Sony WF-1000XM3 Wire-Free Noise Cancelling Headphones Review

When you think of noise-cancelling headphones, large cans probably come to mind - chunky units that can be seen from a million miles away. Maybe not quite a million, but you get the point. Noise-cancelling headphones are usually an over-ear affair.

Sony wants to change this with its new earbuds: the WF-1000XM3s (the name really rolls off the tongue, hey). The WF-1000XM3s are a fairly typical pair of wire-free headphones with one key difference. They're noise-cancelling, and somehow, they don't suck.

Party for One

For a pair of comparatively small earbuds, the WF-1000XM3s do a surprisingly good job of noise-cancellation. They can't measure up to a proper set of over-ear noise-cancelling cans, like Sony's WH-1000XM3s or Bose's QC35s, but the WF-1000XM3s make the world just a little bit quieter.

I found the WF-1000XM3s at their best in the office and on the street. There's enough noise-reduction to make you believe you're wearing a more sizeable pair of headphones. They weren't bad on a plane either, but I could still clearly hear cabin announcements through them.

Overall, the noise-cancelling on the WF-1000XM3s is more than good enough. It won't envelope you in silence, but it will make you feel like you're having a party for one.

More importantly, WF-1000XM3s have reliable connectivity; I never encountered a single drop-out while testing the pair. They were rock solid.

In terms of battery, the buds last up to six hours per charge when you've got noise-cancelling on, which is better than what you'd get on most pairs of wire-free headphones. The included charging case has enough capacity to give you an extra three top-ups, for a total life of 24 hours or so before you have to plug anything in. The case itself is a little larger than I'd like, but it can fit into a pocket alongside your keys and wallet in a pinch. 

The WF-1000XM3s come with a good selection of headphone tips in the box. There are seven different options: four standard silicone tips and three foam options. While that's a lot of choice, picking the right set is super important. The out-of-the-box tips seemed fine at first, but I found my ears got sore quickly. It was almost like the buds were dragging my ear down. Half an hour was all it took for the WF-1000XM3s to be noticeably painful.

The buds are solely supported by your ear canals, which can put a lot of pressure on them. Each WF-1000XM3 unit only weighs about 9 grams, but that can feel a lot heavier when the fit is wrong. Fortunately, swapping to a smaller set of tips solved this issue.

From a feature perspective, the WF-1000XM3s make one key omission: they're not sweat or water-resistant, which is a little concerning for those who want to wear them while working out. While Sony says the buds should be all right for a more gentle workout, a spokesperson recommended not getting too sweaty with them. 

At the same time, the WF-1000XM3s aren't really ideal headphones for working out anyway. I was always a bit too paranoid about them falling out (even though they never did) and I found that exercises like running or an elliptical workout could further agitate the aforementioned comfort issues around fit. If you'd prefer wire-free buds for working out, consider the Powerbeats Pro instead. 

The Sound (Sound, Sound)

The WF-1000XM3s are some of the best sounding earbuds I've tested, wire-free or otherwise. In short, audio quality is excellent. Much like their over-ear companions, the WF-1000XM3s have a warm, bass driven profile. They're a few steps removed from what you'd call a "natural" sound, but the energetic low-end doesn't unbalance the rest of the music.

In the case of a track like Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", the added warmth helps emphasise the Nine Inch Nails inspired industrial kick drum, without taking away from the layered production in the mids and highs.

This clarity holds true, even when it comes to subsets of frequencies. For example, you can still hear a clear distinction between the thumping lead synth and sub bass undercurrent in Carly Rae Jepsen’s "I Didn't Just Come Here To Dance". Given the tonal similarities, it would be very easy for these to become muddled on lesser buds.

Despite how bass driven the WF-1000XM3s are, music comes across as richer, rather than just boomy. It can be quite fun. For example, the buds make the piano in Carly Rae Jepsen's "Feels Right" weighty in a way that dares you to not get up and dance.

I guess music that's not Carly sounds good too.

If you're not happy with the out-of-the-box experience, the companion app lets you tweak the WF-1000XM3s' sound profile via an equaliser. I never felt the need to do this, however.

Who are the Sony WF-1000XM3 Wire-Free Noise Cancelling Headphones for?

The Sony WF-1000XM3s are excellent headphones, but their high price-tag puts them in a tricky spot. At $399, the WF-1000XM3s are some of the priciest wire-free buds around, costing almost as much as a pair of Sony's over-ear cans or Bose's QC35s. In fact, both the aforementioned can regularly be found discounted to the same price as the WF-1000XM3s, and occasionally cheaper.

Ultimately, the WF-1000XM3s seem to be designed for those who want noise-cancelling headphones, but in a smaller form-factor. And while they don't make the world quite as quiet as cans, they cut out noise admirably without compromising on sound quality.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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