Design and features:The headphones work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on. You can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have high sensitivity when powered with or without the noise cancelation feature turned on so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with lower-powered portable audio devices. When unpowered they have medium-high sensitivity and can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and even lower-powered portable audio devices. The WH-1000XM2 has an integrated microphone and touch sensitive volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls that work with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include momentarily audio program muting and engagement of the ambient sound monitor mode when the entire hand is placed on the right earcup, the ability to receive high resolution audio Bluetooth transmissions from selected Sony products, optional NFC Bluetooth pairing, and earcups that fold and swivel to flat for ease of carrying and storage. These headphones can be used with the free Sony Headphones Connect app for Apple and Android mobile devices which adds additional features including various automated adjustments that are claimed to optimize the noise cancelling characteristics of the headphone based on different situations. The app can also can act as a audio program player and can provide tonal balance adjustment for the headphones. This model comes with a detachable 58-inch long standard audio cable for cord connected use, a USB charging cable, a mini-plug-to-airplane-jack adapter, and a carrying case.
Sound quality: We found the WH-1000XM2 provides excellent active noise reduction and that the sound quality was pretty much the same regardless of whether the noise cancelling feature was turned on or off, or whether it was used in the Bluetooth or powered wire connected mode. When used in any of those four modes it delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can best be summarized as a bit bassy and mellow. Bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is slightly prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is fairly even, but is a bit muffled. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is fairly extended but somewhat subdued. While the sound has a decent sense of liveliness it is somewhat closed-in -- sound-wise it is somewhat obvious that you have something covering your ears. In cord connected unpowered mode the overall sound can best be summarized as somewhat muffled, and the sound quality falls to the bottom of the good range. These headphones provide excellent noise reduction that is fairly even across most of the frequency range with low frequencies reduced the most. When the noise cancelling feature is turned on a very faint hiss can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure around the ears. As typical of over-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use. Users with smaller heads may find they can't get a good earpad seal (the earpads gap at the top) and that the less-than-optimal fit affects the sound quality by causing the bass to be a bit subdued. incidental contact with the touch controls on the right outer earcup can cause unintentional playing or pausing, track skipping, or volume level changes. When wearing this model while walking the vibrations from each foot step can be heard by some users through the headphones when the power is off or the power is on and the noise cancelling mode is turned off. The sounds of footsteps are reduced in ambient mode, and may not be heard at all in noise cancelling mode. We also found that this model has a poor folding design - if care is not taken when unfolding the WH-1000XM2 the hinges can pinch a finger. While the pinch is not severe enough to break a bone it can be painful.
