Those are infinitely more tolerable than the XM3s. Every time I try to listen to music I would just end up using the computer speakers instead. ![]() Treble is at the same time muted and a little peaky. ![]() It's a confused mess with no depth or impact. At default settings the bass sounds very one-note. I've tried all three early firmware, 2.0.0, 4.1.1, 4.2.2 and let me tell you, you do not want to listen to music on any of these firmware. The latest 4.5.2 firmware makes it a slightly better headphone, but for my set it produces a very noticeable amount of hiss that's absent on earlier firmware. I don't usually criticize a headphone to this extent but my god, the XM3 sounds truly AWFUL. It's in the sound quality department where the XM3 really, really falls short. I can wear them for several hours at a time before my ears get too hot. They are nowhere near as comfortable as, say the QC35, but apart from the shallow earpads they are pretty comfortable. Comfort wise both headphones are excellent. From what I can hear the XM4s cancel certain frequencies better than the XM3s, but the XM3 outdoes it in other frequencies. Our local SONY flagship store is literally 20 minutes walk away from where I live, so I take my XM3s there to compare to the XM4s pretty often. Ironically, I do not think the XM4 offers any improvements in the ANC department. If only ANC is concerned then I have no doubt that it's truly the best ANC headphone money can buy along with the XM4. The Sony WH1000XM3s have long been regarded as the king of ANC headphones. And while it may not be a huge upgrade over its predecessor in terms of performance, it's definitely more comfortable to wear.Unlike most of my reviews I'll just cut to the chase for this one. The long and short of it is, despite some relatively minor issues I encountered with the adaptive noise canceling (perhaps they'll get fixed with a firmware upgrade), the Sony WH-1000XM3 is a top-notch headphone. I'm not sure what happened, but I had to manually reactivate the noise-cancellation. But I hadn't touched the button (that button can also be programmed to activate Google Assistant if you have it installed on your device). 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.
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