I'm a really big fan of the Sony 1000XM2,
but Sony also dropped the WI-1000X on the
same day.
The WI in WI-1000X stands for Wireless In
Ear, and these are neck band styled in ear
head phones.
But although Sony really hit the mark with
their 1000XM2, is the WI-1000X any good?
We’re about to find out, don’t forget
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watch some of my other videos here after you’re
done watching this video.
The Sony WI-1000X come in the same two colors
as the 1000XM2…
Black and Gold.
And they’re currently retailing for $299.99.
Thats the same price as the Sony 1000X headphones
and fifty dollars less than the 1000XM2.
I just thought you should know.
If you want to pick either of these products
up I’ll have links in the description below
and I’ll keep them updated so you can get
the best deal possible.
The unboxing experience on the WI-1000X is
the same as the 1000XM2 over ear headphones.
You open the lid and front and center are
the ear phones.
Underneath you will find a few things like
a micro USB cable for charing, a micro USB
to 3.5 millimeter audio jack cable, a few
ear buds and a soft carrying case.
You get two sets of ear buds to choose from,
your standard silicon ear buds and you also
get a silicon and rubber hybrid pair.
They’re sort of like Comply ear tips, except
they’re much bouncier and they don’t mold
as much.
But I really like how all of the ear buds
are color coded and I really like the case
they come in.
It really helps with organization.
Design wise, the WI-1000X shares the same
design language as the Sony 1000XM2 head phones.
Obviously these are neck band style but for
those wondering… they don’t fold up and
they are not water proof.
But all of the materials used on the WI-1000X
can be found on the headphones.
The neck band is made out of the same stainless
steel and theres also the same synthetic leather
on the legs of the neck band.
Theres a good amount of padding for the back
of your neck and the whole unit it self weighs
just 72 grams so you actually forget you’re
wearing them after awhile.
Theres an NFC touch point on the right side
and on the left leg you’ll find the micro
usb port for charging.
On the inside of the left leg you will find
the power button, volume controls and a play
pause button to control your music playback.
They’re very raised and very easy to tell
apart by just touch and they also have really
good tactile feed back.
If you press the power button once while the
ear phones are on they will tell you your
current battery status and if you press and
hold the play pause button you’ll activate
siri.
Also, the neck band will vibrate when you
receive calls and to be honest, it scared
me half to death the first time they did so.
And finally, on the right leg you will find
the control button for the Active noise cancellation.
From there you can toggle from Ambient sound,
Noise cancelation on and noise cancelation
off.
Moving up to the actual ear buds themselves
you’ll notice they’re pretty big.
You’ll also notice theres a cut out on the
bottom portion for the noise cancelation mic
on either ear buds and you’ll also notice
they are angled a bit.
Although they fit well and go pretty deep
into your ear canal since the buds themselves
are pretty heavy they will fall out if you
run with them on.
Concerning tech specs, the WI-1000X have a
battery life of 10 hours with noise cancelation
on and with noise cancelation off they should
last you 13 hours.
But if you used the wired connection with
noise cancelation on you should be able to
get about 14 hours of battery life.
And in my testing they have actually lasted
me 12 hours with noise cancelation on.
And they also have quick charging, 10 minutes
of charging will get you 70 minutes of play
back just like the 1000XM2.
Sadly, the WI-1000X is using the same bluetooth
4.1 as the 1000XM2.
Which means you still get the same 40 foot
wireless range, but you cant quickly switch
from device to device.
Instead you have to go into your settings
menu of each device and manually disconnect
the 1000X from one device and manually connect
them to your other device.
I just feel that with Apple’s W1 chip out
there and with bluetooth 4.2 or 5.0 as an
option, premium head phones like these should
be able to be connected to multiple devices
at the same time and be able to quickly switch
between them.
But I don’t know what Sony has done with
their noise cancelation technology but I really
like it.
One of the biggest reasons I don’t like
the Bose QC35 is because the noise cancelation
has a lot of cabin pressure and theres a lot
of hissing when they’re not playing music.
But the new 1000XM2 headphones have no cabin
pressure what so ever and the noise cancelation
is even better than the Bose QC35.
And most of those traits carry over to the
WI-1000X.
The noise cancelation causes no pressure on
my ear drums and they also haven’t caused
me any head aches.
And the noise cancelation mics on the WI-1000X
do a really good job of rejecting wind noise
just like the 1000XM2.
Although the in ear ear buds don’t offer
as much passive noise isolation as the headphones,
you can really tell a difference once the
active noise cancelation turns on.
But the noise cancellation on the WI-1000X
is only worth using if you’re indoors.
They do a good job of canceling out noise
pollution like a whirling AC, or road noise
from a passing car but everything else still
gets in.
And since your ears aren’t encased in ear
cups theres only so much the noise cancelation
on the neck band can do.
So if you’re main concern is noise isolation
then you’re better off with the 1000XM2.
The WI-1000X also feature ambient sound settings
that allow you to control how much outside
noise gets pumped into the ear phones.
They can also focus specifically on people’s
voices.
If you’re walking in the city you might
want to have the ambient sound set high so
you can know whats going on around you.
If you work in an office you might want to
have the ambient sound set to medium so if
HR yells for you… you can still hear them.
Or if you just want to be in your own little
world you can just turn ambient sound off
and only have noise cancelation on.
But the funny thing is, if you turn ambient
sound all the way up you’ll be able to hear
even more stuff than you would with just your
normal hearing.
They’re like hearing aides.
These ear phones also connect to Sony’s
Headphones app.
From there you can also active Adaptive sound
control.
Basically if your ear phones detect you’re
being still they will have noise cancelation
on (but you can adjust that in the settings).
If the head phones detect you’re walking
they will raise the ambient sound a bit, if
they detect you’re running or exercising
with them they will raise the ambient sound
even more (put personally I wouldn’t use
these for working out).
And if they detect you’re taking public
transportation they will block out everything.
The WI-1000X also have a built in pressure
sensor just like the 1000XM2 so they can measure
the barometric pressure in your immediate
surroundings, and then compensate the sound
and noise cancelation accordingly.
The idea is that you should get the best noise
cancellation whether you’re on the ground
or on an airplane.
But I still haven’t been able to test either
of the headphones on an airplane.
when it comes to sound quality, these didn’t
blow me away.
The Depth, vocals, and the mid sound pretty
good.
But when it comes to the lows and highs thats
where these head phones fall short.
First, the highs tend to be too sharp most
of the time and they do cause discomfort.
Or they just completely crash.
And bass on these headphones really like to
roll off and muddle the rest of the sound.
But through Sony’s headphone app you can
easily adjust the EQ of the neck band just
like with the 1000XM2.
But even after going through all of the EQ
options and even trying to adjust it my self,
I just couldn’t find the right settings
that fixed the Sharp highs and muddled bass.
But though Sony’s app you can also adjust
the surround settings and change the sound
positioning on these ear phones.
But just like the 1000XM2, I just keep those
features off.
But I know I’ve given Sony a lot of crap
in the past for having bad mobile apps, but
their Headphones app has been very solid even
after the iOS 11 update.
Like I mentioned earlier, you can use these
ear phones with a wired connection.
You can use them while powered off or you
can use them while they’re on and still
enjoy some noise cancelation.
But what I don’t get is that you cant use
the controls on the left leg of the neck band
to control your music play back.
And since theres no inline controller on the
cable you have to whip out your phone.
I just wish you could still 
just use the buttons.
But over all, I feel the WI-1000X are just
meh.
You cant workout with them cause the ear buds
are heavy and will fall out and the neck band
will fall out of place if you’re on the
bench press and they’re not sweat resistant.
Although the noise cancelation is impressive,
a lot of sound still manages to get in…
and again, the Lows and Highs on these ear
phones don’t sound too good.
If you’re willing to spend upwards of $300
for a pair of head phones I really cant find
a reason why you would get these over the
1000XM2 aside from form factor.
