4.3.2020

I have been looking for some Truly Wireless "in ear" Headphones, to replace my last set of bluetooth headphones, which died due to battery problems.I did a lot of research, looking at the reviews of lots of different branded headphones. There were numerous good reviews about Sony's earbuds, although they all highlighted a few features which they thought needed improving, which I will mention later.I already own the Sony WH1000XM2 "on ear" headphones, which are great, and I own lots of Sony products and I have always found them to be good quality reliable products so I decided to purchase their WF1000XM3.Firstly, I have to say that if Sony does prefer to have long model numbers, instead of names,it would be more helpful, if some of the model details actually bore some resemblance to what the product was...eg TWEB1000NC3 (Truly wireless earbuds..noise cancelling).As expected they just ooze quality and sophistication I love the look. I know some of their competitors may be smaller and may appear sleeker... but you have to remember Sony have managed to pack in additional technology, features, and provided great battery life and still made them more practical to use.The first thing mentioned by the Reviewers was the case being slightly bulkier than their competitors , which if your wearing a jacket or using a bag isn't a problem. I personally love the look of the case, it's the first thing I noticed. The case will fit in the pocket, but it is not really practical in say for example a pair of jeans. Maybe they could have changed the shape to make it easier to fit in a pocket, but on the basis that most men for example, if they are not wearing a coat or jacket, have their phone in one pocket ( and I never put anything else in there for fear of damaging the screen) and their wallet in the other...and from a security point of view I wouldn't put anything if value in my rear pockets. So for me the shape isn't the issue, but what would have been really useful, would have been a secure fitting on the case, with a detachable carabiner to attach to my belt. (I have bought a separate case "skin" to do this but it hides the Classy Look of the Sony case).The reviewers mentioned no support for high end codecs or even Sony's Ldac codec...maybe this would be a problem for audiophiles, but these are designed to be "mobile" and to me they sound great. If I am at home then I would use my on ear headphones, but for commuting and out and about, these are brilliant!!!!!The reviewers also mentioned that they are not waterproof or even splash proof. This is their only real weakness in my opinion. I live in the UK and it rains a lot, if I want to listen to my music whilst out walking then essentially I need to carry another set of waterproof headphones... what is the sense in that!!Also just for information, each time you put the headphones on, when activating ambient sound, a little while later I do get an annoying interruption in play back when receiving confirmation sound active, presumably whilst it is sensing whether or not you are active or still..but this is only a minor observation.However, It's the main features where these earbuds excel, I really wanted earbuds with active noise cancelling. I know in ear buds cut out some of the external noise, if they fit correctly, but I wanted something that would reduce it even more. In this respect the Sony"s perform really well, particularly for their small size. What I really like is that ability to switch between noise cancelling and ambient sound with just a simple tap of the ear bud, eg to listen to someone talking to you, and which saves a lot of the hassle of having to take an ear bud out.The other great feature of the ambient sound facility, is its ability for it to sense if you are staying still or walking. When you are moving it allows you to automatically hear what is going on around you, which is great if you are out walking and you need to be able to hear the traffic from a safety point of view...(nb: you can turn noise cancelling fully on if you want to).The tap controls may need a bit getting used to, but when you have used them a few times it becomes second nature, and much more convenient than fumbling for buttons on the earpieces.Luckily their is a great App for your phone which allows you to perform the same tasks, whilst you are getting used to it, and it also allows you to adjust additional settings, including a bass and treble equaliser.Looking at the reviews for all the ear buds, they all have their pros and cons. If Sony could make their next ones waterproof, without too much of a price increase, and maybe easier to carry around, then they would be perfect. Everything is about compromise and choice, based on what's available on the market today, I have to say that based on the quality, design and features, I am really pleased with the choice I have made ;)...and if course they sound great!!!.

2.9.2019

In short, the sound quality is amazing, connection is rock solid, literally never had a drop out from power, switching to other devices isn't as fast as Apple's AirPods but it's quick enough, the ANC is good however not as silent as advertised. Very happy thus far, just need to replace the earbuds with ones like Shure's foam tips (This is probably due to more personal preference and those types of tips actually stay in my ears better and everyones ears are different).I've been trying these for a few weeks and I'm impressed, due to work I've used the Shure SE-215's for all my commuting leisurely audio reviewing on the go and these WF-1000MX3's certainly do have a much nicer sound.I was fed up with constantly being strangled by wires because someone or something caught it and there's less faffing about with putting them in your ear holes. Now there are a few nit picks, firstly the noise canceling does work but in very specific locations, it does basically take out low end with the effectiveness of a huntsman spider on a insect. Sadly it's not the silence it advertised and actually amplifies the sound of the screaming potato people might call a baby thats been brought out into the wild by mum, dad or both. I can still have a convocation with someone with little effort with the ANC turned onto full (of course without music playing, for any headphones with music playing would prevent convocations). I can still hear cars plain as day however they do feel like they've been pushed more into the background, the sound a lot further away, that part I actually quite like. I will admit that I do use the ANC because it does actually on the whole immerse me more into my music and anything doing that is a plus, it's just not as effective as Sony made them out to be on the box or adverts.Talking of box's it would be nice to actually have some way to tell the charging level of the case itself, you basically just get the "I'm out of power" lights and that's it, not particularly useful, luckily this is made up by the case charging at a worryingly fast speed so not too bad.My complaint with the ANC might also be due to the only physical nitpick which is the ear tips, the standard rubber ones just don't stay in the ear properly and pop out with no external help, thought it could just be my naturally oily ears but I tried with different tips and multiple people who all experienced the same "I can feel it coming out of my ear" feeling. The rubber/foam style alternate tips that come provided are much better, although for something like this these earphones would have been much better and benefitted massively from ear tips like Shure's SE range, the expand to fill your ear thus giving you much better seal that naturally rejects audio anyway and would only heavily improve the ANC effectiveness. I'll be getting tips like these when someone actually makes them for this set of earphones (And they will eventually).Actually one glaring issue is that of the microphone, if so much as a fly sneezes you'll hear the wind in ANC mode, it has absolutely no wind protection so if you're near anything that puffs a bit of air get ready to switch the ANC off, they're also terrible for phone calling which is an absolute shame, every convocation has been met with the, "We can hear everything other than you" question.Lastly I noticed in the manual it literally states to not use these when walking about, Sony you cheeky so and so's, why put a walking option within the app then you naughty miscreants. The app is actually pretty useful however I wouldn't recommend using the adaptive control, the idea is awesome however rather than sliding up and down it cuts the music for a sec to signal the change, additionally it's entirely based on speed, so while sat on the tube where I want the ANC cranked even higher than it can go, when the tube stops it slams it right off again and gives me blaring public and engines, just find it so much easier to touch my left ear to switch between Noise Cancelling all the way on maximum, ambient noise to listen if I need to and then ANC off if airs messing it up or the previously mentioned screaming potato situation.All in all I so far don't regret getting the WF-100XM3's and would recommend them to anyone looking for a high tier set of wireless earphones, specially over a pair of Apple AirPods and so far worked best on a short hall flight, no deep humming of planes for me, just lovely music in relative silence.

21.2.2020

Out of the box, the first step of pairing the earphones was straightforward, and was relatively simple to connect the earphones to my smartphone. Once connected, the dedicated Sony app (that you'll need to download) takes over and you can configure the earphones to suit your own personal preferences.The earphone storage container/charger will charge the earphones fully up to three times from its own battery. Handy when you're away from a charging point for a prolonged period as it ensures your earphones remain ready for use.Things became a little more complicated when preparing to use the earphones. The simple act of taking an earphone out of the storage container activates it.By the time you get the earphones inserted into your ear, and adjusted for a comfortable fit, you've missed the automated voice messages informing you of their Bluetooth connection status. Furthermore, as both earphones have control surfaces you can interact with (configured by the Sony app), it is at least for me, impossible to insert the earphones without accidently touching the control surface and issuing the pre-programmed command. Sony have designed the earphones to become fully enabled when they are in the correct listening position, but this doesn't always work, and I find myself dashing to insert the earphones before I miss the start-up messages and doing my best not to touch the control surfaces. It's a real bind and could be solved in two ways. (1) If the earphones each had a physical on/off switch, you could insert the earphones properly and at your own pace and then activate them when you are ready. (2) Have a user defined time delay controlled by the Sony app, which senses when the earphones have been removed from the storage/charging container and counts down before fully activating Bluetooth and become responsive.I've also had instances when I've removed the earphones temporarily, and have just put them down, but not back into their container. The earphones are supposed to switch off after 5 minutes when they sense they've been removed, but this doesn’t always happen despite being enabled correctly within the Sony app. The consequence is they continue to use power, and if you're still within Bluetooth range your phone remains connected. Also, if you just put the earphones down and they have powered off after 5 minutes, picking them up to move them elsewhere, activates them again. The only sure-fire way cure is to always store them in their container, but that is not always convenient or possible.I have now got into the habit of removing the earphones, and after putting them down, shutting the earphones down manually from within the Sony app, and double checking the Bluetooth connection has been closed. These are all minor niggles, but it does mean each user needs to understand the implications of how they use and interact with the earphones.The upside is how well they perform. In use with my iPhone Xs, connectivity has remained rock solid, and I've suffered no drop-out. The supplied range of replaceable earbuds to fit onto the earphones is enough to cater for all sizes of ear canal, ensuring a comfortable fit offering good noise isolation. When coupled with the noise cancellation the earphones also offer, you truly are in a world of your own.Sound quality is superb making for great listening, though be aware, they will expose low quality audio recordings (e.g. 128 kb/s mp3) for what they are, offering you a quiet enough listening environment where you'll notice. Supply the Sonys with decent source material and you'll appreciate how good they are.I mentioned previously the control surfaces each earphone has. There are a range of commands available via the Sony app you can use to configure the earphones to respond with, depending on your preferences. I have the right-hand earphone programmed to pause and skip forward/back tracks, and the left-hand earphone to control the playback volume. Useful and it saves you having to dig your mobile phone out to perform the same functions.As for rating the earphones, my own personal rating would be as follows.Connection to smart phone and setup 4/5Handling of the earphones when either getting ready to use them, or putting them down temporarily 1/5Noise isolation and noise cancelling 5/5Sony app functionality 3/5Sound quality 5/5Overall 4/5

30.7.2019

I use the noise-cancelling SONY headphones WH-X1000XM1 quite a lot to listen to audio books and rock music, but they’re a bit bulky to take out on the street or pack on holiday. So I thought I’d try the new WF-1000XM3 ear buds.The buds come in a neat small box, most of which should be recyclable as hardly any plastic. The buds have a bespoke small storage box to hold them, which also acts as their charging unit. As would be expected the charging box has to be charged fully so I grab the nearest USB charging cable. Nope, that doesn’t work, as unit uses the newer USB C cable. Delayed me slightly extracting the correct cable from the packing box. However,the USB C cables are symmetrical so I don’t have to put my glasses on to plug it in the correct way around.Every time you put the buds in the box they charge, the box is supposedly good enough for four full charges. Currently I haven’t had to power the charging/storage box in two weeks of daily use.Connection of the buds to my new smartphone only took a couple of minutes for the phone to recognise the new Bluetooth device. Adding the Sony Headphones app gives more options to configure the buds. I tried fiddling with settings but reverted to the defaults. It’s a shame that the new app doesn’t work with my mk1 Bluetooth headphones (no app available) or my Bluetooth speakers that have to use a different app.I am more used to using headphones, so ear bud users already know this, but it is a learning curve for me in that I have had to try out different sized ear buds to get a good fit, plus if you suffer from excess ear wax, cleaning is required else the units get blocked (sorry has to be said).Finally get to listen to my books and music. Listening conditions were varied, screaming family, cutting the lawn, cooking with the extractor fan on; result was I could hear every word clearly without having to set the volume to maximum. As to moving around; no cables to accidently pop the units out of your ear every couple of seconds was brilliant. The weight of the buds didn’t seem to be a problem. For me during use; I had to reposition the buds every so often, this could be possibly due to my ears not being used to having buds plugged in.Daily use of the buds involves taking the buds out their box; this switches them on and thus their connecting to my phone, putting them back in their box switches them off and recharges them. Bud controls involve tapping the units on their small circular plates. Tapping the left hand unit changes the noise cancelling function. This I found a bit hit and miss. Successful tapping is rewarded with an audible confirmation of the setting selected, otherwise only a beep is heard. I’m still practicing this process. The right bud controls use with the phone, still have to try this.I gave my rock tracks a good workout with the buds. Having old ears I can drive the buds at very high volumes (if you’re young then you won’t have to do this). Did I notice any break up in sound quality? None at all; no mechanical buzzing etc. In fact I think the bass is better controlled than on the headphones. I have additionally tried linking the buds to the TV set due to the family complaining I have it on too loud. This I did successfully. Unfortunately there is no way to change the buds volume and it appears to disable the TVs speakers. Speaker disabling does not happen when using the headphones.So would I throw away my headphones for the buds. For use out the house the buds are far more transportable, less noticeable, lighter and you can easily put them away in their pocket sized charging box when not in use. At home I think I would still prefer to use the headphones even with the extra weight and bulk. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

19.12.2019

I've been using fairly expensive wired headphones/earbuds on my phone (which I use as my mp3 player) until now. I won't mention the make as it wasn't Sony. I have always thrown away the relatively poor quality earbuds that come bundled with some phones & mp3 players & bought quality earbuds separately instead as good sound quality for music is important to me. Decided I now wanted the convenience of wireless. Checked out various review sources & it seemed that the Sony WF-1000xm3 score highly, although they are expensive. But I don't mind paying more for good quality.I've been using them for a while now & my conclusions are as follows:Maybe it's a matter of personal preference,but for me the flat sound (i.e. with no alteration of EQ) of the WF-1000xm3 earbuds is a little too fierce in the mid, upper mid & high frequency bands. However, Sony's companion app that runs on my phone has a graphic EQ, & with a little judicious re-drawing of the EQ curve that can be fixed. I did spend some time playing tracks I know well & tweaking the graphic EQ settings whilst I was getting to know the sound of these earbuds, but the end result was I have an EQ curve that sounds great on everything & I never touch it now. So it's just as well that the Sony app has this graphic EQ feature as for me it's essential for a good sound.For me, the fit is comfortable and they don't fall out.The carry case that holds them recharges them whilst they are in it, which is a neat idea that helps ensure the earbuds are fully charged every time you take them out to use them. Of course you will need to recharge the case via a USB lead every so often.There is one issue that really bugs me about these earbuds, but it ought to be fixable with a software update. I really hope Sony fix it. This issue is this. The earbuds feature a voice guide that delivers messages about device status etc whilst in use. The Sony app allows 'Notification and Voice Guide' to be switched off - but with a catch. Sony state it here: "Some important notifications and guidance will not be disabled even if the setting is set to off". Some messages cannot be disabled, & the crucial one for me is the voice message, "Please recharge headset, power off" which booms out just before the batteries go flat.Sometimes I like to fall asleep at night listening to something, e.g. recorded nature/environment sounds. These earbuds have a battery life of around 6 hours from fully charged. So when I use these to listen & fall asleep, just under 6 hours into my sleep I get woken up with a booming message, "Please recharge headset, power off". It's happened a few times now, with the result that I am back to use my old wired earbuds for falling-asleep-at-night listening.It's a stupid design flaw that the user cannot stop the device from delivering this voice message. I don't need Sony to wake me up to tell me that the earbuds need recharging. I already know that they will be flat in the morning, when I will put the earbuds in their case & they will quickly recharge.Sony need to release a software update that makes it possible to switch off ALL voice messages. There is no sensible reason not to.

26.8.2019

Out of the box and they look great. First things first, I charged them up. It’s an age thing, I always do it. Downloaded the headphone app onto my iPhone 6S. Yes, I should read the instructions..... memo to self "do it".In the box, earphones, charging case, very short charging cable usb C, 6 extra pairs different sized ear bud tips, instructions of many languages.I prefer the light colour ones, silver opposed to the black.Okay open the smart earphone charging unit which shows a charging light when closed and remove the earphones. They light up red then flash blue. Open the app on my phone, press connect and wait. Nothing, earphones not found, try again....nope. Just by chance I open Spotify whilst I look out instructions.No need music is playing and earphone app shows we are connected.Initially sound was not to good, using the app I cycled through different pre-installed sounds. Not my type of sound so made my own. Brilliant. Two custom and one manual, now let’s get the music flowing.Oh no, must of hit something as earphone started to speaking to me, the app to the rescue. The earphones can be programmed with gesture controls and out of the box they are. Switch gesture controls off and settle in, I prefer earphones for music only.Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare started and it was okay, changed ear bud ends and there are 6 extra pairs for a better fit. Now I did look behind me as some of the track background noise "never heard before from the track" was released with the Sony WF-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones.Played around again with the sound setting as the were still a touch to bright on the cymbals. Nailed it, walked around the house then out to the garden, no hiss, drop out, interference or problems. Not aware I had the earphones in as they were so comfy.Music collection set to random and really happy with these earphones.I am a convert to these, the sound is awesome, yes I did use reasonably priced wired earphones before and have been missing so much. I normally use wired earphones as I am afraid to lose the wireless ones when jogging, no fear here. When I removed one earphone the music stopped and it started to flash, great idea.So off to bed and via the app I switched them off battery power was still showing 100% left and right. that was after approx 4 hours. Next morning opened the app to connect..... nothing. Then it connected only to show Left earphone 50% and Right earphone 0% power.Into the case as that has residual charging. When I got back to them, all was well. Connected immediately and started music where it had left off.Next time after charging the Left earphone was dead no light or sound. Ah memo time, read the instruction and all was explained. Press top of earphone when in charging case. All well and still is.I have used for some time now and fine tuned the sounds to my tastes. I highly recommend.Issues as mentioned above, the charging cable is too short and is the new usb C. I bought a longer lead to have the charging unit on my table rather than dangling in mid air from my power socket. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

4.8.2019

Sony’s latest version of their wireless earbuds are a great improvement on the last model. Firstly the carry case yes it a bit on the large size but it still fits nicely in your pocket & I love the rose gold lid & the almost rubberised feel of the black body. The earbuds slide in nicely aided by the magnets to keep them in place so you know there charging. And that slightly larger case is worth it when it act as a power bank for added charge to your earbuds. Only negative is the case doesn’t have wireless charging but I can’t hold that against it when it gives me a minimum of 6 extra hours of power.Now the main event the earbuds, simple classic black looks with slight rose gold touches,yes again they are a little on the large size but they pack so much inside. First off you need to choose the correct size buds for your ears there’s no excuse you get several to choose from. Get the fit right & it will help with the quality of the noise cancelling & also make them feel more secure in your ear. Sound quality is amazing I tried it with various types of music & every time they didn’t disappoint & even with the volume turned up there was no distortion. Then the all important noise cancelling, how can it be so good in earbuds? Okay it’s not perfect in extremely loud situation & getting the bud size right helps but still wow it’s impressive.How did they fit all this in such a small package. I didn’t have any connectivity issues no Bluetooth drop outs and I did use Sony’s Headphone app which I suggest you use as it has a few extras on there that you can tweak if you so wish. Again one slight bug bear is that you can only pair one device at a time which is slightly frustrating. Using them for phone calls was okay while using them no one complained they had issues hearing me they did say it was obvious I was using a headset conversation on both sides could be heard without having to repeat anything.Buttons or touch pads? I prefer the circular touch areas rather than physical buttons yes sometimes you may inadvertently knock them when you are adjusting them but they are much easier than a physical button & again via the app you can change what they do. Only negative on this is that there is no ability available to change the volume level on the buds but you can’t have everything. The only other thing I want to mention is they have no IP rating so i would be slightly worried about using them at the gym or getting caught outside in the rain but fingers crossed when I do they will be okay.So if like me you really want some wireless earbuds that can deliver on sound quality & as an added bonus have wonderful noise cancelling capabilities & plenty of playtime thanks to it’s charging case then these are the ones to buy. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

30.7.2019

Sony has managed to raise the bar to another level. These noise cancelling wireless head phones are just amazing. They come in a small compact box, that the main product slides out of. Straight away there’s the instructions to set up the headphones, in an easy to follow step by step guide as you unpack the product. The headphones themselves are unbelievably small, and fit securely in the case. The case is also a battery pack as you would expect with headphones such as these. The case feels very high quality, and very rugged, the case also has a charging light on the front and has a USB-C socket on the bottom. I really like this feature, as most of my other tech kit is USB-C so it means I don’t have to carry a large number of cables around.

15.5.2020

I use these headphones for listening to music at my desk, while going for walks, and during online conferencing. They perform very well across all of my devices (Windows, iOS, Android). They are easily paired, so long as you place both buds in your ears during pairing (this is essential). Switching between connected devices is very easy, with no need to disconnect from one before connecting to the other. They work seamlessly.With regards to sound quality, these are in the outstanding category. The response is tight, the output reassuringly flat, and the music is given plenty of space, with individual instruments easily separated across the full range of frequencies. Neither lows, mids,

15.1.2020

After trying several different models of true wireless earbuds from other companies and having a ton of audio drop outs and connection issues, I decided to spend a bit more and go for the WF1000XM3, and I'm SO glad I did!Unlike a lot of other true wireless ones, each bud pairs independently to your phone and I think this greatly improves the connection (you can also adjust them to favour connection strength over sound quality in the app). I've had *maybe* 3-4 drop outs in my month of near-constant use, which is frankly incredible.I was a bit skeptical about the noise cancelling, having never really been a fan before. However, having taken a few long international flights lately, it was a real godsend!

2.1.2020

Before I purchased these, I read countless reviews on a multitude of headphones of the truly wireless variety. I almost purchased a pair of the Cambridge Audio ones, as the battery life provides 3hrs more listening than these, they’re also somewhat waterproof, which is a boon in climates such as those here in the UK where you are more likely to encounter rain than sun. However, I opted for the Sonys due to the fact that not only does it provide the companion app to allow for an equaliser, I like a more bass orientated, but then I tweak the mid and high ranges also, something not available on the Cambridge Audios, the Sonys also provide noise cancelling which is actually pretty good when travelling into Birmingham city centre on peasant wagon as it blocks 99% of all noise,

28.5.2020

I have used Sony wired earphones and headphones for many years, and have never doubted the quality. They are the first brand I consider for audio/video equipment. At first I wasn't sure about using wireless earphones. Would the connection be consistent? Would the earphones stay in my ears? Would the sound be as good?For the Sony WF-1000XM3 the answer to these is yes! I have used these earphones for a couple of weeks now and am very impressed with the quality of sound, the features, the ergonomics and the durabilty.The sound is rich and clear - I found myslelf hearing details in songs that I had not previously noticed.

21.6.2020

I bought these to replace a pair I have used for a couple of years, whilst they weren’t in this quality I was amazed by the massive difference in sound quality.I prefer the true wireless format due to portability and simple use without being obvious you have headphones onLike others I found the foam buds the best fitI would just like to comment on a few of the review comments which almost put me off the purchase.As with all Bluetooth devices You will only get the best out of them if the source is best quality, feed these with the a good source and they are superb and defiantly lift the music.I use Spotify and download to an sd card on my phone at highest quality as I have plenty storage space,

1.8.2019

I bought these to replace Sony’s previous flagship in-ears ( which have been ‘ borrowed’ by my daughter whilst she travels.The charger/case is perfect to slip into a pocket or back and the magnetic closure is reassuringly secure. the headphones themselves are pleasant to hold and to look at and fit into my ears snugly and do not give the impression that they might easily be dislodged.As it happens, my first ‘field test’ was literally that, 3 days at a music festival and all my impressions are positive. The sound quality is without peer, beating the previous ‘phones, not by much, but enough. But, the one area where these beauties wipe the floor with their older siblings is the rock-solid Bluetooth connection- the signal did not drop out once in almost three days of soak testing (

31.7.2019

I have been using in-ear headphones for a while but these I have to say are outstanding, particularly when it comes to the battery lifetime. They come with a very elegant black/rosegold box, which needs to be fully charged for a good 4 hours at the beginning. The design is nice as well and they are very comfortable to wear, even for longer.The headphones, once charged, last easily for 3-4 hours of extensive usage, I used them at work, during my commute, for calls. Once the in-ears battery is empty you just put them back into the box for a few hours and they recharge in little time, I have been using them like this for almost a week before I had to recharge the box. The sound quality when listening to music is excellent,

Sony WF-1000XM3 - Reviews

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