Introduction
This review will focus on the XM3 model of Sonyâs flagship BT+ANC line of headphones. This headphone is reviewed to death all over YouTube and the internet at large. So, I wonât go into details about build (pretty good), comfort (also very good, maybe the earcups will get too warm for some), the quality of noise cancellation (itâs really awesome), battery life (it is pretty much what Sony claims it is), mic quality (it does kinda suck) etc. This will be a sound review. Here goesâŚ
Sound
Signature:
Iâll focus on the stock signature. The included app has an equalizer so this headphone can be tuned to just about any signature you want. The stock signature and tuning of the XM3 are âmainstream.â This is neither good nor bad. It translates to a very bassy presentation with a slightly recessed midrange and treble level that is between the mid-range and bass. If anything, they tend toward dark, but are not devoid of sparkle. The intent was clearly to find a tuning that was not going to be fatiguing for most people over long listening sessions. Sony probably succeeded here. On the occasions Iâve worn them for multiple hours I did not find their sound fatiguing. Some listeners may find the bass fatiguing. The bass is deep and extended. It has pretty good pitch and definition and speed that is best for genres like pop and hip-hop. Itâs not as good for rock and metal but nor do I find it overly objectionable for those genres either. The treble is present and at times has sparkle. Sibilance is rare, even it very brightly recorded or sibilant tracks. Thereâs not a lot of air either; the treble extension isnât great. The mids are not a focus. They are there and are adequate. At the same time voices sound enough like voices, pianos enough like pianos, guitars enough like guitars, etc. to not be distracting. The overall signature thus is enough to be pleasing but is not going to bring out every nuance of the music.
Detail Retrieval:
The XM3 is relaxed and is not a detail monster. For what this headphone is as a Bluetooth and ANC can, thatâs fine. Itâs detailed enough that if you listen closely youâll still here that 128kbps mp3 files suck, but itâs not going to consistently differentiate between a 320kbps file and a lossless file. Is this because theyâre Bluetooth? Is this because theyâre active noise-cancelling? Or is this a deliberate tuning choice for long listening situations? My guess is âyesâ. Still, the amount of detail is enough that itâs not distracting if youâre involved in some task.
Spatial Performance:
The soundstage is not wide but nor would I call it claustrophobic. There is still an âin-your-headâ effect to the sound. Imaging is a bit â3-blobâ-y with L, C, and R. There is sonic info in between but not a lot of instrument separation. This probably comes back to the detail retrieval just discussed.
Other Notes:
These headphones can be plugged in and run wired. If they are not powered on during this they sound laughably bad. There is clearly lots of DSP going on here to get them to their âstockâ signature. I did get modest improvement in sound quality by powering them on and them feeding them signal from a higher quality dac. That provides some evidence that the Bluetooth transmission still has work to do on its quality, but this difference was not very large and I had to listen closely to pick it out.
Final Thoughts
Iâve had these XM3s since about February 2019, I believe. Iâve used them on airplanes, while mowing the lawn, and while moving about doing housework and such. They work great in such settings. They have a place in my collection for those reasons. Yes, for their price you will find better sounding headphones to give an audiophile experience. However, I rarely use these headphones when the sound is the focus. I use them when the activity Iâm doing is tedious and requires movement and the music helps make it less tedious. These cans do a great job of that. They also fold up nicely in their included carrying case and take relatively little room in a backpack or suitcase, making them great travel companions. If you want wireless and ANC, and sound quality thatâs at least good enough to get out of the way while you focus on some other task, these are an excellent option.