Headphones are a great gift for the holidays, and Sony's WH-1000XM4 are the best on the market. Headphones vary in prices, with cheaper models offering their main function: resting on the head and playing audio. However, the more expensive models, such as the WH-1000XM4, offer advanced features with premium sound quality and noise cancelation.
While the WH-1000XM4 is the headphones king, there are other headphones that rival it. Bose products are well-regarded for their great sound quality and the Noise Canceling Headphones 700 certainly live up to the company's standard. However, the Noise Canceling Headphones 700 do not have the versatility in sound quality or the noise cancelation levels of the WH-1000XM4. The other option is the WH-1000XM4's predecessor, the WH-1000XM3. The older model retains the impressive noise cancelation that the series is known for, but the WH-1000XM4 has even better noise cancelation while also providing updated features such as Bluetooth 5.0, which allows the WH-1000XM4 to be paired to two devices at once for effortless switching.
Sony states that the WH-1000XM4 is the industry leader in noise cancelation, and the headphone's popularity proves it. The WH-1000XM4 feature two microphones in each earcup, which capture external ambient noise and send the data to the WH-1000XM4's processor, the HD Noise-Canceling Procesor QN1. Using a new algorithm not seen in previous models, the processor greatly cancels out street traffic, airplane noise, and human voices for an optimal immersive listening experience. The WH-1000XM4 is packed with 40-millimeter drivers, which reproduce a full range of frequencies for any and all music genres. Sony also includes its Digitial Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) with the WH-1000XM4 to upscale compressed digital music files and restore the high-range sounds lost in the compression processor, allowing listeners to hear the true sounds that the artists' intended.
Buy Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones (Amazon)
Sony WH-1000XM4's Best-In-Class Features
The WH-1000XM4 has fantastic features that are helpful for daily routines. Alongside the Quick Attention feature and touch controls, the WH-1000XM4 includes the new Speak-to-Chat and wear detection features for external interactions. The Speak-to-Chat feature automatically pauses the audio when the user begins a conversation and resumes 30-seconds after the conversation, with the ability to adjust the timeframe. For users who prefer to converse without the headphones on, wear detection uses a proximity sensor and two accelerometer sensors to automatically pause the audio when the headphones are taken off and to immediately resume it when they are put back on. The WH-1000XM4 also features super-soft urethane foam earpads and 30-hours of battery life for all-day usage.
Until the invention of money trees, gifting a WH-1000XM4 should be reserved for a special someone or a close relative or friend because they retail at $350. Fortunately, Black Friday is almost here, though, and there is a possibility that the WH-1000XM4 will go on sale. If so, buy a second pair for personal use because any gift in return will not compare.
Source: Sony