NYSONY
Saw the deal for Bose QC-35 II, just decided to try if NYSONY would work.
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones - Black $329 Delivered @ Wireless1
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We need "NYAPPLE".
if you try this headphones you wont go for apple trust me
The discount code doesn’t seem to be working sadly
Not working for me either
I bought a pair of these over Christmas and I have to say, the hype is justified.
I was a little skeptical about the sound quality, as even the hysterically giddy XM3 fanboys readily acknowledged that the XM3s are bass-heavy and muddy at the higher frequencies (even with equalizer adjustment), but over codecs like AptX HD (576 Kbp/s) or high-bitrate LDAC (660/990 Kbp/s), you really do feel that wireless headphones have matured. There's no way I'm mistaking these for a $100 dollar pair of headphones and I honestly believe a majority of the the people complaining on the Internet about the sound quality are not using the XM3s to their fullest potential with firstly, devices that support high-bitrate Bluetooth codecs and secondly, high-quality, lossless formats. I think for the most part they're streaming low-def YouTube videos ripped from lossy sources or Spotify Free over SBC on smart phones from a few generations ago and acting shocked that the sound quality isn't otherworldly, which is like buying a high-end projector and pointing it at an unpainted brick wall that's standing in as your screen.
It's actually in the noise attenuation and isolation department where I was mildly disappointed, as despite the fact that the XM3's ANC is the best-in-class (compared to the Bose QC 35 II, it attenuates far better above 100Hz), it's still subject to same old ANC limitations we've seen for the past 10 years now. Low frequency, sustained noise? Easy. Higher-frequency, acute noise? Back to the drawing board. Sony have managed to drown out slightly more of the middle part of the spectrum and yeah, that's all and well good, but I can still hear the usual suspects coming through on public transport and in crowded areas: babies crying, meth-heads ranting, the poorly-maintained bus trundling along with the alarming cabin creaking and my significant other complaining, etc.
They also don't look like they'd be terribly comfortable for prolonged listening, as the the headband width and ear cup dimensions just look plain undersized, but surprisingly they're comfortable enough to wear all day long, even for those of us with unnecessarily large and wide craniums and oversized ears.
The only unexpected issue with the XM3s, and something not really pointed out enough in my opinion, is the ear cup material.
Not only is it not user-replaceable, it's that spongy, sticky, fake-leather crap that was the cutting-edge in the headphone market about 3 decades ago and that by now, most serious audiophile manufacturers have abandoned in favour of soft memory foam/plush velour-type coverings that are user-replaceable, because firstly, they don't turn into sticky, disgusting grease-traps after a few hours of wear, secondly, they're breatheable and don't thermally insulate your ears as much and thirdly, they last a lot long longer. Wearing these to the gym during a serious workout would absolutely ruin them, and I find myself having to wipe them down incessantly to stop them looking like they've been dipped into the bottom of a KFC 21-piece feed bucket.
These ear cups are virtually guaranteed to break down, crack apart, flake off and look like hot garbage after about 2 years of constant use and that is unacceptable for a $300 dollar pair of headphones, and having to handle them with kid-gloves, when they're designed explicitly for outdoor/commuter use, is just paradoxically stupid.
Perfect summary of the headphones I've been using since release - my biggest gripe is the ear cup material and how sweaty it can get, especially if used in the gym or out on a brisk walk.
Massively informative post, it's a shame that it might get "lost" in a short-lived thread with an expired deal. You should feel free to copy and paste it if a longer-run deal pops up again!
You do say in your opening that you love the headphones, although you are quite clear about its disadvantages as well. I'd put you in the category of a true audiophile.
Maybe the XM4s will address some of your minor grievances?
You should feel free to copy and paste it if a longer-run deal pops up again!
Thanks, I definitely will if there's any incredibly popular XM3 deals in the future.
I'm going to hang onto the XM3s for quite some time (probably until that ear cup material decides to come off like Dandelion spores), so I doubt I'll be too concerned with the XM4s.
I didn't set my expectations incredibly high with the XM3s (which a lot of people seem to do, evidently) and thus, I haven't had such a polarising, love-or-hate view of them. They are mostly good but sport some equally baffling design choices, the ear cup material, along with the gesture controls being another nuisance that just doesn't translate as ideally into the real-world as the designers imagined; I'd rather see them replaced with dedicated buttons. The mic is also universally-regarded as terrible and rightly so. The idea of perfect headphones in this price range is just a myth, so I don't think I'm ever going buy sub-$500 headphones and just become a Cultist worshiper overnight.
but I can still hear the usual suspects coming through on public transport and in crowded areas: babies crying, meth-heads ranting, the poorly-maintained bus trundling along with the alarming cabin creaking and my significant other complaining, etc.
I think this is beyond current ANC tech. They're going to need a new approach to block this kind of noise out.
most serious audiophile manufacturers have abandoned in favour of soft memory foam/plush velour-type coverings that are user-replaceable
That is true of audiophile grade headphones. But I don't know of any leading or major ANC headphones that use this kind of pad. They're all using faux leather, the kind that isn't a dust magnet and get all gross like the Fidelios.
You're mistake is expecting audiophile standards from ANC headphones.
My ears are toast after using mine. Are there any options to replace the cups with a third-party version?
I can’t use this to make calls in public. Am I missing any settings?? People on the other side keep complaining it’s noisy.
the call quality on these are awful, it's probably the biggest downside of the xm3s.
Do you know if qc35 ii have better mic quality?
when you use these in conversation mode (cover the right ear cup) to let in outside sound through the mics, does it have static white noise, or did they eliminate that?
I am deciding between the XM3s or Bose 700. I have QC35 and XM2. I was going to wait for XM4 and was expecting it to release 2019, but if XM3 can do audio passthrough without static, they might just be end game ANC headphones for me. I don't care about call quality or connecting to two devices at a time.
The 700 can do conversation mode without static, but it's also significantly more expensive, and the new headband design looks very flimsy.
Classic trial and error.