- #AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 UPGRADE#
- #AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 FULL#
- #AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 PRO#
- #AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 BLUETOOTH#
Disabling DSEE Extreme brought back most of the fine details in instrumentation, as well some of the dynamic range, but it sat the vocals back down into the mix. On the flip side, vocal tracks were far more present in the mix, not so much as to enable a depth separation from the instrumentation, but more like a mix of EQ boosting and stronger compression. In classic jazz tracks like “So What,” from Miles Davis, I noticed small details around the finger work on the upright bass were less present, and the high transients from the horns and drummer’s hi-hat brushes were slightly compressed. In Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” the processing muted details in the fantastic acoustic guitar track-characteristics such as fingers sliding on the guitar neck, and the reverb that hangs overhead were diminished in the mix, lessening the beautiful depth of the soundscape. Sony hypes this hard, so I was surprised to discover that for me, enabling it had the opposite of the promised effect: Subtle details in the music-particularly at higher frequencies played at lower volume-were lost.
#AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 UPGRADE#
I’ve already mentioned Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio technology, which is an upgrade over the DSEE HX tech present in the older WH-1000XM3. LDAC support is more commonly found on high-res digital audio players (you’ll find TechHive’s top picks in DAPs here).
#AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 PRO#
The device you use for playback will also need to support your codec of choice, of course, so I relied mostly on a OnePlus 8 Pro smartphone for the task, as it’s one of few that do. I found LDAC to be superior to the other two, so I used that primarily for this review.
#AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 BLUETOOTH#
Like its older sibling, the WH-1000XM4 supports the SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs in addition to LDAC, but there is no support for any of Qualcomm’s aptX codecs. Sony touts three other features that it says enable the WH-1000XM4 to deliver a high-end audio performance: The aforementioned new algorithm running on Sony’s QN1 processor, support for Bluetooth 5.0 and Sony’s own LDAC codec, and Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio technology, which uses artificial intelligence-Sony’s Edge-AI-to restore in real time information that’s been lost when you’re listening to tracks that were compressed using lossy codecs such as MP3. Unfortunately, Quick Attention mode cannot be defeated, and there were a few times when I accidentally triggered it while adjusting the fit.
I didn’t use this feature much, preferring instead to take the headphones off. This Quick Attention mode was present in the previous model and is activated when you place your hand over the right ear cup. This is also useful when you’re at an airport and need to listen for a boarding call. Sony also provides ways to quickly override noise cancellation, pause or lower the volume of your music, and pipe in ambient sound if you need to stop and speak to someone without removing the headphones. It’s a great system and the app lets you fine-tune these settings to your heart’s content nonetheless, I quickly discovered that I preferred manually triggering my ANC settings using the Custom button. If you’re walking, the headphones will pipe in some ambient sound to improve your situational awareness (so you don’t get run over by a bus, for example).
#AMBIENT SOUND CONTROL SONY XM4 FULL#
If you’re at home and relatively stationary, you’ll get full cancellation so you can concentrate on your music. These headphones sense where you’re wearing them and what you’re doing, and they tailor their noise cancellation accordingly. I appreciate the Ambient Sound Control feature in Sony’s companion app that lets you tailor noise cancellation to your situation. The Sony Headphones Connect app features plenty of customization for noise cancelling. This feature alone would make me consider upgrading from the previous version, and not just because it should extend battery life. When I returned the headphones to my ears, the music quickly resumed with no problem. I tried to trick the sensor by placing the headphones on my thigh, tightly around my neck, and even wore them like a crown and I never triggered a false positive. The music resumes instantly when you put them back over your ears. My favorite new feature on the WH-1000XM4 is a proximity sensor that detects when you take the cans off, so as to automatically pause playback.
The stock USB-C cable charged the cans within a couple hours.
Here again, Sony promises its optional power adapter will deliver the same quick-charge feature that provides five hours of listening time after just 10 minutes of charging, but Sony didn’t send that component, so I wasn’t able to test that claim. Sony claims the same 30 hours of battery life with noise cancelling enabled, and with my heavy mixed usage over the course of my review, I found the battery to last almost as long as the previous pair. The carrying case is plenty tough and has some nice touches.
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