Review on 🎧 Sony WF-1000XM3 Noise Canceling True Wireless Earbuds with Alexa Voice Control and Mic for Phone Calls, Black - Leading Industry Headset/Headphones by Juan Crane

I'm convinced that with a few tweaks these are the best headphones on the market today. I've compared them to the Jabra Elite as well as the Bose Soundsport Frees and they win without a doubt. I also have a large collection of in-ear headphones and the sound quality is just as good, if not better. Here is a subjective list of pros/cons: Pros: Sound Quality, Noise Isolation, Noise Cancellation, Transmission Quality, Touch Controls, Battery/Fast Charge. A: First of all, the sound quality is amazing, but you have to play with the equalizer. I've had the most success by setting the EQ to "soft" and then tweaking from there. The reason for this is that the highs and highs are pretty harsh on them out of the box. Music with loud vocals or hi-hats, etc. PUNCHES THE EARS with no change. Dampening the highs results in a much flatter sound. The funny thing is that I found the opposite for the WH-1000XM3s (the headphone version of these headphones). Another benefit lies in their isolation/noise-cancelling properties: you rarely need to crank the volume above 50% to drown out ambient noise. This makes for a much cleaner sound and less distortion. Noise Isolation/Noise Cancellation: The Sony has significantly better noise isolation than any other headphone I've tried. They offer both silicone and soft foam tips that successfully isolate external noise. However, they didn't offer the best match, but I'll get to that later. In terms of noise cancellation, they're comparable but not as reliable as the headphone version. Noises such as loud conversations, taps and crickets are not drowned out as easily as other noises. Things like fans, hum, etc. will almost completely disappear. What they lack in NC they make up for in noise isolation. Increasing the volume helps drown out all other noise. Transmission quality: Compared to the Jabra Elite, the transmission quality is significantly better. By default, the left earbud controls the noise-cancelling controls, and long-pressing and holding the left earbud allows external noise to pass through. The sound quality is very natural, with almost no noise or hum. Jabras, on the other hand, sound like an old cassette deck with a lot of hiss in the background and have a much harsher tone. Battery/Fast Charge: Any sane person wouldn't have battery issues. I wore them for hours and the battery didn't even drop below 70%. Throw them in the quick charge case and you're on your way again. Touch controls: I'm a big fan of touch controls as it doesn't require you to stick the earbuds further into your ears, which I don't find. This is a convenient place to start, based on the comfort of "hearing" advice from Bose. The left earbud cycles through the ambient/noise-cancelling modes and also allows for pass-through. The right earbud controls play, pause, skip/previous track. For phone calls, two double taps are enough to accept and two double taps to end. To enter pairing mode for the second device, press the touch sensors on the left and right devices for about 7 seconds. You can swap the controls between the earbuds and also change them to Google Assistant or no effect. The only thing missing here is the volume control. I bypass this on my Apple Watch, so it's not a huge hurdle for me. Fit: I've never been a huge fan of headphones, but have had success with Bose in the past thanks to their wingtip tips. Unfortunately, you can't attach similar attachments to it, as they then no longer fit in the charging case. At the same time, Bose nozzles do not provide good noise isolation. I have small ear canals and even with the smallest of tips they will eventually fall out after lightly squeezing, chewing, walking etc. To get around this I bought some Comply tips that also fit the Sony WF-1000x (Comply TrueGrip ProMemory). Foam Eartips for Jabra Elite Sport, Master & Dynamic MW07, RHA TrueConnect, Sony WF-1000x, Sony WF-SP700N - Secure Fit Eartips with SweatGuard) and now it's awesome! They fit great and don't fall out. I can barely hear myself typing on my computer and the volume fluctuates between 50-60%. Microphone Quality: When making calls, incoming audio is great, but many people have told me I sound robotic or static. Others told me that I sound good. It seems to be environment dependent, but I'm still testing. On the plus side, the call tone comes out of both earbuds and delivers stereo sound, which the Bose Soundsport Free doesn't offer. speak while using headphones. No more problems with static noise or robot noise. Missing multipoint connectivity (NFC workaround): Bose's lack of multipoint connectivity was my biggest problem. If you don't know what a multipoint connection is, not only can you pair it with multiple devices, but you can also connect it to multiple devices (usually two) at the same time. You can play music from one source, say your phone, and then you can start playing music from another source, like your laptop, and the transition is seamless. You don't need to disconnect/connect the audio source to switch. This does not apply to Sony. On the other hand, you have several options. If you have an Android phone, you can hot swap it by touching the NFC logo on the headphone case. By Sony (on Android) "If you touch an NFC-enabled smartphone to the charging case while the headset is connected to another Bluetooth device, you can switch the connection with the smartphone (one-touch connection switching). However, the connection is not possible. toggle when speaking through a headset connected to a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. When an NFC-compatible smartphone is connected to the headset and you touch the smartphone with another NFC-compatible Bluetooth device (headset or speaker), the smartphone is disconnected from the headset and connected to the Bluetooth device. "If you have an iPhone, you can set up a shortcut that just takes you to the Bluetooth menu when you touch the case, and then you're just a touch away. The shortcut looks like this: When an NFC tag is detected > URL - prefs:root=Bluetooth > Safari - Open URL. Using these approaches along with hot-swappable earbuds means you don't have to disconnect/reconnect every time as long as you were previously paired with that device. You also get audio alerts that "Bluetooth disconnected, Bluetooth is connected," although it would be nice if the audio prompt told you which device is disconnecting/connecting. Please rate this review as USEFUL if you find usage information!