What this actually means varies widely from a snug fit, which kind of blocks out noise I suppose, to genuine noise-cancelling technology, sampling the outside world and playing you the inverse so all you hear is what you're playing.
Over the years I've learned that second kind of tech doesn't come cheap. But when it works, it really works...
The WH-1000XM2's from Sony are top-of-the-line, over-ear headphones that cram a lot more than just noise-cancellation into a pretty tidy package.
Normally I wouldn't make too much of an issue of the cost of the device I'm reviewing - not unless I felt it was either way too expensive, or surprisingly reasonably priced. In the case of the WH-1000XM2's, I felt it was important to know you're dealing with a $600 pair of cans, straight out of the blocks.
I wear headphones for hours a day, every day, but I can assure you, nobody paid that much for my ones.
So what is it that $600 buys you? And who could possibly need these things?
In short, are they worth it?
Let's start with the main selling point; noise-cancellation. The best I've never heard. No question. Pop these puppies on, power them up and you're pretty much instantly stone deaf. With no audio playing you'll detect an extremely low-level white noise which disappears completely once you play either music or spoken audio - practically nothing from outside the headphones at all. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm doing the vacuuming, partly to take my mind off the vacuuming but mostly because I hate how noisy vacuum cleaners are. When I'm using the WH-1000XM2's, I can't hear the vacuum cleaner at all. Bliss.
Obviously this is literally music to the ears of regular air-commuters. While I haven't used these headphones in the sky, based on my vacuuming experience, I can confidently predict jet engines and crying babies will be blocked out just as effectively. In fact, by holding down the mode button on the left-hand earcup, the WH-1000XM2's run a "Personalised noise cancelling optimisation," which apparently resamples your surroundings (including cabin pressure, amazingly) to ensure the best noise-blocking experience possible.
If you've ever suffered through a noisy night on a long-haul flight, that's probably $600-worth right there.
You'll easily last that flight too, as the battery-life is off the charts. Sony claims you'll get up to 30 hours of continuous listening, even with noise-cancelling on. While that seems ridiculous, I'm not sure I've been able to disprove it. I don't know if I've gone 30 hours between charges, but I've certainly used them on my radio show (before, during and after) for over a week and they keep on keeping on. Of course, the longer you run them, the longer it takes to charge them, so it's probably worth a top-up via the microUSB port when not in use.
Bluetooth pairing is made easier than ever via NFC. Simply hold your NFC-enabled device up to the left earcup and you're good to go. I found the connection very stable and sound quality pretty much indistinguishable from a hardwire connection using the supplied cable. The cable itself is worth a mention as it's a far more versatile 1.5 metres long, instead of the more common 1.2 metres found on most other earbuds and headphones. This is a godsend for me as I spend my mornings literally plugged into a large mixing desk and I usually have to use an extension lead to give me enough room to move.
While such effective noise-cancellation means I'm able to give my host the undivided attention he deserves, I share my studio with the Executive Producer of the show and sometimes we need to communicate too. The WH-1000XM2's do such a good job of blocking her out, she has to resort to waving at me to get my attention, even though she's sitting right next to me. Luckily, there are couple more functions to help with situations like these. Firstly, you can toggle from full N/C to an Ambient setting that lets through a certain amount of higher frequency sounds like voices and P.A. announcements. The WH-1000XM2's really cool trick is activated by holding your palm over the right-hand earcup. This mutes your audio and lets in outside audio so you can at least pretend you're listening to what your colleagues are saying to you.
The WH-1000XM2's respond to other touch gestures on that right earcup too; swiping up and down for volume, forward and backwards to skip tracks and a double tap will pause or play. Some other reviewers have found these controls a bit indistinct but I had no issues operating via these gestures at all. Ironically, it was the physical buttons on the left side that confused me - the power button is right next to the mode button and I often pushed the wrong one. Why one couldn't be on the front and one on the back I have no idea.
These are not the most compact headphones for travelling, but bear in mind, they are over-ear, not on-ear so they're always going to have a larger profile. In saying that, the design is generally more subtle than some kind of flashy fashion statement and they do fold down flat into their own hard carry-case. The steel headband certainly seems durable enough, as do the hinges. In fact, the whole package is a good balance of lightweight comfort versus a sturdy feel. Everything is luxuriously padded in the right places, although the snug fit means I occasionally feel my ears getting a little hot after prolonged sessions, bordering on claustrophobic. I assume it's hard to achieve good ventilation and a tight, noise-cancelling seal at the same time.
As for sound quality, there's a reason Sony sells a lot of headphones. Certainly, the emphasis seems to be on superior bass response which is all very well, but there were times listening to certain tracks when I felt like I was missing some frequencies at the top end of the scale. I'm being super picky here, but remember, this is a fairly high-priced piece of kit. Making and taking phone calls worked seamlessly though, and everybody could hear everybody else with no issues.
While the WH-1000XM2's would be the best headphones many people have ever tried, at $600, they're not for everyone. But if you're a serious traveller, or you need serious noise-cancelling, they're an obvious investment.
Click here for more information and pricing on the Sony WH-1000XM2 headphones
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