Hi, this is GENo07 from ITLover0. Today, I am going to review the Sony WF-1000XM3 which I planned to review more earlier. I am going to divide it into 5 parts and review it. They are design, sound quality, noise cancelling, additional functions, and disadvantages. Noise cancelling is an add-on but it is a really big part of the earbud so I took it out. Well then, lets jump right into the review!
Design
First is the design. I could say that the quality of the design is one of the worst parts of the WF-1000XM3. You could think that everybody has a different style of taste for design. HOWEVER, it is a different situation for the 1000XM3. It is just terribly big. The design is really classy and neat but the unit and the case is uncomfortably big. The case is hard to carry in your pocket and the earbud itself is also big so it is uncomfortable on your ears.
Sound Quality
Next is the quality of the sound. The sound quality is the best among its series. (I was planning on reviewing this before the M4 comes out but compared to M4 it is still really good.) The bass is really tight and strong meanwhile, the treble also doesn’t get cut out. The sound felt very balanced and it gave a signature V shape sound. If you compare it with the AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro has a plain and balanced sound. However, the 1000XM3 gives a tasty but balanced sound. The 1000XM3 also allowed to use the equalizer and you could still customize the sound so that it fits your taste of sounds. Compared to AirPods, AirPods has a bass but it is too compact. However, the Sony WF-1000XM3 has a clean sound which always reminds me that it is an expensive earbud.
Noise Cancelling
Third is the noise cancelling. It is the main part of this earbud. The 1000XM3 has both ANC (active noise cancelling) and PNC (passive noise cancelling). PNC is just physically blocking all the noises from outside while ANC scans the outside noise’s wave using its outer mic and sending the exact opposite wave to your ear so you can’t hear the noise. In the case of PNC, use the comfort tips and it will make it better. You can also use the comply comfort tips too. Anyway I am going to focus more on the ANC so keep that in mind. The 1000XM3 has the QN1e chip which is a smaller version of the QN1 chip that was in the WH-1000XM3/XM4 which is currently has the best performance in the industry. This makes the 1000XM3 perform a good quality in ANC. Compared to the AirPods Pro, it is really hard to compare with it because they both give the wearer a really good experience with ANC. However, the AirPods Pro minimized the amount of tightness and suffocation when using the ANC which could be a benefit for the AirPods Pro compared to this.
Additional Functions
Last is the additional functions. In the case of TWS earbuds, the additional functions that I am going to explain are more important than sound quality or design of the earbuds. First of all, you could use the equalizer using the Sony app. The pre set settings are also good to use lightly. The Ambient Sound function was not as good as the AirPods Pro but was useful.
Disadvantages
All except for these are disadvantages. The bluetooth connection was weak and it got disconnected often compared to the AirPods. When walking outside or when in a bus or subway or places with a lot of smartphones, the connection often got cut no matter what the OS was. They say it is better than the WF-1000X but it still was not enough compared to famous earbuds like the Galaxy Buds or AirPods. Also, it didn’t allow wireless charging which also was a disadvantage.
Summary
Lets give the Sony WF-1000XM3 review a final summary. This product has very good basic features like sound quality. However, it gave a disappointing experience when it comes to connection and charging and design. Since the Sony WF-1000XM4 came out, I don’t recommend buying it if it costs more than $200. Just go for the AirPods Pro or the 1000XM4. If you have an android phone and really consider good quality of sound, then I could say that it is worth buying.
This post contain our personal thoughts so the review might be different from what other people think. That is the end of the Sony WF-1000XM3 review and I will see you on further posts. Bye!
Original post: ITLover0.tistory.com WF-1000XM3 review
