노이즈 캔슬링 해드폰은 소니와 보스가 양분하고 있습니다. 특히 소니 제품들의 발전 속도는 놀라운 편입니다. 그리고 이번에 새롭게 설치된 노이즈 캔슬링 프로세서인 QN1을 탑재한 소니 WH-1000XM3가 공개되었는데 어떤 특징을 가졌는지 확인해 보도록 하겠습니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3는 야외에서 음악을 듣는데 최적화되어 있습니다. 특히 강력한 노이즈 캔슬링 성능을 제공하는 것은 물론이고 안전을 위해서 주변 소리를 들을 수 있는 기능도 이전 제품과 동일하게 탑재되었습니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3의 노이즈 캔슬링 기능은 반복적으로 발생하는 소음을 효과적으로 제거해주는데 특히 비행기나 지하철 그리고 버스 등에서 상당히 효과적입니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3의 디자인은 이전 세대의 제품들과 유사한 편인데 약간 다듬어졌다는 느낌을 받았습니다. 특히 정갈한 편이기 때문에 정장에도 잘 어울릴 것 같습니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3의 컬러는 블랙과 실버 중에서 선택할 수 있습니다. 그리고 쿠션 같은 경우에도 편안하기 때문에 장시간 착용할 수 있다고 합니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3는 터치 방식으로 컨트롤을 할 수 있습니다. 이전 세대 제품들도 채택되었던 방식인데 실제 사용해본 경험에 의하면 편리한 편입니다.

소니 WH-1000XM3의 가격은 $350(약 39만원)으로 책정이 되었습니다. 저렴하지는 않은 편이지만 최고 수준의 노이즈 캔슬링 성능과 무선으로 고음질 사운드를 감상할 수 있는 LDAC 코덱을 탑재하고 있으므로 하이엔드 헤드폰을 찾으시는 분들에게 적합한 제품이라고 판단되었습니다.

Sony seizes the title for best noise-canceling cans with a winning redesign

There’s an enthusiastic “It’s a Sony” sticker on a kitchen wall in my childhood home. I put it there more than 20 years ago when my parents brought home a big-screen Sony TV and an accompanying Sony VCR. Since that day, I’ve owned a Walkman cassette player and a Walkman phone, a PlayStation, a NEX mirrorless camera, and an illogical desire for VAIO laptops. Like any child of the ‘90s, I grew up with Sony’s name being synonymous with the most desirable technology. This is why it’s such a nostalgic pleasure for me to today be reviewing a new Sony product that is the undeniable best in its category.

The Sony 1000X M3 over-ear, noise-canceling headphones are the third iteration of Sony’s already great 1000X series. The original 1000Xs cost a cent under $400 and were instantly among the best in their class. Sony seemed to find little room for improvement with its second-gen 1000X M2s, so it chopped $100 off the price and polished up a couple of technical aspects — though that came at the cost of some excitement in their sound. Just as it seemed as though Sony would slip behind the rapidly improving competition, however, the 1000X M3s arrive and rectify almost every issue the series has had so far, while splitting the cost difference between its predecessors with a sensible $349 price.

9VERGE SCORE

SONY WH-1000XM3

GOOD STUFF

• Extraordinary noise canceling
• Pillowy comfort
• USB-C charging and stupendous battery life
• Best sound from Sony’s 1000X yet

BAD STUFF

• Touch controls are still a pain
• Bass response could be cleaner and more defined
• Pads get sweaty on warm days
• Irritating blinking LED status light on left ear cup

Buy for $349.99 from Best Buy Buy for $348.00 from AmazonBuy for $349.99 from B&H Photo

Sony got two things very right with its first-gen 1000X headphones: the noise canceling and the fit. That’s why I find it surprising that the company has gone for a major redesign with its M3 generation: the physical design didn’t seem in need of much tweaking. But everything that Sony has changed has been for the better. It takes courage to tinker with a popular design and skill to actually improve on it.

EVERY CHANGE SONY MADE HAS BEEN FOR THE BETTER

Some 1000X M1 and M2 users had complained about the headband being susceptible to cracking (an issue I never encountered in months of contented use of those headphones), and they’ll be comforted to know Sony’s design shakeup has delivered a new headband with more padding. The updated headband has a more oblong shape than previously, which makes the headphones more discreet by fitting them closer to the wearer’s head. Even when they’re not being worn, the 1000X M3s are easier to grip and tote around because of their narrower shape, plus they still collapse down to fit into the provided compact carrying case.

WHO IS NOISE CANCELING FOR?

Noise-canceling headphones used to be the exclusive preserve of frequent flyers who cared more about tranquility than sound quality or aesthetics. But, as the world has grown noisier and technology has gotten better, we all now demand and are getting noise-canceling cans that sound great and don’t look like a Volvo parked on your head. Whether at home, on the train, or in the office, noise canceling is fast becoming a must-have feature for over-ear headphones.

Bose and Sony are the premier brand in this space, but others like Bowers & Wilkins, Beyerdynamic, and Bang & Olufsen are offering compelling alternatives.

Somehow, Sony has reduced the weight of its latest 1000Xs while increasing the battery life. With noise canceling turned on, Sony now claims 30 hours of endurance, a full 50 percent more than the previous 20 hours. Even as someone who deals with the constant improvement of tech on a daily basis, I find this massively impressive. More on battery life later, but the new lighter weight truly elevates Sony’s headphones to the absolute top tier for comfort, whether you’re talking wired or wireless over-ear models. Bose’s QuietComfort 35s endure in popularity in large part because they’re so effortless to wear, and Sony goes that one notch higher.

When I reviewed the 1000X M2s, I noted that I wore them without a hint of discomfort for a full five-hour trip, and the M3s are even less intrusive. Sony has made the space for your ear inside the M3 pad a little deeper, and the pads themselves are designed to distribute pressure evenly. I’ve used these headphones across three different two-hour flights in the past week, and my colleague Chaim Gartenberg (who wears glasses) also found them exceedingly comfortable on the eight-hour journey from New York to Berlin. In fact, there’s not a member of the Verge staff that’s tried these headphones without falling in love with their fit and feel.

Bose QuietComfort 35 II next to Sony 1000X M3.

Design critiques are hard to find, but I still have a few to offer. One is that the headband’s sizing adjustment slips out of position easily. If you’re super pedantic about setting your ideal fitting and never wanting it to change, that might irritate you. You don’t, however, have to be punctilious to be annoyed by the blue status LED on the left ear cup: this is a remnant of Bluetooth headphones of yore, and I’ve no idea why Sony keeps putting it on its latest headphones. Beyerdynamic recently showed off a much smarter design that put the LEDs on the inside of the ear cups. And the final issue I came up against with the 1000X M3s is that they do heat up and get sweaty on a warm summer’s day. This is the one aspect where I think Bose’s more airy QC35s have the edge over Sony and most of the rest of the competition.

PHYSICAL BUTTONS AND SWITCHES > TOUCH CONTROLS

I don’t expect everyone to agree with me on this point, but Sony’s touch controls remain the same as they ever were, and I remain fundamentally opposed to them. They’re reasonably functional: swipe up and down for volume, forward and back for track change, and double-tap the middle to pause, play, or pick up a call on your connected phone. The problem comes in when you’re rocking out to some track and you want to raise the volume but accidentally fast-forward to the next song. I did that more than once. There’s also a slight lag to the headphones recognizing double taps, leading to a recurring split-second of uncertainty anytime I want to control playback. Touch controls on headphones: cool when they work, infuriating when they don’t.

We have to talk about Sony’s noise canceling. It’s unreal. It’s like noise insulted Sony a long time ago and Sony retreated to its dojo for many years, trained hard, and then came back to kick noise’s butt. Bose, Sennheiser, AKG, Bowers & Wilkins, Bang & Olufsen — name any company that produces noise-canceling headphones, and I guarantee you that its noise canceling is not as good as Sony’s. There’s a new dedicated chip just for processing the noise canceling inside the M3s, and I’m convinced that chip alone is worth the price of admission with these new 1000Xs.

THE NEW HIGH-WATER MARK FOR NOISE-CANCELING PERFORMANCE

Some headphones, I wear because I have to. (I know, it’s a tough job I have!) Others, even when I’m reviewing them, I just wear because I enjoy them. With the Sony 1000X M3s, the latter is universally true. They even nudged out my AirPods, which are the buds I usually opt to wear when I’m tired and intolerant of any discomfort in fit or sound. Sony’s cans give me the extra benefit of obliterating the noise around me — which is an advantage anyone can appreciate in almost any circumstance.

As I write this review, I can’t hear my fingers typing on the Apple Magic Keyboard. Or the creaky floor disturbed by my upstairs neighbors. Or my other neighbor’s kids playing in their backyard. It’s just silence. It’s bliss.

The sound of the M3s marks an important improvement over the M2s. I found Sony’s prior edition deadened the vocals and rendered music unexciting. This update fixes that and goes a step further in delivering the most coherent, pleasing, and simply best sound that Sony has produced with its 1000X series. The highs are present but restrained, the vocals and mid-range have been brought back to life, and the bass is voluminous. Sony’s tuning is like a big, warm hug.

WHERE THE MUSIC CALLS FOR A PENCIL LINE, SONY USES A THICK MARKER PEN

The bass is technically bad: thick and distorted. Where the music calls for a pencil line, Sony uses a marker pen. Bass-heavy tracks like Tricky’s “Somebody’s Sins” will even make the headphones gently vibrate. But you know what, every other headphone maker in this class also boosts the bass — and what’s more, I like it. I don’t need to watch Roger Federer play to enjoy a game of tennis, and I similarly don’t need the purest and truest reproduction of a song to bop my head to it. Sony is beating Beats at its own game here, because I much prefer Sony’s M3 sound to that of the Beats Studio 3 or Solo 3.

The Bowers & Wilkins PX is an intriguing rival to the Sony 1000X M3, because, in my estimation, it still has a more incisive and exciting sound. But a pair of PX cans costs $390, weighs significantly more, doesn’t fit everyone as well as Sony’s alternative, and doesn’t collapse down. The things that were forgivable about the PX last year are less so now that Sony’s updated 1000Xs are out. This is a general theme when comparing the M3s against their most direct rivals: Sony’s fast rate of updates is keeping it on the cutting edge of a fast-moving market, and companies like Bose are starting to fall behind.

There’s great synergy between Sony’s unmatched noise canceling, thoroughly optimized physical design, and friendly audio tuning. Because of the powerful noise isolation, I don’t ever need to turn the volume up to high levels, and the blank canvas of background silence renders all music more realistic, nuanced, and detailed. Sony complements this by doing some digital processing to artificially expand the soundstage of its headphones. It seems like the 1000X M3s detect where in the mix each sound and instrument belongs, and if it’s on the left or right side, the headphones push it out a little bit further to give the impression of depth and expanse. It’s a neat trick. Combining the comfortable listening experience with the comfortable fit just makes these headphones extremely inviting.

RANGE ANXIETY IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH THESE HEADPHONES

Sony’s claimed 30-hour battery life is, in all honesty, not something I’ve been able to fully test. Do you know how long 30 hours is when using headphones conventionally? It’s been 10 days since I fully charged the 1000X M3s, in which time I’ve used them on three flights, daily walks, and casual listening at home, and they’ve still got 50 percent of their battery left. Even if you use these on your daily commute to and from work, you’re likely to go well over a week before needing to recharge. It’s safe to say that range anxiety will not be an issue with these headphones.

I have to commend Sony for making the glorious switch to USB-C for its charging port. Most headphone companies are still dragging their feet about this change, with one recently telling me that USB-C costs four times as much as MicroUSB charging. But Sony’s 1000Xs are competing against premium headphones, where there’s obviously enough padding in the profit margin to make the upgrade. On the rare occasions when I need to recharge the M3s, I no longer have to hunt around for my one legacy cable. I can just pop my phone’s charger into them. If you use Sony’s charger, you can also get fast charging that will give you 5 hours of music playback from just 10 minutes plugged in. The only thing missing here is the ability to plug in a digital music source via the USB-C port, for a wired connection for those among us whose phones lack headphone jacks.

EASY TO RECOMMEND, HARD TO PUT DOWN

The 1000X M3s automatically switch themselves off after five minutes of inactivity, which is cool for energy preservation, but a bit irksome if you just want to use their noise canceling without playing any sound. (Update: as readers have pointed out, Sony’s companion mobile app lets you disable this feature). Sony has also brought back its ear-cupping gesture, which lets you cover the right 1000X cup with your hand to activate the built-in mics and hear the ambient sound around you. Speaking of microphones, calls with the 1000X M3s are clear and well handled, plus the headphones have a trigger button to launch Google Assistant or Siri on your paired smartphone, if you’re into that kind of thing. Wireless connections are also top notch, with zero dropouts or issues during my testing. Just that silly blinking LED light.

Owners of the 1000X M1s or M2s pondering whether there’s enough here to justify an upgrade should ponder no more. Sony’s 1000X M3 is meaningfully better than both its predecessors as well as the vast majority of other wireless, noise-canceling headphones.

It’s remarkable to pick up these headphones, weigh them in your hand, and consider all the processing and wireless technology contained within them. For years, the preemptive grievance with wireless cans has been the regular need to recharge them and the added heft of having to carry batteries inside them. This pair of Sony headphones puts an end to those complaints.

Even as Sony ascends to the throne of the undisputed noise-canceling champion, compelling rivals are already in the works. The title of best pair of headphones in this class seems to be changing hands every few months, which is a function of the category evolving and improving faster than anything else in tech. Yes, that means any purchase you make today is liable to be surpassed by an even better model pretty soon, but it also means we’re all getting better choices when going out to get our next pair of headphones.

If you listen to what Sony says, you could assume that the third generation of the Sony 1000X wireless headphones is all about better noise canceling. This wouldn’t be a wrong assumption. The company managed to make its famous noise-cancelling headphones cancel even more noise. But what caught my attention is how much more comfortable they are. This is a sassy upgrade, since Sony’s major competitor, Bose, put “comfort” in the name of its headphones.

Sony MH-1000XM3

WHAT IS IT?

Wireless noise-canceling headphones

PRICE

$350

LIKE

Best-in-class noise canceling, very comfy

NO LIKE

Struggles with connecting to multiple devices

Put simply, Sony is taking another big gulp of Bose’s milkshake. Nearly a year ago, I declared that Sony’s noise-cancelling headphones had bested the long-standing category leader: the QuietComfort 35 II wireless headphones. The latest iteration of those Sony headphones is the WH-1000XM3. (The last ones were called the WH-1000XM2, so you see, there is a little bit of rhyme and reason to Sony’s model naming scheme.) Sony never told me that it wanted to make a better version of Bose’s headphones, but after spending two weeks using the new model, it’s obvious that Sony does keep giving people more good reasons not to buy Bose.

Let’s start with the adaptive noise-cancelling technology. For the third generation 1000X wireless headphones, Sony built something called “HD Noise Canceling Processor QN1.” Unlike previous models which integrated noise cancelling into the audio processor, this separate processor works on its own to identify and filter out more background noise than before. Through an app, you can also choose to let some of that noise back in. Say you’re in an airport and want to hear the flight announcements but keep the rest of the sound garbage away. The new QN1 chip is designed to do that better.

Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)

When it comes to headphones like these, I’m primarily interested in getting rid of all the noise. And while I struggle to put an exact number on the improvement, I can definitively say that the third generation Sony 1000X headphones block more noise than their predecessors, which were already better blockers than the Bose QuietComfort II headphones. The improvement makes me think of the second generation Sony headphones as a drippy faucet, and the new ones turn it off altogether.

While I wasn’t able to test the new 1000X headphones on a plane, my testing ground was the equally loud and unpleasant New York City subway. The old Sony headphones, which I used on countless commutes between Brooklyn and Manhattan, succeeded just fine at silencing conversations happening nearby me on the subway car. But I was pleased to see how the new Sony headphones actually reduced the roar of an oncoming train to a gentle hum that didn’t distract me from my music or keep me from comprehending whatever a podcast was telling me about the history of the Hun empire or whatever. Adjusting the noise-cancelling settings in the Sony Headphones app worked fine to let in more ambient noise, but like I said before, I just want my noise-cancelling headphones to cancel as much noise as possible. The third generation 1000X will now be my go-to shut-up-the-world headphones.

The second generation Sony 1000X headphones (left) have smaller ear cups and less cushioning on the headband than the new, third generation 1000X headphones (right).

Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)

The other big improvement with the new Sony headphones involves comfort. In addition to cancelling more noise, the WH-1000XM3 headset is designed to be more comfortable. Sony did this by implementing a new design for the headband as well as new ear cups that are roomier than their predecessors. The new headband adds a nice cushion for the top of your skull and a sleeker design that puts less space between the headphones and your head. And at 8.99 ounces, the third generation headphones are lighter than the previous generation, which weigh in at 9.7 ounces.

All of this adds up to a pretty damn comfortable set of headphones. While I liked the design of the earlier 1000X models, they did feel clunky compared to, say, the lightweight and pillowy Bose QuietComfort 35 II headset. The third generation 1000X headphones appear to borrow from some of the Bose comfort perks, namely that cushy headband and the bigger ear cups. When wearing the Sony WH-1000xM3 for hours at a time, I’d almost forget they were there. There was no ache on the top of my head, and I experienced very little squished ear syndrome. Despite the lighter weight, the third generation Sony headphones still felt sturdy, too. I always thought the Bose QuietComfort 35 II headset felt a little bit flimsy.

On top of better noise cancelling and comfort, the new Sony headphones come with a couple of minor but notable upgrades. The material on the outside of the ear cup loses the rough, gravelly texture of the previous generation and gains an almost silky feel. This means that the swipe gestures you can use to increase the volume or skip a track work more effortlessly. (As I noted in my last review, the swiping stuff was difficult on the older headphones.) Sony has also shifted from a single microphone for making phone calls to a microphone array. This means that my mom complains less about how I sound when I call her while using the headphones. And since most microphones on headphones stink, the fact that Sony put the extra effort into making these work better seems nice. Sony also improved the button design, so that they’re easier to push, which I also appreciate.

Photo: Adam Clark Estes (Gizmodo)

Sound quality on the third generation 1000X headphones remains the same as the previous generation. They sound as good as they ever did! But Sony decided not to add any big audio quality upgrades to the headphones this year. The WH-1000XM3 can still pump out deep bass, like the low thumps on “Doing It Right” by Daft Punk or the thundery pulses on “Oi-1" by Biosphere. The high guitar notes on “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel sound dreamy, natural, and clear. Diane Krall’s voice sounds rich and detailed on “Peel Me a Grape,” but you can still hear the full range of notes from the band. These headphones might not please audiophiles who prefer open-backed, planar headphones. They’ll almost definitely please everybody else, though.

So that’s a lot of good things I have to say about these consistently excellent Sony headphones. The one bad thing I need to bring up is connectivity. Like the Sony models before it, these wireless headphones connect very easily to one device, but if you’re switching between multiple devices, the Bluetooth connection gets very stubborn. The headphones only seem to want to connect to one thing at a time. For example, if I’m using the headphones with my laptop and switch to my phone, the 1000X headphones typically will not connect to my phone unless I disconnect them from my laptop. This is even true when I close my laptop and walk out the door with it in my backpack. I won’t be able to connect to the headphones with my phone because they’re still connected to the laptop. Very annoying! It’s not a dealbreaker, as every set of wireless headphones I’ve used has its quirks. But it’s not ideal.

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Then there’s the price point. It’s not so much that it’s too high. It’s that I wish it were lower. The WH-1000XM3 cost $350. That doesn’t make them the most expensive headphones in its class, but I don’t think I’d describe them as affordable, either. They are, however, the same price as the two-year-old Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones, and they’re also better. You could even say they’re doubly better, since even the second generation 1000X headphones bested the Bose when they came out a year ago. You can buy the WH-1000XM2 headphones for $300 now, by the way.

They might not be affordable for everyone, but I do think the Sony WH-1000XM3 are some of the best headphones you can buy. It’s a boon that they also happen to be some of the best (if not the best) noise-cancelling headphones you can buy. Then again, they had the huge advantage of building on the excellent second and first generation 1000X headphones. If you own the WH-1000XM2, I’m not sure the improvements quite warrant an upgrade. But if you’re really craving better noise cancelling and better comfort, the third generation 1000X headphones deliver.

Your move, Bose.

READ ME

• Just like our favorite noise-cancelling except they cancel more noise
• New comfort features makes it feel like you’re wearing nothing at all
• Great audio, although there aren’t any improvements from the last generation
• Cost $350 but so do the Bose headphones, which also aren’t as good
• Wireless connection can be a little tricky

음악을 들을 때 주변의 소음을 함께 들어야 한다면 음악을 듣는 맛이 감소하겠죠. 소음의 수준이 크면 클수록 만족감은 더 크게 떨어질 테고요. 그래서 항공기나 대중교통에서 발생하는 소음을 줄이기 위해 다양한 아이템이 등장하고 있는데요. 소음의 주파수와 동일한 주파수 파형을 임의로 만들어 소음을 상쇄하는 노이즈 캔슬링(Noise Cancelling) 역시 외부의 소음과 맞서 싸울 수 있는 대표적인 기술이죠.

전작을 뛰어넘는 노이즈 캔슬링으로 정적의 공간을 만들어줄... 소니 WH-1000XM3...

이 노이즈 캔슬링 분야에서 잔뼈가 굵은 소니(Sony)가 IFA 2018에서 선보인 무선 노이즈 캔슬링 헤드폰 WH-1000XM3는 전작을 뛰어넘는 노이즈 캔슬링 기능을 갖고 있다고 하더군요. 기존 소음 제거 프로세서보다 4배나 우수하다는 새 노이즈 캔슬링 프로세서 QN1을 탑재한 덕분에 이번 모델은 항공기나 지하철처럼 반복적으로 발생하는 외부 소음을 더 효과적으로 막아줄 거라고 하네요. LDAC을 통해 블루투스 특유의 음질 열화를 막았던 전작의 전통을 계승하면하고 노이즈 캔슬링 외에도 음질 개선을 위한 32비트 DAC과 증폭기 등을 탑재하고 있어 음질 자체도 개선했다고 하더군요.

이 모델은 처음으로 USB 타입-C 포트를 적용해 USB 타입-C 케이블로 충전을 가능할 수 있도록 했고 더 빠른 충전을 가능케 했다고 하는데 10분만 충전하면 5시간 사용이 가능한 수준이라고 하더군요. 거기에 이전 모델보다 더 부피가 작고 가볍기까지 하다고 하는데요. 그게 착용감으로 고스란히 전달될 테니 WH-1000XM2를 쓰고 있는 입장에서 살짝 더 끌리네요. 컨트롤은 전작과 마찬가지로 터치 제스처로 작동하며 스마트폰 앱과도 연동되더군요.

판매 가격은 350달러(39만 원 정도)가 될 거라고 하던데 당장은 WH-1000XM2를 열심히 사용하겠지만, 언젠간 요 녀석으로 넘어갈 날을 기대해 보렵니다. 현실적으로는 WH-1000XM4쯤 넘어갈 가능성이 높지만요.@_@;; 하아~~ WM-1000XM2를 쓰지만, 격렬하게 갖고 싶어라.