Sony WF-1000XM3 Review

The 3-Minute Sony WF-1000XM3 Review

The Specifics

Features & Design: 5/5 | Performance: 5/5 | Value: 4.5/5 | Battery Life: 5/5

Effectiveness:

If you’re a businessman with a busy routine and noise cancellation is your priority, a student who takes many buses and subways to get to his college, or a normal person just in need of a gadget that can let you enjoy your music in peace without the interference of any outside noise! Sony has just done the work for you! It has just come up with its new and advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) Headphones, WF-1000XM3.

The Wireless and handy headphones feature a new HD Noise Cancelling ANC processor, the QN1e. The processor facilitates 24-bit audio signal processing while acting as a DAC (Digital to Audio Converter). The headphones have Digital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE HX), which is a piece of software that basically functions as a DAC and Amplifier.

It serves the purpose of amplifying compressed lo-fidelity sound to “bring them closer to the quality of high-resolution audio”. This feature combined with the Noise cancellation property of the headphones provides you with the best fidelity sounds. The headphones have two modes namely Noise Cancellation and Ambient Sound modes that allow you to both cancel the outside noise and enjoy your music or let the outside voice in if you want.

Build and comfort:

Sony has paid due attention to the design of the new WF-1000XM3. The capsule-shaped earbuds come in a chunky charging case. They have a bit of bulk to them but don’t feel cumbersome and come in two amazing colors; Silver and Black.

They fit vertically into the charging case with the Sony logo pointing downwards. The earbuds are quite portable and rest completely and comfortably in the ear owing to the fact that they are ergonomically designed to make contact with “three different points” on your ear to give a secure and comfortable fit.

Then they also have a high resistance surface made of rubber that keeps the headphones locked in your ear so that they can’t slip out of the ear during work-out. Sony offers these noise-canceling headphones with several ear-tip sizes if the default option doesn’t fit well. The earbuds have a glossy touchpad on the exterior that allows you to control various functions of the buds.

Functions:

The Earbuds operate via Bluetooth 5.0 and support a 10-meter wireless range which gives you an impressive connection strength because of advanced antenna placement. The touchpad on the exterior allows you to play and pause music, access your voice assistant, change songs and switch between the two modes it offers. By default, Double tapping the left earbud alternates between noise canceling and ambient sound modes, while double-tapping the right skips tracks. By long pressing the left earbud you can decrease the volume to let the ambient noise through to order a drink on the plane or listen to any announcement.

You can also remove any earbud and the proximity sensor will automatically stop the music. With the Google Assistant, you can set alarms and reminders, listen to notifications or connect with friends. With the Sony Connect App, you can also customize the sound via the EQ settings.

Charging:

On a full charge which takes 1.5 hours, the headphones offer 6 hours of power with the noise cancellation mode working and 8 hours without it. The handy charging case, which takes 3.5 hours for charging, can further provide a “Three times” charge that can easily keep you going for 24 hours. Furthermore, a 10-minute quick charge in the charging case can provide you 90 minutes of fun.

Cons:

Some downsides to the Earbuds include zero sweat resistance, which can prove to be a major bummer while you’re working out in the gym or during the summers. Moreover, the capsules stick out of your ear quite a bit but this can be ignored due to its tri-hold build.