Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Headphones review

Our Verdict

While they're non an all-out upgrade on the WH-1000XM2, the Sony WH-1000XM3 make a lot of subtle tweaks to an already amazing pair of dissonance-cancelling headphones. That'south however true three years after they were released, even though they've been usurped by the Sony WH-1000XM4.

For

Outstanding dissonance cancelation
Fantastic sound quality
Quick Attending Mode
30-hour bombardment life

Confronting

Small tweaks from 1000XM2
Mediocre call quality

TechRadar Verdict

While they're not an all-out upgrade on the WH-1000XM2, the Sony WH-1000XM3 make a lot of subtle tweaks to an already amazing pair of noise-cancelling headphones. That's nevertheless truthful iii years afterward they were released, even though they've been usurped past the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Pros

+
Outstanding noise cancelation
+
Fantastic sound quality
+
Quick Attending Mode
+
thirty-60 minutes battery life

Cons

-
Small tweaks from 1000XM2
-
Mediocre call quality

The Sony WH-1000XM3 wireless headphones are a superb pair of noise-cancelling headphones. Fifty-fifty though they're a few years old and they've been usurped by the Sony WH-1000XM4, they're yet well worth buying.

Over the years, Sony has tried to perfect its headphones' audio playback and noise cancellation - and dissimilar many noise-cancelling headphones on the market, the Sony WH-1000XM3 don't only create a single sterile audio bulwark, but multiple kinds that can adapt to any situation you're in.

While this adjustability has been pushed ever further with the WH-1000XM4, that noise counterfoil technology is one of the reasons the Sony WH-1000XM3 were the king of noise cancellation and the all-time headphones for two years running, until the WH-1000XM4 swiped the crown in 2020.

As such, the Sony WH-1000XM4s are the very best headphones you can buy correct now – and they are a noticeable upgrade on the WH-1000XM3s - but that doesn't mean you lot shouldn't nevertheless consider the older Sony headphones.

Now that the XM4 are here, they're often discounted, making them a more budget-friendly option for those who want an excellent pair of headphones merely can't afford a high-end toll tag.

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Sony WH-1000XM3 price and release date

$349 / £300 / AU$499 at launched
Discounts are available often
Released in August 2018

The Sony WH-1000XM3 were appear at IFA 2018 and went on sale in August 2018.

Following in the footsteps of two previous 1000X models, the Sony WH-1000XM3 were the visitor's flagship headphones before the XM4 came onto the scene. They're feature-rich, every bit noted in the section in a higher place, and will audio like a premium pair of headphones should.

That said, considering they have so many features, they're going to be a scrap more than expensive than your boilerplate non-noise cancelling headphones: $349 / £300 / AU$499. That being said, they're often discounted these days, oft bachelor for much less than their original price.

Design

Lighter than predecessors
New padding forth bridge
USB Type-C port to charge
Touch controls

Arguably the biggest changes to the Sony WH-1000XM3 compared to the XM2 are found in the blueprint of the headphones: they're lighter than the previous model and more class-fitting as well.

The headphones shed well-nigh 1 ounce (22 grams) off their predecessors' design. That might not seem like a large deal, but considering you'll be wearing these for an extended menstruation of time like, say, a transcontinental flight, every ounce helps.

The other design change is the new flush fit that changes out the former padding on the bridge for something a fleck more cushiony. This makes these over-ear headphones more comfy, and less dorky-looking when they're on your head. Sony's too deepened the earcup and changed out the argent accents on the side of the headphones for a stylish copper tone instead.

Finally, the Sony also swapped out the microUSB port on the right earcup for a more modernistic USB Blazon-C charging port.

Outside of these small-scale tweaks, these are however relatively minimalist headphones – which really appeals to the business-grade client Sony is targeting.

The Sony WH-1000XM3 come in only two colors – all-blackness or grayness-silver – and across an engraved Sony logo higher up each earcup, are totally nondescript. These are designed to sound good and experience comfy to vesture – they're not flashy similar Beats headphones.

Around the left earcup, you'll notice the only two buttons on the headset. In that location's 1 for Power/Bluetooth and some other to bike the noise counterfoil betwixt its three settings: On, Ambient Mode and Off. Downwardly below the buttons y'all'll find an auxiliary jack, which is mirrored on the other earcup by a USB Blazon-C port that's used to charge the headphones. (You'll find a USB-to-USB Blazon-C cable within the box, aslope a iii.5mm AUX cablevision, ii-pronged AUX adapter and a hard carrying case.)

You can control your music playback past pressing or swiping the impact-capacitive ear cups. To skip frontwards, you'll demand to swipe right on the right earcup or swipe left to go back. Pausing is done past double-tapping, and yous can resume your music with the same activity. Similarly, turning the book downwards requires you to swipe downwardly on the right earcup, and turning it up is done by swiping up.

Information technology's a arrangement that takes some getting used to, but in one case you utilize information technology for a calendar week information technology becomes second nature.

Operation

Strong noise cancellation
Quick Attention Mode
aptX and aptX HD support
Little difference in audio performance
Google Banana integration
Amend call quality – but not great

Of class, what you're buying a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for is their ability to effectively block out ambient sound. In that arena, in that location were none improve than the 1000XM3 until the XM4 came forth.

According to tests done by Sony, the 1000XM3 are four times more effective at cancelling noise than the 1000XM2 – an impressive feat considering how well the M2 performed.

In practise, that claim definitely held truthful when confronted with both low-frequencies, like the kind you'd find while riding a train or flying in a airplane and in workplace environments where there's college frequency noises like people talking or music playing. In nearly every scenario the WH-1000XM3 performed admirably, often reducing noise from a disturbingly loud hum to a more manageable buzz – and sometimes eliminating outside racket entirely.

Like their predecessors, the 1000XM3 are able to selectively allow some noises into the headphones as well. With Ambient Noise manner selected, announcements made over train station PA systems can be heard, while Quick Attention Mode allows you to quickly pipe in external audio without taking off the headphones by reducing the volume of the music and using the microphones located on the exterior of each earcup. Since the launch of the XM3, this is a feature replicated by lots of headphones, including the AirPods Pro and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.

While noise counterfoil has enjoyed some solid improvements, audio quality remains like to what we heard on the 1000XM2… which might accept been more of a thwarting if the M2 weren't such an impressive pair of wireless headphones in their ain right.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 will audio a flake better while using an Android device that supports the aptX HD standard, but even on an iPhone they're surprisingly swell. Mids are straightforward, highs come through crystal clear and bass is weighty and tin take some existent slam to information technology. They actually shine on a device that supports the LDAC codec – like, for instance, a Sony Walkman – merely they're by no ways limited to those devices.

You can also summon Google Assistant or Alexa with a tap of the noise cancellation button, allowing you lot to ask either voice banana questions. iPhone users can besides actuate Voice Assistant for Siri, which lets you control your smartphone by property a finger to the affect sensitive earcups.

The final attribute of performance worth analyzing is the 1000XM3's call quality. In several phone calls made with the headphones, the people we spoke to reported that we sounded clear – if a bit quieter – than if we had used the phone's congenital-in microphone. This is likely due to the actress microphones Sony has embedded into the headphones themselves.

That said, while these headphones are fine for the occasional call or ii they're probably not what you'd desire to apply if y'all frequently make phone calls in an office setting – call quality isn't as pristine on the 1000XM3 every bit information technology is on other business-gear up headsets.

Bombardment life

xxx-hr battery life
Quick Charge mode
Car-off mode through the app

So how long volition these headphones last on a charge? There are a lot of factors but, later on a few days of testing, we institute a good benchmark to be around 30 hours or then. Over a period of four days while the headphones were being tested (five hours a twenty-four hours 10 4 days) they didn't demand to be recharged at all, ending the final night at around 30% battery life remaining.

For comparison, that'due south about x hours more than than the Bose QuietComfort 35 when used wirelessly and 10 hours less than the Bose if used in wired way. However y'all slice information technology, it's still more than than plenty juice to get yous across the Atlantic and back if you're travelling to the U.k. from the West Declension of the Usa.

Should you detect yourself running low, in that location's no need to worry – the 1000XM3 has a "Quick Charge" characteristic that allows yous to become around v hours of playback after only ten minutes of charging. In putting that claim to the exam, nosotros went from effectually xxx% battery life to l% after exactly 10 minutes continued to the wall. Claim verified.

Should you want your headphones to last a bit longer, you can use the Sony Headphones Connect app to shorten the time it takes for the headphones to go to sleep. The default is 15 minutes, but you tin reduce that number down to five minutes if you really want to wring every 2d of life out of them.

Terminal verdict

The XM3 are yet another impressive pair of noise-cancelling headphones from Sony. To wit, the Sony WH-1000XM3 are exactly the headphones we've come up to look from the new leader in noise-cancelling headphones.

Even if they're a bit too close to the XM2s for comfort, they're still amid the best headphones you can buy about three years later they were released, but being pipped by the Sony WH-1000XM4.

That existence said, you could relieve some money by picking up the Sony WH-1000XM2 – they're nearly as expert and at present even less than they were earlier thank you to a contempo toll drops.

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Nick Pine is the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar and covers TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He'due south written for TechRadar, GamesRadar, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a caste in estimator science he's non using if anyone wants it.