SONY WF-1000XM4

TRUE WIRELESS EARPHONES

SONY WF-1000XM4 TRUE WIRELESS EARBUDS Class-leading battery life, the best noisecancelling circuitry in the category and absolutely stunning sound quality… if you’re using Sony’s LDAC codec.

How do you improve on arguably the best all-round true wireless earphones on the market? Sony has gone back to the drawing board and its new pair — the WF-1000XM4s — look nothing like their predecessors, the WF-1000XM3s.

Is this a brave move? Definitely.

A crazy one? Quite possibly.

What has happened is that instead of making the odd refinement here and there, Sony’s engineers have gone to town on the WF-1000XM4 with an all-new design, a new charging case and a new audio processor.

The new model also features a new eartip material, appearing here for the first time on a pair of Sony earbuds.

THE EQUIPMENT

Your initial contact with the WF-1000XM4 will be a surprising one. Sony has ditched the usual glossy box and instead presents your purchase in recycled packaging made from a special blend of paper.

This makes for a more compact package (fully 34 per cent smaller than the WF-1000XM3s), and one that does not use plastic.

That’s great news for the environment, though it doesn’t really give off the vibe that you’ve just bought a pair of premium noise-cancelling earphones.

Once you have liberated the WF1000XM4s from their packaging, you’re greeted by a small, black charging case. It’s a full 40 per cent smaller than the charging case that came with earlier models, so it’s positively tiny by comparison. The case also introduces wireless charging to the WF-1000X range for the first time — though you do need to invest in a compatible Qi charging pad. Otherwise you can charge the case via USB-C or battery share with compatible smartphones and piggyback off their power supply, too.

You shouldn’t have to worry too much about the battery life. Sony’s new buds might come with a smaller case, but Sony claims that the XM4’s battery life is actually greater than that of the XM3, with the specifications proclaiming that you will get eight hours of play from the earbuds even with the noise-cancelling turned on.

A fully-charged case can then supply enough power for two more eight-hour sessions before you’ll need to find an alternative source of power or recharge from the mains. This means more battery life from a single charge than their rivals — three more hours than AirPod Pros, two more than QuietComforts and one more than Momentum True Wirelesses. If you don’t use the noise-cancelling, you’ll add a further four hours of play time, increasing it from eight to twelve hours.

And if you need to quickly add a bit of play time, a five-minute quick charge will give you an extra hour.

You can see the battery life remaining in both the buds and the case by using Sony’s ‘Headphones Connect’ app, which will also give you a reminder when the case drops below a 30 per cent charge.

As you’d expect, the times Sony quotes for battery life are ‘best-case’ scenarios. The battery life actually depends on a variety of factors, including the type of files you’re using and the volume at which you’re listening and how old the battery is. During the time I was reviewing them, which meant the battery had barely been used, I found that the battery life was almost always good enough to get me through the day.

EARBUD DESIGN

The new earbud design of the WF-1000XM4 was apparently arrived at as a result of a combination of customer feedback about the XM3 and research into the human ear, with the result being a rounder body that sits more inside the ear than previously.

The matte finish on each earbud gives the headphones a premium feel, while the small accents around the microphone and sensor holes add a tiny splash of colour. Speaking of which, if you’re planning on using them as sports earphones you’ll be pleased to know they claim an IPX4 rating, which makes them “resistant to splashing from any angle” — which is an improvement over the XM3s. So far as colour is concerned, they come in black or white, with gold-coloured highlights for both colour choices.

Besides the new-look earpieces, the XM4s also have new eartips. They’re made from polyurethane which, when they’re in your ear, feels like a cross between silicone and foam. Sony claims they help secure a tighter, more stable fit. The only downside here is that you only get three differently-sized tips to choose from — small, medium and large. Sony claims you will get years of use out of one pair, and says that extra tips will be available for separate purchase if you need them.

I did not have any major problems sliding the earbuds in and twisting them into place in my ears, but if you are struggling for a seal in your ears, you’re able to pinch the tips to compress them in order to slide them into your ear canal, after which they will expand. I found that not only did they sit snugly in my ears with a good seal, but also that they remained comfortable even over longer listening sessions.

If you’re not sure what a good fit is, or if you have managed to achieve one after inserting the buds, Sony has come to the rescue with a new “air-tightness” test, accessible through its ‘Headphones Connect’ app.

The app fires out a test tone and reports back on whether or not you need to make any adjustments. If you feel the sound is lacking bass or there is outside noise leaking in, I’d recommend using the app to test for air tightness. In fact, I’d recommend installing the ‘Headphones Connect’ app anyway, because it gives you direct access to all the key features and functions of the earbuds so you can choose which ones to enable or disable. It also helps you get set up for listening to music in Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format (available when listening to Tidal or Deezer).

FEATURES

The circular outer surface of each earpiece is a touchpad and, by using the Headphones Connect app, you can customise the functionality of each one. They can control volume and playback or switch between noise-cancelling and ambient sound modes through the usual combination of taps, presses and long holds — and the headphones are quick to respond to these actions. Switching between sound modes, changing volume and activating and deactivating features such as Quick Attention (which drops the volume of what you’re listening to, so you can have a quick conversation without having to remove the earbuds from your ears) happen with minimal fuss.

The Sony WF-1000XM4s borrow the ‘Speak-to-Chat’ function that debuted in the WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones. This feature allows you to talk to someone while the earbuds are still in place and is triggered when you start talking. It works well, although as is the case with the over-ears, it’s only triggered a second or so after you start talking.

This slight delay can be frustrating, as can the tendency for the feature to be triggered by a cough or by mumbling to yourself. You can reduce the sensitivity of the feature, or turn it off completely, after which you could use the “Quick Attention” feature. Alternatively, if you pull one of the earbuds from your ears, play will be paused automatically.

The Sony XM4s use an improved DAC and analogue amplifier and are powered by a new Integrated Processor V1. Sony claims these all combine to provide a clearer sound and superior noise-cancelling than the XM3s. This new model also gets Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio processor with Edge-AI, which is claimed to upscale low bit-rate music files to “near hi-res” quality.

The 6mm driver used inside the XM4 is similar in size to the one used in the previous model, but it’s made from a new material and features a larger magnet, which Sony claims helps improve sound quality and noise-cancelling.

There is no aptX support onboard, but the XM4s support Sony’s LDAC file format, which, streamed over Bluetooth from a compatible source, allows hi-res audio files up to 24-bit/96kHz to be transmitted at data rates of up to 990kbps. Without LDAC, you’re left with SBC and AAC codecs.

Sony has also aimed to deliver clearer call quality with new features, including beam-forming and the use of a bone conduction sensor that stops the microphones from picking up distracting ambient sounds while you’re talking. There’s even an automatic wind noise reduction mode which attempts to cut out swirls of noise passing through the headset and into your ears.

All of this works with Sony’s Precise Voice Pickup technology, originally introduced in the WH-1000XM4. The net effect is an impressive call quality for a pair of wireless earbuds. The technologies all combine to do a solid job of dampening down outside noise and interference, especially for the person on the other end of the call.

The general level of noise-cancelling is excellent, especially for a pair of wireless earbuds. Not everyone likes that ‘vacuum’ feeling you get when it’s turned on, but it’s extremely effective through the Sonys and you’ll struggle to find better noise cancellation at this level.

Android users will be pleased to hear the Sonys are compatible with ‘Fast Pair’ so you can get up and running with minimal fuss but Sony has not included its ‘Multipoint’ feature that enables you to connect to two different Bluetooth devices simultaneously, which can come in handy if you’re working on a laptop but still want to be connected to your phone. This is a great shame. Here’s hoping it can be added at a later date. When you do connect to your smartphone you’ll receive a battery notification pop-up, and should you misplace the XM4s you can track them down via Google’s ‘Find My Device’ app.

SOUND QUALITY

Before I get to the WF-1000XM4’s immense musicality and expressive dynamics, I should note first that the sound quality will of course depend on the Bluetooth codec you’re using and if your device doesn’t have the high-quality LDAC codec, it’s likely it will default to the lower-quality AAC codec, or even further, to SBC. Sony should really think about biting the bullet and providing if not aptX HD, then at the very least aptX.

Keen to hear how the earbuds handled one of my favourite bass-heavy test tracks, I fired up Massive Attack’s Angel and was blown away by the confidence with which the song was dispatched.

The quality and clarity of their bass is stunning. There’s such a fantastic level of detail on display that it makes rival earphones sound congested in comparison. Every element of that pulsing bass line was precisely deployed and dripping in texture. It’s the clarity around the notes that really grabs you — it allows the WF-1000XM4 to communicate intricacies in the bass notes that other earphones struggle to uncover.

But it’s not a sound that purely favours low frequencies. There’s clarity across the board and a sense of rhythmic precision that allows the Sonys to switch pace effortlessly. They sound as at home keeping up with — and succeeding in not being tripped up by — Radiohead’s 15 Step as they are dispatching the slow, deliberate swagger of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good. Simone’s effortless vocals ooze class and sophistication, and the Sonys laid every nuance in her delivery bare. Combine the emotion in her voice with the impact of the piano, percussion and wind section and the Sony XM4s created a captivating sound that swept me away.

If you were wondering whether the WF1000XM4s would be a step up from the WF1000XM3s, I can confirm that they are. The newer model sounds more informative and uncovers more subtle detail. Bass notes are better defined and the overall sound is better balanced.

I could hear that refinement and natural tone shine through as I listened to Ludovico Einaudi’s Experience. From the delicate, deliberate piano notes at the start to the soaring strings at the climax, the Sonys bring the individual personalities to life and mix them together like the ingredients of a fine cocktail.

CONCLUSION

Sony has absolutely nailed it with these new WF-1000XM4s. These wireless earphones deliver a satisfying user experience, class-leading battery life, some of the best noise-cancelling I have heard in this category and, if you’re using the LDAC codec, absolutely stunning sound quality. They’re one of the most feature-packed, user-friendly and sonically gifted pair of wireless earbuds I have reviewed.

You won’t find many true wireless earbuds that come close to matching the all-round brilliance of these Sony WF1000XM4s.