Sony WH-1000XM3
Verified130 reviews
SHAME ON SONY!! – cheap product, cheap design and poorest of qualities. I cant even connect it to my laptop and I tried with few different devices and still no hope. the threading on the ear buds is not straight in some parts ... Show details
Great headphones but now not working only a few months out of warranty! – Great sound and noise cancelling on these headphones, worked ok for calls and teams meetings but better for listening. Only downside was that it could get quite hot under the cups and wasn’t great for exercising purposes. Biggest disappointment was a couple of months out of warranty and they stopped working, battery went from full to 20% to… Read more
nothing in about 5mins and then will not charge or turn on, the error signal indicates a temperature problem.
Rang Sony and have to send them away and spend $130 but unsure if it will fix or not. The annoying part is that when googling the issue it appears to happen a lot!!
Very disappointing as they were only used for about 5-6hrs a month so not from wear or tear. I would consider buying again due to the sound quality but worried about a similar issue occurring again!
Stop working after warranty expires – The headset suddenly stop turning on. The charging light turns on however the blue one just quickly blink and do not turn on. NEVER GONNA BUY SONY AGAIN. similar problems reported by friends that also had Sony products as digital cameras. It just crashes after a little while. Not make to last. Show details
Reviews with attachments
Headband strap broke after 13 months of use – I bought Sony WH-1000XM3 as a replacement of my 4 years old Bose QC25. Read the reviews in the internet and decided that Sony has better sound quality over Bose. The sound quality is good. Noise cancelling is not as impressive as Bose's, however the most disappointing part is the quality of the plastic and assembly. The headphones headband strap… Read more
cracked after one year of home use. I didn't even take them outside, was wearing in my home office to take calls. I tried to contact Sony they suggested me to contact the retailer. The retailer doesn't respond on my messages. Warranty is just 12 months and they broke on 13th month. Very disappointing, considering that Bose QC25 served me well for 4 years.
Best Headphones I've Owned – I was previously using the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO headphones so that will be my benchmark when comparing these. I mainly listen to EDM songs I have used these headphones daily on my pc for about 4 months now and build quality and comfort are both very good so far. No creaking. First off using the Sony headphones app on my phone and playing with… Read more
the equalizer was straight forward and easy. It connects very quickly and i love that when i plug in my pc 3.5mm cable it immediately disconnects and starts using the aux input. The clearbass setting is exactly that: very clear and pronounced bass with minimal impact on other frequencies. I strongly suggest installing the app for the EQ if you plan on using these with a phone. To avoid hearing damage i play music at low volumes (2% on windows) and so I assume my home has a very loud noise floor, because compared to the Beyerdynamics these have much more sound stage. The noise cancellation really shines and allows a whole new dimension to music for me. Battery life has been extremely impressive, I've left the headphones turned on overnight and returned with many hours left of battery. On average it will last me 20 hours using noise cancellation only (guestimate). The included carry case is high quality and the included 3.5mm cable has good insulation from bumps and bends nicely.
The only con I've had so far is the 3.5mm input has a narrow hole around it that blocks a lot of my 3.5mm cables. The only cable I've found to fit in is the provided Sony cable. See attached picture.
April 2023 update: well its still working well battery life is the same lasts a solid 20-30 hours there are very thin pieces of plastic on the headband adjustment that have cracked and fallen off but functionality is still fine. the earpad and headband leather has cracked a lot and has mostly been scraped off where my stubble/sideburns are but i cant feel the cracks so its fine. extremely happy with this product
Premium Sound and ANC – My first go with a Premium Headphone. Although I owned three headphones previously with three different brands, namely: Jabra, Beats, Sennheiser, these models weren't top of the line. Hence, this critical review of my Sony WH1000XM3. After several years of waiting and searching for a new pair of headphone. Sony’s WH1000XM3 offering made it so easy… Read more
to be the king of ANC’s (Active Noise Cancelling) and it's sound.
Active Noise Cancelling features: Adaptive Sound control The headphone can detect whether you are stationary or moving, it will then switch the noise cancelling to a certain degree wherein you can hear the ambient noise for a little bit so that you are aware of your surroundings when walking on the streets. It will revert when you are sitting or stationary to an optimal dead silent. Cutting all out the noise. And this can be overridden. You can switch this feature ON or OFF.
The noise-cancelling on this headphone is so great that I can actually claim that it is far better than Bose QC35 II ( I do not own one, but I used one for a week. And there is a massive difference). A dead silence once I put it on.
Quality of the sound or music This WH1000XM3 supports a wide format and algorithm like aldec etc.. Which bose doesn't have. Sony is certified HiRes Audio again a nice to know features. I actually enjoyed listening music in this headphone, that I refused listening to my beats and Jabra even for a lighter usage or game or even movie usage. I now use WH1000XM3 for all type of music listening and sometimes movies. I prefer the quality of the sound of this than Bose, it just comes in a very solid music/sound delivery. Enough bass, punchy without losing other sound deliverance. It also comes with an app where you can fiddle around change the sound on how you want to hear.
Pros: • Excellent sound quality • Very comfortable and premium feel • Excellent noise-cancelling • Battery life 30 hours claimed (managed to squeezed 28 hours pure music.) • nice design
Cons: • Pair only one device at a time
- +1
Best noise cancelling headphone with low quality material and non helpful customer care – The headband had exactly the same cracks on each side and eventually chipped just under normal use, see pictures, both side looks the same. SONY Customer care accused me for over streching it, so the warranty was void, I felt insulted. They offered me a 30% discount to buy the same product. The noise cancelling quality was great, still going using it with some bandages on, if i can't get any replacement, will looks ugly. Show details
In-depth reviews
Is it worth it? – Pros: Comfort: It's ver comfortable - it fits me very well - very light so any prolonged wear (over 2hr period) this head phone won't give you a headache Set up: Easy, especially if you have an Andriod phone - would not recommend for iphone - just doesn't connect properly which is a shame Noise cancellation: of the head phone 4.5/5 - I vacuum -… Read more
I can barely hear it If you're just studying and don't want to necessary listen to music - can turn on ambient sound which drowns out most back ground noise
Very good battery life: - so far I've only had it for about 3 weeks and using it about 5 hours daily
Sound quality: I test this by listening to different music at the highest volume - very very faint crackling not major
Price: reasonable since the newer version is out, for what I need and will use this headphones I felt I didn't really need the newer model
Cons:
Right head phone has the volume up/down, forward/backward and pause/play controls: - pause/play on my headphones just doesn't work - it will pause it but as per instruction to double tap for play does not work. Massive lag for volume up/down and forward/backward controls - my phone would even confuse the volume up/down foward/backwards control (maybe this is just an iphone thing). I'm following as per instruction how to swipe but the controls aren't very good. The whole swipe feature would have been great if it actually works-again maybe it's an iphone thing. Touch buttons would have been a lot better as it won't be technique sensitive. So I rarely use this feature and find it very redundant as it's just not functionally. Great if I want to pause quickly, but to play the music again I have reach my phone.
The USB cable for charging - they included one but it's merely 15cm long - so it was very awkward to charge
Overall: Yes it is worth buying - especially now the price has been reduced with the newer model out in the market - would keep using it in the next couple of weeks - once the lock down is over will take it back to JB wifi to see if my play/pause controls is either 1. Broken 2. iphone thing
Great headphones – Let’s start with the negatives because that’s what people care about -the name, when ever I’m trying to recommend these to someone I cannot remember the name Trivial I know but trying to talk about something you enjoy when you can’t remember it’s name it painful. - the touch/swipe controls really not a fan , Constantly find my self Having to… Read more
redo a swipe command and rely on my phone control where ever possible just doesn’t register your actions or the actions are so precise it gets it wrong , a good example to skip a song you swipe west to east horizontally but in reality Most people’s arm mechanics go more south west to north east ie diagonal up .
-lastly I have trouble setting the equaliser, everyone knows what bass is what mods are and what treble is very few people could listen to a song and say oh it’s too high at 4000 hz it’s a nice ability if you are a hard core audiophile but most people just want to say turn bass up or down and I think a basic bass, mid, treble equaliser would suit most people better ,
The noise cancelling, the truth it’s too good it’s almost unsafe , I put these headphones on 1/4-1/3 volume and I’m So isolated from the world I can’t hear my footsteps , traffic or anything amazing sitting it a safe place doing what it’s designed for like a train but walking around I could argue it works so well it’s almost a safety hazard. I know it can be turned off or adjusted but I could walk in front of a car and wouldn’t hear it coming not really a negative but testament to how well it works and a word of caution.
Construction/fit it felt light and cheap when I first picked them up not something I’d normally go for but in hindsight that translates to lightness on head and and prolonged comfort , I’ve worn these for 20 hours straight no head ache from too much tension , no sore point on my head where it’s been pressing And the ear muffs fit over your ears not on them it’s amazingly comfortable the ear ups adjust up and down as well as rotating about 100 degrees so it’s easy to make a very comfortable fit regardless of head shape
Sound , I came from dr dre executive And these just sound so much better. Amazing noise cancellation, great range lows mods and heighs, great audio direction making it seem 3D sound from 2 side earphones. Some decent presents on the equaliser but again I struggle when I hear something and say want to tweet the highs but I’m given about 10 frequency’s and have no idea what they do, I can slide things up and down to see what they affect but that’s not the point not very user intuitive for basic sound adjustments.
Wireless is amazing , Battery life about 20 hours , it fast charges from dead flat to a couple hours playtime in like 10 mins. Another thing with the wireless Most Bluetooth audio is very compressed and can sound very flat , not the case here lost of depth and the freedom being in a gym , running in public or even sitting on transport not having a cable I would happily sacrifice sound for wireless convenience however I don’t see any loss in audio.
Price I’m not really commenting on , any decent headphones will cost several hundred dollars like everything it’s a balance between quality and cost do you want cheap and nasty or high end quality you have to find what suits your situation but having said that why I spent on these headphones I’m more than satisfied with them.
Accessory wise good flat case , impressed they supplied airline adaptor , USB cable 100mm long could be longer , 3.5mm headphone jack about 1m there built in app also works well
I have no problem recommending these Headphones and in this price bracket probably top of the class for a set of wireless headphones
Wasn't Happy with the Quality – I owned these for about 2 days before they started to play up. At first, I was in love with them. The best noise cancelling I had heard (now superseded by my Bose NC700's) and a really broad sound stage with excellent bass while still retaining high accuracy through all other frequencies. After a day the right ear cup/speaker(s) presented with a… Read more
hiss that would eventually become unbearable. It felt like a pressure was being applied to that ear and there was no way of getting it to go away. After contacting Sony, they said to return them to the store for another set (easier said than done, bought them from David Jones online store and being from Townsville, the nearest David Jones is 1,400km away in Brisbane. Long story short, mailed them back to David Jones, got a refund and purchased a different set locally as I didn't want to risk getting another set and having the same problem). After searching online forums, this seems to be a pretty common fault. Would not buy again.
Positive reviews
Headphones that last – I've had these headphones for 2-3ish years and they still work just as well as the day I got them. I wear them several hours a day, every day. They're comfortable, and the ANC settings are amazing. They're perfect for commuting to work. The only thing stopping me from rating them 5 stars is the cost. They aren't cheap, but they're definitely worth… Read more
it. If you're willing to spend the money or you find them on sale, you should definitely consider grabbing a pair.
Probably the best headphones that I've ever had – Can't complain about anything about this headphone, it is easy to see why it has been the industry standard for entry level ANC headphones for such a long time. I bought it on sale which was a bonus and at the moment these are going for great prices because the updated version is out Show details
Lockdown + Homeschool = Noise Cancelling Headphones – The Sony WH1000XM3 headphones are my "Daily Driver" when it comes to headphones. They're perfectly comfortable, their sound quality is balanced and warm, and the noise cancelling is perfect for that home-school mayhem we're all enjoying so very much! Show details
Find out how Sony WH-1000XM3 compares to other Wireless Headphones
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Negative reviews
Disappointed with the noise cancelling – I purchased these headphones last year. I love the fit, feel of the headphones. Must quality is exceptional, but noise cancelling doesn't work. I have been trying to figure out how to optimise the noise functioning levels over and over again, but it doesn't matter what I do, despite reading multiple sites; going into the app to adjust settings,… Read more
the noise cancelling doesn't work. It muffles a little but I can hear everything. I have tried to set the optimiser before mowing the lawn and while on the ride on mower but nothing makes the noise cancelling function work. I have also tried turning ambient sound off on the app and leaving everything set on noise cancelling - I can still hear everything. So is there a fault here? Do I submit this in for warranty?
Great headphones but not very long lasting – These were great headphones while they lasted. They were really quite expensive at the time of purchase so I'm disappointed that they can't be used 18 months in (power button doesn't seem to work anymore) Show details
white noise in right headphone – white noise in right headphone which gos away after the headphones are turned off for 30 mins but then reappears after about 10 mins to 30 mins of use when sony tested them they could not reproduce the problem i had them returned and wore them for not even 10 mins and the problem returned Show details
Recent reviews
Don't Believe The Reviews, I Own And They Are Wrong! – I honestly don't understand why this product gets such good reviews. I trusted these reviews and trust me when I say, THEY ARE WRONG! After owning for 12months, PROs - sound quality and noise cancelling and genuinely good CONs - These headphones are very delicate and even with the most careful handling the plastic casing will snap which means… Read more
after 10 months of average use your headphones wont hold its shape so maybe purchase some cellotape with your purchase. Second the bluetooth does not work (or there is constant issues with it - the response from Sony "it's a motherboard issue, you need to replace"). Third, if you plan on using these headphones for talking, think again, they don't do well to filter out wind/noise so you'll spend most of your time connecting the headphone jack and speaking into your handset
Sound great, but crap lifespan – I loved the sound of these headphones and the noise cancelling was awesome, very comfy and never hurt my head, but they started playing up months ago, turning off by themselves, losing bluetooth when i was using them (so i couldnt pair them at all to my phone) then they just wouldn't turn on one day. So sent them back as they were only 9 months… Read more
old and they wouldnt fix or replace because they had corrosion on the power button. These headphones had Never been wet, so the only way that would happen would be from sweating... i did NOT see a warning or disclaimer on the box that said "If you use these headphones and sweat then your warranty will be voided" So if you dont plan on doing physical activity in these things then you will be fine.
Bought in Aug 2020 – At first the static noise was frustrating. But I fixed it by changing the settings. Afterwards, up to now, it’s working perfectly. I use it to exercise, work, study.. with satisfying experience. Love the battery quality and speed of charging. Update August 2021 (1 year later): Still very good guys. Didn’t regret my purchase at all. Show details
They were great until they broke in less than 12 months – I was in love with these and recommending them to friends. Then, one day they broke in half... really bad quality. Of course Sony did not cover them with warranty. So, in less than 1 year 400$ to the waste Show details
Be aware, there is a design flaw for this headphone – Be aware, there is a design flaw for this headphone. There will be static hiss noise from one ear when NC turned on. This is a known issue, lots of videos on youtube and discussion on Reddit about it. The problem also happens on WH1000XM4. My headphone has the same issue but Sony refused to replace it because they can't "reproduce" it. The issue… Read more
actually happens after 30 minutes listening everytime! Customer service of Sony Australia is close to none. I will report this to ACCC. Please stay away these headphones!
Battery failed within 2 years and Sony refused to repair at their cost – The battery stopped taking in charge after using it for 1.5 years. Sony now refuses to repair it at their cost because it's out of warranty. Unfortunately by Australian consumer law, all products sold in Australia need to last a reasonable amount of time when used as intended. So unless Sony is okay with breaking Australian Consumer Law I suggest they offer free repair. Show details
Find out how Sony WH-1000XM3 compares to other Wireless Headphones
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Works well while under warranty. Peculiarly fails just after warranty period and on firmware upgrade – Worked very well while under the warranty period. But as soon as I was out of warranty, peculiarly failed immediately on a firmware upgrade. The unit doesn't charge any longer. Approached Sony who advised battery issue. Had the battery replaced but issue persists. Looks like the charging unit fails to charge the battery. Why did this happen… Read more
to both my Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones is a mystery but am very suspicious it's sony's firmware which may have done this to force users to upgrade.
Do not purchase this particular model unless you are happy changing headphones before warranty expires or don't mind losing money.
Moved on to JBL and at the price tag cheaper than that of these headphones with better sound quality and comfort, I would never again buy a SONY anything.
The best headphones for your home – On Friday 4th September 2020 I bought this is for when I move into my own unit in September 2020 so I will be able to listen to my favourite music before I go to bed every night without disturbing the neighbours by using these headphones. Show details
Sony does it again – Sooooo comfy! The sound quality of these headphones is the best I could have hoped for, if not better. The noise cancelling is amazing, the best I have ever used. Because of the 30 hour battery life these headphones have, they are very good for city travel ie train or bus, can be used for Bluetooth or as active headphones since they come with an… Read more
aux cord. Probably best not to use them for any outdoor activities since they could fall off your head (this has happened to me, luckily I caught them). Overall these headphones are fantastic for the money they cost nowadays, but with the new WH1000XM4 coming out, you may want to save up to get those since they are the better version of these headphones.
Amazing noise cancelling – These headphones have the best noise cancelling, and are very comfortable. The only negative for me was that the sound is bass heavy, even when I adjusted the settings in the app to the brightest setting. I prefer the more neutral sound of the Bose. Show details
Fantastic product – I use these when travelling and actually find them useful in the recording studio as passive monitors. They have a rounded sound and are comfortable to wear, although I would not recommend them for use when running. The sound quality when used with iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth is detailed and pleasing. When used with a DAC such as a Soundkey or a Dragonfly, the sound becomes expansive and engaging. Altogether, they are absolutely worth the money. Show details
Perfect – Its a great headphone , the sound quality is perfect , the noise cancelling is the best and its very east to use while Running or cycling. It fits perfectly and is very comfortable to use. I use it every day for my work and while exercising. Show details
My best friend – Exceptional! Best noise cancelling to date. The sound is crisp with enough base. The app is just brilliant and easy to navigate. Google assistant is great and voice assistant is clear. Show details
My walking pal – In order to ramp up my walking, I used headphones in listening to self-help training materials. Easy to use convenient volume and forward/backward adjustments. Light, elegant and handy! Perfect sound! Show details
Does the job – Bought to accommodate my Lyric in the ear hearing aids for listening to Spotify and video messages/YouTube. Very comfortable if a bit heavy. Excellent sound using adjustments. Easily transported in the robust case. Great battery life. I’ve found the over the head support gets hot after prolonged use. Show details
Noise cancelling very disappointing – I received these for Father’s Day last year. I had not having had any experience with noise cancelling headphones so when I could still hear people talking when they were on, I thought it was normal but was a little disappointed. My wife recently bought some (cheaper) Sony headphones and they are amazingly good at noise cancelling. As excellent… Read more
noise cancelling was the main feature I wanted in these headphones, I am naturally disappointed and it is now far too late to take them back. Of course I have tried all the settings and have loaded the latest software but all to no avail.
Good quality – I had to replace my Dr Dre headphones since it was so old. These headphones have great sound quality! Much better than the Apple ones I used to own and much more comfortable to wear too. Show details
Terrible – Shuts off every 5 minutes. Unusable and extremely slow product support. At this stage they are just ignoring my emails. Basically unusable as I'm not interested in turning them on every 5 mins. Show details
OK if you only want to use it wirelessly – The sound quality, noise cancelling and comfort are all great. I find the charging cord and the audio cord (for times when you want to be plugged in) frustratingly short. Seriously...no one wants to sit that close to their device or computer. And when you need to charge it, the charging point needs to be <10cm from a surface that the headphones… Read more
can sit on because the cord is so short. Whilst not not a tech issue with the device it is annoying enough that I won't purchase again.
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That's what Sony's service centre suggested to me to fix the headphones. The warranty expired one… Read more