The last time in my hands fell headphones of this class a year and a half ago, it was Philips SHB98850NC. During this time, in the sky of full-size noise-canceling headphones, a new star was lit up – Sony WH-1000, which gathered a lot of positive feedback from customers. My hands only reached the third (figure 3 in the index of the model means the third generation) incarnations of this remarkable model, and she completely justified all the hopes placed on her, surprising with the fantastic possibilities of noise reduction and the flexibility of their settings. Probably the first time I ran into headphones, whose capabilities cannot be overplayed.
What is interesting Sony headphones WH-1000XM3
For the first time in these headphones, the Sony QN1 processor, designed specifically for such tasks, is used for noise reduction. With the help of the Sony Headphones Connect application (available for Android and iOS), you can control the noise reduction system, including using adaptive settings that are automatically changed depending on the sound environment (at home, on the street, in a noisy store). I already came across this application when using Sony WF-SP700N headphones. Its settings for the 1000XM3 are even wider, and now even things like atmospheric pressure can be taken into account (for example, it can be useful when flying in an airplane), not to mention such simple things as managing equalizer profiles or sound position. In general, it should be said that these headphones are designed for those who travel a lot – the package includes a convenient case where the headphones are placed in the folded state, as well as an adapter-splitter for using headphones in the seats of airliners.
Also, these headphones can control external surround sound (for the first time I encountered this possibility with Here One headphones, but Sony went much further, implementing the function two orders of magnitude better) from completely turning off all background noise to the mode in which you need to hear what is happening outside ( for example, announcements at the airport or train station). All this is really well tuned from within the app. And I really liked the simple but useful Quick Attention function (in Russian translation “Quick attention”): just cover the earpiece with your palm to muffle the sound to the minimum and answer / ask a question. It is easily implemented, works 100% of the time and is very useful in daily use, for example, when you come to the checkout at the supermarket and you need to answer that you do not need the package and you have a loyalty card. After these headphones, I wondered why no one had thought of this before.
What’s in the box with Sony WH-1000XM3
The Sony WH-1000XM3 package can be called standard for headphones of this class: a hard carrying case, USB charging (thanks, Sony, for USB-C – I have almost no microUSB devices left), a 1.2-meter audio cable for connecting headphones to The “wired” mode (when the headphones are on, noise reduction works in the same way, only a little longer) and a splitter for connecting headphones to the entertainment system of the aircraft.
Separately, I want to say a couple of good words about the case. Very prudently put into it a tab with the layout of the headphones in the folded state. This greatly simplifies the life of a novice user and saves time (and nerves). An external pocket with an elastic band will also be good for a trip
Appearance and Control Sony WH-1000XM3
Headphones are excellent, all materials are matte (glossy plastic would not fit them, this is one of the few things that confused me with Philips SHB98850NC headphones).
On the left earpiece (in the picture they are turned upside down) there is a jack for connecting the cable, two control buttons (power and assignable button – it launches Google assistant or switches the noise cancellation modes) and NFC tag, on the right there is a USB-C charging connector and a touch external surface . The control gestures are extremely simple – finger up and down adjust the volume, right and left the next / previous composition, double tap with the finger to answer the call / hang up or stop / resume playing music. Cover the entire surface with the palm of your hand – muffle the sound to barely audible and “add” the external sound. To return to the original music playback, you just need to remove your hand. Brilliant and simple.
The skin (or rather, the substitute? Now the devil himself will not understand, but not sure that genuine leather can be so soft) the ear cushions are very soft. At the top of both headphones, there are additional microphones (in the picture with copper-colored fringing), which are used for analyzing external noise, and participating in noise-reduction algorithms and adaptive sound control.
The headband is also soft (though not as much as ear pads), stitched with thread.
Headphones have several degrees of freedom for rotation and folding. All this allows not only compactly put everything in a case, taking up minimal space, but also stdiyat on the head according to all the principles of ergonomics. The weight of 255 grams is not felt, while the sound insulation (with regard to noise reduction) is the best I’ve ever met in my life.
There was only one incident with the wearing – they can not be worn with any winter hat. Leaving the house, I wondered how best to put on headphones – under the cap or on top of the cap. With a knitted hat, such a question hardly arose, I suppose it stretches. And my winter cap is not. As a result, put on a hat on top, but it does not sit as tightly as we would like – the headband interferes.
Working with the Sony Headphone Connect app
Thanks to NFC, pairing with a smartphone via Bluetooth is quick and easy. You just need to follow the instructions of the application. And then begins technomage. Unlike most applications for working with smart headsets, this application gives you maximum customization and uses the full techno-magical potential of technology and algorithms created by Sony. The application does not have any special sections of the menu – everything is displayed on one long screen (which is correct and convenient) in the form of drop-down lists, if necessary. You can activate the adaptive sound control, change the acoustic picture so that the sound can come from a certain point (there are six of them). Or choose a surround option (this Sony technology is called VPT) – an arena, a club, an open stage, a concert hall.
How adaptive sound control works. There are four settings with different levels of ambient noise – conditional tabs at home, walking, jogging and public transport. In each case, you can select the desired level of noise reduction and enable, if necessary, a focus on the voice (for example, in order not to miss the necessary stop announced in the transport). In practice, I didn’t like the implementation (or I just couldn’t properly set it up), because on the street, I constantly jumped the sound, switching from one profile to another too often and unexpectedly, constantly annoying. Therefore, in the end, I turned it off, but it is possible that I simply did not have the patience and desire to experiment to do everything magically and how it should be.
Next come the equalizer settings. At one point in time, you can choose one thing: the position of the sound, the equalizer profile or the VPT (surround sound) settings. At the same time they do not work (it is easy to guess that due to the conflict of algorithms). Another sincerely pleasing setting that I know from Sony’s Bluetooth headsets is simpler — the choice of priority: sound quality or connection stability. At home, by itself, the Internet is better, so here I listen to music with a sound priority, on the street, where the connection is worse (especially in “pits” with 3 / 4G), it is better to choose the connection priority to avoid falling out of sound. Another really working feature is the activation of Sony’s proprietary processing algorithm called DSEE HX. This algorithm allows you to “shake” the usual conditional MP3 to the level of HD Audio. Does not work if the recording has already been done in HD Audio or if the original has a very low bit rate. In any case, the difference between the disabled and enabled options can be determined by ear, even to a very sophisticated listener. And this is one of the important factors that make the Sony WH-1000XM3 so memorable.
If desired, you can configure the suppression of noise, taking into account atmospheric pressure. In my case, nothing significant happened, but, apparently, this function will be useful only on the plane. In a normal situation, it is useless, but those who fly frequently will probably appreciate it.
For those who want to know more
In general, Sony WH-1000XM3 uses some unimaginable amount of proprietary technologies, so if you know everything about them, you can skip this block, the rest, I think, will be interested to know what is behind all these clever phrases and abbreviations.
What is VPT
Virtualphones Technology – virtual phone technology. Sony’s patented sound processing technology that creates a surround sound effect and presence in a huge room. These headphones use profiles “arena”, “club”, “open stage”, “concert hall”.
What is DSEE HX
Digital Sound Enhancement Engine – DSEE and its improved version of DSEE HX, according to Sony, is “not a resolution transform or averaging signal. This is Sony’s proprietary technology based on analyzing a large number of audio sources, computing and adding a signal … This technology recreates high-frequency signals and nuances (sampling rate up to 96 kHz and bit depth up to 24 bits if you are interested in the details). Thus, it converts both compressed audio and CD-quality audio (without compression or lossless 44.1 kHz / 16 bit). ” Simply put, the technology allows you to fill the sound with details lost during file compression.
What is Sense Engine
Sense Engine is the marketing name for the entire complex of gestures related to the control of headphones using gestures on the touch panel. It first appeared in 2016 in the first model MDR-1000X. The general idea is to control the sound with one touch. No button search. You can control the volume by simply swiping your finger up and down on the touch panel. Switch music or activate the “Quick attention” function, covering the earpiece with your palm. At the same time, the volume of the sound in the headphones will decrease so that you can hear the interlocutor. To return to the original state, you just need to remove the hand.
What is LDAC
According to the official version of Sony, LDAC is a Bluetooth codec that uses more efficient data compression than ordinary codecs used in Bluetooth, such as SBC or aptX. Winning in compression can be up to 3 times. Another proprietary development by Sony, the purpose of which is to improve the quality of sound during its transmission via Bluetooth.
How does the Sony WH-1000XM3
Honestly, these are the first wireless headphones in my life that begin to demonstrate magic right after switching on. Activated noise reduction literally places the listener immediately in a closed deaf room. On the street, the effect is, of course, less noticeable, but indoors, the background noise is reduced to almost zero. I started listening to headphones from a laptop, and at first I didn’t have enough depth