Can true wireless headphones also be headphones with great noise cancellation and good sound? We check in
What is it?
Sony WF-1000XM3 – A true wireless headset with long runtime and active noise cancellation that adapts to the user's hearing and environment.
What do they look like and what is included in the package?
Sony WF-1000XM3 – This is a pair of rather weighty (8.5 each) dynamic vacuum headphones for their form factor. For comparison, AirPods Pro weigh 5.4 g.
Available in black and silver (but onin the images it appears as white) color. The ones we reviewed were black. Their logo and microphone trim are made of paint in a beautiful copper shade. In my opinion, they look a lot more expensive than those same Apple headphones. In addition to the logo and ear designation, there are still so many markings on them, as if the creators wanted to leave a letter on them for posterity in encrypted form.
Each earphone accommodates two microphones, andon the front – There is also a touch control panel. She is very sensitive. It works even through strands of hair and sometimes by accident when you need to adjust the earphone in your ear. It is also very glossy and fingerprints can be seen on it at some lighting angles.
Since the headphones are quite heavy, it is importantchoose the right size of ear tips and find the optimal position in the ear, otherwise they will fall out. I dealt with the first one quickly. The kit includes four silicone pairs and three foam ones. Only the smallest silicone ones suited me; all the foam ones didn’t fit – either too small and fell out due to size, or too large and slipped out when straightened in the ear.
To find the correct position in the ear, it is betterfollow the instructions on the box. Moreover, they must not only be inserted into the ear in the correct way (with the logo towards the face), but it is also important to scroll inside. Otherwise, they will fall out and the sound will not go exactly where it should. Even in the correct position, the headphones still fell out from time to time, 90% of the time – if she touched it with her hood or her hand while straightening her hair, it would stick out from her ear. And this is definitely not an option for sports and other excessive physical activity. Walking, driving, in transport such as metro, train, plane – their ideal use case.
Like other models in their class, these receivedComes with a charging case. It is made of plastic and consists of two parts. The main one is made of black plastic, the lid – made of painted in the same color as the logo on the headphones themselves. The paint wears off quickly, especially if carried in a bag with keys, and after a few weeks it looks not at all luxurious. And he's also big.
Inside the headphones are attached with magnets, soeven if you open the box and turn it over, they will not fall out. It opens with a pleasant characteristic click. One of those little things that make you feel like you’re holding a low-budget device in your hands.
How to use them?
There is an NFC module on the case, so there is no difficulty with the connection. Sony has an application for controlling the WF-1000XM3, but in principle you can do without it.
By default, the WF-1000XM3 work with noise reduction, andTouch buttons on both sides control playback. To pause/play – one click to skip track forward – two, back – three to call the intelligent assistant (by the way, Samsung, for example, offers two to choose from, Google and Bixby) – long press. If you remove the earphone from your ear, playback will stop, but you can start it manually (or you can cancel this shutdown in the application settings). By the way, if you take both out, the music will start playing again and will play until you turn it off or put it in the case.
The application is needed to fine-tune the workequalizer or noise reduction for yourself and change the functions for the controls. For example, you can assign noise reduction mode control to one of the panels. Sony has as many as 18 of them! You can configure modes for walking, running, transport.
I was initially completely comfortable withdefault, probably because there was no particular need for the application. After installation, I tested other modes. For example, you can muffle voices or the sound of vehicles more / less. Surely there are users whose lifestyle will require such fine-tuning, but I chose to leave the noise reduction at maximum and just listen to music more quietly. Then, especially loud sounds are still audible and you can react to them, but the load on the hearing is less.
The noise canceler is really noticeable, especiallyafter you turn it off. You can also enable adaptive mode of operation in the application. In this mode, the headphones listen to the environment and independently change the settings of the noise reduction system to the sounds around. At the time of switching, the sound disappears briefly. At first it seemed interesting to me, then the loss of sound every 10-15 minutes (and this happened when changing transport, walking, being indoors) started to get angry and I just turned it off.
What is not provided by the controls is the volume control, and this is quite inconvenient. All the same, you have to get your smartphone out of your pocket from time to time.
It seemed to me that the most cosmic function inthese Sony headphones – playback sound in 360 Reality Audio mode. To set it up, the application asks you to take a photo of the user’s ears and send it to the server for processing. They say that they adjust the sound individually to the ear of the headset owner! One problem – The function only works with nugs.net and 360 by Deezer applications. Both – with a paid subscription. So it was not possible to test it.
The application displays the charge status foreach earphone. Perhaps this is logical given the fact that they can be listened separately. It is interesting that when you press the playback control button on one of the headsets, the sound signal is sent to it and the reaction begins with it. It seems a trifle, but it works on the perception of the model.
What is the sound?
Sony WF-1000XM3 equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 (A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP). There is support for AAC and SBC, but aptX, LDAC and LHDC are not. I used them with OPPO Reno2 and Samsung Galaxy A50 smartphones (both come with Bluetooth 5.0).
In the application, you can select the priority of qualitysound or headphone jack. I chose the sound. There was no problem with the stability of sound transmission with OPPO Reno2, but there were a lot of problems with the Galaxy A50, especially when the smartphone was in a down jacket pocket or in a bag worn on a down jacket. Sometimes it’s like behind a concrete wall at the other end of the apartment. By the way, the Galaxy A50 had stability problems with the OPPO Enco Q1 headset. Therefore, it seems to me that this is more likely a lack of a smartphone than a headset. Switching to connection priority mode helped to get rid of it.
Although wireless technologiesToday, any true wireless headphones – allow you to transmit sound with sufficient quality. This is still not a solution for a music lover. Sony WF-1000XM3 – The headset is more for the sake of style, convenience and technology; it does not have such a wide range of supported codecs.. Adjusted for this, I cannot find fault with the sound quality. I liked that the sound in them is quite clear, there is volume, the bass is felt (I don’t like a lot of bass, what this model can do was enough for me to be completely happy).
Compare with Apple headphones, unfortunatelythere was no opportunity. At hand were only my usual wired earbuds costing about 800 UAH and a wireless noise-cancelling headset from OPPO. Noise reduction works better here. The sound is also more interesting from Sony, but there is no way to compare them directly – different price categories (Enco Q1 are half the price) and form factor. Compared to my fairly budget, albeit wired, headphones, the sound is also more interesting. The equalizer is noticeable, although I preferred to stay on the default mode because when I pulled up the top or bottom, the sound became that harsher characteristic of wireless headsets.
The Sony WF-1000XM3 has a large volume reserve.I often listen to music close to the maximum capacity, but here I was limited to about 50%. With rare exceptions, for example, the subway, where the sound of the train breaks through a little, then I turned the sound up to 70%. But they are still much better than without or with other non-noise canceling headphones. On the street you can only hear it when the car is very close and at good speed. It seems to me that this is also part of the work of the algorithms; they could have “cut out” this noise more, but the application states that the headphones leave the sound that is considered important. If there is no busy traffic nearby, then it seems as if the world around does not exist – such silence.
You can also use the Sony WF-1000XM3 as a headset. They cope normally, I can’t say that there were any problems or discomfort. The interlocutors also did not complain.
How is the battery?
The manufacturer promises up to 6 hours of headset operationand until 18 – still from charging in the case. The charge status can be viewed in the application or listened to when connecting headphones. The case charges using a USB Type-C cable (included). As for autonomy, it is difficult to measure it in this format. It turned out that I charged the headphones a little less than a couple of times a week. In 99% of cases I listened with noise reduction. I usually listen to music on the road, usually from one and a half to four hours a day. Rarely at home, but sometimes when I’m cooking, it lasts for about half an hour. It was not possible to drain the headphone battery in a day without using the charging case in the case for one simple reason – They are too easy to lose, so every time I took the headphones off, I immediately put them in the case. The case, by the way, can be recharged separately.
What other options are there?
Closest competitor – Apple AirPods Pro.In terms of technical characteristics, the models are almost identical; the Apple headset can also adapt to the ear, offers several noise reduction modes, and costs the same. The last joke, of course. We have lived to see the days when you can buy a Sony – this means saving a little, the price for this model in official retail is – 7500 UAH AirPods Pro – 8000 UAH
If the true wireless format is not that important to you,As the reliability of fastening paired with noise reduction, you can pay attention to the good old format of Bluetooth headsets with a neck mount. For example, we quite liked the Sony WI-C600N – headset-collar with a price tag of 3000 UAH. However, this is also not a budget pleasure.
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In the dry residue
Sony WF-1000XM3 is not a cheap toy, but in thisIn this case, the price is fully justified by the manufacturability of the device. Despite their weight and size, the headphones turned out to be quite comfortable in life, although not for all scenarios (in winter in hoods and hats, as well as during sports training, this will be a so-so solution) and they have practically no alternatives on the market, except for the recently introduced Apple headphones (we already have a review of AirPods Pro).
3 reasons to buy Sony WF-1000XM3:
- long battery life;
- excellent operation of the noise reduction system;
- large volume margin and good sound quality;
2 reasons not to buy Sony WF-1000XM3:
- you need headphones for sports including;
- price factor.
Key Specifications of the Sony WF-1000XM3 Headphone
Weight
8.5 g each
Emitter Design and Diameter
dynamic, 6 mm
Frequency range
20 – 20000 Hz
Sensitivity
106±3 dB
Wireless
NFC, Bluetooth 5.0 A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP
Functions
noise reduction, ambient (listening to surrounding sounds)
Declared battery life
up to 6 hours music playback with noise canceling / up to 8 hours without noise canceling + 18 hours with charging case
Contents of delivery
USB-C charging cable, three sets of silicone eartips, three sets of foam eartips, storage and charging case
Sony WF-1000XM3
True wireless noise canceling headset
True wireless noise canceling headset,which adapts to the environment. Among the advantages – form factor, battery life (up to a day, taking into account recharging in the case), high-quality sound. Disadvantages – the price factor (typically high for this class of devices) and the fact that it is not suitable for all use scenarios, which is also due to the form factor
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