Review Sony WH-1000XM4 sound muffled (sort of a review/comparison)

[petergabriel]

It baffles me that Sony WH-1000XM4 gets so high praise in the hifi media (What HiFi included).

I have listened to them extensively while on loan, and I find they sound murky and muffled. Not clear at all. I also loaned the Dali IO-4's to compare, and unlike the Sony's they sound crystal clear with a great soundstage. They may lack some oomph/warmth, as WH also notices in their review (seems very dependent on music recording quality), but compared to the Sonys, they sound as if a carpet/veil has been removed from the headphones, and they are definetly not lacking in bass - if bass is to be found in the recording that is.

Bad Boy by Billie Eilish sounds earth shattering on the Dali's, as it's supposed to. Some old recordings from the 80's sounds awful. My Beoplay H2's fare much better with old, tinny recordings due to their inherent bass/warmth, and the Sony's dark sound actually also seems more forgiving, but still not great.

I thought maybe the big difference in sound quality between the two headphones could be because I used the Sony's via Bluetooth on my iPhone (running Deezer hifi), and somehow the Sony's connected via SBC instead of AAC, so I tried using both pairs wired. As for the Dali's the sound just improved even further, actually got some of the missing oomph/warmth back, whereas the Sony's sounded exactly the same - as in not very good.

Not fair to the Sony's I also tried the Dali's connected via USB to my MacBook to get the lossless 44.1/16bit quality from Deezer Hifi, and they sounded even better yet. Haven't tried them with higher quality audio, as they quite impressively support 24bit/96Khz lossless sound via USB (why do other brands only use the USB port for power?)

I know the Sony's can be EQ'ed via the app, but that really shouldn't be nescessary to get more clarity to the sound. The Dali's even sound quite passable when wired and power turned off (bit more tinny sounding).

So what is it about the Sony's that gets them such high praise? Please enlighten me

 

[Tinman1952]

It baffles me that Sony WH-1000XM4 gets so high praise in the hifi media (What HiFi included).

I have listened to them extensively while on loan, and I find they sound murky and muffled. Not clear at all. I also loaned the Dali IO-4's to compare, and unlike the Sony's they sound crystal clear with a great soundstage. They may lack some oomph/warmth, as WH also notices in their review (seems very dependent on music recording quality), but compared to the Sonys, they sound as if a carpet/veil has been removed from the headphones, and they are definetly not lacking in bass - if bass is to be found in the recording that is.

Bad Boy by Billie Eilish sounds earth shattering on the Dali's, as it's supposed to. Some old recordings from the 80's sounds awful. My Beoplay H2's fare much better with old, tinny recordings due to their inherent bass/warmth, and the Sony's dark sound actually also seems more forgiving, but still not great.

I thought maybe the big difference in sound quality between the two headphones could be because I used the Sony's via Bluetooth on my iPhone (running Deezer hifi), and somehow the Sony's connected via SBC instead of AAC, so I tried using both pairs wired. As for the Dali's the sound just improved even further, actually got some of the missing oomph/warmth back, whereas the Sony's sounded exactly the same - as in not very good.

Not fair to the Sony's I also tried the Dali's connected via USB to my MacBook to get the lossless 44.1/16bit quality from Deezer Hifi, and they sounded even better yet. Haven't tried them with higher quality audio, as they quite impressively support 24bit/96Khz lossless sound via USB (why do other brands only use the USB port for power?)

I know the Sony's can be EQ'ed via the app, but that really shouldn't be nescessary to get more clarity to the sound. The Dali's even sound quite passable when wired and power turned off (bit more tinny sounding).

So what is it about the Sony's that gets them such high praise? Please enlighten me

This proves you should audition ALL equipment and not trust others' ears! 🙂

 

[petergabriel]

This proves you should audition ALL equipment and not trust others' ears! 🙂

You are absolutely right. Funny thing though, I completely agree with their Dali review, but am (as stated) baffled by the Sony review.

 

[The End]

Same thing with my Sennheiser HD 660S. They shouldn't sound like this, I'm beginning to think that there's something wrong with them.

 

[Tinman1952]

Same thing with my Sennheiser HD 660S. They shouldn't sound like this, I'm beginning to think that there's something wrong with them.

How long have you had them? Most headphones need at least 40 hours running in.... when I had the HD 650s I left them plugged in to a radio for a week before I listened to them. They sounded superb.

 

[smurph353]

When I initially listened to the new Sony Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones I hadn't downloaded or used the Sony headphones App at all and they sounded great just out of the box. Although after about a week I downloaded the Sony headphones app and found the sound quality to be rather like you described, nowhere near to how they initially sounded. I didn't like the default sound at all and found my other much cheaper Sennheiser BT headphones were better sounding. I eventually found a setting on the Sony headphones app that transformed the sound to a much better sound quality, the setting I changed on the sony headphones app was about stable connection choices and sound quality.

I tend to mostly use the Sony headphones for when I'm out walking or travelling to cut out the windy and other background noises via the noise cancelling option which the Sony WH-1000XM4 do so very well.

 

[Gray]

Same thing with my Sennheiser HD 660S. They shouldn't sound like this, I'm beginning to think that there's something wrong with them.

You may well have read descriptions of the 'Sennheiser veil' from owners.
I haven't heard the 660S.
Not present in my 560S, but I've certainly experienced it with other Senn models.
(Otherwise good headphones just lacking that essential, natural sparkle).

 

[mdcraig]

Agree, flabby/muddy out the box. I did a quick search and found some great EQ recommendations on Reddit that transformed them. Also I find LDAC sources sound much better than AAC from an iPhone.

If I could only have one set of wireless headphones the XM4's would be it. That being said I typically reach for my Sennheiser Momentum 3's (streaming via AptX). I just find them more comfortable and the sound draws me into the music more. Of course the ANC is not even close to the Sonys. The M3's also sounded bloated at first but the EQ in the app fixed it. It isn't as advanced as the Sony but still did the job. (Bass -2, Mid 0, Treble +1).

 

[The End]

How long have you had them? Most headphones need at least 40 hours running in.... when I had the HD 650s I left them plugged in to a radio for a week before I listened to them. They sounded superb.

I know. I have had them for some quite some time now. I take them to the "gym" when I watch The Mandalorian.

 

[petergabriel]

When I tested the Sony’s I borrowed some well used ones from the store. I have to admit I didn’t download the app, so I have no idea if the sound signature was based on whatever setting was remembered from the last used source, but as the Dalis have no app I just found their default sound to be excellent (neutral, with no artifical bass added), and the fact that they work and sound good with a flat battery an extra bonus. I do believe too many hi end cans are too dependent on Digital Signal Processing to correct the drivers shortcomings.