I have no regrets
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