“With an all-new design and tons of improvements, they're very hard to beat.”

Great sound quality, Good battery life, Great noise cancellation, LDAC Bluetooth codec, Wireless charging

May not fit small ears, Slightly lacking in high-end detail

If silence is a true luxury, then perhaps the $279.99 which Sony asks for its new WF-1000XM4 active-noise cancelling earbuds isn’t, in fact, all that lavish. The company which upended ANC – and gave Bose and others sleepless nights – with headphones like the WH-1000XM3 has returned to demonstrate...

Incredibly powerful active noise cancellation, Excellent battery life, Excels at a wide array of musical styles, IPX4 and wireless charging support now added

No Bluetooth Multipoint, Voice call performance is only average

Sony makes numerous headphones and earbuds across a range of prices, but the 1000X line is its flagship family with top dogs like the WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones and the aging but still capable WF-1000XM3 earbuds .

Audio quality Clear, crisp, accurate sound with plenty of EQ setting and LDAC support., Design The XM4s and their case are much smaller than the bulky XM3 earbuds., Foam tips Comes with high-quality foam eartips instead of silicone.

Design again The XM4s are big and may not be comfortable for some people., Price At $279.99, the XM4s are $50 more expensive than the already spendy XM3s were., Solo mode Only the right earbud works solo., No multipoint No option to connect seamlessly to multiple devices.

With their previous model WF-1000XM3 , Sony already offered one of the most comfortable True Wireless in-ear models. Now in its fourth generation, the popular device has undergone a general overhaul – both internally and externally. Is the upgrade worth it?

Sony has definitely been on top of its game in the wireless earphone market. The company doesn’t shy away from pushing out premium-priced products because it knows it can deliver the quality. The new Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds are the successor of the XM3 model, which was already pretty great.

For noise canceling, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds should be among the first earbuds you look at.

Superb active noise canceling, Extremely clean, neutral sound, Good touch controls, Straightforward EQ customization, Easy to use companion app

Huge charging case, Less battery life than advertised, Just one customizable touch input

The Sony WF-1000XM4 are remarkable in almost every way. They provide excellent noise cancellation, easy listening neutral sound signatu...

Excellent combination of passive noise isolation and active, adaptive noise cancellation, Foam ear tips are very comfortable, IPX4 sweatproof, BT 5.2 and LDAC for high-res, Sound quality that is hard to beat

No Qualcomm aptX codecs, For deep pockets that don’t care about the price, No multipoint or NFC pairing

When it comes to the best over-ear headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM4 will always be in the conversation. If you want the same quality in an earbud, the WF-1000XM4 is the set for you. These have the best ANC and sound quality of any earbuds on the market today.

Incredible sound quality, The best ANC in any earbud, Excellent, adjustable Ambient Mode

Touch controls are finicky, Only three tips, Foam tips may not work well for everyone

In the over-the-ear headset market, the battle between noise-canceling headphones is primarily between Sony and Bose. However, in the wireless earbuds space, there are many competitors with noise-canceling capability now present even in some earbuds priced less than $100.

Stunning audio performance, Effective active noise-cancellation, Speak-to-chat option, Long battery life, Simple, reliable touch controls, Small case with wireless charging capability

Expensive

Sony is largely responsible for the rude health of the active noise-cancelling true wireless in-ear headphones market, and with the WF-1000XM4, the company has combined performance, ergonomics, and build quality more effectively than ever before. They’re not perfect, but as an overall package they’re hard to beat.

Rapid, full-bodied and eloquent sound; Impeccable ergonomics and some truly useful features; Impressive call quality; ;

Unremarkable battery life; ‘B+’ noise-cancelling; Can take a few moments to position comfortably