Sony WH-1000XM4C - My Thoughts 🤔
Now that the Sony WH-1000XM4C has been launched, we can confirm that it looks pretty much identical to the OG XM4 headphones with 3 color options, but without the NFC feature because I don’t see the logo where it used to be. And we now also know why the rated battery is 3 hours shorter than the OG.
That’s because, according to a report by WhatHiFi, the XM4C is compliant with new EU regulations that require user-replaceable batteries. So making the battery user-replaceable apparently involves making it more accessible which leads to a smaller battery being used. In my opinion, that’s not a bad compromise at all - 27 hours with noise canceling is still juicy. As for sound signature, Sony says that its tuning is different from the OG, according to them, more in line with modern tastes.
Would this mean it will be similar to the XM6 in terms of voicing? A little less bassy, more mid-centric, perhaps? Whichever the case, the XM4C is going to be far more tunable than the OG because of the new 10-band graphic EQ, which makes it much easier to make it sound subjectively better.
It may even sound better than the flagship XM6 actually because they kept the 40mm drivers, and bigger drivers do move more air compared to the XM6’s 30mm. Apart from that, they’re keeping everything else the same.
There is no info about spatial audio modes or head tracking, just that it supports 360 Reality Audio like the OG. They’ve got the same HD noise canceling processor QN1 and the same microphone setup for voice calls and noise canceling, which possibly means that they’ll perform similarly to the OG from 6 years ago as far as mic pickup and noise canceling is concerned.
Nonetheless, this is exciting because I want to see if I could make the XM4C sound better than the XM6. If I’m successful, the XM4C might appeal even more to the audiophile crowd than the flagship models. That will be super funny.
