Customer Ratings & Reviews

They sound great, but the for just isn't there. I've switched out and tried every one of the "nipples" to try to get the right fit, but I honestly think it's the shape of the earbud itself that's the issue. They are just a little too large to sit inside the ear and because they are larger and a bit heavy, if I turn my head with any speed one of them is bound to fall out. It's a real bummer and I understand the need for the size to get the noise cancelling properties they tout, but unfortunately this also makes them not ideal for any active or semi-active situation (even walking can be an issue). I am marking that I won't recommend also because of Sony's need for unnecessary tracking and permissions when setting up on the app. Too invasive and, again, unnecessary in my opinion.

These headphones tick a lot of boxes, however, the fit for me does not work and the ear tips have slowly disintegrated in only one week of use. Typical Sony sound is there and works great with the app, but they are not as polished as the XM3's. They do dig a little deeper (that is until you engage ANC on the XM3) but the 3's perform better in the higher frequencies. Both present a V shaped sound signature and are similar with vocals. I thought that the move to Ldac from AAC on an android device would show some big gains, but that was not the case in my listening sessions. Finally, the ANC is improved but I did notice that when the music was paused that there were occasional ANC dropouts that I never experienced with the XM3's. Perhaps I had a bad unit, not sure as that was the only one that I sampled, so I returned it.

I’ve seen countless reviews and videos about the best earbuds and have tried a lot of them; Apple Airpod Pros, Beats Studio Pro, Procores, Bose, the list goes on. I’m an Apple fanboy and have loved the AirPod Pros enough to go through 2 pairs of them but when my last pair stopped holding a charge, I decided I’d look elsewhere in hopes of finding a better product. Enter Sony. As most reviewers and videos state, the sound quality of these earbuds is amazing; probably the best I’ve heard out of ANY earbud on the market. Rich base and clean mid range with sharp highs give any music style the right balance. Coupled with the ANC feature, which is superior to the AirPod Pros, these are an audio files dream-buds. The fit and feel is comfortable for extended use and don’t hurt my ears after extended use. The build quality is great. They feel sturdy and made with quality material. Now, not all is great with these buds which really bummed me out because initially I feel in love with the sound. First, the mic. I’m a business professional so most days I’m either on a Zoom call or the phone for a majority of the day and I’ll sometimes go for 6 hour stretch’s without taking earbuds out. I found the mic while in the office to be good, not great, with some people complaining they couldn’t hear me or I sounded distant. On the road when I’m on the phone, is really where these buds fail and to the point where I can’t use them in the car almost. People say they can’t hear me or that the background noise is way too loud. Very disappointed here because I get a lot of windshield time in my profession. Not sure if this is fixable with an OTA update but it needs to be addressed for sure. Second, the ANC / Transparency Mode / Battery Level etc voice feedback. When you put the buds in or alter a setting there is a voice the says “ANC activated” etc. When you’re on a call and people are talking this feedback can cause you to miss what’s being said. It’s not necessary to have this. Apple got it right with a small “chime” or sound letting you know what’s going on, while still allowing you to hear. This has gotten annoying recently as I switch between modes manually or transition to the buds from my phone. Lastly the lack of multi-device connection is a bummer. I knew buying these that this feature wasn’t an option but for the price of these buds, you’d expect that would be included. Other companies have got this dialed it so if that’s important to you, look elsewhere. Even with these few issues, I STILL give these 4 stars because the sound, again, is the best I’ve heard hands down…no one else is even close. (At least at this price point). If you use earbuds for mostly music and very little with the phone on the go, this is a great product. I’m still using the buds even with the mic issue in hopes it’ll get better with an update, but ultimately I’m probably going to buy another set of AirPod Pros for phone calls because their mic is the best on the market right now; at least for iPhones. Almost there Sony, just work on your mic and these would be the best on the market.

Overall these things are excellent. They sound great once you find your settings in the equalizer; the default equalizer was not great for the music I listen to. I saw some reviewers complain about the touch controls but in my experience it's one of the better headphone control systems I've used. The touch pad is responsive and predictable, and I don't have any complaints other than the lack of configurability. I wish Sony would let me just select which function I want for a given action per ear, rather than make me select some pre-set config options for each bud like some other manufacturers do. The ANC is really remarkable; I spend a lot of my time in a datacenter that can run upwards of 115dB, and these quiet it down to about as loud as an AC unit running in a different room. The memory foam eartips do a pretty good job of passive noise cancellation on their own, almost as good as a set of earplugs. Irregular sounds like voices, construction noises, silverware clattering, wind, etc, all just sort of disappear when ANC is enabled. The speak-to-chat feature makes voices feel much more natural than I expected, and it's easy to carry on a conversation without taking the buds out, at least in theory. In reality, people see the buds in and assume you can't hear them, so you can either take them out or explain how they work. Guess which one is easier. The fit was not the most comfortable at first, but within 3 days or so my ears quit complaining and now they're very comfortable. They're lighter in the ear than they feel in the hand, and it's easy to forget I'm even wearing them. The fit is secure enough that I don't feel like I need to compulsively push them back in "just in case". Battery life is as advertised, which is to say it's excellent. With every battery devouring feature enabled, they run about as long as a pair of AirPods Pro claim to run in their marketing literature. With LDAC and DSEE switched off these easily get you through a work day without having to charge them. I haven't tried the Adaptive Sound Control feature. I don't know who it is that is clamoring for their headphones to randomly switch ANC modes based on where they're at or what the AI thinks they're doing, but it isn't me. The only downside I've found so far (hopefully they're able to fix it in software) is occasionally the left bud is unreliable; sometimes it will stop responding to controls (touch pad, volume adjustment from the phone etc) while music continues to play, or it'll seem responsive but the audio will just stop playing. I have to take the bud out of my ear, put it in the case for a second, then put it back in and everything is fine for a little while. I'm on the latest firmware (1.2.6 as of this writing), and the problem happens across all devices I've tested, with SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs. It's disappointing because the only other time I've had this sort of problem is with very cheap earbuds on ancient Bluetooth versions. I really didn't expect it at this price point.

I have owned these for a day so my opinion might change as they are further broken in. First impressions: Worked flawlessly with my iPhone. Would not work with my Oneplus 9 Pro initially until I did a few full factory resets of the headphones. Eventually they stopped "clicking" and started working. I thought they were defective. The initial update takes about 30 minutes to install. The packaging is eco friendly and mostly recyclable paper so kudos there! There are three ear tip sizes that are firm upon first use and might require breaking in. Use: Sound quality is AMAZING. When using with compressed music, the headphones will default to using DSEE Extreme to up sample the music. And it does a great job adding details that were previously not there. Playing HIFI or Master streams in TIDAL on Android will turn off DSEE Extreme and use only LDAC (if set up for sound quality mode). The music sounds amazing. On iOS you are limited to AAC or SBC, no LDAC support but the up sampling still does an amazing job and it is hardly noticeable finding any difference. Comfort: I was less than impressed here. Initially, they hurt. The foam tips needed some breaking in. After a few hours, the foam tips were a little more flexible and able to be inserted and created a good seal. I still can't get them in my ear at an angle that doesn't hurt after 30 or so minutes. I am not sure I will keep these as a result since they make the cartridge around my ear canal hurt. I have what I call medium sized ears so I did not think this would be an issue. Appearance / use: The look cool if you ask me. The just out a bit out of the ear and a large compared to airpods or Samsung Buds but have a cool design that might start conversations. The ANC is stunning! It is very intelligent in choosing the best mode for you with what your activity is. I tried going for a 2 mile run with these and they stay in just fine and are sweat resistant. With the foam seals though, they will product an "impact" noise with each step for runners so they might not be the best for that activity.

very good headphones, they have a very good battery, they are comfortable although it is not great, and they sound very good, but I had the xm3 and I feel that the xm3 have more bass presence than these.

The ear buds sound amazing and can really drown out the outside world with the active noise canceling and passive from it being in your ear. The fit with the original eartips were not great for me and they felt too big. I ended getting the New SpinFit CP360 from Amazon and absolutely love it. Now it's a great fit that is comfy and creates a great seal. I had a battery issue after a year where the left ear bud dropped battery way too fast. However, sony replaced my earbuds even though they were out of warranty. Still, shouldn't have happened with how expensive these are.

Good sound. Good basses. Good battery life. Comfortable to use.

Best earbuds ever!! I've tried multiple earbuds, and these are by far the best! The sound quality is excellent, and the battery life is impressive, considering that they offer a top-quality ANC. I love that the tactile controls are very customizable. Also, there is a way for you to measure the fit of different ear tips within the "headphones" app. The only issue I found was the ear tips are not that comfortable. I replaced the original foam tips for a pair of silicon ones, and now they are fantastic!

I have owned these for a little over a year now and I have been really enjoying them. I use them daily for listening to music and for teleconferencing. I can wear them for hours without discomfort that I have had with other in-ear headphones. Sound is crisp and connecting to multiple devices at once is very convenient. Now the reason for the lower rating, starting within the last 2 weeks I have started having battery life issues. Ear buds will show less than 100% charge despite being in the case charging and will die in under an hour of use. If I put it back in the case within a couple of minutes it says it is back at 90%. Having these die that fast is very inconvenient when I am in meetings and in the middle of presenting. I am reading this may be a firmware issue that is causing the battery issues. I have contacted Sony and I am hopeful for a fix. I really liked these but I cannot justify replacing them with another pair if I will only get a year out of them.

Returned my Bose QC to get these and well worth the trade. Before buying these I tried the previous version XM3's and loved them. Bose were uncomfortable and both XM3's and XM4's are pretty comfortable as earbuds go. The Sony app allows for EQ adjustment and the Bose do not. Sound quality on the Sony is far superior to the Bose, reason enough alone IMO to exchange. Sound quality and call quality on the Sony's is excellent. Bose call quality is also excellent but sound is terrible. Screeching highs and mids, base was decent not great but could not compete with the mids and highs. Sony are perfectly balanced and sound profile can be adjusted. Battery life on the XM4's is excellent, case is much smaller than Bose of XM3's and is super convenient. Would not trade the Sony's for anything, best buds I have ever used. Would buy again. The only thing I improve is the ability to control volume and noise cancelling mode with touch controls and forgo playback control but that is not an option, you have to choose between noise cancelling mode or volume but not both. Bose had exceptional volume controls, swipe up or down on one earbud and it worked flawlessly.

I have tried galaxy buds2, Galaxy buds pro, Jabra elite 7 actice. & these have the best bass and sound. ANC is good if they fit your ears. Unfortunately for me. I find my self constanly touching them to fit my ears. I wanted to like these so bad. But after 1-2 hours my ears start to hurt and I get a bit of a head ache. So tomorrow I believe I am going to return them. They sound great but hurt me to much for the price. Gonna have to wait and see if anything new drops in 2022... also side note. The case seems cheap for the price. IMO.

So I want to start by saying that the review process makes me select yes or no as to whether I would recommend this product. . . I selected yes BUT there is a HUGE catch. The build quality and craftsmanship of these earbuds. . . .phenomenal! They are so well built and the case is just amazing! The memory foam ear tips feel great and really have a nice seal to them. The sound quality of them is amazing! By far some of the best that I have used. The EQ in app (Android) leaves a little to be desired but it is at least usable. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM. . . THE FIT. These earbuds HURT. They hurt A LOT. After 30 minutes or so your ears are killing you I tried to deal with them for 2 weeks and it never got better. I watched videos on how to make them fit better. These are amazing if you have big ears and they fit!

They should have silicon ear tips, these foams irritate the ears but sound and bass are great, noise cancelling works good but after long use you can feel headache

These really are in the running for best ear buds on the market. I have had the opportunity to try them in different environments at this point and they are awesome. The noise canceling in superb as well as the ambient mode. If there is a lot of wind the extra wind noise mode does a great job reducing that as well. I was on the phone with both windows down going 60 to 70 mph and my dad said he heard a LITTLE noise. He normally gets off the phone if the environment is too noisy and I mean such as if I ma in a store where people are around talking and making noise so that was pretty extreme for him to only hear a little noise. That was without the wind mode being on. I have listened to them for a full continuous day and got 8 hours of use out of them but you have to turn off the special sound modes like LDAC and SDEE I think it is called and you cannot cannot cannot use the voice assistant feature or you will only get about 5 hours. If the sound enhancements and the assistant are off you can get 8 hours with noise cancelling on. The only reason I gave 4 instead of 5 is because of the fit. I have gotten used to it with the small tips and it does not irritate my ear canal anymore like in the beginning and I can wear them basically all day with small breaks such as going to a meeting etc. Outside of the fit these earbuds are near perfect. The only other thing I would want is for them to have better water resistance. They do not slip out of my ears like my buds pro even though they don't have tips like my sony SP-800N's They do not look large when in my ears and the speak to chat feature works really well so I don't have to take them out for conversation but normally do out of habit and to avoid wasting battery life needlessly.

Pretty glitchy for the price. Sometimes one will disconnect randomly or connect randomly to your phone and won’t let you change the modes. Since they poke out quite a bit they can fall easy with light contact. You’re not supposed to clean the soft tips so they don’t crack but they do anyway and are kinda hard to clean bc of that (I use them basically all day for work) . Other than that the noise cancelling is pretty good and the battery on these last forever .

Wow. Blows my airpods pro away. Excellent sound, comfortable, stays put in the ear and has amazing noise cancellation. Yes they are expensive but you are getting a premium experience for a premium price. Again, these have fantastic noise cancellation. Better than my Bose or airpods pro, not as good as my airpods max (which are like friggin magic). Decent battery life as well and they charge fast in their case. Also i am told mg voice sounds good on calls.

Honestly, I did a lot of research on which earphones to get and I'm so happy I chose this pair, quality is fantastic the app has good features, easy to use connect. Only thing is I wish they were a bit loud, but also I like my music very loud so take that with a grain of salt. Over all 10/10 comfortable too

Great earbuds i like the qulity of the sound and ANC. The one thing it might be debatable is the ear tips. For me specifically i like them but after a while it starts to peel after maybe a few months. Thats the only issue i had but you can buy some eartips. I especially like how fast it charges in comparison to other earbuds.

My original air pod pros have always been a love/hate relationship. Recently they have been more glitchy so I stated to think about replacing them. I have a set of X5 cans and love them so figured I’d try these for when in the office or on the run. The battery life is nothing short of spectacular! A tremendous step up from ANYTHING Apple can produce. The call quality I have been told is great from my end. Sound quality is absolutely insane on these things!!! Play a little bit with the EQ on the app, and these things are just unreal!!! The fact that they thought it out and supplied memory foam tips says a lot as well! The case is just as concealable if not more than the Air pods. The 360 sound demo all but blew my mind! These really are fantastic little earbuds! I really hated to return these, but a few things I could not overlook. 1. When on calls, it’s like these go into a pseudo ambient mode. Not full ambient mode, but the ANC deff is filled down. For me, I don’t want to hear anything around me when on calls. 2. Due to issue above, I would get a strange feedback in my left ear when I talked that was distracting. Not sure if this is because they shoot straight rather than into your ear canal like the AirPods do? 3. The controls were a little clunky for me compared to the AirPod stems. I don’t really like earbuds much, but when I need to push them into my ears at each function, it is bothersome. I could have overlooked the controls thing if it weren’t for the feedback and faux ambient mode in calls. Hopefully I do not regret it, but I returned for the 2nd Gen AirPods Pro. I have a feeling I will miss these Sony’s though