Sony WF-1000XM4 review: the best wireless headphones on the market

Technical sheet Technical sheet Design Application and use Audio quality Autonomy Price and availability date ConclusionCommentsSee the product sheetAvailable at 238 €

Sony's WF-1000XM4 headphones have the daunting task of succeeding those long considered the best wireless headphones on the market. Does the result live up to expectations, whether for audio quality, comfort, noise reduction or battery life? We will see that in this complete test.

Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

Two years ago, Sony struck a big blow in the field of wireless headphones with active noise reduction. Even before the AirPods Pro or most brands adopted this feature, the Japanese manufacturer launched the Sony WF-1000XM3. These were the best true wireless noise canceling headphones on the market. Since then, competition has increased and some manufacturers offer better sound quality — such as Sennheiser or Bowers & Wilkins — while Bose got in on the action with the excellent noise reduction of the Bose QC Earbuds.

Sony has finally responded with new wireless headphones, the Sony WF-1000XM4. What to recover its title of best wireless headphones on the market? This is what we will see in this complete test.

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The Sony WF-1000XM4 test in video

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Sony WF-1000XM4 datasheet

< /tr>

Model	Sony WF-1000XM4
Format	in-ear headphones
Removable battery	No
Microphone	Yes
Active noise reduction	Yes
Autonomy advertised	24 hours
Type of connector	USB Type-C
Voice Assistant	Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa
Price	€238< /td>
	Product sheet

This test was carried out with headphones that provided to us by Sony.

A more compact design, but still impressive

It's a real overhaul that Sony has made on its WF-1000XM4 compared to the previous generation. While the WF-1000XM3 came in the form of rather elongated headphones, housed in a large housing with a flat lid and the rest rounded, the WF-1000XM4 change completely.

The case of Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

Here we have a much more classic case, which fits very easily in the hand. It must be said that, according to Sony, the case is 40% smaller than that of the WF-1000XM3. Still slightly elongated, it can however be placed vertically on a desk without falling – and without having to put it on its lid. On the top of the case precisely, we will find a discreet annotation with the Sony logo in gold.

The rest of the case, like the headphones themselves, is also made of matte plastic with a choice of two colors: black or sand grey. It was this last color that I was able to test and it is original to say the least, almost reminiscent of the recycled cardboard used for the packaging of headphones.

Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

On the back of the case, Sony has nested a USB-C socket for charging and, on the front, just under the lid, an LED strip that will indicate the remaining battery life or the status of the case – charging or not – depending on the color. No pairing button here, Sony went to the basics.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 case opens with the thumb // Source: Frandroid

By opening the case – rather easily with the thumb, even if it is better to favor both hands – we will find the two headphones. These are, like their predecessors, true wireless headphones with an in-ear format. But that's about the only design commonality between the WF-1000XM3 and WF-1000XM4.

Indeed, at the level of the tips first, it should be noted that Sony provides tips in polyurethane foam, and not in silicone. A material that has the advantage of being more insulating and more comfortable in the long term, even if the first uses can be annoying due to their greater firmness. Three pairs of tips are thus supplied with the headphones.

The tips of the Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

Concerning the format of the headphones themselves, Sony has considerably revised its copy. Gone is the elongated look reminiscent of Bluetooth headsets. Here, Sony has opted for roundness. Contrary to what one might have thought, however, this does not mean that the WF-1000XM4 are compact headphones. Far from it, even.

Despite being 10% smaller than their predecessors, the headphones fill the entire ear pinna once they're in place, so much so that it's not particularly easy to get them right. position as the room for maneuver is so small.

Fortunately, once the headphones are in place — by positioning the metal circle between the tragus and the antitragus — they do not interfere with listening and remain quite comfortable. However, a slight physical discomfort may be noted after two to three hours of listening, in particular at the level of the concha and the entrance to the auditory canal.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 fill the ear well // Source: Frandroid

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are also IPX4 certified, guaranteeing protection against splashes, whether it's rain or sweat. In this little game, it should therefore be noted that if the headphones are, on paper, suitable for sport, they nevertheless tend to move slightly in the event of movement or if you move your jaw while eating.

Nothing dramatic, but enough to fear a fall in the event of sudden movements. It is therefore better to avoid using them while running. Still, here too, we observe a big improvement compared to the WF-1000XM3 with their remote electronics outside the ear.

Impressive active noise reduction

As we saw earlier, the WF-1000XM4 case has no pairing button. The connection is however rather simple, since by opening the case of the WF-1000XM4 the first time, a window will be displayed on the nearby smartphone to invite you to connect. The Google Fast Pair system is used here and works with all recent Android smartphones. For the others, however, it is possible to make the WF-1000XM4 detectable by pressing seven seconds on the touch surfaces of the two headphones at the same time.

Touch controls

For controls, Sony has by default allocated a control type to each earphone. The left earphone will thus be used to manage the noise reduction (a press to change mode and a long press for quick attention, we will come back to this) and the right earphone will be used to control the songs with a press to pause, two for the next title, three for the previous one and a long press for the voice assistant.

These controls can however be configured in part in the app, Sony Headphones.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless headphones are touch-controlled // Source: Frandroid

Without going as far as precise control of each gesture, we can modify the type of control associated with each earphone: playback control, ambient sound control, volume control.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take advantage of both volume control, noise reduction control and playback control.

The Sony Headphones app

As usual, Sony offers a feature-rich app. It is in fact the same application that already accompanied the Sony WH-1000XM4 and there are, logically, a number of similar functionalities. When using the headphones with your smartphone for the first time, there are so many options available that it can quickly become confusing.

Especially since Sony is not known for the ergonomics and lucidity of its menus. But once you have immersed yourself in them, the advantage is that these options remain saved and you only very rarely need to modify them.

Concretely, the application is organized with three tabs: status, sound and system. In the first tab, you can notably activate the adaptive sound control (we will come back to this). In the second, you can manage not only the sound quality – with an equalizer, the DSEE Extreme mode – but also the management of the Bluetooth connection between sound quality or stable connection or the control of the ambient sound. Finally, the last tab allows you to modify the touch controls or to select your favorite voice assistant.

It is also in this last tab that we can manage the automatic pause when removing the headphones, as well as the automatic shutdown if they are not used for a certain time.

Sony | Headphones Connect

Download Sony | Headphones Connect free APK

Active noise reduction

One of the main novelties of the WF-1000XM4 is the integration of a new processor, the V1. Like Qualcomm, Huawei or Apple, Sony has developed its own chip to manage both the Bluetooth connection and active noise reduction. Combined with two microphones per earpiece, the least we can say is that the result of this processor is explosive.

Microphones for noise reduction of the WF-1000XM4 // Source: Frandroid

On a daily basis, I use Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones, known to have the best noise reduction on the market. Before that, it was Bose who had my favors with its Bose QuietComfort 35. And it's an understatement to say that Sony and Bose are getting away with this type of functionality. While the Sony WF-1000XM3 began to face strong competition from Apple AirPods Pro and especially Bose QC Earbuds, the Japanese manufacturer managed to regain its lead with these WF-1000XM4.

It's very simple, the noise reduction of the headphones is such that I have the impression of having a WH-1000XM4 on my ears. Once the noise reduction is activated, even without music or a podcast to listen to, the headphones isolate completely. The noise of the vacuum cleaner, running water while washing dishes or even vehicles, all are cancelled. Even the voices, however particularly difficult to filter with this type of technology, become barely discernible.

I had to look at my interlocutor several times to follow his mouth and understand what he might be saying to me. Finally, the only particularly audible noises – and again, they are filtered by the foams of the in-ear headphones – are very occasional sounds such as typing on a keyboard or footsteps on the floor.

Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

According to Sony, it's simple, noise reduction has been improved by 40% compared to the WF-1000XM3, and this on all frequencies. And it feels.

In addition to the pure noise reduction mode, the Sony Headphones application will allow, as we have seen, finer management. It will thus allow you, as on the WH-1000XM4, to automatically manage the type of noise reduction. This can be done based on your geolocation if you are at home, in the office or elsewhere. Or your movements, whether you are walking, in transport or sitting.

This adaptive sound control mode can also be disabled.

In addition to noise reduction, the Sony WF-1000XM4 also offers a wind noise reduction mode. Ideal in the event of a strong breeze, this mode retains the advantages of noise reduction, but will also filter out the insidious sounds of the wind passing through the microphones of the headphones. We will also naturally find an "ambient sound" mode that can be adjusted to twenty levels and which can also focus on the voice.

The rendering is rather natural and will allow you, for example, to chat with someone nearby, even in a noisy environment such as the metro or the train. Finally, a passive mode is also offered, if you want to save battery and rely solely on passive isolation.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 case // Source: Frandroid

Also note the presence of a "speak to chat" mode. This will allow you to lower the sound of the music and switch to transparent mode if the microphones detect that you are talking. Already present on Sony headphones, this function is however difficult to convince, especially when humming a song, since it automatically cuts out due to the sensitivity of the microphone – even in low sensitivity mode.

A similar mode — but without voice detection — is also available by long-pressing the default left earbud, or the earbud to which you've assigned ambient sound control.

The Bluetooth connection

For audio transmission, the Sony WF-1000XM4 use version 5.2 of Bluetooth. Like most recent earphones, each earphone is independent, without a system with a primary earphone which will then send the appropriate channel to the secondary earphone. You can thus enjoy your music even when using only one earphone, with the second stored in the charging case. Even better, in this type of configuration, the earpiece remaining in the ear will merge the two stereo channels and a mono channel to enjoy the full sound.

We might have hoped given Sony's reversal of multipoint Bluetooth with its WH-1000XM4. Unfortunately, the headphones cannot simultaneously connect to two sources at once. It is therefore impossible to use the headphones at the same time on your smartphone and your laptop: you will have to choose to connect to one or the other.

As for the stability of the Bluetooth connection, it will partly depend on the mode used in the Sony Headphones app. You can choose whether you want to focus on sound quality or connection stability. In the first case, the headphones can suffer some microcuts, especially if you put your smartphone in a pocket, with your hand on top, but nothing dramatic.

The connection stability option ensures exemplary connectivity and I was even able to use the headphones 10 meters from my smartphone, with two walls between the phone and myself, before losing the connection.

Excellent audio quality

As was already the case with the WF-1000XM3, Sony has once again integrated a 6mm transducer into its headphones. However, it is a new diaphragm, different from that of the WF-1000XM3. But above all, the main novelty in terms of sound quality comes from the compatibility of the WF-1000XM4 with the LDAC codec. Until now, only the manufacturer's helmets could benefit from a Bluetooth transmission of up to 990 kbps.

Now, this is also the case for headphones. On paper, the headphones can therefore approach CD quality at 1.411 Mbps. Much more in any case than the other codecs offered, AAC – limited to 250 kbps – and SBC – which caps at 345 kbps. Too bad Sony didn't complete this trio with aptX and its different versions as was already the case with the WH-1000XM4 headphones.

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Note also that the headphones are capable of deciphering a signal up to 24 bits and that they offer a frequency response ranging from 20 to 40,000 Hz. Enough to allow the manufacturer to attach the Hi-Res Audio label to them .

Sony WF-1000XM4 speaker grilles // Source: Frandroid

To test the sound quality of the Sony WF-1000XM4s, I used them connected to an Oppo Find X2 Pro smartphone. The Bluetooth connection used the LDAC audio codec with a priority on sound quality – and therefore not stability – as well as by activating the DSEE Extreme option and active noise reduction on the Sony Headphones application. I listened to titles on Spotify in "very high" quality, which corresponds to ogg vorbis at 320 kbps, as well as several titles in CD quality, i.e. encoded in 16 bits at 44.1 kHz.

Unsurprisingly, the headphones from the Japanese manufacturer reproduce the well-known sound signature of Sony devices, with very deep bass, rather present highs and mids that are felt well, especially at low frequencies. Unlike the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 or the Bang & Olufsen PI7, we cannot qualify the sound signature of the Sony WH-1000XM4 as neutral, but there is nothing unpleasant about it.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 headphones offer rich bass // Source: Frandroid

Especially if the headphones put the bass out loud, they do it well. The bass is round and precise without drooling. We are dealing with dynamic bass and good quality, audible especially on Bad Guy by Billie Eilish. The quality of the mediums can be heard on Come Away With Me by Norah Jones, where the singer's voice is well reproduced, without sibilance - that is to say an artificial extension of the "s" sounds.

The treble, finally, is also very neat. Admittedly, they are slightly behind on the sound spectrum, but Sony has made a point of producing chiseled, clean and precise high frequencies.

If the sound signature of the WF-1000XM4 is not to your liking, rest assured, Sony's application allows you to fine-tune it according to your preferences. A five-band equalizer allows you to refine the sound rendering, with seven presets, each of which can be personalized.

The spatialization of the headphones is also excellent, giving the impression on certain titles of having the instruments directly in front of you. The sound dynamics are also convincing, including on classical music titles like Beethoven's Symphony number 5 where the first movement is reproduced with a much higher volume than the following ones, as it should be. There is a real difference between the notes played in fortissimo and those in pianissimo and it is rare enough on wireless headphones to underline it.

This dynamic is also audible with Spotify's 320 kbps ogg vorbis tracks, even with DSEE Extreme mode disabled. As a reminder, this function allows on paper to upscale the audio quality of titles with a very compressed encoding – for example MP3 files at 192 kbps or AAC at 256 kbps. However, with use it is difficult to detect a real difference. As on the WH-1000XM4, it is difficult to discern a real difference.

Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

For voice calls, the WF-1000XM4 uses one microphone per earpiece as well as a bone conduction sensor to isolate the voice well. Unfortunately, the call quality didn't live up to Sony's claims. Admittedly, the WF-1000XM4 managed to filter out both the wind and the ambient noise – such as car traffic – without any problem, but my voice was slightly behind for my interlocutor.

Worse still, the microphones tended to pop out every 5-20 seconds. A particularly frustrating problem without me being able to find the cause. Especially since on my side, I have not been affected by any loss of connection and it is probably not a Bluetooth connection problem. We hope in any case that it will be corrected by Sony with a software update.

A battery life at the top of the basket

According to Sony, its WF-1000XM4 headphones are capable of operating for eight hours with noise reduction activated, and up to 12 hours with simple isolation passive. On paper, this is a nice increase over the six and eight hours allowed by the WF-1000XM3.

Nevertheless, in use, the results of my autonomy test turned out to be much lower than the manufacturer's promises. With LDAC audio transmission, priority to sound quality, noise reduction, but without the DSEE Extreme, the headphones turned off after 5:47. It must be said that not only these different criteria can reduce the autonomy of the headphones, but also that the sound volume was at 75%.

Sony WF-1000XM4 wireless headphones // Source: Frandroid

Overall, even if the WF-1000XM4 did not reach the eight hours announced by Sony, the fact remains that they offer more than adequate autonomy in today's wireless headphones market . Rare are indeed the models to exceed six hours of listening without recharging. Especially since the earphone box allows you to recover two additional recharges, for a total communicated by Sony of 24 hours.

On the case side, once the headphones are placed in their case, charging is done rather quickly. In 30 minutes, the WF-1000XM4s were able to recover 69% of their autonomy and in 45 minutes the value rose to 97%. However, it took a total of 57 minutes to go from 0 to 100% battery, the last points being, as often, the slowest to recover.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 case can be recharged by induction // Source: Frandroid

To charge the case itself, just use the USB-A to USB-C cable supplied by Sony – just a few centimeters and without a charging block – or go through a smartphone charger or even to put it on a Qi wireless charging base. The headphones are indeed compatible with the induction charging protocol.

Price and availability of the Sony WF-1000XM4

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are already available, at a price of 280 euros. They are available in two colors: black or silver.

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