This is a ranking of the best wireless headphones Sony, tested on MyChooz. In Bluetooth headphones Sony headphones have near-flagship sound with a bass emphasis. On the other hand, the headphones have reference-quality active noise cancellation and transparency mode. There is no ecosystem lock-in, so you are not limited in features. And in general, the features in Sony headphones are equal to reference models. There are convenient features like auto-switching transparency mode and EQ tuning, where adjusting the sound takes just a couple of button presses. This is an ideal choice for beginners with no experience in tuning the EQ.
Among the cons is a fragile build quality. The hinges in over-ear models need careful handling, otherwise the plastic build quality is easy to break in the first months of use. The exception is the model Sony 1000X THE COLLEXION with metal hinges instead of plastic ones. And in-ear models are picky about ear tip size. If the ear tips do not fit, then in my experience you lose up to 50% of active noise cancellation. And that is even if the earbuds stay put in your ears.
About the Sony brand.
Read moreCompany history. Sony was founded in Tokyo on May 7, 1946, by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. Originally named Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K.), it was shortened to Totsuko inside Japan. The modern Sony brand name appeared in 1958.
It started in September 1945 when Masaru Ibuka opened a radio repair shop in the Shirokiya department store building in the Nihonbashi district. Akio Morita joined him in 1946, and they registered the company shortly after.
Initially, the workshop repaired radios and various household devices, including electric foot warmers. In 1950, the company introduced the Type-G (G-Type), Japan’s first commercial tape recorder. Since mass-produced magnetic tape didn’t exist yet, the company had to develop its own magnetic tape from scratch. In the early 1950s, Masaru Ibuka also struck a deal with American Bell Labs to license transistors. In August 1955, the company released the TR-55, Japan’s first commercial transistor radio, followed by a smaller TR-57 two years later.
In January 1958, the company changed its name to Sony because people outside Japan struggled to pronounce the original name. The new brand name combined the Latin word sonus (sound) and the slang term sonny, which was popular in the US for a young boy.
Later products under the Sony brand included the Trinitron color TV in 1967, the original Walkman cassette player (TPS-L2) in 1979, and the CDP-101 CD player in 1982. Perhaps the most iconic milestone was the launch of the Sony PlayStation gaming console in 1994.
Focus area. In audio tech, Sony targets the mass consumer market, spanning everything from entry-level gear to studio equipment. Its lineup includes:
- Wired and wireless headphones.
- Portable audio players.
- Portable Bluetooth speakers.
- Soundbars and home theaters.
- Hi-Fi gear: turntables, desktop amplifiers, and more.
- Digital voice recorders.
- Professional microphones.
Key features. In wireless audio, Sony headphones are known for their active noise cancellation quality and transparency mode, competing head-to-head with market leaders like Apple, Bose, and Sennheiser.
Sound profile. Sound signature varies by model. Most lean V-shaped or bass-heavy for maximum musical engagement, with the exception of studio models, which sound drier and brighter for analytical listening.
Sound tuning. Sony’s wireless headphones feature a proprietary 5-band manual EQ, while newer models like the WH-1000XM6 and WF-1000XM6 upgrade to a 10-band manual EQ. You get built-in presets along with space to save custom settings. For beginners, the Find My EQ feature is especially useful: you play a track, pick your preferred tonal balance by ear through a series of prompts, and save the result as an editable EQ profile.
Model lineup. Wireless and wired headphones and earbuds:
- 1000X Series: Flagship wireless over-ear headphones and earbuds with active noise cancellation.
- ULT Wear: Simpler, more affordable wireless headphones compared to the flagship line, with a bass-heavy tuning.
- LinkBuds: Open-ring wireless earbuds with natural transparency mode, alongside in-ear models featuring noise cancellation and transparency.
- WH-CH and WF-C: Mid-range and entry-level wired and wireless headphones and earbuds.
- MDR and IER-M: Studio and professional headphones.
A closer look at the LDAC codec: compatibility, real-world improvements, supported gear, and more.
Read moreSony developed the LDAC codec and uses it across most of its audio lineup.
Compatibility. LDAC is the second most widely available audio codec on Android after AAC and SBC. It reduces sound compression for greater detail, reaching peak quality on its top preset at a bitrate of 909/990 kbps. Google added LDAC in Android 8.0, and it’s supported on virtually all phones and tablets—aside from a few models where the manufacturer removed it from software or locked it in hardware. That means an Android source is compatible with LDAC-equipped headphones in 99.9% of cases.
Impact on sound: expectation vs. reality. Buyers often wrongly assume an LDAC-compatible pair of headphones guarantees top-tier sound quality. The formula of LDAC source + LDAC headphones = high sound quality doesn’t always hold up. A codec simply packs and unpacks data—the higher its specs, the less data is lost during unpacking. What matters most is the acoustic system: driver type and count, driver design, DACs, amplifiers, acoustic structure, and other underlying hardware and software specs. If cheap components or design flaws cause any link in that chain to underperform, codec efficiency drops. After all, if the underlying sound system can’t handle it, a codec won’t save it.
Where LDAC makes a difference. On headphones under $50, the codec usually makes no difference, or any improvement is minimal. You’re much more likely to notice a clear step up in sound on headphones costing $100 or more.
The improvement—don’t let this surprise you—is more commonly noticed in mid-range models and above. Lower manufacturing costs mean tighter hardware constraints. At the same time, a steep price tag isn’t always a reliable indicator of potential audio performance, since some models combine cheap manufacturing with massive markups that go to shareholders or get split among famous music and movie stars. So exceptions exist on both ends of the price spectrum.
Real-world gains with LDAC. Based on testing headphones across various driver types and designs, sound improvements range anywhere from 1–3% to 15–20%. That range is an estimate because I rely on my ears during testing—no objective quality measurement tools exist yet, or at least none I’ve seen.
Two key points are worth keeping in mind. First, LDAC improves detail retrieval, but it won’t enhance timbre or widen the soundstage. The frequency balance remains identical as well.
Second, the percentage improvement varies from model to model. A 15–20% gain on headphones scoring a 5 or 6 out of 10 doesn’t equal a 3–5% boost on a pair rated 8 or 9 points. So if you notice a significant bump in sound quality from a codec, it pays to consider the headphone’s overall audio score.
Which codec is better: LDAC or LHDC?
Read moreLDAC wins on availability, while LHDC takes the lead on features.
| Maximum bitrate | Up to 990 kbps | Up to 900 kbps (v3/v4), up to 1000 kbps (v5) |
| Maximum sample rate / Bit depth | 24-bit / 96 kHz | 24-bit / 96 kHz (v3/v4), up to 24-bit / 192 kHz (v5) |
| Bitrate control | 330 / 660 / 990 kbps, adaptive bitrate: 330-990 kbps. | 400 / 500 / 900 / 1000 kbps, adaptive bitrate: 128-1000 kbps. |
| Audio latency | ~160–200 ms | ~200 ms (has LLAC / LHDC LL low latency mode down to 30 ms |
| Android integration | Native support from Android 8.0+ | Basic framework in AOSP from Android 10, native v5 support from Android 17 |
| Lossless mode | No | LHDC 5.0 claims lossless |
Both codecs offer comparable specs, with a slight edge going to LHDC. LHDC gives you more tuning options, a higher sample rate, and dedicated toggles for lossless playback and low-latency mode.
However, LDAC is far ahead in adoption. Since it was integrated into Android 8.0+, compatibility isn’t an issue. You’ll find broader LDAC support across headphones at various price points, as well as a wider selection of LDAC-compatible USB adapters. By comparison, LHDC only has two USB adapters available, and only one operates smoothly. That said, LHDC could eventually catch up to LDAC or even pass it in adoption, as flexible licensing and lower royalty fees are rapidly making LHDC popular among manufacturers.
Both codecs offer identical connection stability.
In terms of sound, both codecs give the same quality, and you would have to listen closely to spot a difference. That is if the headphones support both LDAC and LHDC. So you should focus on the sound system first, and then on the codec. More about codecs.
How to add LDAC support to incompatible devices.
Read moreIf your headphones support LDAC but your phone, tablet, or PC doesn’t, a USB adapter solves the problem. You plug a small device about the size of a Bluetooth dongle into your phone or PC port, connect your headphones to the adapter, and stream audio using the correct codec.
Which adapter to choose?
- QCC Dongle Pro2 – if you need everything at once. The adapter supports: LHDC 5.0, LDAC, aptX Adaptive, aptX HD, aptX Lossless; LE Audio and Auracast are stated.
- FiiO Air Link – a universal adapter, just cheaper. Codec support: SBC, aptX, aptX Low Latency, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LDAC, and aptX Lossless.
For more details on USB adapters, check our rating — Best Bluetooth adapters for PC and headphones.
EMMA — Experts + Methodology + MyChoozers + Algorithm.
Every model goes through identical tests; the score is calculated automatically with fixed weights — a spot in the rating cannot be bought.
TOP 4 best Sony wireless headphones: ranking
1. Sony WH-1000XM5 8.14Best wireless over-ear noise-canceling headphones in 2026
The Sony WH-1000XM5 are the best full-size wireless over-ear noise-canceling headphones available. Highlights include reference-grade noise cancellation and transparency mode, signature bass-heavy sound, a detailed microphone, and a comfortable fit. Enabling LDAC yields up to a 15% increase in sound quality. On the downside, the hinges can’t handle heavy use and tend to break.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.13 The earbuds have a low-frequency enveloping sound – typical for the earbud series. The main plus of the sound is the soundstage, naturalness, and detail. There’s no artificiality or grain; there’s separation of instruments and effects in space. The main drawback of the sound is the low frequencies. There’s a slight excess in quantity, and the sound gets a bassy tint, while bass-heavy tracks sound boomy. Plus, there’s not enough clarity in the vocals.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 6 The earbuds have 8 microphones, but only 4 are used for calls. In quiet conditions, the recording is detailed, the first words are muffled, and faint clicks are heard. In noisy conditions, the recording quality is noticeably worse, but you can make out the words.More details.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 7.60 The earbuds are comfortable, the earcups put minimal pressure on the ears, and you want to take a break after about 2 hours. No complaints about build quality or materials. Only the coating is prone to smudges and requires daily care. The weak point in the design is the hinges, with frequent breaks at the point where the earcup turns. The earbuds look good, with 5 colors to choose from.More details.
- Reference-level noise cancellation and transparency
- Signature low-frequency sound
- Detailed microphone and comfortable fit
- Best automatic EQ tuning
- Fragile hinges
- Smudge-prone coating
2. Sony WH-1000XM6 8.11Good full-size Bluetooth headphones: a new model from Sony
The Sony WH-1000XM6 are solid full-size Bluetooth over-ear headphones and the newest entry in the lineup. Key selling points include reference-quality active noise cancellation and transparency mode, bass-heavy sound, and a convenient signature Find My EQ feature that simplifies sound setup to just a few clicks. Using the LDAC codec provides up to a 10–12% gain in overall sound quality. Drawbacks include earcups that press against your ears, causing discomfort from the first few minutes of use, and hinges that aren’t durable, requiring careful handling.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 8.48 Low-frequency, similar in character to the WH-1000XM4 model. Vocals sound close, the timbre of low- and high-frequency instruments is distinct. The soundstage is mainly wide, with no noticeable artificiality or distortion. Comfortable sound without major drawbacks. There’s just a slight excess of bass, not enough transparency in the mids, and a lack of brightness. Though, you can fix this in the app’s EQ with a “couple” of clicks.More details.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.40 In quiet conditions: 7.8 In noisy conditions: 7Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.68 The headphones have reference-level noise cancellation and transparency among full-size models. Battery life in the series doesn’t change — 30-40 hours with noise cancellation used. Control is mostly touch for managing playback and calls. The app is useful, but the multi-level menu structure is inconvenient, and with the ‘find your EQ’ feature, it’s easier to set up the sound from 4-5 options with different tones. The signal is stable up to 10 m with the LDAC codec and quality bitrate.More details.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 6.33 Uncomfortable, the clamping force of the earcups is stronger than the previous generation. My maximum in headphones is an hour, then I need to take a break. Build quality and materials are fine. The weak part of the headphones is the hinges, they break under intense load. The design is nice and neat. 3 colors to choose from.More details.
- Reference-quality noise cancellation and transparency
- Detailed microphone
- Low-frequency sound without too much bass
- The earcups press on the ears
- The hinges need careful handling
- Little detail retrieval
3. Sony WF-1000XM5 7.98Best wireless earbuds: for noise cancellation
The Sony WF-1000XM5 remain the best wireless noise-canceling earbuds in 2026, despite releasing in 2023. Sound is bass-heavy, paired with slightly recessed mids and lackluster, rolled-off highs. The biggest downside is a design that isn’t particularly comfortable.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.97 Bass-heavy, moderately bright, full-bodied, and smooth. Lows dominate, but they don’t bleed into the mids and highs. The bass is tight, pleasant, and smooth. Vocals come through effortlessly, and everything feels upfront, natural, balanced, and pleasant. Highs are slightly lacking in quantity. Detail retrieval is great, making every instrument easy to distinguish. The soundstage extends beyond your head, and the sound is natural, free of artificial sheen or grain.Read more.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 7.00 In quiet conditions: 8 In noisy conditions: 6 Good, matching the Sony WF-1000XM4, with no differences in sound.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 8.00 Active noise cancellation is top-tier, and with the right ear pads, these headphones can compete with the best. Transparency mode is convenient, making it comfortable to talk with the headphones in. In our tests using codecs, playback time reached up to 10 hours on a charge and up to 29 hours with the charging case. Controls are touch-based, offering four actions on the left headphone and five on the right. The app is feature-rich with useful settings, but the menu layout is confusing and takes time to learn.Read more.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.00 The headphones are comfortable—a couple of hours without discomfort is guaranteed. That said, choosing the right ear pads is important because the fit relies heavily on them. Build quality leaves no room for complaints, but the finish is a fingerprint magnet and scratches easily. The headphones look decent, if nothing mind-blowing, and come in three color options.Read more.
- Top-tier low-end sound
- Top-tier active noise cancellation and transparency mode
- Battery capacity has not changed in 2 years
- Noise cancellation performs worse without the right ear pads
- Headphone form factor might not fit everyone
4. Sony WH-1000XM4 7.91Popular full-size headphones for music: the best-selling model from Sony (a legend)
The Sony WH-1000XM4 are popular full-size music headphones and a true legend in Sony’s over-ear lineup. Even with the XM5 and XM6 on the market, the XM4 remains relevant and highly sought-after by Sony fans. At $235, you get high-quality bass-heavy sound and top-tier noise cancellation, making them the best over-ear headphones in their price range.
The overall sound score is calculated using the formula:
Frequency Balance + Detail + Stage + Naturalness / 4 = overall sound score.
. 7.08 The sound signature is dark. It emphasizes the lows and has smoothed-out highs. The mids are rich and engaging. Vocals stand out. The bass is soft, but it lacks punch. The highs aren’t bright or transparent enough. The soundstage is wide enough, but it’s flat. These are best for electronic music, hip-hop, and pop.More details.
Frequency balance is the distribution of sound energy across the entire audible range (20 Hz – 20 kHz). It’s not about the sum of ranges, but the right ratio where lows, mids, and highs complement each other without conflicting or masking key elements.
Ideal balance: bass provides a solid foundation, mids deliver clarity and vocal presence, and highs add sparkle and detail.
Frequency imbalance occurs when one or two of the three main ranges are excessively emphasized or, conversely, recessed compared to the others.
Low frequencies, or bass (20 Hz – 250 Hz), are the foundation of music, giving sound its depth, weight, and rhythmic base.
Ideal balance delivers clean, powerful, and well-controlled sound.
Excess bass leads to muddy, boomy sound that masks vocals and quickly causes fatigue, making the overall mix indistinct. Insufficient bass makes music thin, weak, and hollow, stripping it of warmth and rhythmic foundation, resulting in a harsh feel in mids and highs.
Midrange frequencies, or mids (250 Hz – 4 kHz), form the core of most musical elements and are the key range for perceiving melodies, vocals, and instruments.
Excess mids, particularly in the upper range, make the sound harsh, nagging, and quickly fatiguing; the mix can sound shouty or “boxy.” Insufficient mids result in an empty, recessed sound where vocals and main instruments lose their presence and seem distant, stripping the music of energy and overall clarity.
. 8 The mids are well-done. They are rich, and more soft than bright. This is the best part of the sound profile. Vocals are noticeably prominent. They sound pretty natural. Overall, the mids are engaging.High frequencies, or treble (4 kHz – 20 kHz), are responsible for brightness, sparkle, detail, and the sense of “air” in a musical mix. This range helps distinguish the finest details such as string overtones, cymbal shimmer, and sibilant sounds in vocals.
Optimal balance makes music lively, clean, and open.
Excess leads to harshness, causes sibilance (overly loud “s” and “sh” sounds), and makes cymbals unpleasantly “grainy” or metallic, quickly fatiguing the ears. Insufficient treble makes the entire mix dull, muffled, and “closed” (veiled). The sound loses its detail and openness — like listening through a thick filter, stripping the music of clarity.
Detail describes how clearly and distinctly the finest sounds in a mix are heard: reverb, overtones, quiet instruments, texture, and subtle percussive sounds (such as light hi-hat taps).
Ideal detail means all subtle sounds are audible, like at a live performance.
Lack of detail: the sound is dull, muffled, and “veiled,” as if passing through a layer of fabric. The musical picture lacks depth, instruments sound flat, and fine nuances are lost.
Excess: the sound becomes unnaturally sharp, aggressive, and “glassy.” It may manifest as excessive highlighting of sibilants and background noise. Such sound quickly causes fatigue. This is often the result of an overemphasis on frequencies above 6 kHz.
Naturalness is the degree of authenticity and realism in sound reproduction. It indicates how accurately voices and musical instruments are reproduced.
Best naturalness: the sound is clean, warm, and lively, without artificial coloration or unwanted artifacts.
Excess: too many distracting sounds — breaths, mechanical noises, rustling, etc.
Lack of naturalness: the sound feels artificial, colored, or plastic. Timbre recognition is lost (instruments don’t sound like they do in real life), becoming flat and fatiguing due to improper equalization or excessive compression.
Soundstage, or stage, is the perceived three-dimensional space where instruments and vocals of a musical composition are positioned. It’s the virtual sound space created by sound engineers during mixing. The stage includes width (left-to-right positioning), depth (sense of distance), and height (sense of instruments above or below the horizontal plane).
The best soundstage makes music spacious, realistic, and allows you to pinpoint every element in space: left or right, closer or farther, above or below your head.
Insufficient stage leads to a monolithic sound — as if everything comes from a single point. It’s hard to identify each instrument’s position in space. Excessive stage creates a feeling of instruments and vocals being too distant, and the musical composition loses its cohesion.
Microphone — the quality rating of speech transmission. We test the microphone in 2 main usage scenarios: quiet and noisy environments.
Quiet environment — recording indoors with minimal background noise. Noisy environment — recording outside near a 6-lane road with maximum traffic noise.
. 8.00 Quiet 8 Noisy 7 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones work great as a headset. If you’re talking indoors, people will hear you clearly. Outside, ambient noise will be audible. But your voice will remain clear against it, except in the noisiest spots. Voice transmission is good. But it’s a bit less than you’d expect from a flagship. A big plus: you can turn on transparency mode during calls. This lets you hear your surroundings and yourself.Overall feature score — this is the overall score for all device features. This score comes from individual feature ratings (battery life, controls, app, connection stability, and others) and shows how easy and smart the device is for daily use.
. 9 Thoughtful touch controls with minimal accidental touches. A user-friendly app, Sony Headphones. Reliable Bluetooth connection. Good noise cancellation, comparable to mid-range models around $200. Battery life up to 30 hours with ANC. Good voice pickup from the microphone.More details.
Controls — how conveniently and predictably the earbuds respond to taps and gestures: pause, volume, track switching, mode changes, and voice assistant activation. Good controls don’t require “dialing in,” work consistently, and don’t cause accidental taps; poor controls miss commands, lag, or simply ignore gestures.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 has well-designed and convenient controls. The entire surface of the right earcup is a touch panel. On the bottom edge of the left earcup, there are two buttons. They are easy to press with your thumb. The touch sensor is moderately sensitive. A single tap isn’t used, so accidental touches are minimal. You also don’t have to repeat gestures multiple times. Everything works on the first try.More details.
Touch sensor and 2 buttons.
Full functionality is at your fingertips.
Smart pause is available.
Voice activation is available.
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Swipe forward/backward – skip tracks.
Swipe up/down – adjust volume. Swipes with a hold also work. The volume will increase or decrease smoothly until you lift your finger.
Double-tap – play/pause, answer/end call.
Place your palm over the earcup – Quick Attention Mode. Music volume drops to minimum, and ambient sounds are fed into the headphones.
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Power. Hold for about 3 seconds – turn on/off. Hold for about 7 seconds – activate Bluetooth pairing mode. Short press – hear battery level.
Customizable “Custom” button. Switches modes: noise cancellation, transparency, all off. In the app, you can reassign this button to call your voice assistant. Hold – calibration mode. In this mode, the headphones analyze your head shape and if you wear glasses. I didn’t notice any difference in sound or noise cancellation before and after. It’s probably a more precise calibration for the wear detection sensor, but I’m not 100% sure. 😉
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The Sony WH-1000XM4 also has a voice activation feature called ‘speak-to-chat’. When you start talking, the music pauses. Transparency mode activates. The microphones pick up your voice, and the feature kicks in. This is handy if you need to quickly reply to someone or ask a question. You don’t need to take off the headphones or place your palm on the touch panel. Just start speaking. This mode works pretty well. It doesn’t react to voices or sounds around you. But it always reacts to your voice. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking, mumbling to yourself, or just yawning loudly. The pause will activate. This feature is more interesting than convenient. I didn’t need it during my testing, but it didn’t bother me either.
Smart pause also works correctly almost all the time. The sensor is in the left earcup. If you take it off your ear, the music pauses. Put it back, and playback resumes. As I mentioned, there were a few errors. I took off the headphones – music stopped. I hung them around my neck (earcups and sensor facing down) – it continued playing. You can disable both features in the app. Let’s talk more about that.
App — the brand’s companion application for adjusting sound, controls, noise cancellation, firmware updates, and additional features. A good app runs smoothly, has a clear layout, and offers real customization options; a poor one glitches, has limited functionality, or feels like a checkbox formality.
. 9 The Sony Headphones app also supports the Sony WF-1000XM4. It recently got a big update. This changed its interface and name a bit. But the overall functionality stayed the same.More details.
Battery level display in percentages.
Adaptive Sound Control. It automatically selects the right level of noise cancellation or transparency. This depends on ambient sounds and your location.
Noise cancellation and transparency control. There are 20 levels. But there’s only one option for noise cancellation itself. The other levels adjust how much ambient noise gets through. You can also add a voice focus.
Speak-to-chat. That’s the voice activation feature. The translation isn’t perfect, of course. 😉 You can set how long it takes for playback to resume after you stop talking.
EQ. There are several presets and manual adjustment options.
Codec selection. SBC prioritizes connection quality. LDAC prioritizes sound quality. You can then choose the LDAC operating mode in your phone’s Bluetooth settings. If LDAC isn’t available, AAC is considered the sound quality priority.
360 Reality Audio. This emulates spatial audio. It’s available in some apps, but you need a subscription. The package includes a promo code for one of these subscriptions. I wouldn’t say the effect is mind-blowing, but you can feel it. Music doesn’t always sound better with it.
DSEE Extreme. This is Sony’s proprietary real-time sound ‘enhancement’ for compressed files. In my opinion, these enhancers cause more distortion than benefit. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Turn smart pause, auto-off, and the touch panel on/off.
Custom button settings.
Connect to two devices. There’s a catch here. In this mode (multipoint), the LDAC codec cannot be used. That’s a bummer.
Voice prompt language selection. There are many options, so it makes sense to set it up for yourself.
For this experiment, I decided to turn on and keep the Russian language. I don’t recommend it. 😀 Translation gems like “bluetus” can be annoying. But hey, to each their own.
Connection stability is the ability of earbuds to maintain a steady Bluetooth signal without dropouts, delays, or artifacts in typical conditions (street, public transport, apartment with a router). Good stability means the audio doesn’t “crumble” when you turn your head and doesn’t disconnect in crowded places; poor stability shows up as frequent dropouts, stuttering, audio-video desync, and reconnection issues.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones kept a stable Bluetooth connection for 2 weeks during testing. I had no issues at home within a 10-meter range. Outside, everything was stable, no matter which pocket my phone was in. This was all true for the AAC codec.More details.
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If you turn on LDAC, things change. This codec has two modes: sound quality priority and connection priority. You choose this in the connected Bluetooth devices menu (the gear icon next to the name). In sound quality priority, you sometimes get artifacts even when your phone is right on the table. Outside, audio dropouts happen often enough that you’ll want to switch to connection priority. In this mode, the connection is almost as reliable as AAC, but the sound quality is better. There’s no video and audio desync even when watching videos.
Noise cancellation is the ability of earbuds to reduce external noise (traffic, street buzz, office) using microphones and signal processing, so you hear music or speech better at normal volume. Quality ANC noticeably reduces low-frequency hum (engines, air conditioners), barely creates ear pressure, and minimally distorts sound; weak ANC only removes part of the noise or creates an unpleasant “vacuum” effect and artifacts.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 has excellent active noise cancellation. It handles low-frequency hum and many mid-frequency noises really well. On public transport, in the subway, near a busy highway – the ANC makes listening to music comfortable everywhere. The ANC system doesn’t create discomfort, pressure, or anything like that.More details.
In a direct comparison, I feel the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 have slightly better ANC. It’s more comfortable and a bit better with mid-range frequencies. But the difference is subtle. These two models truly have the best ANC on the market.
The ANC here is adaptive. It “remembers” places you visit often and adjusts the system for them. Basically, all the adaptiveness is an automatic choice between ANC and 20 transparency modes. Some of these modes are especially cool. Many sounds get through so you can understand what’s happening around you, but low-frequency hum is still suppressed. The automatic system works well, but you can turn it off. Then you can activate ANC and maximum transparency whenever you want.
Battery life is the actual working time of earbuds and case on a single charge during typical volume and scenarios (music, video, calls), not just the numbers from advertising. Good battery life lets you comfortably get through a day or more without a charger and doesn’t drop significantly with ANC and high-quality codecs enabled; poor battery life requires frequent recharging and noticeably decreases at higher volume.
. 9 The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones have long battery life on a single charge. This is true not just by the manufacturer’s claims, but also by my tests. After 15 hours of listening with adaptive ANC and LDAC, the headphones drained about 70%. So, they’ll last 20-25 hours. You definitely won’t need to charge them more than once a week. They have fast charging, and you can listen wired even with an empty battery.More details.
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You can see how much battery life is left by opening the app. The “charge” level shows up in percentages there. You can also press the power button and hear approximate numbers (something like “more than 70%”). The information is also available in the “standard spot” on your connected device. In the app, you can activate auto-off during idle time to save battery. The only thing, not even a con but a quirk, is that the headphones won’t play music while charging.
Final build quality score is the overall score for build quality and materials: comfort, durability, and design. It shows how nice the device is to hold and use, and how long it will last.
. 8.33 Stylish design, solid build. They have a foldable design. They don’t look bulky on your head. The earcups’ plastic is a fingerprint magnet. The headphones come in two colors: black and platinum silver.More details.
Comfort is how the earbuds feel during extended wear: ear pressure, fit, weight, and ventilation. A comfortable model doesn’t chafe, squeeze the ear canal or head, and doesn’t cause fatigue even after a couple of hours; an uncomfortable one quickly reminds you of itself through pain, heat, or a “plugged” feeling in the ears.
. 9 You can definitely call the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones comfortable. I wore them for about 2.5 hours at home without any ear fatigue. Outside, I had no discomfort while commuting and walking for an hour and a half. The ear pads are wide enough to fit any ears. I have slight doubts about the depth, though. Some people’s ears might touch the soft “bottom” of the earcups. But these are just guesses; I didn’t have any such issues. The ear pads are soft enough, and so is the headband padding. They don’t rub or irritate.More details.
The clamping force is average for portable headphones. They won’t shift when you’re walking, but they might during a run. The headband adjusts widely. In warm weather, your ears might get warm pretty quickly. But that’s normal for closed-back, over-ear models. Here, the earcups ventilate better than many competitors. When folded, the headphones will fit into any backpack. The earcups also swivel, so you can comfortably wear the headphones around your neck with the ear pads facing down.
Comfort is subjective. My head and ears are pretty “average,” so your experience might be different.
Durability is how well the earbuds and case withstand daily use: plastic and hinge quality, moisture protection, ear tip wear, and reliability of connectors and buttons. High durability means nothing wobbles, peels, or creaks after a year or two; low durability means cracks, play, hinge noise, or contact issues appear within just a couple of months.
. 8 The build quality is solid; there’s nothing to complain about. All materials look durable. I didn’t notice any wobbles, unfinished seams, or creaks. Though in reviews for the Sony WH-1000XM4, you might read that the plastic starts creaking after a couple of months. That didn’t happen during my 2 weeks of testing.More details.
Let me know in the comments how your headphones are holding up after a few months!
Design is the appearance and thoughtfulness of form: how the earbuds look in your ears, how versatile they are with different styles, and whether they look “cheap.” Good design combines a clean appearance, ergonomic shape, and practical details (non-marking plastic, well-designed case); poor design catches on clothing, quickly gets scratched, and looks out of place.
. 8 The headphones look stylish, and the design is recognizable. The main material in the build is matte plastic with a soft-touch coating. It’s high-quality and sturdy. But it’s a fingerprint magnet: fingerprints show up easily, but they wipe off without a problem. The headband is narrow with soft padding, covered in eco-leather, which is what we call faux leather now. The main arch is plastic, but it has metal reinforcement. The earcups fold inward or flat. They are low-profile and oval-shaped. They stick out a bit on the sides of your head, but not too much, looking neat. The ear pads are covered in faux leather and look durable.More details.
Inside the neat Sony WH-1000XM4 box, I found: the headphones themselves, a charging cable (USB-A to USB-C), an audio cable (3.5 mm to 3.5 mm), an airplane adapter, a hard case, and documentation. The case is sturdy, with a fabric covering, and it has compartments for all the other accessories – a convenient solution. I’m happy that the audio cable has 3.5 mm mini-jacks on both ends; finding a replacement will be easy. But the charging cable was a letdown: it’s short. A longer one would be more convenient for over-ear headphones.
The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones come in two colors: black (which I had for testing) and platinum silver. Simply put, it’s a black and white classic.
