Customer Ratings & Reviews

Not what I thought it was my research that didn’t play out. Noise canceling on my end but as for the other person they heard my loud call center

Excellent they definitely do what they are supposed to do. Got them for black Friday and I would definitely recommend.

Excellent product. Sony rocks as always. Noise cancellation is far superior than anything else out in the market

Ok, I"m gonna cut to the chase at the very beginning of this review. If you are in the market for a pair over over-ear headphones, buy these Sony XM4's. For the price range, these are the best it gets. Let me start out by saying that I have a minor hearing issue in my right ear. Because of that and just my overall preference, I have always used earbud style headphones. I've owned both generations of the regular Airpods and I also have the Airpod Pros, as well. Before wireless, my go to were the Klipsch buds. However, here lately, I've been having issues with the outer edge of my ear canal getting irritated and dry feeling. This did not start until I began regular use of my Airpod Pros - must be the silicon or the way they fit. I can't quite figure it out, as I've tried all three tips and I'm back to using the default Mediums. This has gotten me to looking into over-the-ear headphones here lately. My first pair I purchased was the fairly new Razer Opus and I have to say, those are amazing. But after reading and hearing about the "legacy" of the Sony XM3 headphones (I've done a LOT of research on them)...I wanted the new XM4's as soon as I heard about 'em. So, I got them. I initially wanted the black, but wound up getting the Platinum Silver instead. To be honest, I kinda wish I'd gotten the black - but the Silver is slowly growing on me. I call it "Playstation Grey", as it resembles the color of the original PS1 system. Once I realized that, I accepted the color more, lol. But that's just the color - not sure how well the Silver will hold up over time, but the sound is where it's at. The first thing I want to say is that these puppies are the most comfortable thing I have every placed on my head. I work from home and I can wear these 4-6 hours with ZERO problems. None. Nada. Zilch. After a while, I totally forget I have them on. They can get a little "warm" if wearing for a greater number of hours, especially if you keep your house on the warmer side (yes, we are demons who keep the regular house temp at about 73-74 in the Summer, haha). Outside if this, they're PERFECT. Ok, sound. Like I said, I do have a small hearing disability in my right ear. I've tried wireless over-ears before in the past by a few other brands and just found the overall volume to be...lacking. The only way to improve it was to connect the wired cable, which I thought was silly and surprisingly, this seems to be the case with a lot of Bluetooth over-ear headphones. Not these. These have a digital amp build into them and in the music I have listened to, I keep my phone volume (iPhone 11 Pro Max) at about halfway and it's perfectly loud for me there. I go a tad higher when I really wanna jam out. NO complaints on the audio side here. There is an equalizer within the Sony Headphones app, as well and it works wonderfully. Next up, lets talk about the various features. As I mentioned above, the Sony Headphones app is the central hub for everything you do with these and it was super easy to set up. I immediately paired the headphones and the first thing it did was a firmware update. After that, it gives you a brief tutorial and you're on your way. One thing I love about these Sony's is, much like my Razer Opus cans, when you take them off and set them down or put on your neck, it auto-pauses your audio. This is an amazing feature and I'm so happy Sony implemented this into this XM4's. There is a Noise Cancellation button (an "optimizer" on the headphones themselves. You can press and hold the button to customize that. You can also set this within the app. The speak-to-chat function is pretty good, too. When you talk to someone, your headphones detect this and temporarily pauses the music and lets in ambient sounds to you can conversate. This is great in theory, but if you work from home or are home a lot and you have animals...which you talk to...lol - well, this may get annoying. I turned this feature off since I don't really have a need to use it for it's intended purpose. Finally, there is a multi-device connection option you can enable so you can connect your headphones to both your iPad and iPhone (for example). With this, you can listen to audio on say, your iPad and then take a call from your iPhone. However, I did have it happen a few times where there was a delay in switching over to the phone for the call and it wound up being kind of a hassle. I disabled this one as well because I mostly just use one device anyway. I don't remember the details, but I think there is something else that you lose by enabling this feature... The touch panel is great and I've not had any issues there, either. I've heard that the XM3's had issues with function in that department in cold weather. The XM4's are supposedly improved in this area, but I did not get to test that, as it's Summer where I live. There is also a quick charging feature. By default, these headphones have about a 30 hour battery life. Out of the box, they were at 100% and to be honestly, I've still not had to charge them yet. However, Sony says 10 minutes of charging time nets you about 5 hours of playback. That's insane! So, as you can see - these cans are pretty much loaded and I consider these to be the BEST Noise Cancelling headphones on the market, with second best being my Airpod Pros. If you're in the market for a pair of headphones, just go ahead and get these. Don't wait for anything else to come out (like the rumored Airpod Studios)...these are gonna be the cans to beat and likely, the top rated headphones for 2020 and at least the next few years. I will even go so far as saying this - I love these SO MUCH, I'm almost tempted to get the black pair as well. So yeah, that should say something. 5 stars, well deserved. It doesn't get any better than this. Buy it now.

After having this product for less than a year, the hinge on one of the ear cuffs broke as I was folding it as it was designed to fold. I contacted Sony customer support regarding a warranty, and they don't cover poor craftsmanship on their part for their products falling apart. These were good headphones, but as a word of caution, spend your money on sturdier products, and also with companies that will cover design flaw issues as part of their warranty.

Best headphones I’ve ever owned! The customizability is amazing along with the noise cancelling.

A lot of you probably by now have heard the top-rated Sony WH-1000MX3 by now. And you’re obviously curious about what the differences are between the WH-1000MX3 against the newly launched WH-1000MX4. Well to cut a long story short, the changes are more subtle and not a radical improvement. So does this mean the WH-1000MX4 is not a good buy? Let’s find out with my first impressions of the Sony WH-1000MX4. On the aesthetics side, both the XM4 and XM3 are generally the same with Sony indicating the cuffs are slightly larger (10%) and the headband cushion a bit thinner. But truth be told this in my opinion is quite negligible as I can’t notice the difference unless both are side by side. Sony boasts of a new DSEE chip called DSEE Extreme which provide better audio. But Sony even admits that the changes are subtle. And to my ears they are indeed subtle. But for those who aren’t familiar with the Sony sound signature, the same 40mm drivers put out balanced highs and mids. And compared to other Sony headphones has a stronger bass almost comparable to Sony’s WB series but with a little less distortion. One new feature of the XM4 is the addition of multipoint Bluetooth meaning you can pair two devices at the same. And though other brands of headphones have this already, it is still a welcome addition. And at least Sony listens to its customers. You probably also know that if you put your right hand on the right ear cuff, the sound is muted. Well Sony also included wearing detection that if you remove the headphones, the music will stop and continue once you put them back on. Again, Sony is not the first on this one. But then again, Sony upped the ante by adding a “Speak to Chat” feature wherein the music stops once you start speaking. (From my initial fiddling with this feature, it seems you have to manually start again the music.) And in case you do not want these features, these can be turned off in the Sony music app. The XM4 AFAIK still uses the same QN1 chip for noise cancelling so I am assuming there’s not much to add here. But the XM4 now has a custom button wherein you can use the default noise cancelling control or program it to use Alexa or Google Play with the latter AFAIK to be discontinued in September by Google. This is not entirely new since my Sony XB900N already has this feature. Like the XM3 and other models such as the XB900N, the XM4 also boasts a battery life of thirty hours. But oddly enough, I had the need to charge my XM4 within 24 hours of having it. Obviously, this is way below what Sony claims. But perhaps I still need to cycle the battery around three times to attain the battery’s full performance capabilities. These are my initial impressions of the XM4 and is highly recommended. But if budget is a concern, the XM3 is still a good buy and prices are already dropping. But if you are willing to pay full price, the XM4 will be a good purchase.

...over the previous Sony WH-XB900N which I am directly comparing these to. I did not have nor have I listened to the XM3's so keep that in mind when I reference the 900N's, as they are a completely different model. Basically what you get with the XM4 is the XM3 + 900N merged into one. Most of the underlying features from the older XM3 along with the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa features of the 900N. There are some subtle design changes (see photos) that offer a cleaner look. Along with that improved look (lack of visible screws being a big one) you are presented with significantly softer/more supple materials on the headband and the earcups. The moment I took the XM4's out of the box I could immediately feel the improvement in this department. The alterations to the looks (color aside) I didn't notice right away. Extremely subtle in nature. I reviewed the 900's for BestBuy (4-star review) and pointed out how the Noise Cancelling wasn't all that terrible, nor was it amazing. But, for the price-point, it was expected. (you can view that review for comparison by searching "Adjustments via the app" for the reviews associated with the product here = https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-wh-xb900n-wireless-noise-cancelling-over-the-ear-headphones-black/6347796.p?skuId=6347796) The XM4's improve upon it and keep the exact same MSRP. That's a win in my book and worth pointing out. I can't hear any ambient sounds with the full NC on and a low volume audio book playing, much less a song at mid volume. This was not the case with the 900N's. Just like those, you *have* to use the Sony app to get the most of these sound-wise. You will experience very flat sounding cans unless you go in and adjust your EQ. You have numerous presets as well as the ability to adjust each frequency to your own preference. After doing this they sound really good. Not something that can hang with $500, $1000, or $1500+ headphones, but much cleaner and offering more depth than a lot of other sub-$500 big name brand offerings. The bass isn't muddy, the highs aren't tinny, and you can actually hear the mids. You also still have the ability to allow some ambient noise in in select settings. The app and headphones work together to figure out when someone is talking to you and allow that to cut through the mix, really cool feature. There is also a semi-NC mode which allows ambient sound in so that you can hear a standard level and not be completely removed from your auditory senses out in the world. Sony also improved the upscaling chip as well as added a feature that pauses whatever you're listening to when you remove them from your head. There are also more and improved mics for calls when/if you use these for such a thing. I have only had a couple calls come through while having the XM4's on, but everything was fine on my side of things, and the caller didn't say anything along the lines of "I can't hear you" or "speak up" or "are you on speaker?" so I'm assuming it was great on their side, too). If you are looking at these as an upgrade from a Sony offering in the past year or two, really check out if those subtle features and improvements are worth dropping another ~$350. If you have the cash and don't mind, they won't disappoint. But, if you do *not* have any other headphones and want some excellent wireless Noise Cancelling cans, these are more than worth your attention, money, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for a quality listening experience.

I don't like this headset. Had problems charging, and then the charging port melted. Do not recommend for a $200.00, plus, headset. A waist of money, beyond disappointed

If you're looking for good quality look no further.

Sony has done it again; they’ve actually improved upon what I feel is the BEST noise cancelling wireless headphones available! The WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones are the newly released version from Sony and they have added even more user-friendly features than the previous versions. What’s in the box - The headphones ship with a great zippered carrying case, a USB-C fast charging cable, an audio cable for wired connection, airplane cable adapter and instructions/paperwork. The headphones fold up perfectly to fit in the case which is a good size for traveling. They fit perfectly in the outside pocket of my pack used for traveling. The earphones were fully charged out of the box, so all that’s needed to get started (optional really, as they headphones will connect to your Bluetooth device anyway) is download the Sony Headphones Connect app and set up the earphones. There was a software update available for the headphones and it updated once they were connected. Headphones Connect App - it's a great tool for taking advantage of the many settings these headphones provide like Adaptive Sound Control, Noise Canceling Optimizer, Surround, Equalizer, Sound Quality Mode, etc. Open the app, turn on the headphones and hold them close to connect and you're off and adjusting. The app is broken into three sections: Status, Sound and System. Some of the functions are automatic like the Adaptive Sound Control - this will detect your surroundings and adjust the headphones accordingly. You can also select the Noise Canceling levels. The System tab is all about the operational settings like Auto Power Off, Touch Sensors, etc. Super easy to use and a great tool. Fit and Function - The first thing I noticed when putting on the headphones was the plush feel of the ear pads and the headband. They are super comfortable and easy to adjust to your head size. I've been wearing them almost non-stop for the last couple of days and there are no hotspots or uncomfortable rubbing. Hold the power button for a couple of seconds and then the magic starts, the noise canceling technology is fantastic, literally cutting out all the background noise as I mowed the lawn, went running or just getting stuff done around the house. With the Auto Switching Based on Action, the noise cancelling level adjusts to your activity and the outside noise. So cool! The Sound - The sound quality is the BEST I've ever heard from Bluetooth headphones. Straight out of the box these things rock, but the Headphone Connect app gives the user the ability to set custom equalizer settings based on preference. I’m not super technically savvy, so not sure exactly how the Edge-AI works, but music is so crisp and clear on the highs and the bass is rich and deep. Quality sound as expected from Sony! Cool (and totally useful) Functions - Not only do these headphones rock, they are loaded with super cool and totally useful Touch Features so you can adjust the music level, FF, Pause, answer phone calls, etc. just by touching the right ear cup. And if that isn't enough, Sony has upped the game by adding Speak-To-Chat which stops the music and let’s in ambient sound so you can hold a conversation without having to take the earphones off or cover the right earphone (which still works) as the previous version supported. Just be aware if you like to sing along to your music, it will pause…I learned this pretty quickly! The other new function that really stands out to me is the Automatic Off (Wearing Detection) feature. By simply taking the headphones off, music is paused until they are put back on…then the music starts up again automatically. Not sure how Sony will add more features to these headphones in the future…but I’m sure they will do something amazing! Phone Calls – Sound is great both on the speaker and headphone sides. No complaints from anyone I’ve talked to on the headphones. Your music will start right back up once the call is ended. Totally hands free and couldn’t be any easier to use! Battery Life - As mentioned, they came fully charged and after multiple days of use, they are still at 90%...this absolutely crushes the battery performance of my other NC headphones. And on top of that, there’s a quick charge feature that adds 5 hours of charge in 10 minutes. Worrying about battery life is completely off the table based on my experience to date. Pros: - Noise Canceling and Sound Quality are second to none - Ease of adjustability of sound and functions - Touch & Automatic Controls - control your music, pause or call without ever touching your phone, customization is off-the-charts. - Fit and comfort is outstanding, even after hours of use – no hot spots - Sony Connect App give the user complete control over setup and functionality of headphones - Taking Phone Calls - crisp and clear even in a crowded store - Great Carry Case for traveling and storage Cons: - Not a huge fan of the Platinum Silver color…but come on, you can just buy the black ones!! The Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-the-Ear Headphones are by far one of my new favorite devices and would 100% recommend them to anyone looking for the BEST noise canceling and function-packed headphones available.

The quality is great, but if you're choosing these for the cream/off-white color shown on the Best Buy website, think again. In reality, they are more of a brown-grey color. I purchased them today but will be returning them tomorrow.

I have been looking for some noise canceling headphones to help with my focus while working from home. I picked up the xb900n first, and I like them a lot but I have sensitivity to pressure points and headphones especially have been difficult to find where this doesn't bother me as much. I could've lived with the xb900n as my main pair, especially for the sale price I got them at. ANC is decent on those, I love bass a lot so that works for me, and the fit is very good despite my personal comfort preferences, but I felt compelled to try the xm4s out as well to see what I was missing. They look very similar but the xm4s are definitely superior in almost every way (although the 'leather' on thr xb feels better to me side by side it is far from poor on the xm4 and certainly jot a dealbreaker) At first I missed the bone rattling bass of the xb900n but I quickly realized that the ANC, additional features like speak to chat, proximity sensors, overall control dependability, 2 device pairing, call quality, and comfort make up for what I thought I was losing with the decreased level of bass strength. Despite that, the bass is still good on the xm4!! Just not gonna shake your brains around like it does on the xb model. In fact, something I noticed after a few days of working with them on is that my concentration is best with the 'relaxed' eq setting (low bass level). People can hear me better on calls than with the xb900n. The comfort is really good. I have no pain or pressure points and can wear them ALL day if I want. They sometimes get a bit warm around the ear cups but any over ear style will do that. I don't wear them for exercise or anything like that, so cannot say how they are for that but they don't move around my head at all. The build quality feels more solid than the xb900n too. No clunky sounds when pressing hardware buttons on these, Iike it does with the other model. They come with a nice case rather than a bag that comes with the xb too. The controls are more consistent for me. Battery life is awesome. I did hang on to the xb900n and still enjoy them when I just wanna listen to some BASS but overall prefer the xm4s for regular/work use. Something else I noticed, and I'm not sure if this is the case with all ANC headphones as these 2 I have been comparing are my first experience with it, but I notice if I have them on ANC with no sound playing it can sometimes trigger my chronic migraines. Again, I am extra sensitive so I don't blame the headphones for this, it seems like just a thing that can happen to some people, but just something I noticed happening for me that I wasn't aware of as being a thing before I got them. If I put on music (or take them off) it relieves the pressure feeling. Overall great buy, especially if you can grab them on sale. If you have the budget and are looking for ANC I would definitely give these a shot.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are excellent overall. The noise canceling is top-tier and works extremely well in noisy environments like cars, planes, or public spaces. Sound quality is rich and clear, with strong bass that can be adjusted in the app. They’re also very comfortable for long listening sessions. On the downside, the touch controls can be a bit too sensitive at times, and switching between devices isn’t always perfectly smooth. They’re also on the expensive side, though the performance mostly justifies the price. Overall, the XM4s are a great choice if you want premium noise canceling, comfort, and sound quality

I've purchased too many headphones over the years in search of a pair that has everything I want: fantastic sound quality, lightweight & comfy, and useful features. I've purchased Bose, Sennheiser, Shure, Sony, Hifi Man, and a few others. None so far has ticked all the boxes. I decided to give these Sony WH1000XM4 headphones a try based on the stellar reviews from professional hifi reviewers and owners alike. I'm so glad I did. The sound quality is significantly better than any of my other bluetooth wireless headphones, and even some of my wired headphones. As with any premium headphones or speakers, you have to allow some time for break-in. To speed up the break-in, I plugged the Sonys into a source with the included audio cable, so I could run them with their power off, and ran them for 24 hours straight. After this initial break-in, and after experimenting with the EQ settings in the Sony Headphones app, the Sonys sound really fantastic - each instrument and each voice has a distinct space in the stereo image, there is air around individual instruments, the sound is warm and full (thanks to a high-quality analog amplifier in the headphones). I've been listening with the Sonys a lot this week, and the sound quality has continued to improve. I should say, out of the box and even after some break-in, the bass was too much for me, I like a more balanced EQ but this was easy to achieve using the app. But many like the extra bass and will be happy with the sound as is and won't need to make adjustments. So, sound quality - check. What about comfort & features? These Sonys are super comfortable. My head is bigger than average (just the head, not the brain, unfortunately). While most headphones have a clamping effect that causes fatigue after 30 minutes or so, I've had the Sonys on for hours at a time with no problem. The padding on the ear cups is very comfortable, and also provides some passive isolation from outside noise (so even if you have noise cancelling off, to save battery maybe, you won't have a ton of outside noise bleeding in). The Sonys are very lightweight, as light as my (soon to be sold) Bose QC35s. The light weight adds to the comfort, and also makes the headphones easier to travel with. I've compared the Sony's noise cancellation with the Bose QC35 and the Sennheiser HD1 I also own - both of these are premium brands and cost about the same as the Sonys when I purchased them. The Sonys have superior noise cancellation - you can tell the difference right away, they block out more noise and more frequencies than these competitors. Other features - I really like the feature that lets you temporarily disable noise cancellation and cut the volume way down by covering the right ear cup with your hand. It's handy for when someone asks you a question. I love the USB-C charging, and especially the quick charging. Just a few minutes plugged in gives you a few hours of listening time. I'm mixed about the other ear-cup controls - sliding your finger up or down along the earcup to change the volume, or forward or back to move to the next or previous track. This works for me about 3/4 of the time. I probably need more practice to get the hang of it. The iPhone app lets you adjust the EQ - you can choose from several sound profiles or you can create and save two different custom EQ profiles - this is pretty easy to do and super convenient. The app lets you tweak the active noise cancelling - you can choose how much outside sound to let in if you like and you can set it to prioritize voices while still blocking other sounds like traffic or the rumble of a jet engine. The app also lets you update the firmware of the headphones when new firmware becomes available. Unfortunately, it takes a good 30 minutes or so to update the firmware - the firmware downloads to your phone (which is quick) and then the phone app transfers the firmware to the headphones via Bluetooth which is very slow. It would be much better if you could connect the headphones to your computer using the USB-C cable to quickly transfer the firmware to the headphones. But that's really nit-picking. I also have the Sony WF1000XM3's, which are Sony's true wireless earbuds, and the same Sony app works with these and the WH1000XM4s. In sum, the new Sony WH1000XM4 bluetooth headphones sound GREAT, the noise cancellation is better than Bose & Sennheiser headphones costing the same price, the Sony is super comfortable and lightweight, and the battery life is excellent with quick USB-C charging. Highly recommended!

The Sony WH-1000XM4’s (XM4’s from now on) are a pair of much awaited and longed for headphones and I am here to report that Sony has impressed me yet again. Let’s start with inside the box where we have a hard carrying case, the headphones, a usb type C cable, an airplane adapter, a 3.5mm cable along with the usual paperwork. The Headphone is designed like any other typical headphone but I must point out that both the earcup cushions and the headband cushion are extremely comfortable and this lead to me being able to use the XM4’s for hours without much complaint. The clamping pressure from the headphone is virtually unnoticeable and this is significant because I have a big head so the headphone probably stretches more for me than it does for the average person. The right headphone has the touch capacitive controls as well as the usb charging port and the NFC mechanism for pairing, while the left headphone has the power button and the custom button (which you are allowed to change to trigger voice assistant or toggle ambient control the audio-jack port. Also a first for me on a headphone, Sony has followed their true wireless earphones and placed a proximity sensor in the left earcup that senses when yo-u have the headphone on and pauses/resumes your media based on removing or putting the headphones on. I must also point out that the hardcase is well designed with a net storage on the outside of the case. Also inside the case all the cables have a suitable storage spot and there are paper cut outs that instruct you how to carefully position the headphones to be placed in the case. So, how do they sound?? Fantastic! All music comes through sounding great without even having to change and tweak the equalizer settings through the Headphone app. The music comes through full and clear and for those concerned about bass, you have comfortable thumps and punches that are not overwhelming and can be modified in the app. The same goes for Noise cancelling level which can also be controlled through the app. The XM4’s Sony created has the best noise cancelling headphone I have ever used. At full strength it is able to suppress so much background noise it can actually surprise you. If people are in a room with you and having a conversation( not too far from you), you won’t be able to hear anything they are saying even with the music off. The effect is most obvious in noisy areas like a street or around heavy machinery where the feature shines. What else do I like? Sony has finally created a XM headphone that has multipoint pairing. This means that XM4’s can simultaneously pair to two bluetooth devices. The way I utilize this is to pair the XM4’s to both my laptop and my cellphone so that if I am listening to audio on my laptop and a call comes in, the headphone switches the audio automatically to my cell phone and allows me to answer the call. What’s also amazing is that once the call ends it automatically switches back to my laptop audio. On the topic of a phone call, I can say that phone conversations I’ve had went very well. The persons on the other end of the line could hear me clearly and loudly while we conversed, even when I was in a noisy background. It seems the combination of the five mics as well as Sony’s software works superbly well to suppress background noise while highlighting my voice. Another stand out feature I absolutely appreciate is Speak to Chat feature. Basically what this does is that while you have the headphones all, if you would like to speak to someone , you can just speak and the headphones pick up that you are talking, lowers your volume and allows the ambient noise to flood the headphones. This is great if you don't want to keep taking off and putting on your headphones every time to talk to someone. Note that this feature can be turned on and off in the app and you can also change the length of the timeout with the smallest being 15 seconds. Finally, battery life. Sony reports 30 hours of use with noise cancelling on so I guess you can squeeze a few more hours out of it with noise cancelling off. I’ve been using it continuously between my laptop and phone for the last few days and I have yet to charge it. From the app the battery level says 40% remaining and I can attest to using it for about 15 to 20 hours so I have no doubt about Sony’s claim. The XM4’s are a definite two thumbs up for me. Superior sound and noise cancelling, feature rich app and more than a literal day of battery and multi-device pairing, it doesn’t get much better than this.

I bought Sony headphones 2 years ago. I know my geek squad protection just ended for my Sony headphones but you must know about this dangerous product. I had them charging and they started smoking and melted. I have pictures.

They only work well on the Latest BT , i was having the Audio bug out on 4.1 when it says 5.1

Verdict. Simply put, these are perfect in almost every way. They are comfortable, the sound is exceptional, active noise cancellation is the best I’ve heard (or not heard in this case?!), the touch controls are very cool, and finally, the app takes it to the next level of customization and automation. Perfect! Setup. I was able to setup these headphones on an iPhone and a Samsung Galaxy through the app, and have them setup simultaneously. The setup with the app was very easy, taking literally just seconds. As soon as the headphones connected, the app installed a firmware update and then the headphones were operational. Easy! Sound. Music truly sounds exceptional with these headphones. I think it is a combination of the awesome ANC and hi-res audio wireless capability. One can truly get lost listening to music with these headphones. The other really interesting aspect of these headphones is that you can let yourself get lost in the music because the headphones will take care of the rest: reducing ANC to let you hear ambient sounds when you are walking, letting you hear announcements at the airport, and stopping the music and turning on hear-through when you start talking. Amazing!! App. The app is simple and it just works. I haven’t experienced any glitches. There are sufficient options to make it really useful, without the inclusion of bloatware. Before these headphones, I had another nice pair of ANC headphones, but in this case the app really take these headphones to the next level because of the options and automation. Game changer! Automation. By far, the coolest feature of these headphones is the automation. The headphones pause the music when you remove them. You can program ANC based on location or activity, and then the headphones will automatically switch. You can quickly activate hear-through by touch the right earcup with your hand. Touch and hold to activate a voice assistant that actually works. The headphones have a sensor that analyzes air pressure and shape to optimize sound! And again, my favorite feature is speak-to-chat, which automatically pauses the music and turns on hear-through so that you can carry on a conversation. I have mine set to be less sensitive so it is not triggered by soft voice, and I have it set to resume music after 15 seconds. Bespoke! Buttons. The headphones have minimal buttons… two to be exact. The rest of the controls are done by touching the surface of the right earcup. I thought I would hate this feature, but it works really well for me and I like it more than buttons because I don’t have to look for a button. I just slide my fingers on the earcup and it does what I want. One of the physical buttons is the on/off/pairing button, and the other button controls the ANC, and that button is customizable. Say what?! Accessories. The headphones come with a really nice zipper case that minimizes the required space. The case includes an airplane adapter, an audio cable, and a charging cable. Nice! Things I love: - Exceptional sound - Amazing ANC - Very comfortable for a few hours, even if you wear glasses - Touch controls are really cool and work well - Speak-to-chat is very convenient - Battery life of 30 hours! - Fast charging gives you 5 hours of play back in just 10 min of charging Things I don’t love: - The only thing that could be better is the transition between the two different devices connected to the headphones. Based on the devices that I use, I have to disconnect one device to connect to another one. Conclusion. These headphones are the best I have ever used. They are not cheap, but they are certainly worth it for all that they offer. Really well done Sony!

I’ve been using the Sony XM4s for a while now, and they’ve honestly become my go-to headphones. The noise cancellation is incredible — once they’re on, the outside world basically disappears. They’re perfect for studying, traveling, or just zoning out at home when you want quiet. The sound quality is rich and immersive, with deep bass and clear mids and highs. I also really like that you can adjust the EQ in the app, so you’re not stuck with one sound profile. Whether I’m listening to music, watching videos, or on calls, everything sounds clean and full. Comfort is another huge plus. I can wear these for hours without any pressure or discomfort, which is something I’ve struggled with on other over-ear headphones. The battery life is great too — I rarely think about charging them, and the fast-charge feature has saved me more than once. The smart features are surprisingly useful, especially the ability to connect to two devices at once and the automatic pause when you start talking. It’s one of those things you don’t realize you need until you have it. Overall, the XM4s feel premium, reliable, and well worth the investment. Even with newer models out, these still hold up incredibly well, and I’d absolutely recommend them to anyone looking for high-quality noise-canceling headphones.