Sony WH-1000XM4 Review: Flawless Noise Cancellation meets Audio Excellence

Sony launched the WH-1000XM3 back in 2018. At the time, the WH-1000XM3 was widely considered as one of the best, if not the best, wireless headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC). Two years on, and Sony has updated its flagship ANC headphones with the WH-1000XM4. The Sony WH-1000XM4 ANC headphones are priced at Rs 29,990 (Rs 28,990 on Amazon). And, while that may seem like a lot, there are plenty on offer here to justify that hefty price tag. Before we take an in-depth look at the XM4s, they often go on sale at discounted prices, so keep an eye out for those. So, without any further delays, here’s our Sony WH-1000XM4 review.

Comfort meets Elegance

In terms of the overall design and build, not much has changed, the WH-1000XM4 could easily pass as WH-1000XM3, so you might want to look closely after opening the case. However, this isn’t such a bad thing, Sony is clearly operating on the premise – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This is not to say that nothing has changed, because Sony has made some modifications to make the XM4’s more comfortable. The WH-1000XM4 features a soft rubberized finish that feels solid and reliable and most importantly, comfortable. The WH-1000XM4 are available in Black and Silver colour options. The polished matte finish with the bronze Sony branding on both earcups perfectly complements the headphones.

The earcups feel soft on the ear, while Sony has increased the surface area of the ear pads. Sony also claims to have slimmed down the cushioning on the headband, while the gap between the earcups and band is also reduced. The band is also curved a bit finer. The new modifications to the headphones are meant to reduce the pressure on both the top of your head and around your ears. For someone who’s not accustomed to using headphones, the WH-1000XM4’s felt incredibly comfortable. I don’t ever recall a time when I’ve sat through an entire workday during this pandemic without using the soundbar.

The headphones have a swivel mechanism for convenient storage in the included case. Apart from the case, you also get a USB-C cable for charging, an in-flight adapter, and an aux cable in the box. Additionally, there are two buttons on the bottom of the left earcup and an NFC chip on the right earcup. The two buttons include a power button and a customizable button which can be used to control the active noise cancellation or transparency mode or to invoke the voice assistant. You also get a headphone jack on the bottom of the left ear cup and a USB-C port on the bottom of the right one.

Intuitive Controls

Sony has also added a sensor on the inside of the left ear cup that automatically detects when you remove the headphones and pauses the video or track in the background. This worked extremely well and was quite useful. There's gesture-enabled touch controls on the right earcup that makes the WH-1000XM4’s convenient to operate. The controls allow you to increase or decrease the volume, play or pause media, change tracks, answer or end a call, and access the digital assistant. In my experience with the headphones, these controls worked flawlessly and were fairly convenient to access.

Sticking to the touch panel, you can also use swipe gestures to fast-forward a song. Apart from the touch controls, the WH-1000XM4 also feature smart on-ear detection, which pauses and resumes playback every time you take the headphones off and put them back on. You can also place your hand over the right ear cup to considerably lower background audio to let in ambient noise. However, I didn’t find this feature particularly useful because of the ‘speak-to-chat’ feature, which uses advanced signal processing and built-in mics to recognize when you are speaking and pause playback. While all these features work incredibly well, speak-to-chat was extremely useful.

Noise Cancelling Bliss

The 1000XM4 utilises the same Q1N processor to analyse ambient sounds and filter them out, similar to that of its predecessor. However, Sony claims to have improved noise cancellation on the 1000XM4’s by tweaking the algorithm. The WH-1000XM4 pack 40mm dynamic drivers with a 4-40,000Hz frequency response range. The included stereo cable allows you to use the 1000XM4s as wired headphones. The headphones also support Bluetooth 5.0 support for LDAC, SBC, and AAC Bluetooth codecs, but lack Qualcomm's AptX codec, which is available with certain Android smartphones.

The noise cancellation on the 1000XM4s is amazing. I’ve used noise cancellation headphones before, but these are on a whole new level. At high volumes, you’ll barely hear ambient noise from traffic, while the headphones completely cancel out any ambient noise inside the house. While moving around the house with these headphones, I couldn’t hear any other sound than the music.

Sony also allows you to manually set the level of noise cancellation or use the default adaptive noise cancellation that automatically adjusts levels based on your surroundings. There’s an NC Optimiser to measures your ears and offer the best listening environment based on your head size. Sony’s Atmospheric Pressure Optimization adjusts pressure based on altitude, which is particularly useful while travelling on an aircraft, although, given the current scenario, I couldn’t really test the feature out.

Bringing Audio to Life

No matter the genre of music, the Sony WH-1000XM4 do not disappoint. One thing that the XM4s do really well is sound separation, which makes instruments sound clear and distinct. Voodoo Child showcased the wide soundstage and detailed imaging. The XM4s produced detail on par with some of the best headphones out there. The sound was precise and balanced with a subtle flare. The sound on the XM4s is very well defined across the board, with almost every frequency range perfectly balanced.

There’s a good bit of bass, but it isn’t too much, sounding well defined with a bit of a punch. And if you want to up the bass, then you can just head over to the equalizer. The mid-range and treble are also very clear and even, while the top end isn’t too harsh. I listened to everything from electronic music to pop and jazz, but the one common denominator here is the detail in the sound. The amount of detail and nuance in the sound on the XM4s is quite stellar.

The XM4s also has a feature called DSEE Extreme, which can upscale audio in real-time from services like Spotify to deliver high-res audio. According to Sony, DSEE is engineered to “enhance the sound quality of compressed audio files by restoring high-range sound removed by the compression process.” However, I suspect this might be more noticeable to an audiophile. Sure, the XM4s may not be best suited for audiophiles, but there’s a lot going on for the odd music lovers.

Battery Life

The Sony WH-1000XM4 can deliver up to 30 hours of battery life with ANC turned on. I got around 28 hours of battery life with ANC turned on, which is very impressive and close to Sony’s estimates. During my time using the headphones, I had all the features turned on, with volume usually set to 70 percent. The battery has enough juice for those long flights or drives. And even when you run out of juice, the Quick charging support can deliver a good 5-hour charge in around 10 minutes. By default, the headphones shut down after being inactive for 15 minutes to conserve battery, although you can turn this off in the app.

Value-added Software

To get the most out of the 1000XM4s, download Sony’s Headphone Connect app. The headphones are compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa, and you can use the app to change the functionality of the “Custom” button on the headphones to bring up the voice assistants. It is worth noting that the headphones can operate fine independently of the app, but you need the app for firmware updates, adaptive sound controls, and to adjust the intensity of the transparency and noise cancellation modes.

You also need the app to analyse your ear shape and activate or deactivate the “Speak-to-Chat” feature. The Headphone Connect app also has an equaliser with preset sound modes. Sony’s 360 Reality Audio setup is available here as well as an audio platform compatible with hi-res services like Amazon Music. It is designed to provide a more immersive listening experience. While you may not need the app to use these headphones, it does offer a lot in terms of utility.

Call Quality could be Better

The one weakness of the XM4s is call quality. This is not to say that the call quality on these headphones is bad, they are just about average. The Precise Voice Pickup is decent at best, and nowhere near game-changing. I have to say despite calling being average here, the noise reduction in the background during calls is stellar. I think I’ve only jotted down call quality in the ‘Cons’ because I’ve set the bar so high for the XM4s. If I was being more precise, “outdoor call quality could be a little better”.

And there’s More

Bluetooth 5.0 support ensures that the WH-1000XM4s deliver strong and reliable wireless performance. You can also toggle between keeping music or call quality more stable by using the app. Sony’s new ANC wireless headphones can also be fine-tuned to automatically adjust the audio to adapt to your environment. The WH-1000XM4s also feature multi-device support, allowing you to pair them automatically with two devices simultaneously. You also get a voice notification confirming that the headphones are connected to two devices.

The headphones also boast NFC support and provide a wire-free listening experience up to 40 feet from the source. You can pair the headphones by placing them over the right ear cup using a smartphone that supports NFC. The audio continued on the headphones when I moved between room to the kitchen, which is separated by about 30 feet and divided by a couple of doors. The headphones also feature Fast Pair, a feature on Android that instantly recognises the headphones when Bluetooth is enabled.

Should you buy the WH-1000XM4s?

The Sony WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones are one of the best noise-cancelling headphones you can buy at the moment. They are definitely the best headphones under 30,000 in India. If you are expecting a massive generational upgrade over the WH-1000XM3s, then you will be disappointed. With the XM4s, Sony has made some quality-of-life improvements as well as addressed some of the flaws on the XM3s.

What’s on offer here is superb audio quality, incredible noise cancellation, great battery life, and a ton of intuitive features to improve the overall listening experience. If you are working with a 30K budget, the WH-1000XM4s are very easy to recommend. I was going through the list to find flaws with the WH-1000XM4s, and apart from the average call quality, I couldn’t find any real fault with them. Sony has compromised nothing with the WH-1000XM4s, so even at Rs 28,990 (On Amazon), the XM4s are definitely worth the price. Sure, the XM4s have a pretty hefty price tag, but they are worth investing in.