The Best Developer or Creative Headphone: Sony WH-1000XM4
I was using Sennheiser PXC 550 and Bose Quiet Comfort 35II. They are not anywhere near of Sony WH-1000XM4
I was using Sennheiser PXC 550 and Bose Quiet Comfort 35II. They are not anywhere near Sony WH-1000XM4
I always like Sony — maybe it is coming from my childhood as I grew in the years that Walkman was cool and you need to have Sony Walkman (not talking about the mobile phone). For a long time, I haven’t had any direct Sony product other than PlayStation. I don’t know the reason but European brands are generally easy to reach and their customer service is easier to have.
For sound products, especially headphones (inner or over-ear), I was always a big fan of Sennheiser products. Their plain and simple adjustments had made me happy for a long time. I had the following Sennheiser premium products after my student life :)
Momentum Over-Ear
Momentum True Wireless
PXC 550
All these products have second or third version now but I stopped following Sennheiser and buying their products respectively:
It was not over-ear, earcups were simply very small and painful. I bought without testing because I believed their quality
Charging case, holding a charge, the mobile app is simply a disaster. They also accepted and developed the second version.
Not too bad but the mobile app is a total disaster, no update option for newer technologies. Its touch controls were making me crazy.
After I stopped buying Sennheiser products (I sold all of them by half of their prices), I bought Bose 700 to my wife and took her Bose Quiet Comfort 35II. For me, it is the second-best ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) headphone but I also sold it. There is not any specific reason, I just created a budget to buy Sony WH-1000XM4. In general, I was always feeling like inside space shuttle (strange noise and feeling) and the sound was not perfect while I was using Bose Quiet Comfort 35II. It was kind of bulky and although physical buttons are making your life easier, on the other hand, it was like this:
OK OK, I am exaggerating but you got me :)
Why is Sony WH-1000XM4 so cool?
Because it is a Sony! If you were born after 2000, you cannot understand me and it is OK, I will give you more information. I won’t give technical info and specs here as my intention is not a review of the product but usage. I would also like to say at the very beginning: I am not an audiophile and I don’t know who s/he is. Everybody says I am not an audiophile and when somebody says I am, I cannot align with his/her taste about sound. I listen to classical music, metal music (especially Iron Maiden), pop, rock, jazz, and just sounds (like an app called Endel). I have a very broad taste and depends on my mood and what I am working on, it changes. As a result, I cannot say that this headphone is good for a specific music genre because I like the generalist approach. There are a variety of EQ modes and it is enough for me. I know half-open special tree headphones but I don’t have this amount of budget as well as an environment that everybody would like to listen to what I am listening to.
It is cool because:
1 | Bluetooth connection is just breeze
I haven’t had such a smooth Bluetooth connection for all parties: iPhone and Macbook Pro. It supports 2 device connections at the same time so while listening to music using your laptop, you can answer your call from a mobile phone and it switches automatically.
2 | Wearing Detection
If you take it off, it powers off automatically
If you take it off for something, it pauses music and whenever you put again, music continues (different than power off)
3 | Adapts Noise Cancelling
It checks the environment, GPS data from the phone, and adapts noise-canceling and ambient sound levels automatically. One drawback: If you are using GPS data, then it doesn’t adapt automatically. If you are coding late in the night without so much ambient sound and if you enabled this feature, you can hear if your baby is crying :)
4 | 360 Reality Audio
If you want Miles Davis to play next to you, no problem, just listen to Miles Davis songs which are enabled for 360 Reality Audio. Well, there are not so many options and songs but still, it is something. There are 3 services currently: 360 by Deezer, Tidal, and nugs.net. I am using Tidal Hifi and Sony sends you extra gift for these services — Just check your headphone box:
5 | Shut up — I am talking
There is an option that whenever you begin to talk, headphones switch automatically to Ambient Sound mode (transfer the sound of the environment from microphone to headphones). This is a great feature especially when you are working in the office. Of course, it understands your voice ;) If you would like to sing even without caring your voice quality like me, you should disable this feature because it recognizes your voice again.
6 | The perfect sound quality for Wireless ANC Headphone
The new sound processor is called the DSEE Extreme engine. It tries to process lossy sound files (like MP3) as a lossless sound file (like FLAC). I am saying it tries because I cannot understand the difference between all music genres. It is noticeable for classical music but could not notice any effect on metal music.
7 | Extremely comfortable to wear by hours
My head shape is proper, not so big not so small but there is a drawback on top. I am a “pear”:
As a result, if the headphone band is not good, I am having a headache on top of my head and getting total discomfort. If the headphone shape is not proper (too small, too big, or too tight), again, I am having pain problems. If the headphone is heavy, even I put a little buffer by arranging the band, it slips down and puts a lot of pressure on top of my head again.
Sony WH-1000XM4 has a nearly perfect shape in every aspect: Weight, tightness, size, and padding on top and earcups. I wore it for 12 hours once and I didn’t feel any pain and not extreme sweat in 28 Celsius. I am saying it has nearly perfect shape because the adjustable band needs a bit more attention and smaller steps.
Of course, it may not be good for every head shape.
8 | 30 Hours Listening: Bluetooth + Active Noise Cancelling
There is no contender in this area. I am charging my headphones once or twice at most in the whole week. I am making 10–12 meetings in 3 days and full focus on technical stuff on 2 days. It is like cable headphones — I am forgetting to charge and voice lady is warning me.
9 | App is Good Enough
It is not like ancient Sennheiser apps — I can log in backup/restore services with Apple login as well as update the headphone so smoothly without any gimmicks. Very simple, clean and all features are available. I cannot say it is perfect but at least they are trying to do better apps.
10 | Colors
Currently, there are 2 colors: Black and Silver. I am not so big fan of rose gold color but the black version has rose gold touches as sensors and Sony logo as well as the zipper on the carrying case. It doesn’t disturb me and I like the kind of mat finish of the color in general. It doesn’t seem like cheap plastic black. I don’t know the silver color and couldn’t see it in real life yet.
Cool, right? Hold on! This is one of the most expensive Bluetooth ANC headphones in the market. If you would like to pay that amount of money, you won’t regret it. In my previous experiences with Sennheiser, money doesn’t define the quality but for Sony WH-1000XM4, you are getting what you paid. One last thing: There is no official IP rating for this headphone so if you have a plan to swim or run with it, I advise you not to do it.
When someone says good things about any consumer electronics, especially in this price range, the reader thinks that we are getting free product or kind of a discount. I don’t. I paid the full amount of money and I pre-ordered it for the first time in my whole life for anything. You can understand how much I struggled with Sennheiser.
