Sony WF-1000XM3 Review

Sony WF-1000XM3 Review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2019 winner. Sony raises the bar for true wireless earbuds Tested at £220 / $230

OUR VERDICT

• A new benchmark for true wireless earbuds, the WF-1000XM3s combine effective active noise-cancelling with a true sense of musicality

FOR

• Musical sound
• Good noise-cancelling
• Excellent battery life
• Snug fit

AGAINST

• No aptX HD support

We can’t consider many pairs of headphones as eagerly anticipated because the Sony WF-1000XM3 true wireless earbuds. Their predecessors, the WF-1000X launched back in 2017, were a superior-sounding alternative to the distinctly average-sounding Apple AirPods of the time.

But two years may be a while within the tech world, and now there’s no shortage of options if you’re within the in-ear market trying to find a pair of the simplest wireless headphones. Not only has Apple upped its game with new AirPods, it seems every manufacturer and its headphone-wearing dog wants a bit of the action.

That’s great news for the buyer though – features, sound quality and expectations are increasing all the time and makers need to work extra hard to face out from the gang. Thankfully, the Sony WF-1000XM3s manage to try to just that, and for all the proper reasons.

Build and Luxury

Sony has swerved the bullet-like appearance of some wireless in-ears like the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1, and has also shied far away from the hanging down teardrop designs favoured by the Apple AirPods and therefore the RHA TrueConnect.

You can see a small strand of DNA from the first WF-1000Xs, but to all or any intents and purposes, the WF-1000XM3s are a fresh design. Not as bulky because the Bose Soundsport Free buds, but almost as petite because the Melomania 1s, the Sonys lie somewhere in between. They’re available in Black and Platinum Silver – a deliberate move by Sony to bring the finishes in line with those offered for his or her WH-1000XM3 over-ear siblings.

The outer section of every earpiece is smooth plastic with a little, glossy, circular patch on the surface of both left and right buds. These patches are literally touch sensitive control pads; the functions vary counting on the earpiece.

Sony has implemented a replacement ‘Tri-hold structure’ for the WF-1000XM3, which focuses on three key points in your ear to offer the headphones better support. There’s even a special high-friction rubber on the surface of the most chamber to assist with stability.

Sony provides seven different sizes of earbud; four ‘hybrid silicone’ buds and three ‘triple-comfort’ buds, which feel slightly thicker than the quality ones. It’s an honest selection, and quite you get with many rivals. The headphones enter the ear at a small downward angle, you then need to twist them up to lock them in situ. The intrusion is kept to a minimum, but you continue to feel nicely isolated.

Overall, we discover them a cushty, balanced fit – snug without being too intrusive. They’re not aimed specifically at sporty types and gym-goers, though you’ll little question see many people wearing them there, except for less strenuous activities, like whacking a couple of golf balls down at the local golf range , they'll be ideal.

Features

At the guts of every earpiece lies a Sony QN1e HD noise-cancelling processor. It’s virtually just like the chip found within the Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM3 over-ear headphones. Sony claims this chip delivers a 40 per cent increase in noise-cancelling quality, compared to the WF-1000X.

It uses 24-bit processing (the contribute the over-ears is 32-bit) and claims to bring greater efficiency to the headphones, allowing better battery life. As is that the case with the Sony over-ears, the chip acts not only because the noise-cancelling processor, but it also handles DAC and analogue amplification duties. The Sonys support SBC and AAC codecs, but there’s no aptX HD Bluetooth do you have to own a compatible smartphone.

As is that the norm with true wireless earbuds, the Sony WF-1000XM3s accompany their own charging case. It’s quite chunky, compared to the compact cases that house the Apple AirPods or the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1s.

The case is narrower than the one for the outgoing WF-1000Xs, but marginally deeper and taller – little question partly thanks to the form and size of the new earpieces. The highest is hinged and colored in copper, which looks particularly striking when combined with the black finish of our review sample.

Sony has made big strides with the WF-1000XM3s’ battery life. You get six hours of playback as standard, while the case has enough power for an additional three charges, giving a complete of 24 hours when using Bluetooth and noise-cancelling together. If you’re caught short, just 10 minutes of charging time is enough to breathe 90 minutes of life into them.

Turn off the noise-cancelling and therefore the battery life jumps to eight hours, with the case bumping it up to a powerful total of 32 hours. The Apple AirPods are five hours per charge (+19 from the case) while the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless are four hours (+8 from the case). Only the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 buds, with nine hours battery life from the buds themselves, plus four additional charges from the case, can raise the bar. But none of these models are noise-cancelling earbuds.

There’s no battery indicator on the case here, but the red LED light on the front blinks rapidly if it doesn’t have enough juice to completely charge the headphones.

The Sony Headphones Connect app has been around for a short time but it gives a touch more control over a number of the functions of the WF-1000XM3s. you'll see the battery level of every earpiece and therefore the case, alter the built-in equalizer, enable Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant support and flip the functions of the touch controls – useful for any left-handers who feel easier this manner.

We’d recommend ensuring the Sound Quality Mode is about to prioritise sound quality rather than Bluetooth connection. We’d also experiment with the DSEE HX sound processor, which may be switched on or off. We like better to have the additional sparkle music seems to possess with it switched on, although we did find that battery life takes an additional hit with this turned on.

It’s rare to seek out a pair of headphones that implement touch controls flawlessly, but Sony has done an honest job. The target for your finger on each earpiece is sort of small, and that we find that holding the earpiece with forefinger and thumb and tapping together with your index may be a good technique.

Out of the box, the left control pad is for turning noise cancelling on or off (it’s on as default) and interesting the Ambient Sound mode, which allows during a bit more outside noise. Tap and hold to interact the fast Attention feature, allowing you to carry a conversation without having to pause your music or take them out.

The right pad is for playback controls. Single tap to play/pause, a double tap skips forward and triple hit skips back. Tap and hold to start out a conversation together with your virtual assistant of choice – Siri and Google Assistant are supported. Alternatively, removing one among the earpieces automatically pauses what you’re playing. Place it back in your ear and you’ll devour where you left off.

The controls take a touch time to urge wont to, particularly as there’s a little target for your fingers to aim for, but thankfully you don’t need to tap the pad right within the middle to urge a reaction.

In November 2019, Sony released a firmware update that now allows you to regulate volume through the touchpads. You only got to enter the Headphones Connect app to enable this feature and assign the function to an earbud.

Sound

Play Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car and therefore the Sony WF-1000XM3 wireless buds put together all the ingredients required to make a wonderfully musical sound. Instruments sound natural, believable and even as expressive and captivating as her emotive vocal.

There’s subtlety decidedly because the bass notes of the track rise and fall in intensity. Because the drum kit explodes into life for every chorus, the Sonys aren’t afraid to deliver each thwack with power and poise. This type of dynamic dexterity is tough to speak in big on-ear headphones, never mind small in-ear designs.

Switch to The XX’s I Dare You and therefore the WF-1000XM3s immediately lock into a rhythmic groove and show a powerful turn of pace. The track flows along effortlessly. Bass is weighty and wholesome, but punchy and agile too. Vocals are prominent, but don’t over power. There’s a true sense of musicality and balance.

Rock out with The Amazon’s End of Wonder and therefore the Sonys roll up their sleeves, delivering crisp drums, tight, textured riffs from the bass and electric guitars and an expressive vocal. The headphones follow the sway and swagger of the track and carve out the guitar solo with expert precision. You get a true pity the intensity and focus of every deliberate pluck.

We flit back and forth between the new model and therefore the refore the original WF-1000Xs and the new model sounds clearer, more open, dynamic and detailed. The extent of transparency judged nicely too – poor recordings aren’t dressed up, but better than average tracks really sing.

Part of the credit has got to go the noise cancelling on the WF-1000XM3s. It’s clearly a intensify and even without music playing you'll hear the headphones cancelling out more ground noise. They can’t match a correct pair of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones but it’s difficult to not be impressed with what Sony has managed to try to with such small earbuds.

In an effort to further enhance your listening experience, Sony has introduced a replacement Bluetooth chip for these in-ears and also altered how the headphones communicate both with one another and together with your music source. Sony claims the audio should reach both earpieces simultaneously, making for a more robust connection, and also minimising the likelihood of any audio delay and lip-sync issues when watching video. In fact, Sony claims a 75 per cent reduction in latency compared to the WF1000Xs.

We try the Sonys with a mix of content from Netflix, BBC iPlayer and YouTube. We discover no lip-sync issues with Top Gear because the headphones capture the excitable twangs of comedy duo Paddy and Freddie. It’s an equivalent with Netflix as we play a few of excerpts from the Umbrella Academy series. We experience a small audio delay when watching one YouTube clip, but with numerous potential reasons for that, we’re willing to offer the Sonys the advantage of the doubt.

Call quality is sweet, given the mics are on the earpieces and quite distance from your mouth, and you'll answer calls by tapping on either earpiece. A pair of wired earbuds with an in-line mic will give greater control over how you’re being heard, and the way much outside noise you permit through, but it’s hard to be too critical.

Verdict

Sony has really pulled something special out of the bag with the WF-1000XM3s. They sound excellent, battery life is up there with the simplest and that they are one among the sole pairs on the market to pack in active noise-cancelling and execute it so well.

The touch controls take a touch of getting wont to , and it might be nice to support aptX HD Bluetooth, but aside from that, you merely can't get a more musical and interesting performance from a pair of true wireless earbuds. We’re well and truly smitten.

SCORES

Sound 5

Features 4

Build 5

Comfort 5