Personally I think sony is killing it right
now when it comes to their ANC headphones.
Its been almost a year and the 1000XM3’s
are still my favorite and most recommended
pair of Premium ANC Headphones.
And it looks like Sony is on track to dominate
the mid range ANC headphones space with their
New XB900N’s.
So if you’re thinking about pick up a pair
of sony headphones, here are the key differences
between the 1000XM3’s and XB900N’s.
Now first obviously is the price, the 1000XM3’s
retail for $350 where as the XB900N’s retail
for $250.
So definitely for some people this $100 price
difference is going to be a major differentiating
factor.
But if you want to pick up any of the headphones
mentioned in this video they’ll be linked
down below and if you want to learn more about
either of these headphones please watch their
full reviews.
Now this $100 price difference means you’re
going to see performance, build quality, and
included accessories differences between these
two headphones.
Most notably, the XB900N’s come included
with a carrying pouch where as the 1000XM3’s
come included with a hard shell carrying case.
So definitely if you plan on constantly commuting
or traveling with your headphones you’re
going to want a carrying case to keep your
headphones safe.
Now from a build quality standpoint both of
these headphones have a stainless steel headband
and mostly plastic body, but the plastic panels
on the 1000XM3’s are smooth where as the
body panels on the XB900N’s have a texture
to them.
Both of these headphones have decent build
quality but the 1000XM3’s do feel over all
more premium cause the ear cups themselves
have a soft touch feel to them where as the
XB900N’s are strictly plastic.
But personally, I do think that the leatherette
on the XB900N’s feels slightly nicer than
the leatherette found on the 1000XM3’s.
But the XB900N’s also have different ear
cups than the ones found on the M3’s making
them slightly more spacious than the 1000XM3’s.
Both of these headphones fit great and they’re
both big head approved but I do find the XB900N’s
are a touch more comfortable than the 1000XM3’s.
But I do want to quickly point out that even
though both of these headphones have low profile
headbands and simple designs, the headband
on the 1000XM3 is slightly more low profile
than the XB900N’s.
Now when it comes to tech specs both of these
headphones charge via a USB C port which is
great especially if you’re an android user.
And both of these headphones have an advertised
battery life of 30 hours with ANC turned on
which usually last me 2 weeks in between charges.
So even to my surprise you’re not going
to have to settle on battery life on either
of these headphones.
But the fast charging on these headphones
is very different.
If you plug the 1000XM3’s in for 10 minutes
from a dead battery they’re going to get
you 5 hours of playback time where as the
XB900N’s are only going to get you 1 hour
of playback time from a 10 minute charge.
And personally I do find that pretty weird.
But when it comes to bluetooth connectivity,
first off both of these headphones are good
for watching videos on you’re phone cause
they have zero latency when watching Netflix
or HBO.
But there is a slight latency when watching
youtube on an iPhone.
But also these headphones can only be connected
to one device at a time so if you’re a power
user you can’t hot swap.
And personally I also find it pretty weird
that these headphones don’t support simultaneous
multi device connectivity given that sony
is always trying to cram in as many features
as possible into their products.
But when it comes to audio codecs, if you’re
an android user both of these headphones are
going to give you LDAC and APTX support and
if you’re in iPhone user they both support
AAC.
But its important to keep in mind that if
you try to use a custom EQ on either of these
headphones with an android device they’re
both going to revert to SBC.
Where as if you’re an iPhone user both of
these headphones are still going to use AAC
no matter what EQ you use.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation
on these headphones.
Plainly said the ANC on the 1000XM3’s is
vastly superior than the XB900N cause they
have a more advanced set up going on.
The 1000XM3’s have a built in atmospheric
pressure sensor that you can use to calibrate
your 1000XM3’s when you’re at cruising
altitude in an airplane which from my experience
it actually does work and it not just marketing
fluff… and the 1000XM3’s also have Sony’s
QN1 chip who’s main purpose is to cancel
out random higher frequency sounds like chatter
which some other premium or mid range ANC
headphones out there do struggle to block
out.
But so that you can see for yourself we’re
going to jump into an ANC test.
Like you may have just seen, the 1000XM3’s
managed to block out significantly more noise
than the XB900N’s its not even close.
But personally I do think that is to be expected
cause Sony obviously wants to have a good
performance Delta when it comes to the Active
Noise Cancelation between these two headphones.
The ANC on the XB900N’s is still usable
but if you’re looking to block out the most
noise here then the 1000XM3’s are a no brainer.
But just like the 1000XM3’s the ANC on the
XB900N’s have little to no cabin pressure
and it also doesn't change how your music
sounds when its turned on.
Now both of these headphones also have an
ambient mode that you can easily adjust through
their app.
And like I’ve said in the past and ambient
mode is great cause this way you can still
be aware of your surroundings when you’re
walking around the city or you can do what
I do and have ambient mode turned on when
you’re watching Netflix on your phone so
that if someone calls your name you can still
here them.
And both of these ambient mode are good cause
they sound natural and they don’t have any
back ground hissing.
But there is one major difference between
them.
The ambient mode on the 1000XM3’s will actively
block out sudden spikes in noise where as
the XB900N’s pump in everything.
And so that you can see for yourself heres
what I call the clap test.
Like you may have just seen when I clapped
the M3’s automatically turned off their
ambient mode where as the XB900N’s just
kept going.
This small but very important difference means
that if youre wearing your XB900N’s with
their ambient mode turned on and your dog
starts barking or if a siren passes by youre
going to hear all of that through your headphones.
Which is going to result in jump scares and
its all just loud.
Where as the 1000XM3’s are going to prevent
all of that.
But now lets talk about how these headphones
sound cause there are some major differences.
Now personally both of these headphones sound
great and to me they perform pretty much identical
when it comes to sound stage, instrument separation,
and audio fidelity.
But the biggest difference between these headphones
sound wise is their bass.
The XB900N’s have a frequency response between
2 and 20,000 hertz where as the 1000XM3 have
a frequency response between 4 and 40,000
hertz.
Ultimately humans can’t hear past 20,000
hertz so the 1000XM3’s going all the way
up to 40,000 hertz is just nice to have.
But what does matter here is the XB900N’s
can go all the way down to 2 hertz where as
the M3’s can only go down to 4 hertz.
This literally means that the XB900N’s have
double the bass found on the 1000XM3’s.
Which means these headphones are going to
rattle your head twice as much as the 1000XM3’s
when the bass really gets going.
So if youre a bass head then the XB900N’s
are a new brainer compared to the M3’s.
But both of these headphones let you fully
customize their EQ so if you like a lot of
bass in your music you have that option or
if you prefer a neutral sound signature you
also have that option.
But one of the reasons why I really like the
XB900N’s is cause if you crank the bass
up on them when youre going to watch a movie
with your headphones you feel more emresed
in what ever youre watching especially during
action scenes.
You can do the same thing with the M3’s
but the effect isn’t as dramatic as the
XB900N’s.
But finally lets talk about the microphones
on these headphones.
For starters the microphone on the 1000XM3’s
does sound pretty muffled.
Where as to my surprise the microphones on
the XB900N’s does sound a little better.
It doesn’t sound as good as Bose’s microphones
but it is an improvement over the 1000XM3’s.
So heres hoping that well see a better microphone
on the sony 1000XM4 if they’re announced
at IFA 2019.
So over all, even though they’re not perfect…
sony is really dominating when it comes to
the ANC Headphones space.
The 1000XM3’s still have the best performing
active noise cancelation even with newer competitors
out there, and the XB900N’s offer a very
complete package for Mid Range ANC Headphones.
Personally I don’t think you can go wrong
with XB900N’s if youre looking for mid range
headphones but the XB900N’s are slightly
more comfortable than the 1000XM3’s cause
of their redesigned and better feeling ear
pads, and having access to literally double
the amount of bass than on the 1000XM3’s
is pretty cool.
But if your main concern is active noise cancellation
then the 1000XM3’s are the obvious answer.
But personally I really hope we see some elements
from the XB900N’s make their way to the
1000XM4’s.
For starters, more spacious and better feeling
ear cups on the M4’s would be awesome but
I would also like the M4’s to have the same
amount of bass as the XB900N’s.
I just think it would be cool to be able to
use when ever you want to.
And also an improved microphone on the 1000XM4’s
wouldn’t hurt.
