Sony WH-1000XM3 vs. Sony WH-1000XM2

Today we are back here with an exciting headphone, or should we say headphones from Sony and we will try to find out which one is better. We are talking about the Sony WH-1000XM2 and its upgraded version Sony WH-1000XM3, which Sony claims to have better sound clarity and improved ANC.

We ran numerous tests, keeping these two pairs of headphones parallely, and below are our finding with respect to the different aspects and design functionalities of these two headphones.

In the Box

Sony provides the same content for both the headphones. In the box, you will find a TRS audio cable, micro-USB charger cable for XM2, type C charger for XM3, airline adapter, the manual and a carrying case. The carrying case for the XM3 has a fabric finish as compared to its predecessor that had a pleather finish.

Built Quality

The 1000XM3 is a bit better than the XM2. The XM3 has a different look and feel in comparison to the XM2, with a thinner two-tone headband, signature oval earcups, has lower profile that will fit most ears, are a little lighter and has cool accents around the vents. They are lighter than the XM2 by about 20g, and the low-profile headband makes them feel less bulky and cumbersome once on your head. The hinges are similar in design for both the headsets, which seems durable enough. The XM3 headband has a pleather cover finish as compared to the metallic finish of XM2.

Comfort
As far as comfort is concerned, the XM3 undoubtedly takes the cake. The XM3 has thicker and better pads than the XM2, which makes them one of the most comfortable wireless over-ears we have tested. This gives them a better fit around most ears and you should be able to wear them for longer periods than the XM2 without feeling any fatigue or soreness.

Functionality

The XM3 feel a tad bit more responsive to the swipe gestures and the auditory beeps for feedback are a little quieter so they do not interrupt your listening experience as much as the XM2 when turning up the volume or changing tracks.

The controls remains the same – On the right ear cup, the swiping up and down controls volume  to the left and right swipes rewinds and skips tracks respectively and double tapping pause and resume tracks and also manages calls. On the left ear cup, you have the rest of the buttons laid out. The XM3’s buttons have been slightly redesigned to be a bit more raised, and hence tactile and easy to differentiate by feel alone and the ambient key is a bit longer than the power/pairing unlike on the XM2. The ambient mode button works the same way on both headphones, but you can switch it to trigger Google assistant via the app on the XM3.

In addition, the unique cover-to-mute gesture on the XM3 is slightly different. Instead of covering the whole ear cup like the XM2, you just have to cover the touch sensitive surface with an open palm. It’s fairly easy to get used to it, but coming from the XM2 you may have to readjust since covering the surface with your hand will not work unless your palm is completely in contact with the touch sensitive surface. So overall design-wise, the XM3 are an improvement over the XM2.

Sound

The XM2 sounds a bit more balanced and neutral in the bass range, but if you like heavy bass, you may prefer the XM3. In the mid-range, the XM3 performs noticeably better, and has a virtually perfect response. The XM2 on the other hand has a dip, which will have a small negative effect on the balance of vocals and lead instruments. The treble performance of these two headphones is quite similar but the XM2 is bit more neutral, but the difference is quite subtle.

Both of these headphones come with an app that has an EQ and you should be able to adjust their sound profile as per your preference.

Isolation

These are basically the best over-ear ANC headphones we have evaluated so far and we are impressed by it in more than one ways. They perform excellently in the bass, mid, and treble ranges, and, so they are great for reducing the low rumbling noise of airplane and bus engines, cancelling the chatter of an office, and blocking the sound of air conditioning systems.

In our experience, it seemed that the ANC system of the XM3 is nearly identical to the XM2’s, but they tend to perform better and more consistently probably because of their improved headband and earpads.

In terms of leakage, the XM3 is a noticeable improvement over the XM2, again, probably because of their improved headband and earpads.  With the XM3, you won’t need to worry about disturbing the people around you as long as you don’t blast your music and are not in a very quiet environment like a library.

Active Feature and Connection options

The two headphones have little latency. As for their wireless range, the XM3 do a little better than the Xm2 and has a 53 ft. distance when obstructed by walls and about 185 ft. in direct line sight. In comparison, the XM2 reached 45 ft. and about 172 in direct line of sight.

Battery
For their battery performance, the XM3 lasted about 27 hours on a single charge with noise cancelling enabled and at average volumes and the XM2  lasted 28 so a bit longer but both headphones are advertise to have 30 hour of battery life which is within the ball park of the results we got. On the upside, when it comes to charge time the XM3 reached a full charge in about 2.1 hours compared to 3.6  of the XM2. This also gives them a quick charge of above 5 hours of playtime from a 10-15 min. charge.

We have prepared a chart with the differences for an easy comparisons sake:

Brand Sony WH-1000XM3 Sony WH-1000XM2
Price
Dimesnsions
L 4.9 “ 4.9 “
W 6 “ 5.2 “
H 3.3 “ 3 “
Volume 96 Cu. Inches 76 Cu. Inches
Sound and Leakage
Overall Attenuation -28.14 dB -29.9 dB
Bass -18.8 dB -23.03 dB
Mid -26.11 dB -27.24 dB
Treble -40.11 dB -39.7 dB
Self-Noise 22.76 dB 21.34 dB
Overall Leakage @ 1ft 39.63 dB 37.09 dB
Battery
Battery Life 28 hrs 27 hrs
Charge Time 3.6 hrs 2.2 hrs
Bluetooth Version 4.1 4.2
NFC Yes Yes
Wireless Range 
Obstructed Range 45 ft 53 ft
Line of Sight Range 172 ft 185 ft
Additional Buttons N/A Voice enabled controls

 

Our Verdict

The Sony WH-1000XM3 is our pick of the day, in fact our pick – any day.

The post Sony WH-1000XM3 vs. Sony WH-1000XM2 appeared first on Wireless Headphones Guru.



source https://wirelessheadphones.guru/facts/sony-wh-1000xm3-vs-sony-wh-1000xm2/

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