Sony Wireless Headphones - WF-1000XM3

Sony WF-100XM3 (image credit presscentre.sony.co.uk)

★★★★☆
Why I brought these.

My Bose wired noise-cancelling buds broke after three years of use. I loved the sound quality and that they were wired; allowing unfiltered quality sound to get through without noise cancelling when I needed.

I saw reviews of these; citing excellent sound quality, and these reviews drove my purchase, in combination with a need to have quick to access wireless headphones.

What I love
The sound quality is staggeringly good. I use these mainly with my iPhone. For years I have been put off buying wireless headphones due to the poor sound quality transmitted by Bluetooth in general. I have tried many alternatives that seem to overcompensate for its limitations with false adjustments to sound profiles (for eg overtly heavy bass/muted treble).

These just transmit an excellent sound. I am now wondering about my self-confessed obsession, as an audiophile with a previously unhinged belief, that only wired headphones can be considered for serious music listening. I cannot stress how great it is to be on a tube, train, or outdoors and have such an extraordinary escape into music with these discrete headphones.

The discreteness, yes. I am deterred from the distinctive wireless Apple headphones because I think they still look awkward on some, their colour is far too contrasting and is their proportion is not the most flattering.

The connection is consistent, I have not had cutouts walking around the room. The battery life is good, though not excellent. The case is very sturdy and pleasant to both hold and use. I do wonder, however, about the lifespan of the hinge; time will tell.

Sound Analysis
These were balanced perfectly for my listening needs out the box. The tones were not harsh nor were they too bass heavy. Details in music are pristine and clear. You can escape into another world with these. Some expensive wired buds I own now sound dull in comparison. I set the accompanying app to prioritise sound quality. There is the ability to adjust the sound profiles in App. This may be helpful to some.

Somethings to consider regarding the noise cancelling
The noise cancelling ability of these is superb when listing to music. However, if you want these for just listening to silence and blockout background noice, these may not be for you. Peoples voices and higher pitched noises still transfer when there is no source playing through them. I will be considering purchasing over the ear versions for future flights. These were not ideal for sleeping on flight.

What I dislike; ie why not 5 *s
These do not connect initially as seamlessly to iOS as Beats or AirPods can. Once they have been linked, however, I flip them out of their case and they are often connected as soon as I place them in my ears. So this is not an issue. It may be, however, if you want to use them frequently between different devices.

Call quality is excellent for me, as the listener, but I often have to switch to a normal headphone or the phone directly sometimes. This is because the microphone is not great for the quiet voice with which I like to talk on the phone and whoever I am talking to sometimes brings it up. This does not concern me personally too much; I brought these for sound quality and may have considered an alternative if calling was a priority for me. It is a small frustration, however and should be considered.

The fit was difficult to get correct, I had to try lots of the included tips ( and their are lots included) before I was satisfied. Also, there is a trick to getting them in properly to ensure best noise cancelling and fit. This was demonstrated to me by a Sony Rep, thank goodness. These would have disappointed if I had not known the proper technique.

Summary
Purchase if your priority is to have the best sounding wireless buds you can buy.
★★★★☆

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