SONY WF-1000XM3 True Wireless Earphones Review – Good Enough
Highly-touted TOTL TWS from Sony, whose over-ear WH1000XM4 impressed with its advanced tech and expansive sound. The build of the SONY WF-1000XM3’s seems commensurate with its price tag ($230, though its street price seems closer to $170), with reassuringly hefty buds and quality materials. The charging case is a bit large and heavy but well-designed; 6 hour battery life is legit and microphone quality beyond reproach. I don’t really like the touch panel controls (and much prefer the physical buttons of the similar-looking Anker Soundcore Liberty Pro 2), but they became intuitive after a while. Buds themselves are large and protrude unattractively from your ears, but fit is secure and long-term comfort pretty good. ANC isn’t quite as tomblike as the over-ears, but very good for TWS. The accompanying app allows for EQ adjustments, although I found the default setting to be as good as any.
Soundwise, the SONY WF-1000XM3 present a sort of reverse-L signature, with boosted subwoofer-type bass which retains pretty good definition despite a tendency to sound a bit boomy; the low end does tend to dominate the proceeding although it doesn’t smear or bleed into the higher frequencies. As with the over-ears, the SONY WF-1000XM3 has a warm tonality with a rich note texture and a wide soundstage, albeit with limited height and depth; well-placed performers sound like they’re playing in a large, low-ceilinged hall. Mids are full-bodied and clear, while high end is smooth, with limited extension—these are clearly tuned to avoid harshness and grain, such that some microdetail and sheen is missing on cymbals and acoustic guitar strings. (Note that some have complained about the lack of AptX and LDAC codecs). I found these very listenable overall—less detailed but also beefier and less-compressed sounding than the Galaxy Buds +. Purely on sonic merits, I still prefer the Cambridge Melomania, which offers the same warm, analogue quality but better-integrated bass and a bit more sparkle. Comparison to the Liberty Pro 2 is closer—the Sony has a more natural timbre, while the Pro 2 has better-behaved, less obtrusive bass and more high-end extension. However, neither holds up to good comparably-priced wired IEMs like the Shozy Form 1.4 or the KBear Believe, which have a significantly higher level of resolution and present more information and nuance.
At the end of the day, I’d rate these as a very good example of the TWS genre, which is to say they’re very well designed, work well for calls and media, and more than serviceable for non-critical music listening. Especially if noise cancellation is a priority, these are easy to recommend.
Disclaimer: borrowed from Durwood, who bought ‘em with his own hard-earned trust funds.
