[Closed] Sony WF 1000X

I got a set free with my new phone. I've never owned noise canceling headphones before so I have nothing to compare with but they are nice fitting easy to set up with app. Nice carry case, battery life OK but I'm used to not worrying about batteries with headphones. Wore them in the airport and on the plane to oz and they definitely helped reduce external noise but not quite what I imagined noise canceling headphones would be like. You can still hear someone speaking next to you.

They apparently have multiple settings - cancel all noise, or allow in ambient noise. The ambient setting is so you can hear people talking to you or cars about to run you over etc.

Ordered some for £80 refurbed on Amazon.

Also got some with phone.They do have some bad reviews Wrt connection dropping out. Which I have had issues with but not really a problem as I'm not an audiophile and didn't pay big money for them. Use them on the indoor rower and have fallen out of my ears occasionally!

They arrived. Looks like one side is slightly damaged under the ear bud part, but it doesn't seem to be affecting sound as they sound great to me - but then, I've not used much else above £30.

The NC isn't that dramatic, however I'm in a quiet environment. As mentioned it doesn't cut out ambient noise really, you can still hear talking and things being moved around etc.

Connection does drop out all the time if I use the app and select 'optimise for sound quality' but seems fine if I select ' optimise for connection stability' and I can't tell a difference in sound.

The ear bud thing doesn't seem to be that tight of a fit, which might be part of it. But they certainly don't have the 'zomg I've gone deaf' effect that the expensive over-ears do. But then again, they are very nice objects, comfy and nice to use.

Having said all that - I was sitting in the kitchen listening to the noise of the A48 in the distance which sounds like faint white noise, and I could still hear it with NC on. But when I removed the phones to compare again I realised the boiler had come on, and I hadn't noticed. So it is working on lower pitched sounds.

Also - it should be noted that the latest firmware for these is 4.2, I'm on 1.07!

There's like a second of lag when watching video though - that's unacceptable. Highly disappointed.

EDIT ah.. it works fine on my phone - it seems able to compensate for it. But not on iPlayer via the Mac.

This is turning into a running commentary!

My signature style.

Now having done further tests I'm seriously underwhelmed about the NC even though I like the rest of the package. So I've ordered the Lindy on-ear headphones and I'm going to take both on next week's flight and contrast and compare.

I’m seriously underwhelmed about the NC

What are you expecting from nc headphones? They are great for aeroplanes for eliminating the low frequency engine noise but they don't do much for other sounds. I can attest that on a recent flight to Bangkok Bose over ear noise cancelling headphones combined with ear plugs don't come close to eliminating the sound of a 4 month old baby!

What was I expecting? Well that's a good question. I tried various sets in the shop, the £280 and £150 ranges. They cancel out the noise of the shop (aircon, people talking, music from systems on display etc) pretty well. I just took these round Asda and all it does is take a very slight edge off - like a narrow frequency band. It's pretty difficult to even tell. They may be faulty tbh, it's not clear.

That's what I said. Not that impressed with the noise canceling but don't know what to expect as never tried any others.

I'll have another go at trying to find the right earbuds and fit position.

The effect is quite subtle but on a long flight well worth it, I'll leave mine on even when not listening to anything. I had a pair of noise cancelling Sony in ear ones some 15 years ago and they sort of worked but nothing close to the Bose.

Thinking that maybe I need to use the smaller buds and jam them in further.

I bet you're all waiting for the thrilling conclusion of this saga aren't you?

So, in trying to figure out if there was a way to solve the terrible lag whilst watching videos on a Mac with the WF 1000X, I started learning about codecs and how to configure the phones and the computer to use a decent one. The lag was minimised however but not eliminated, turns out the WF 1000X don't support Apt-X. So in searching for one that did I came across the Sony WH CH700N for £100 and they were available in PC world.

The NC is similarly subtle to the ear buds and the Lindy phones but the sound definitely worse. But then I made the mistake of trying the WH-H900N, at £169, and of course the NC immediately was much better. So I brought them home for a proper comparison.

- Both the earbuds and the on-ear Sonys sounded lovely. Listening to Cathedral to Jade Bird sounds good on most things cos of the way it's produced, but with the quality audio her voice really rings and it sounds beautiful. My other test is with various tracks on El Camino by the Black Keys, because it's so grungy. On cheaper kit it just ends up noise but on both Sonys you can feel the skin of the base drum and the plectrum on strings even when it's all going.

- The on-ear Sonys can be persuaded to use Apt-X which gives no lag on the Mac

- They can also be wired which is pretty useful for planes and removes the need for a bodge.

- They have proper long battery life instead of 3 hours for the buds.

- I prefer wearing the earbuds though, the on-ears are quite heavy after a while

- The buds do cut out quite a bit if you are moving around

- The buds obviously a lot more convenient to carry. And you can use one as a phone earpiece too.

- Oh and the on-ears also have a touch area on the right phone so you can control music etc much more easily than hunting for tiny buttons.

Overall the on-ears work better in all respects, so despite being less comfortable I'm going to keep them and send the rest back. Lindy weren't bad tbh, they compared well with the cheaper Sony on-ears.