Sony WF-1000XM4 Earbuds Review

• Active noise canceling: The isolation from the foam ear tips is supplemented by electronic noise cancellation that minimizes your perception of an outside sound.
• Ambient sound mode: This feature actively pipes in outside noises to allow you to, say, walk safely down a road with traffic.
• Touch controls: The body of the earbuds is touch-sensitive, so you can activate basic controls like pausing or restarting content or forwarding to the next track with just a light touch.
• Speak to Chat: In an unusual feature, these Sony earbuds listen for when you’re talking and momentarily pause your content to allow you to continue your conversation. 
• In-app equalization: You can adjust the sound profile of these Sony earbuds with a virtual graphic equalizer in the app, although the out-of-the-box sound is stellar.
• Android and iPhone compatibility: The Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds work fine with both iPhones and Android phones with easy pairing and access to a wide array of settings through the Sony app.

Our trained testers put the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds through their paces in our dedicated laboratory, using a sample purchased through regular retail channels, and I did an additional real-world evaluation using that same sample. 

Flat out, the best reason to buy the WF-1000XM4 earbuds is their superb sound quality. The other features of the earbuds work fine, although in some cases they’re a bit clunky or otherwise fall a bit short of their less expensive competitors in terms of functionality.

The Sony’s matte black case feels quite premium, and it charges with a USB-C connector. The earbuds are significantly larger than most, with a somewhat chunky body that’s touch-sensitive. I found it easy—too easy—to mute my music while adjusting the earbuds. I prefer the solid click of a button found on some other earbuds, like those made by Beats. 

The Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds’ ear tips are made of compressible foam instead of the silicone you’ll find in earbuds including Apple AirPods Pro. The tips form a tight seal, and in my first time using the Sonys, the right ear tip got stuck in my ear and I had to go to an urgent care facility to have it removed. The procedure took only a few seconds but cost a $30 copay. I’ve been more careful while removing the Sonys since then, and it hasn’t happened again.

On a positive note, the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds’ noise canceling is whisper quiet, with no background whooshing. Ambient mode also worked fine, allowing me to hear oncoming traffic as I was walking. The Speak to Chat feature automatically pauses your content when you start talking. It’s a nice idea, although I found that a cough or even chuckling at a joke on a podcast would usually pause the music at random, and I had to touch the earbud to resume it.

If all of this seems like damning the Sonys with faint praise, let’s be clear that none of these flaws is a deal breaker. And that’s because of the impressive sound these earbuds deliver.

One of the dirty secrets of audio is that the same qualities that make a pair of headphones exciting in the short run—sparkly high notes, booming bass—can make them annoying in the long run. 

But the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds deliver the very opposite. Their virtues are revealed slowly. At first, these earbuds don’t grab your attention, so it’s easy to put them on and, if you’re not listening carefully, wonder “What’s all the fuss about?”

But spend a little time with these Sony earbuds and your favorite music and their superb balance coupled with their ability to deliver detail come into focus. On "Going Home,” Leonard Cohen isn’t exactly singing, but the Sonys let you hear him e-nun-ci-ate every syllable. You can even hear the sound of Lenny’s lips parting. But that tonsil-eye view doesn’t detract from the music; you can still keep time to the steady shaker off in the distance to the far right of Cohen’s voice. But even on less intimate (and frankly less good) recordings, this balance of detail and musicality shines through with the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds are a great option if you flat-out love good sound and how it lets you appreciate great music. You just have to be willing to tolerate less-than-intuitive control, along with a somewhat bulky design and foam ear tips.

No, the Sonys aren’t perfect, and they can even be a little annoying—or a lot if you’ve got an ear tip lodged in your ear. But they are special. They allow you to hear things in your favorite songs that you never quite heard before, the kind of subtle details that used to require speakers with a BMW price. If you’re listening to podcasts or background music to drown out the droning of a jet engine (or your co-workers) maybe you don’t really need earbuds this good. But if you want a relatively cheap entry into the world of world-class audio, the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds can deliver.

There are more than 200 headphones in our headphone ratings. They’re refreshed constantly, ensuring that only currently available models are presented to CR members.

Our testing program begins in our dedicated labs, where a team of testers use rigorous test methods and reference quality recordings to reveal the smallest differences between each model. 

Our trained testers carefully listen and document the clarity and detail, frequency response, spatial imaging, dynamics, and freedom of obvious distortions at normal listening levels of the headphones with fellow colleagues, and in the case of noise-canceling headphones, how well they reduce background noise. Our testers even get their hearing checked routinely by an audiologist.

The secret behind our process? Consistency. We use the same process with the same equipment. And the same recordings. That results in an even playing field for every product we test. And ratings you can trust.