Customer Ratings & Reviews

this was the best buy ive done all year, you guys made this purchase easy for me. Thank you and happy holidays!

As a current owner of the previous generation model WH-1000XM3 (to be referred to as XM3 from here on), I was excited to give Sony’s latest generation active noise cancelling headphones a try. The XM3 were already great on its own. So I was curious if there’s anything new in this iteration. Much of what made the XM3 such a popular hit was in its design choice. It’s light, comfortable, sounds great, and has great noise cancellation. All that is the same in the new XM4, with a few new things or improvements. You still get the same comfortable and lightweight design so it doesn’t weigh down on your head. The clamping force is perfect. The earpads are probably even softer than before. But if you never wore or used the XM3, then all of this will be new to you. So… Sony’s design on the XM4 is one of the best out there. The earpads are soft and uses a leatherette material for better noise isolation. When going for noise cancellation, this material is the better choice. The headband cushion is also soft to alleviate the weight of the headphones. The headphone features NFC on the left side which is used to make pairing easy and painless, especially for Android users. More companies need to include this with their audio gears so we can make pairing to our phones simpler. A custom button can now be set to one of several functions defined by the companion app. Inside the left ear cup is a proximity sensor, new in the XM4. As you may have guessed, it’s used to pause music playback when you take the headphones off and resume once you put it back on. I think this feature can be a hit or miss depending on how you use it. There are times when I simply move the right ear cup off my ear to hear/listen in, all while still having the headphone on my head. Adjusting to maximize the proximity sensor use will take a bit of getting used to. The right ear cup has touch controls for playback and volume. But like the previous generation, there is no texture to this and it makes using the touch controls tricky. It’s one of the things that I wish Sony would actually address and improve upon. Having a texture would assist users to better utilize the touch controls. And lastly, at the bottom of the right ear cup is the USB Type-C charging port. I wish more companies would adopt Type-C for their charging port, as it makes plugging in very easy. The headphones come packed with its own carrying case. It houses a headphone wire for when you want to connect the headphone using a 3.5mm jack. There’s even an airplane audio adapter which is a nice bonus while on a long flight. And lastly, the dreaded USB cable. Like other Sony audio products I’ve used, the included USB cable is the most hated aspect of it. Its length is a meager 6 inches long, which is pitifully short and is not for everyday people. The fact that Sony bothered to include a cable in the first place of this length only says Sony doesn’t care of its length as long as a cable is included. Sony should either include a cable that is at least 3 feet long or not bother to pack in a cable at all. To me, this is a big deduction in the overall score. Sound quality for the XM4 is mostly the same from the previous generation XM3. It sounds great and has a good balance of all the frequency ranges. While there’s also the 360 Reality Audio, the feature is limited to a few music streaming services, none of which I am currently using or subscribed to. The majority of people who are likely to be using this headphone are likely not going to use the feature as well. For the noise cancellation, it is one of the best, if not the best, in the market. While technically there are improvements on the noise cancelling for this generation, I have not heard any difference. Perhaps it’s because I’m not exposed to any of the audio frequencies that it now cancels out. As for call audio quality, I have to go through word of mouth opinions and descriptions. My voice came out clear and with music blaring in the background, it seems like it’s mostly cancelled out by ANC. I have attempted to do a local recording to hear this for myself. But I cannot seem to reproduce the result as seen in a YouTube review of this headphone nor do I know how to set it up for that. Overall, I really like this headphone. For urban commuters who take public transportation or do frequent travelling (if there is such a thing in 2020), this is a must have. In cooler weather, they’re great for passing time while on the train or bus. In warmer weather, that could change since the earpads are made of leatherette material. At MSRP, you’re paying a lot to have one of the best, if not the best, sound and noise cancellation. But if that’s too much, you can alternatively look at the XM3 since it should be discounted now. The only thing that prevents this from getting a perfect 5 star score is the included USB cable. It's an atrocity to include a 6 inch cable for the sake of checking off a checkbox. Mark my words, Sony. If you dare include a short cable in the next generation and I get the chance to review it, I will downgrade the overall score even more. The Good: Comfortable, lightweight, best ANC, great sound The Bad: touch controls have no texture to assist usage, USB cable The Ugly: the feel of wearing this during a hot summer after 20 minutes, that USB cable Verdict: Buy it, forego meals to save up money if you have to; instant noodle lunches are always good.

I bought these when they were on sale as they were a pretty good deal. I previously had the 1st generation version of these and loved them, so when those finally got worn down I decided to splurge and pick these up. Pros: Absolutely phenomenonal sound quality. I've done some work in sound recording and editing and I personally would say these are on par with some of the higher end wired studio brands (Klipsch, Shure, etc.) Comfortable to wear: I wear these primarily while I'm at work to listen to music/podcasts, and unlike some other headphones I've used in the past I can comfortably wear them for a whole day of work. Battery life: So far I have had no issues with the battery, and when it gets low it does notify me via Bluetooth and an audible warning. Cons: The included charging cable was really short, which is really not a big deal given the constraints of the storage case.

These are great if you want something that's just for listening. The built-in mic is absolutely terrible. I definitely regret buying these for work.

Do not believe the good reviews! Absolutely not for music, more for phone calls. If you listen to music, go with the beats studio 3, I would definetly not recommend these sony headphones for music.

The Sony line up never fails to exceed expectations, they make quality headphones for a reasonable price.

Has its perks was ok but wasn’t better than the Bose

I did a ton of research on these before purchasing. These have rave reviews everywhere but I don’t know why. At the end of the day, I was very disappointed. The sound quality was no better than my son’s $40 headphones. I returned them and got AirPod max.

I bought these for my niece. She absolutely loves them. They are great for people who have mouse isdues.

The perfect gift for our outdoorsy daughter who wants to be aware of all sounds around her for safety.

I have had these for 18 months and use them about 3xs a week. The battery is already bad. They wont charge and i did everything they said. Called Sony and they said sorry but its 6 months put of warrentee so we can repair them for $150! I wouldnt recommend purchasing any Sony Headphones! Complete garbabge!

Loud noise out of the left auricle. Nice sound until almost lost my eardrum because of that pitch noise.

terrible. airpods pro are way better and cheaper and dont fall off your head

Not impressed. Just not the quality expected - returned. Purchased Apple air pod max. Yes more money but well worth it.

The connection to my device breaks from time to time.

Bottom Line: The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones deliver amazing active noise cancellation as well as the high quality sound one has come to expect from the brand. Pros: strong ANC; clear, balanced audio; automatic ambient sound adjustment, speak-to-chat, and 2-device connection work well; DSEE Extreme really improves soundstage Cons: touch sensor use is clunky Review: I’ve owned several over-ear ANC headphones over the years, and Sony’s WH-1000XM4’s deliver the best noise cancelling I’ve experienced so far. The sound of my central AC blowing against a closed vent, large air purifier, and floor fan are almost completed eliminated. Even the sound of typing is almost inaudible. Obviously once you add music, you won’t even notice any of those other ambient sounds. Like other Sony headphones I’ve used, audio quality is clear and balanced; sounds that may become muddied on other phones come through the WH-1000XM4s really well. Additionally, the headphones generate good bass, but it is not overwhelming. Those who want a bit more punch can adjust the equalizer in the Sony headphone app. As with Sony’s other ANC headphones, the app allows you to turn on automatic ambient sound adjustment, which is a really nice feature if you’re wearing your headphones in different environments. For instance, if you are sitting, the headphones will provide full noise cancellation, but if you walk outside they’ll adjust to let some of the ambient noise in (e.g., traffic). The WH-1000XM4s have three other features that I really like. First, they have a talk-to-speak feature, which can be toggled in the app. This allows you to talk and the headphones will automatically stop the music and ANC, so you can have a conversation with someone without removing the headphones. The second feature that is really great is the ability to connect two devices simultaneously. I have my phone and computer connected, and switching devices is as easy as stopping audio on one and starting audio on the other. My third favorite feature is the ability to toggle DSEE (Sony’s sound enhance function) on and off. In my listening, turning it on really helps improve the soundstage when streaming music on my phone. Other pros: you can set the headphones to power off or pause the music when removed (works well), and Sony included the airplane adapter in the box. The only issue I have with these headphones is the touch controls. The headphones have two physical buttons - power and a “custom” button that can be defined in the app. All of the other controls - track forward, back, volume up, volume down, voice assistant - are gestures on the right ear cup touch panel. Although I appreciate the size of the panel, it’s been hit or miss as to whether my gesture is recognize correctly.

Nice and easy to operate. My kid loved it. This was a Christmas gift for my 17 year old daughter

Picked these up on black friday for 248. Love these things blown away by the value at this price.

These are probably the best headphones that I have ever owned. The build quality is excellent. The headphones are sleek, lightweight, and very comfortable. A nice-looking carrying case is also included. Once fully charged, battery life is a whopping 30 hours. Setup of the headphones was very easy through the Sony Headphones Connect app. The Sony Headphones Connect app allows you to customize the sound of the headphones to your preference and there is a noise cancelling optimizer that customizes the noise cancelling features of the headphones to the shape of your ears and to your environment. The optimizer works very well and when the headphones are in use, the noise canceling processing is very effective. I used the headphones when I was mowing my lawn and could barely hear the loud noise of my mower while listening to music. Under normal ambient conditions, no outside ambient noise could be heard when using the headphones. The headphones have a very intuitive touch control on the right earcup. You swipe up and swipe down for volume changes, tap the center to pause and play, and swipe left and right for song selection. You can also place your hand over the ear cup to quickly allow ambient sound through the headphones that works very well when you want to hear someone speaking or when you want to listen to other sounds. There is also a speak-to-chat function that can be enabled through the app that automatically pauses the music and lets in ambient sound so that you can have a conversation with someone without removing the headphones. I tested the speak-to-chat function and it works without flaw. There is also a sensor in the headphones that automatically pauses the music or turns off the headphones when the headphones are removed. The sound quality of the headphones is also excellent. I did use the equalizer in the Sony Headphones Connect app to tweak the sound so that it had a little more bass and punch. The headphones also had very clear sound when using them during voice calls with my iPhone. The headphones have the ability to connect to two Bluetooth devices at one time. This allowed me to watch a movie on my iPad with the headphones while still maintaining a connection to my iPhone to be able to take calls without ever taking off the headphones. This is a nice, unique feature that I have not seen implemented before. Sony’s WH-1000XM series of headphones are highly regarded, and are considered one of the best wireless noise canceling headphones that you can get. The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones carries on this legacy and in my opinion, they are superb and I don’t see how you could find a better set of wireless noise canceling headphones at this price. A+. Highly recommended.

Sounds great, and worked as advertised for a few months...until the battery abruptly stopped charging. I checked online and it seems to be a common problem. This renders most functions of the device inoperable except for wired listening.