The Best ANC Headphones just got better - Sony WH-1000XM4 unveiled

[soldier_ph]

Summary

Sony announced the long awaited successor to the XM3, the XM4s, in a series of YouTube Videos on their Channel. Basically all of the new features have been leaked over the Months leading up to the official launch Event on August 6th, which you can check out here, but I'm still gonna list them all for you of course. The XM4s cost 349 USD and are available for preorder now at: amazon us Best Buy. Also my local Online Shop has them too, they cost 399 CHF here.

 

Specs

 

• 15% Better Noise-Cancelling thanks to an improved QN1-HD Processor
• Improved Sound Quality and listening experience thanks to AI
• Auto Play-Pause wearing detection
• Speak to Chat pauses the Music when you talk to someone
• Multi Point Connection for up to two devices at once
• Better Voice Quality thanks to better Voice Pick-up Technology 
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 30h Battery Life with 10 Minute Quick charging which gives you up to 5 hours of Music playback
• Equalizer and Ambient Sound Control through the Sony Headphones Connect App
• Two Ambient Noise Sensors
• Touch Controls on both sides
• 40mm drivers
• 5 Microphones
• Compatible with the Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri
• 360 degree Audio ready 
• DSEE Extreme real time audio up-scaling and LDAC 
• Automatically adjusting ambient noise
• Ability to save sound settings for specific locations
• They haven't changed much on the outside, only noticeable changes are the naming and the leather padding on the Headband and Ear Pads. Colors are even the Bronze accents along the Ambient Sound Microphones are the same.

 

Videos

 

Main annoucment:

 

Sony WH-1000XM4 short ads which go over the main new features and explain the intended use cases:

 

 

 

 MKBHD already has a pair and I'm looking forward to his review:

 

 

Quotes

Quote

-Quote from the Engadget Article-

 

Thanks to early details in a Walmart listing back in June, we knew the debut for Sony’s latest flagship headphones was imminent. Today, the company is making things official. As expected, the WH-1000XM4 is the follow-up to the stellar WH-1000XM3 that arrived in 2018 — and was due for an upgrade. With the M4, Sony is introducing some subtle tweaks to the design alongside several new features to make further improvements to the highly-rated 1000X noise-canceling headphones line.

For the most part, the M4 looks nearly identical to the M3. Sony opted for a soft-touch matte finish this time around, in addition to making changes to the headband cushion, headband curve and the size of the earpads. All of those tweaks make the M4 more comfortable than its predecessor, especially during longer listening sessions. Touch controls still reside on the right side, giving you the ability to play/pause, skip tracks and more with a swipe or tap. The Custom button on the edge of the left earcup offers access to active noise canceling (ANC) settings by default, but you can reassign it to summon Google Assistant or Alexa quickly.

In addition to improvements to both digital audio upscaling and the effectiveness of ANC, Sony has added multi-device connectivity. You can finally connect to multiple devices at once, automatically hoping back and forth between your phone and computer when you receive a call. It also means you can make changes in the Headphones app while you’re working without having to connect to your phone exclusively. The company also added the ability for the M4 to automatically adjust the noise canceling levels based on your location. This feature debuted on the WF-SP800N earbuds back in the spring, and it allows you to manually set locations (like Home and Office) or give the Sony Headphones app permission to learn the spots you visit most. Of course, it requires you to give the software access to your movements, which not everyone will be comfortable with. The M4 will still detect movement (Staying, Walking, Running and Transport) and adjust the ANC based on those customizable presets as well, just like the M3.

Another handy new feature is Speak-to-Chat. This tool detects your voice when you start talking, automatically pauses the audio and activates ambient sound. It’s handy for today’s work-from-home environment as you’re not scrambling for the pause button when someone walks up to you for a chat. Yes, it will resume your music on its own 30 seconds after you’re done speaking, or you can double tap the play/pause control to kick it back on faster. And with wear detection, the M4 automatically pauses when you take it off, too.

Sony is promising 30 hours of battery life again on the M4. That’s the same estimate as the M3, and it’s plenty of time to get you through several work days. With Sony’s quick-charge feature, you’ll get five hours of listening time in 10 minutes. Like its predecessor, the M4 also supports 360 Reality Audio for more immersive sound. If you’re willing to pay for a pricier high-res streaming subscription, of course.

 

My thoughts

So Wow ! I have been waiting for these since January when reports came out of the FCC filling that they had to do. I am happy that they're finally here since I am in need of an upgrade from my existing Sony WH-900N which are from 2015. I will get the new Sony WH-1000XM4s as soon as I've got more money to spend. I am ready to be blown away by the much much improved ANC and AI performance improvements by the XM4s over my old WH-900Ns. I am sure these will exceed everyone's expectations and become a Benchmark for Industry leading Noise Cancellation and AI features just like their predecessors, the XM3s, did. I'm a fan of the simple Industrial looking design and the matt colors with Bronze accents so I don't mind that they haven't done much to the looks.

 

Sources

Sony Product Page

 

Digitec Article in German

 

Review from The Verge

 

Engadget

 

Wired

[SeraphicWings]

Nice of Sony to keep the price unchanged, while competition is increasing the price

[suicidalfranco]

my issue is not that they cost 400$, it's that they are 400$ bluetooth () cans

[AlwaysWong]

The big issue is Bose 700 and Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 destroy Sony WH-1000XM4 in call and mic quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0quCkc_uQU

[handymanshandle]

so basically as a WH1000XM3 owner there's no reason to attempt to use my Geek Squad Protection Plan that I got for dirt cheap for being a Best Buy Employee back when I worked for them last year to get massively discounted XM4s?

 

Some of those features are cool though

[Flufs]

3 hours ago, pinksnowbirdie said:

so basically as a WH1000XM3 owner there's no reason to attempt to use my Geek Squad Protection Plan that I got for dirt cheap for being a Best Buy Employee back when I worked for them last year to get massively discounted XM4s?

 

Some of those features are cool though

rather get the xm3 and save a buck? Don't think XM4 is worth it IMO

[WereCat]

5 hours ago, AlwaysWong said:

The big issue is Bose 700 and Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 destroy Sony WH-1000XM4 in call and mic quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0quCkc_uQU

But who is buying headphones for a quality mic? 

[xAcid9]

8 hours ago, AlwaysWong said:

The big issue is Bose 700 and Microsoft Surface Headphones 2 destroy Sony WH-1000XM4 in call and mic quality

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0quCkc_uQU

I feel like it something Sony can improve via OTA update. 

[handymanshandle]

6 hours ago, Flufs said:

rather get the xm3 and save a buck? Don't think XM4 is worth it IMO

Well I do think some of the new features are cool but certainly not enough for me to upgrade. The new one has the ability to switch between paired devices more easily

[AlwaysWong]

On 8/11/2020 at 8:44 AM, xAcid9 said:

I feel like it something Sony can improve via OTA update. 

XM3 hardly get any improvement in mic so I don't think XM4 will.

[Lord Vile]

For ANC I’d just go Bose. 

[maartendc]

2 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

For ANC I’d just go Bose. 

Yeah how do these compare to my Bose QC35II?

 

I never heard of this Sony range of ANC headphones before.

[Lord Vile]

15 minutes ago, maartendc said:

Yeah how do these compare to my Bose QC35II?

 

I never heard of this Sony range of ANC headphones before.

Sony is apparently pretty good but if ANC is what you’re after I don’t see why you’d ignore Bose.

[soldier_ph]

And boom MKBHDs review is here: