![]() You can toggle off noise canceling by pressing a button on the left ear cup. For instance, I'd be walking in the streets and all of a sudden I'd hear a little ding, my music would cut out, and the noise-canceling would turn off, allowing ambient sound to leak. The only issue I encountered was that sometimes the adaptive noise canceling would randomly shift gears. Sony's Headphones Connect app allows you to tweak all these features. The atmospheric pressure optimizer, which is designed for plane use, is currently unique to this headphone and the WH-1000MX2. As before, the features are supposed to help you better tailor the sound to your environment. Like its predecessor, the headphone features adaptive noise-canceling, atmospheric pressure optimizing, ambient sound control, an equalizer and surround and sound position control. I've worn it in the streets of New York and underground on the subway, as well in the air for a cross-country plane ride to and from Seattle, where I got an early look at Microsoft's Surface Headphones. I didn't experience quite as dramatic an improvement in performance as Sony suggests, but after my initial tests it's apparent that the WH-1000XM3 certainly measures up to Bose's noise canceling and arguably surpasses it. He didn't have any real complaints about the sound. Steve can be hard on Bluetooth headphones but had positive things to say about the WH-1000XM3: Nice treble, warm, natural midrange and bass that was deep but also defined. I gave the headphone to Steve Guttenberg, who writes CNET's The Audiophiliac column, for a listen. Overall, the headphone is clean-sounding for a Bluetooth headphone and sounds nice and open (for a closed-back headphone anyway). But the bass doesn't get boomy, it's just muscular. ![]() There is some bass push - I found myself wanting to lower the volume on one our test bass tracks, Alt-J's 3WW, to tone things down a bit. Sony reps told me this model has the same drivers as its excellent MDR-1AM2 headphone, and I think this sounds better than the Bose QuietComfort 35 II: it sounds more natural with a little better definition, clarity and strong, punchy bass. It reserves a spot for the short USB-C cable as well as the included headphone cable - yes, you can use this as a wired headphone, great for the plane's in-flight entertainment system - and it sounds great in wired mode. And the carrying case is slightly different. The exterior finish on the ear cups, where you'll find the touch controls, is smoother. Now, they’re still the best for non-Apple users, or those who don’t want to spend more than $350.There are a few other cosmetic changes. Until the AirPods Max were released, these were the best noise-canceling headphones out there. Should I buy the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones? Ultimately, I find the Sony Headphones to be a little more compelling. You won’t get as long of a battery life as the Sony Headphones. These headphones come at a similar price, and feature a slightly more natural frequency response overall. The other main competitor comes from Bose, in the form of the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. They’re $200 more expensive, and you’ll get better integration with Apple devices, along with slightly better sound quality, and a more premium build. We’ve talked a fair amount about the AirPods Max, which are Apple’s take on the high-end noise-canceling headphone. ![]() If you don’t want to spend $550 on a pair of headphones, the WH-1000XM4 headphones are the way to go. Sure, for Apple users, the AirPods Max are better, but they’re also a whole lot more expensive. The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones are the best noise-canceling headphones in their price range. This tech works fine for the most part, though many won’t notice much of a difference. And, they have Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio upscaling tech for lossy audio codecs like MP3. For example, they support Sony’s 360 Reality Audio, which is cool at times, but not quite as immersive as some other attempts. Sony has built a few other features into the headphones too. Seriously, the noise cancelation on offer here is world-class. The AirPods Max win the title for the best noise cancelation out there right now, but these get very close, and they easily cut out most ambient noise. The headphones, of course, also offer noise cancelation, and it’s excellent. Again, though, that’s not a huge issue for most. I ended up tweaking the frequency response to offer a little more in the high-end. There’s plenty of detail to go around, making for an exciting listening experience as a whole. Image source: Christian de Looper for BGR
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