Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones

Supercell

These seem to universally have decent reviews, for example - https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm4

I'm working from home at the moment and my current Jabra headset really isn't that comfortable over longer periods (say over an hour at a time). I enjoy listening to music and was wondering if these might double up for both music listening and calling people via Skype or Teams, has anyone had experience using a headset like these for this kind of functionality?
These seem to be all about the noise cancellation and listening and less so much the talking - suitable for office work as well as music listening?

AllForIt

They are fantastic headphones but not something I could wear for hours personally (if that is your intention). No reason they wouldn't be fine for skype.

henke

Supercell wrote: »

These seem to universally have decent reviews, for example - https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/sony-wh-1000xm4

I'm working from home at the moment and my current Jabra headset really isn't that comfortable over longer periods (say over an hour at a time). I enjoy listening to music and was wondering if these might double up for both music listening and calling people via Skype or Teams, has anyone had experience using a headset like these for this kind of functionality?
These seem to be all about the noise cancellation and listening and less so much the talking - suitable for office work as well as music listening?

I am wondering did you go ahead with them? I am interested in using for the same reason. Work meetings etc and if you can pair to two devices can I seamlessly move across to my phone and listen to a bit of music. I would imagine they are as comfortable as any over ear headphone for extended use.

Bargain_Hound

For what its worth, I have the wh-h900n and they are absolutely fantastic for music but the microphone volume is terrible. I have to revert to my old headset for meetings in work as I am told I cannot be heard well at all on the sony set, no matter what settings I use (Windows laptop)
Seems i'm not the only one affected: https://ap.community.sony.com/s/question/0D54O00006V7iaESAR/sony-whxb900n-headset-bluetooth-mic-volume-extremely-low-on-windows-10-and-microsoft-teams-australia?language=en_US


The WH-1000 might use different hardware, but just FYI it might be useful to find a review that tests the microphone functionality out.

Supercell

henke wrote: »

I am wondering did you go ahead with them? I am interested in using for the same reason. Work meetings etc and if you can pair to two devices can I seamlessly move across to my phone and listen to a bit of music. I would imagine they are as comfortable as any over ear headphone for extended use.

I've been reading lots of reviews but precious little about the mic(s), although some seem to say the mic's, of which there are a few apparently in this, are better than the previous version. I think I'd like to try them out myself or get a first hand account from someone that's used them for zoom/skype etc calls.
My aim isn't to have them on all day just use for work calls and for listening to music at other times.

ive owned both xm2s and xm3s

fantastic headphones but wouldnt personally recommend them for calls/skype

reviews do note that theyre a bit more clever in the newer model, maybe so but in my experience the noise cancelling interfered with my being able to hear myself speak and sound quality the other end was as issue for people

hudo

I have XM3, and few others (Grado, Audeze, Hifiman). XM3 has a decent sound quality, highly DSPed/EQed, but no match against "proper" headphone if you look only at sound quality. For music you can get better sound with 150€ Grado, but if you look at the whole package - active NC, amp, BT, mic, then its a good deal.
If you need headphones for commuting and being in the noisy office, then Sony is good, otherwise if you're at home and want something for music, go with cheaper headphone, external dedicated mic, and USB headphine amp. Then you can upgrade/change parts if needed. With XM3 you get convenience, but not getting best sound (except best NC, thats where Sony shines)

BTW, mic on Sony is worse than headphone with mic "arm" (not sure how its called?), like Logitech h800 which I use for meetings. It works, but picks up much more external noise than Logitechs.

Supercell

hudo wrote: »

I have XM3, and few others (Grado, Audeze, Hifiman). XM3 has a decent sound quality, highly DSPed/EQed, but no match against "proper" headphone if you look only at sound quality. For music you can get better sound with 150€ Grado, but if you look at the whole package - active NC, amp, BT, mic, then its a good deal.
If you need headphones for commuting and being in the noisy office, then Sony is good, otherwise if you're at home and want something for music, go with cheaper headphone, external dedicated mic, and USB headphine amp. Then you can upgrade/change parts if needed. With XM3 you get convenience, but not getting best sound (except best NC, thats where Sony shines)

BTW, mic on Sony is worse than headphone with mic "arm" (not sure how its called?), like Logitech h800 which I use for meetings. It works, but picks up much more external noise than Logitechs.

Thanks, looks like I either need a superior gaming type headset or just have to seperate the two, I do have a nice desktop valve amp and Sennheiser headphones as is, was hoping to ditch the cables, the search continues!

barryribs

Is there much difference between the noise cancellation on the XM3's or XM4's? I'm not sure which to go for and if the price difference is worth it.

I'm using Sennheiser HD 4.50 at the moment and, frankly, they are awful. Sound quality is reasonable and mic is good, but the noise cancellation only seems to be effective with a constant noise.

hudo

I had XM2 and replaced it with XM3 which was suppose to have better NC and sound, but to be honest didn't hear much difference. Maybe in direct a/b test difference could be heard, but think XM3 has already one of the best NC of all headphones.

Btw, NC in all headhpones, Sony, Bose and others, works best against background noise (airplane engine), it can't remove background voices, thats done by passive NC.
Only thing that removes background voices and noise is Nvidia Voice RTX, but thats for PC and RTX graphics cards. We'll have to wait for few more years to be implemented inside headhpones ...

barryribs

That would explain why I've noticed such a drop in quality from the MDR-NC31, with those being isolation buds rather than full headphones.

Thanks for the info, I think I'm going to go with the XM4's, they are hovering between 320 and 350 GBP on amazon at the moment

barryribs

barryribs wrote: »

That would explain why I've noticed such a drop in quality from the MDR-NC31, with those being isolation buds rather than full headphones.

Thanks for the info, I think I'm going to go with the XM4's, they are hovering between 320 and 350 GBP on amazon at the moment

Amazon Prime Day next week. Maybe wait until then before pulling the trigger.

barryribs

I picked these up for 308 over the weekend, with the thought of cancelling if there was any movement over the prime days.

Arrived today, the difference between the BT 4.50 and these is night and day. The fit is much more comfortable, especially for some blessed with a head as large as mine. Nc is much better over all ranges, haven't used the mic yet though.

Thanks to all of you for the advice

belgowho

barryribs wrote: »

I picked these up for 308 over the weekend, with the thought of cancelling if there was any movement over the prime days.

Arrived today, the difference between the BT 4.50 and these is night and day. The fit is much more comfortable, especially for some blessed with a head as large as mine. Nc is much better over all ranges, haven't used the mic yet though.

Thanks to all of you for the advice

Hi Barryribs,

Any feedback on the mic function? Thinking of getting these myself (will likely wait till "black friday" Harvey Norman deals) but hesitant of splashing out 350+ euro if the mic is only "ok".

barryribs

belgowho wrote: »

Hi Barryribs,

Any feedback on the mic function? Thinking of getting these myself (will likely wait till "black friday" Harvey Norman deals) but hesitant of splashing out 350+ euro if the mic is only "ok".

It's good, can't say I noticed a massive difference from the sennheiser for calls but used it paired with the pc for discord and it was good.

hudo

belgowho wrote: »

Hi Barryribs,

Any feedback on the mic function? Thinking of getting these myself (will likely wait till "black friday" Harvey Norman deals) but hesitant of splashing out 350+ euro if the mic is only "ok".

Mic picks up lot of background noise. Didn't work well in the open office

belgowho

hudo wrote: »

Mic picks up lot of background noise. Didn't work well in the open office

But would be perfectly fine for home/quiet environment calls?

hudo

belgowho wrote: »

But would be perfectly fine for home/quiet environment calls?

Probably. In quiet environment you can use almost anything ...

Priestess101

Hi, I got a pair of the XM4's back in October and wondering how I can get them repaired under the Sony guarantee here in Dublin. Thanking you.