Sony - WH-1000XM4C Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (M4 2nd Gen) - Black

If you have ever used any of Sony’s 1000X Series headphones, you probably already know what to expect. But if you have not, you are getting Sony’s premium sound and comfort in a lightweight, sleek package. The Sony WH-1000XM4C over-ear headphones deliver an immersive listening experience that makes music, movies, gaming, commuting, and even working in a noisy home or office much more enjoyable. Let’s take a look at what the XM4C has to offer. Noise Cancellation Over the years, I have tested and used quite a few pairs of Sony 1000X Series headphones, and the noise cancellation is easily one of the best features here. These headphones do a great job reducing everyday sounds like traffic, people talking, office noise, fans, and the general background noise you deal with while commuting or traveling. They do not make the world completely disappear, but they quiet things down enough that you can focus on your music, podcast, movie, or work without needing to crank up the volume. One really useful feature is Adaptive Sound Control, which can automatically switch between ambient sound and noise cancelling based on your location and activity. There is also a feature called Speak-to-Chat. When you start talking, the microphones pick up your voice and automatically pause your music or podcast while adjusting the noise-cancelling settings. You can choose how long the headphones wait before your audio starts again, depending on your preference. If those automatic settings are not for you, there is also a physical button on the headphones that lets you switch between noise cancelling and ambient sound manually. You can also manage these settings through the Sony Sound Connect app. I also wanted to share a personal experience that shows how effective the noise cancellation really is. I recently took these headphones on a short flight from Chicago to Atlanta, and there happened to be a cranky baby onboard. Of course, there is only so much a baby can do, but a crying baby on a plane can make a short flight feel much longer. That is where the noise cancellation really shined. It blocked out a lot of the background noise and made the overall experience much more relaxing. Sound Quality What are headphones if they do not sound great? Fortunately, you will not have to worry about that with the XM4C. The sound quality is excellent, with clear and full audio, punchy bass, clean vocals, and plenty of detail. They work well with just about anything—music, movies, games, YouTube videos, and podcasts all sound great. DSEE Extreme helps make compressed music files sound richer by restoring some of the higher-frequency detail that can be lost during compression. LDAC support is also a nice bonus if you use compatible devices and high-resolution audio sources. If the default sound is not exactly to your liking, you can customize it in the Sony Sound Connect app. The 10-band equalizer makes it easy to adjust the sound based on your preferences, whether you want more bass, brighter vocals, or a more balanced setup. The app also includes shortcut settings, listening history, Safe Listening tools, and other options to make the experience feel more personalized. These headphones are made for more than just entertainment. They also work well for calls and multitasking. Calls come through clearly thanks to Sony’s Precise Voice Pickup Technology, which uses multiple microphones and signal processing to help your voice sound clearer. The multipoint connection is another feature I appreciate because you can pair the headphones with two Bluetooth devices at the same time. For example, you can listen to music on your laptop and have the headphones automatically switch over when a call comes in on your phone. Controls The earcup controls are simple and intuitive. You can tap, swipe, or double-tap to play music, pause, skip tracks, and adjust the volume without having to pull out your phone. Once you get used to the gestures, they are very convenient for commuting, working, or relaxing. Battery Life Battery life can be a sticking point for some people because no one wants to run out of power in the middle of a movie or a good music session. On a full charge, the XM4C provides up to 27 hours of listening time. If you forget to charge them, a quick 3-minute charge can provide up to an hour of playback. I actually tested this while on a flight when I forgot to charge them beforehand. I plugged them into my laptop for a few minutes, and they had enough power to get me through the rest of the trip. That quick-charging feature is definitely useful when you are in a rush. Comfort and Portability Last but certainly not least is comfort. The XM4C headphones are designed for extended wear and still feel lightweight and easy to wear during long listening sessions. The earcups have a soft, leather-like finish with memory-foam cushioning that creates a comfortable fit, even after wearing them for hours at a time. The foldable design and included carrying case are also especially convenient for travel, commuting, or storing them neatly in a backpack. Final Thoughts Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM4C headphones are a great all-around option if you want strong noise cancelling, excellent sound, useful app features, a comfortable fit, and long battery life. They are a great choice for commuting, travel, working from home, watching movies, gaming, or simply enjoying music with fewer distractions. My only small complaint is the color. Lavender is a nice option and will definitely appeal to some people, but it just was not the right color for me personally. Other than that, these are excellent headphones that offer premium performance and plenty of everyday convenience.

The Sony WH 100XM4C arrived nicely packaged and out of the box they look great and feel very light in weight. They come with documents to read as well as a very nice Case to store them away so they do not get scratched or damaged and 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable so I can listen to them wired if I want to. They work best with iPhone and they work well with Android. To make them work at its best, you will have to download the application to connect them and also customize them to your personal wants that includes a 10 band equalizer as well as the noise cancelling options. The noise cancelling is amazing; the microphones outside the headphones help hear the noise and make the opposite sound in the ears helping the noise disappear. While using ambient sound, the mics pick up the sound and you can hear what is going on around without taking the headset off so that is cool too. The Hi-Res audio just brings the premium sound to your ears, the drivers deliver very deep bass without being overwhelming while the highs are very clear. The battery life is excellent at up to 27 hours so I can use them anywhere; listen to music, podcasts, while I am out working around the house, and much more. When it comes to calls, they are great, the Bluetooth 6.0 offers multiple connection and it is easy to switch from my phone to my laptop flawlessly. The touch controls are easy to use and I really like that there are no buttons, it is soft touch and they do their work well. I have many headphones since I wear different ones every day, I have some for a long time and I have from expensive to very affordable and this set is incredible, they sound amazing so I think I will be wearing these longer than the others, they look clean and they are super comfortable.

There is nothing quite like listening to music on a set of Sony headphones! It is a sort of experience that fundamentally changes how you understand music and sound in general. Having been using Sony’s flagship over-ear headphones since their earliest days, I highly recommend the Sony WH-1000XM4C, as they are not only an unbeatable deal, but pack in a large set of world-class modern features and undeniably fantastic sound quality. Returning back to the classic folding design of the Sony WH-1000XM4, the headphones are highly portable and extremely comfortable to wear for extended periods. They are very light and cover the ears fully to provide a cushioned seal from outside sounds. This, paired with active noise cancellation that, to me, sounds on par with the WH-1000XM5, creates an almost silent buffer from the everyday soundscape of the outside world. To put this into perspective, wearing these outside by a busy road cuts out almost all of the sound of cars passing, birds chirping, and the underlying hum of a busy day. Passing by a loud lawnmower, it can still be heard, but at more of a “whisper” volume than a “shout”. With average-volume music playing, most outside sounds are virtually imperceivable. Listening to music and other media with these headphones is consistently a 10/10 experience. I can confidently say that while the XM5 and XM6 model headphones probably “technically” provide minutely better sound performance than the XM4C, it’s probably by such a thin margin that most people couldn’t differentiate; the XM4C are absolutely premium, top of the line headphones, right up there with the other modern WH-1000X-series headphones! It is definitely worth the buy alone to be able to hear the intricacies of music the way artists and producers intend with these headphones, especially with noise cancelling on to really hone in on the isolated sound of the music. Having Hi-Res Audio and LDAC support is a must-have and definitely makes a clear difference in the sound! Other features that make these headphones great is their fast charging, fantastic microphone quality for calling (I was told it sounded like I was using my phone’s microphone during a call made with these, which is great!), and the ambient passthrough mode, which is still some of the best in the industry today. Both the gesture control using the right earcup and button shortcuts are also super easy to use and intuitive (especially cupping the right ear for instant pass through), and controlling the 10-band equalizer from the app is an awesome updated touch for customizing the sound you want from these headphones! The final thing worth noting is that you can get a lot more out of these headphones using the Sound Connect app! There are several app-only configuration modes such as EQ modes, wind-resistant noise cancelling, connecting more than one bluetooth device at the same time, and much more! You will definitely want to download the app! *Packaging note: the headphones come with a nice carrying case and a cable for connecting your headphones via 3.5mm wired connections, but does not include a USB-C charger in the box.*

I was intrigued when I heard the XM4 flagship headphones would be reborn and return with updated features. I own the earbuds from that legendary generation of Sony audio. Bumping up to bluetooth 6.0, 10 band equalizer and some under the hood tweaks for better overall sound and ANC improvements. The XM4C do not disappoint at all. My music sounds great, custom EQ dials in the bass, mids and treble for my preferred sound. ANC is likely improved over the original. Environmental noises are nearly gone. Even at lower volume you are isolated to your audio of choice. The included semi hard zipper pull case is very good quality and includes a diagram to line up how these fold to fit. Case includes a 3.5mm cord (male to male). Lastly, XM4C are very comfortable to wear and all day battery gives you plenty of time between charges. All features and sound add up to the XM4C being all positives for me. Deeper dive: The Sound Connect app is very thorough and includes several functions I typically do not use, but you might. Other than dual connect, tap/swipe controls, ANC and EQ profiles most will use. The app includes several other useful features. 360 Reality Audio setup, Speak to Chat, Noise Cancelling Optimizer, Find your EQ, assign quick access to ANC button and few more tweaks when you dig further for how the headphones behave when removed. App is very easy to follow and understand. Audio is better than great and the preset profiles are good, although a bit conservative to my ears. I prefer the 10 band EQ to push the headphones a bit more in the rock/pop/country genres I listen to most. I will always wish for more bass, but these push hard enough at 40-60% volume. You will benefit most if you have high bitrate music. My personal offline collection is a mix, and some songs fall a bit flat. No fault of the XM4C, if the audio is not there. The XM4C does not upmix or create better music from the source. So, if you stored your music at low bitrate to save space. The XM4C might sound flat compared to the lossless tracks or better streaming subscription options. Spotify is natively featured for use. I mentioned comfort. The XM4C has a good amount of clamp force on my big man head. Running might be doable, walking is definitely good to go. Glasses when needed are fine. The head/ear cushions are very soft and leather like. Interiors of the cups are labeled L & R on a spongy fabric. The left cup has a proximity sensor and includes both, and only, buttons for Power/BT and ANC/Quick access and 3.5mm jack. The right cup is where you will tap and slide your finger to control media and connect USB-C to charge. Tap/slide is very responsive so far. Typically headphones have been bulky to me. The XM4C is fairly slim and look nearly minimal on head. No complaints. I see why the XM4 were so beloved.

Great Well balanced audio with EQ tuning EQ has been expanded to 10 band ANC is very good even without any audio playing Bluetooth 6.0 support User replaceable battery Support for conventional stereo jack connection Very comfortable for long listening sessions Light for the size Foldable Includes carrying case Easy to use gesture controls Reasonably breathable for over the ear design No so great Microphone quality is poor Passthrough Ambient passthrough sounds muffled and unnatural Less battery life than predecessor No USB audio support Ear detection inconsistent when sweating Music can be audible to others and potentially disruptive No charger or charger cable included Design 8/10 The overall design is very similar to many other Sony headphones and looks nearly identical to the old 1000XM4. The plastic has a soft touch finish which makes them feel more premium. The faux leather pads are soft and pliable. The only concern is the hinge design looks very similar to some previously owned Ult headphones which broke within a few months. That said, Sony replaced the original Ult headphones quickly and the replacements have held up much better so maybe the first pair were defective. The carrying case feels very nice and is rigid to protect the headphones from damage. Inside is a diagram to indicate which way to fold for storage. The headphones also only fold in one direction fully. Included is a stereo audio jack, but no charger or USB-C charging cable. Setup 7/10 Setup was not horrible but still needs improvement. The packaging instructs you to down the Sony Connect app. If you do this and try to add the headphones it doesn’t work as smoothly. When turning on the headphones, they immediately start saying pairing. After a bit, the Sony Connect app shows to choose the headphones. However, once you tap on the headphones it brings up a connection box that never shows the headphones. The only workaround was to open up the Bluetooth settings to pair, then return to the app which would then show them to be chosen on the connection list. If you simply start by pairing the headphone via Bluetooth, then you are prompted to download the app where the same final connection process works more smoothly. After setup, it gives you a brief tutorial of features and drops you into the app to explore yourself. It doesn’t prompt you automatically to go through EQ tuning or anything of the sort. Depending on your professional level and patience this could be good or bad. Controls 9/10 Sony has arguably some of the best controls for headphones available. While some prefer buttons, the issue is unless they protrude out, they can be hard to locate. Even then they can be slower to use. For the main controls, these use gesture controls on the right earcup. There is no need to feel around for a specific button or are to tap. Just swiping up, down, forwards, backwards, or tap gets you all the primary playback controls. The only issues are that tap behavior is occasionally finicky but overall, it feels very natural. Combine that with the soft touch finish makes controls feel premium. The one issue is if you ever lay down with your hand or arm up near your head you may brush up against them and change tracks. The same cannot be said for things like ANC control. The button is very small and hard to feel, but thankfully they are used much less often. The one area where the controls fall a bit short is the on head detection. If you are sweating too much wearing these headphones it seems to cause the on head detection to fail. You can remove the headphones and playback will continue as it can’t tell you have removed them. However, during normal usage the same feature works flawlessly. Comfort 9/10 While over the ear headphones are nice for not putting pressure on or in your ear, they usually compromise on either being too heavy, too hard, putting too much pressure on your head, or holding in too much heat. Well, these headphones have almost none of those issues. The soft padding combined with the light weight means they don’t put a lot of pressure on your scalp. The way they are shaped also means they don’t have to exert a lot of pressure on the sides to stay in place. They do stay in place pretty good for exercise and hold in less heat than most over the ear, but they still hold some and that is the probably weakest aspect of comfort. Sound Quality 9/10 The default is relatively neutral out of the box with maybe a bit of extra bass, but not an excessive amount. The good thing is with the 10-band equalizer it is fairly easy to tune them to your liking. There is also a Find My Equalizer option in Sound Connect which allows you to try your favorite with different presets to find your preferred settings and saves it to EQ Preset 2. However, in my case none of the presets came close enough so I created a manual profile to tune further. Combine that with AAC and LDAC support and Bluetooth 6.0 and these headphones are respectable. They sound pretty good out of box, but you can fine tune them better to your preference and the drivers can deliver in most cases except maybe if you love extreme bass. ANC 9/10 The new ANC isn’t groundbreaking compared to my last Sony headphones, but it is improved. When ANC is on it doesn’t have that unnatural feeling of being in a void. It just sounds quiet. You can hear a very faint sound almost like a distant fan being left on, but it is barely audible and is just a faint white noise sound. Once audio is playing you don’t notice anything at all. In fact, even when playing audio low any outside sounds are inaudible. You can be in a room full of people talking but keep your music low and you won’t hear anything. It does make one wonder if it might work too well and prevent you from hearing emergency sounds such as a siren or alarm, but I never tested that. Microphone 3/10 The microphone is definitely a weak spot of these headphones. They may work great for ANC but if you are thinking of using these headphones for calls you are going to need a quite room. The voice quality feels muffled, and it picks up any environmental sounds. The person you are speaking will hear every clatter of a keyboard even if it seems silent to you. Even setting down a coffee cup can be ear piercing on the other side. Calling outside makes it extremely challenging for the other side to understand you. While these headphones can technically handle phone calls you can tell they weren’t the main purpose of the microphones. Battery 7/10 The battery life is down from the previous generation. While this might seem like a downgrade the silver lining is the battery is now user replaceable so you could potentially keep them going for many years to come. While the overall battery life isn’t class leading it is still much longer than most would every use at one time and charging back up is quick. Final Thoughts Considering the popularity of it’s predecessor, it was smart for Sony to refresh the original WH-1000XM4. While a better microphone would have been appreciated, it is nice that Sony further refined them for their main purpose without making any drastic changes. If you are in the market for a premium mid-range set of headphones and a good customizable EQ and solid ANC is more important than call quality, then the WH-1000XM4C is a solid offering.