After getting the box, I found that the box was very simple, even a little "simple". Of course, this time Sony used green primary materials such as bamboo, sugarcane and recycled paper, and there was no plastic. Like other enterprises, it has contributed to environmental protection, so that consumers can understand the meaning of box simplicity. The attached accessories are also very simple. The four-step quick guide contains a bunch of instructions, USB Type-C charging cable and three different sizes of sponge earmuffs.
Open the charging box cover, Sony WF- 1000XM4 continues the previous magnetic fixing mode, and it is convenient to put it back after use. Sony WF- 1000XM4 charging box is much smaller than the previous generation, and it is not too big compared with other brands of true wireless noise-reducing headphones. This will be much smaller and more portable.
Compared with the previous generation, Sony WF- 1000XM4 headphones have a volume reduction of 10%. Taking the ear shape as a reference, the internal layout and parts structure are redesigned, so the wearability is improved a lot, and it is no longer hung in the ear canal as before. Sony WF- 1000XM4 adopts a soft curve design, which increases the contact area and is firmly inserted into the ear canal.
Sony WF- 1000XM4 has three charging magnetic contacts on each side, and there are different colors of L R or so. In the black oval area next to the contact, there is an infrared distance sensor. When it is detected that the earphone is taken off, the concert will be suspended automatically, and when the earphone is put on, the concert will be played automatically, saving more electricity. Look at the edge again, there is a small hole on the left and right, which is a pressure relief tuning hole. Next to the hole on the left, there is also a raised blind operating point, which is used to quickly distinguish the left and right headphones. It is worth mentioning that Sony WF- 1000XM4 earmuffs adopt a unique structure combining elastic materials and foam materials, which provides stability with high sound insulation and high tracking performance, and passive noise reduction is also improved compared with the previous generation. Sony WF- 1000XM4 also has IPX4 protection level, which is suitable for general daily use, such as sweat and splash prevention during exercise. You don't have to worry about the water in your headphones as before, so you can concentrate more.
The panel of Sony WF- 1000XM4 is a circular touch panel, and the touch operation mode is the same as other Sony true wireless headphones. You can change your favorite options through the Sony headset connection application. Factory default settings: the left earphone unit can switch between noise reduction and ambient sound by clicking and double-clicking to answer and hang up the phone, and long press is a quick reminder function. On the right earphone unit, click Yes to play and pause, double-click Yes to the next song and answer and hang up the phone, triple-click Yes to the previous song, and long press Yes to wake up the voice assistant. In addition, in this golden circle, there is also a microphone for noise reduction, which can provide stable noise reduction effect and noise reduction service in various environments, and wind noise detection depends on this mic.
Sony WF- 1000XM4 has a mic hole for communication at the top, which is outlined in Phnom Penh, which is very eye-catching. There is also a sponge at the mouth of the catheter, one is to prevent foreign objects from entering, and the other is to tune. The newly developed 6mm drive unit is built in the catheter, and it is equipped with a higher flexible diaphragm, which can improve the sound quality. At the same time, in order to improve the sound quality, Sony WF- 1000XM4 also supports DSEE Extreme Digital Sound Enhancement Engine Advanced Edition, 24-bit sound signal processing, Bluetooth 5.2 and LDAC Bluetooth transmission technology, which is very important. You know, only headphones and neck-hanging wireless headphones were supported before. Now real wireless headphones also support LDAC, and the sound quality will be by going up one flight of stairs. It can be seen that Sony has made a lot of efforts for sound quality.
Sony WF- 1000XM4 charging box is about 40% smaller than before, so it can be said that it is no longer too big to get rid of. Sony's LOGO is printed on the top of the charging box, which is also on a black background with a LOGO in Phnom Penh. There is a USB Type-C charging port on the back of the charging box, which supports fast charging, charging for 5 minutes and playing music for about 60 minutes. In addition, there is a wireless charging coil at the bottom, which supports Qi wireless charging and is more convenient than the previous generation. According to official data, when noise reduction is turned on, the earphone can be used for about 8 hours at a time, and the charging box provides 16 hours of battery life, and the battery life is about 24 hours, which meets the electricity consumption all day. Tommy actually turned on the noise reduction to listen to music for 2 hours, and the headphones consumed 30% power, which was not much different. If you continue to listen, it is estimated that it should be about 8 hours.
Sony's headphones are connected to the APP, and the interface has not changed much compared with the previous generation. In the setting of ambient sound control, you can choose noise reduction, ambient sound and off by yourself; The addition of intelligent off-hook means that as long as voice is detected, the ambient sound mode will be automatically turned on, which has the same function as WH- 1000XM4. Very practical, you can also adjust the voice sensitivity of the detection yourself. The time before this mode is turned off, that is, how long you will stop talking and turn it off. Another function that Tommy likes very much is to put the automatic wind noise reduction option into the noise reduction mode instead of the ambient sound mode, and detect the wind noise very intelligently. When the riding speed is around 18km/h and the wind is strong, the wind noise reduction mode will be turned on, and once the wind is detected to be weak, it will automatically switch back to the noise reduction mode. It is a very useful function, just like the intelligent non-picking function. This time, an air tightness measurement is added to determine the best earplug, which can test whether the size of earplug is the best. If the air tightness is poor, it will affect the noise reduction effect and sound quality. In addition, there is a classic 360 live sound effect and equalizer in the APP, which also greatly increases the playability.
In order to improve the sound quality of WF- 1000XM4, Sony has adopted many new technologies. How does it actually sound? In order to turn on LDAC and noise reduction mode, Tommy listened to some songs he often listened to. Personally, I think the overall sound trend of Sony WF- 1000XM4 is relatively balanced. When listening to Dai Peini's "Love What You Want", Dai Peini's voice is just like sticking to his ear, with no sense of distance at all. Very soft and sweet, the sound line is very clean and delicate, without teeth, and it will not appear too thin and thick. The positioning of the instrument is very accurate and it is not kneaded into a ball. The low frequency is not procrastinating, and the high frequency is not so bright and tortuous, but it is not dim. On the whole, the sound quality is good, and there are no obvious shortcomings.
After talking about the sound quality of the earphone itself, Sony WF- 1000XM4 has also greatly improved the sound quality of the call. Tommy was talking on the bike before. As long as the wind was a little stronger, the other party couldn't hear me clearly. I believe everyone will feel the same way when talking about headwinds, but this time Sony WF- 1000XM4 adopts bone conduction technology and microphone beam. The former can distinguish speech from environmental sounds through the vibration of bones, and can better pick up speech from bone conduction, while the latter can accurately pick up sound from the mouth, even in noisy places. After measurement, no matter how windy and noisy the outside world is, I no longer worry that the other party can't hear clearly, which really solves a big call problem.
Finally, talk about the noise reduction of Sony WF- 1000XM4. This time, Sony used its own integrated processor V 1, which was more operable and the noise reduction ability was improved by 40% compared with the previous generation. This time, Sony's noise reduction is no longer the kind of noise reduction ability that traditional manufacturers do, but on the basis of strong noise reduction ability, it has become smarter, more humanized and more convenient. In addition to the automatic wind noise reduction mode mentioned above, it can be used not only by cycling, but also when walking in strong winds. With it, you don't have to endure the wind noise anymore. 20-level adjustable ambient sound mode, and can receive sound in ambient sound mode while suppressing noise. In addition, through intelligent noise reduction, according to the activity state and location, the noise reduction and ambient sound schemes are automatically switched. For example, in different modes such as walking, public transportation and fitness running. And combine different suitable schemes to realize intelligent noise reduction. As for the noise reduction level, the effect of Sony WF- 1000XM4 is better than that of the previous generation, and it also improves the noise reduction ability in human voice, which is the biggest headache for everyone and can reduce the suffering of high-speed rail and noisy sounds on the plane. After Tommy wears COVID-19 vaccine, Sony WF- 1000XM4 starts the noise reduction mode. The noisy sound in the room immediately became much smaller. On the crowded bus, you can also enjoy a moment of peace, as if you were alone in a bubble, isolated from the outside world. This noise reduction experience is also the experience brought by Sony's very good combination of software and hardware.
Generally speaking, the noise reduction of Sony WF- 1000XM4 is a very comprehensive noise reduction enjoyment. After just a few days of experience, I think Sony WF- 1000XM4 can make you listen to music simply and purely, without the traditional frequent gestures, making everything so simple. In addition to the near-perfect noise reduction experience and intelligent design, WF- 1000XM4 has greatly improved the call quality, which also benefits from the bone conduction and microphone beamforming technology. It can be called the ceiling of the industry and is a real all-round player in the field of wireless noise-reducing headphones.