The Sony WH-1000XM4 build upon the impressive functionality of the WH-1000XM3 by adding a number of new features, all of which successfully enhance the user experience. Of course, these are refurbished, so you don’t get the same warranty as you would buying them new, even if they are certified Sony refurbished. Your return period lasts for 30 days, and any problems that arise after that will have to be dealt with on your own. Still, if you want a pair of flagship headphones, it might just be worth the plunge. The audio quality delivered by the WH-1000XM4’s 40mm dynamic drivers is nothing short of superb. No matter what genre of music I threw at them, they handled everything with aplomb. Touch controls make a return from the last generation and remain a shining example of how to implement them successfully. Doubling tapping the outer surface of the right earcup plays or pauses your audio while holding your finger to the touch sensor for two seconds engages your voice assistant of choice. Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri are all supported.

SONY WH-1000XM4 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling - Currys SONY WH-1000XM4 Wireless Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling - Currys

I’m Adam Conway, an Irish technology fanatic with a BSc in Computer Science and I'm XDA’s Lead Technical Editor. My Bachelor’s thesis was conducted on the viability of benchmarking the non-functional elements of Android apps and smartphones such as performance, and I’ve been working in the tech industry in some way or another since 2017. They may be pricey but they’re worth every penny: put simply, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are the best over-ear wireless headphones on the market. Sony WH-1000XM4 review: What you need to know At present, it’s only available through 360 by Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL and I tested it using the latter’s 360 Reality Audio playlist. Individual aspects of songs sound like they’re coming from different positions around your head but the technology works far better on certain songs than others. To say that the Sony WH-1000XM4 have a lot to live up to would be an understatement. Their predecessors, the WH-1000XM3, have sat proudly atop many of our best headphones lists since their release in late 2018 and, despite numerous attempts, not one other set of cans has been able to usurp them as the kings of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones. Until now. Customers may need to update their Sony | Headphones Connect app for this software to be activated.Adaptive Sound Control automatically adjusts ambient sound settings to suit your location and behaviour By default, music resumes playing 30 seconds after your conversation ends in Speak-to-Chat mode. This timeframe can be customized using the Sony | Headphones Connect app. Industry-leading noise cancelation - This means you hear every word, note, and tune with incredible clarity, no matter your environment. Refurbished items are A Graded Refubished and fully tested and repaired where necessary by an authorised Sony repair centre.

Sony WH-1000XM4 review: The best ANC headphones just got Sony WH-1000XM4 review: The best ANC headphones just got

The Sony WH-1000XM3 were best-in-class when it came to noise cancellation but this model is even better at regulating the amount of external noise that makes it through to your ears. With noise cancelling in full effect, the WH-1000XM4 let you slip away into your own audio world, free of all-but the loudest and highest-pitched annoyances.

Customer reviews

At 254g, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are a mere one gram lighter than the WH-1000XM3, but that weight is distributed more thoughtfully. The plastic earcup housing has been slimmed down in favour of adding additional padding to the pleather lining the inside of the cups, while the headband padding is slightly thinner. The section connecting the headband to the earcups has been shortened too, resulting in a fit that is better contoured to your head. It felt as though Britney Spears was in the room with me as she worked through the provocative “Toxic”, while the intro to “Sexual Healing” had me looking over my shoulder as Marvin Gaye’s whispers for me to “get up, get up, get up, get up” and “wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up” darted between my left and right ears. *NSYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me” was less impactful, however, and my listening experience wasn’t all that different from when I listened to the regular version.

Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - 30 Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - 30

Quality of headphones is great, but there was no indication that it would not come with any of the original peripherals? Sony’s HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 isn’t just good at drowning out the outside world though; it’s also extremely smart. When you first put the WH-1000XM4 on, you’ll need to optimise the noise-cancelling via the Sony Headphones app. The headphones detect the shape and size of your head, your hairstyle, whether you wear glasses and the surrounding air pressure to calibrate a noise-cancelling profile tailored to you. There are four adaptive sound levels: sitting/standing still, which Sony oddly terms “staying”, walking, running and transport – and the headphones will automatically switch between them depending on your actions. Each can be customised on a sliding scale ranging from “Noise Cancelling” to “Ambient 20” and the headphones’ ability to detect what I was doing and its surroundings proved uncannily accurate. HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, Integrated Processor V1 and multiple microphones for distraction-free listeningHD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, Bluetooth Audio SoC and a dual noise sensor let you listen without distractions My box just had headphones in it. No charger. No 35.mm headphone cable. No case. No airplane adaptor. Premium Sound - Enjoy High-Resolution Audio content in exceptional quality, as close as possible to that of a dedicated wired connection.

refurbished Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones for - CNET I tried refurbished Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones for - CNET

The Sony WH-1000XM4 take everything the third-generation model did so well and crank it up another notch. Audio quality and noise cancellation have been upgraded, while intelligent new features improve the user experience with no compromises elsewhere.

Improved audio, more effective noise cancellation and smart new features make the Sony WH-1000XM4 the over-ear headphones to beat