The premium noise-canceling headphone market is crowded these days. You’ve got the Apple AirPods Max, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Sennheiser Momentum 4, and even Sonos Ace entering the ring. Here’s the thing – they all pretty much do the same job. The noise canceling works great, the battery lasts all day, they sound good, and they connect via Bluetooth. Newer generations bring minor tweaks but the core experience hasn’t changed dramatically in years. So why pay premium pricing when you can grab the Sony WH-1000XM4 at its all-time low of $198 on Amazon, down from $348? These headphones have been the best-selling model in their category for years, and at nearly half price, they’re the smartest choice you can make.
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Sony’s Iconic Noise-Canceling Headphones
The Sony WH-1000XM4 employs double noise sensor technology with two microphones per ear cup to capture environmental sound. This information goes to the Sony HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, where it receives real-time noise cancelation processing across various environments. The system automatically self-adjusts to the environment around you and turns up the cancelation on loud subway trains and turning it off in quiet areas. The NC Optimizer measures the size of your head and the shape of your ears to produce the optimal noise-blocking seal whereas Atmospheric Pressure Optimization self-adjusts to the change in altitude during flying.
The battery provides 30 hours of non-stop playtime with noise canceling on so you’ve got enough juice to get you across the country on a flight, over a multiple-day camping excursion, or through a full week of commuting to the job without having to be recharged. Quick charging offers five hours of playtime with only 10 minutes of being plugged in, ideal if you slept in late and must run out the door. The headset connects with Bluetooth 5.0 as well as is compatible with Sony’s LDAC codec that streams high-res sound both wireless from select Android phones. Multipoint connectivity enables you to pair two devices at the same time, so your headset automatically switches between your laptop as well as phone based on the one that requires audio.
The touch controls on the right ear cup handle all your easy: Swipe up or down to change the volume, swipe forward or backward to skip tracks, tap once to start or pause, and double-tap to jump ahead. Quick Attention is activated whenever you cover the right ear cup with your hand, instantly reducing the volume and admitting ambient sound so you can quickly converse without taking the headphones off. The Speak-to-Chat feature goes one step further by automatically pausing your tunes and turning on the ambient mode whenever it recognizes that you’ve begun to speak. Five internal microphones collaborate with enhanced audio signal processing to capture your voice clearly during phone use, even in loud spaces.
What’s more, the ear cups feature synthetic leather padding that sits nicely against your skin and the cups are actually slightly bigger compared to the last-gen to fit a wider range of ear shapes comfortably. The padding on the headband spreads the weight out nicely across the top of the head, though the padding is thinner compared to previous headband padding. At 9 ounces, the headphones are lightweight enough to be worn throughout the day without hunching. The ear cups swivel to lay flat to fit into the included hard-shell carrying case, protecting them during transport as well as keeping the charging cable tidy.
Sound quality produces a warm and bass-emphasizing signature that suits commercial music tastes such as hip-hop, electronic, and hard rock. The bass snaps hard with proper depth in the sub-bass range without engulfing the mids and treble completely. The high frequencies sound crisp and clear with additional detail compared to what you get with Bose headphones, with a wider soundstage that makes the music seem larger and more encompassing.
At $198 rather than $348, this is the lowest price these headphones have ever seen. The Sony XM4 might be superseded now by the new XM5/XM6 versions but the enhancements in the new one are evolutionary at best, and it costs much more. You’re still essentially receiving the same noise canceling ability, battery life, and audio that made these the top-selling premium headphones for years. There is no reason to pay the premium with the XM4 providing this kind of performance at nearly half the cost of the competitor headphones.
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