Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones with Mic for Phone-Call and Alexa Voice Control, Black WH1000XM4

I was flying from Chicago Midway and got placed with kids all around me. The kids in front of me were screaming and fighting over an iPad, screaming and stomping. Behind me was a baby no more than 2-3 months old, absolutely not having it. The poor thing was crying and screaming consistently for almost the whole flight.

The ambient sound penetration during noise cancelation on the XM4 model is much more noticeable than the XM3 model. I think the additional cushion around the ear allows for greater space between the ear and the speaker which possibly allows for more ambient sound to leak in. I still have my XM3s and was able to do a side by side comparison. No amount of adjusting/optimizing seemed to correct this problem which is really a bummer because the noise cancelation on the xm3s was what made my jaw drop the first time I used them. I didnt notice much difference in sound quality, perhaps the XM4 beat out the XM3 slightly, but not noticeable enough to warrant even the reduced prime-day deal price. Ive returned this pair and maybe Ill think about reinvesting in the XM3 model.

The noise canceling features on these headphones are excellent, but theyre not that comfortable. I usually dont have comfort problems with headphones, and I find that these headphones put too much pressure on the top of my head--even when I adjust them and make them bigger.

I was trying to find a more comfortable headphone than my Sony WH-1000XM2 and was looking at Bose QC 35 II and recently released Sony XM4. Below are the pros and cons of each,

The noise cancellation isn’t really well induced like the first generation. The product is overpriced so I’m going to return it.

Positives:

V.3 is better than V.2, except multiple reviewers (including ourselves), find V.3 has unusably poor telephone conversation quality. We are not retaining this V.4 long enough to discern its telephone call quality.

Like the sound quality and the Noise Cancellation feature. Its Bluetooth connectivity is awsome - it automatically connects to my last device (with my previous headphone, I had to manually connect to the headphone from my devices).

Playing music from my iPhone it’s the best wireless headphone at this price point. When connected to other devices thee is lag. I connected it to my Apple TV and the audio and idea wouldn’t sync. This could be due to the fact it only has Bluetooth 4.0 but this is a dealbreaker for me and I’m forced to send the back. My AirPods Pro work just fine with no lag.

Had these for a while and the ANC works great until you get a small amount of moisture in the earcup which causes clicking, static and feedback. The moisture is usually from temperature difference between your head and the ambient room temperature, but is made worse if you use the headphones after taking a shower. Turning off ANC makes the problem go away but not exactly why I bought them.