SONY WI-1000X Wireless Review – WI-1000X (link to SONY) is an around the neck style wireless earphone. It has an active noise canceling and Atmospheric Pressure Optimizing just like the bigger brother Sony 1000XM2. The battery can last for up to 10 hours for the wireless and 14 hours for a wired connection. The band will vibrate when there?s an incoming call. let’s take a look at the SONY WI-1000X Wireless Review.
It comes with hi-res audio technology such as s-master HX (upscales compresses digital music files) and LDAC (LDAC is a new audio technology from Sony that allows you to enjoy high-quality wireless audio via Bluetooth. With 3x the data transmitted – max at 990kbps, LDAC provides an enhanced wireless listening experience for all your music.
What’s in the Box?
- Six additional ear tips (Seven in total, three foam and four silicon )
- USB charging cable
- Micro USB to 3.5mm cable
- Airplane adapter
- Carrying bag
Accessories.
The carrying bag is lightweight made from a durable material, it?s a soft case so you need to be careful when you throw them inside your bag. It has an additional pocket inside the case to keep your cables.
Additional ear tips is always a welcome, glad that Sony provides enough tips to cater to individual needs. The seal is great with the tips provided. the foam tips are pretty dense, not like a memory foam. I think this would last longer than Comply tips. The silicone is very soft and doesn’t hurt your ear canal after prolong use. I think Sony’s tip is one of the best tips out there
Build & Fit.
The neckband is pretty light, I don?t feel the weight wearing it around my neck. the weight is just nice with ergonomic design. The band has good balance and it doesn’t slide to the back, there’s another earphone neckband that I tried and it doesn’t have a good design, it always slides to the back of my neck.
The neckband has padding on the inner part to make sure that you?ll feel comfortable when it?s resting on your neck, apart from that the in the button section it?s made from soft rubber, I don?t like this kind of material because it can get sticky over time especially in the hot and humid weather. The cover for the cable connecting to the earbuds is a thin plastic, you need to take extra good care of this one.
On the left inner side, you?ll find the on/off button, volume up/down and pause/play button which act as a forward as well if you double-click it. The button marking feels natural, it?s easy to identify between buttons. On the right inner side, you?ll find the ambiance/noise canceling option. It?s easy enough to find the button just using your finger touch without looking.
There’s a cable management at each side of the neckband, you can keep your cable neatly out of the way in the slim, zip-style holder. I like this, a cable that’s too long or short could cause some discomfort when wearing it, such a simple thing but well done Sony.
The USB port is at the left button of the headset. if you are wondering whether you can listen and charge at the same time, the answer is no, plugging in the USB cable connected to power will automatically switch of the earphone.
The earbuds have dual Drivers (dynamic and balanced amateur), surprisingly it?s pretty light and comfortable to wear.
Connectivity and noise canceling.
To maximize the noise canceling it?s important you get a good seal. The active noise canceling is great and providing immersing experience even though is not as good as the older brother 1000xm2 which is acceptable since 1000xm2 is much a bigger device.
In the train, it?s removing about 50-60% background noise, but if you are listening to music with 50% volume you can hardly hear the noise from the moving train.
There’s a little bit lag of sync when I watched a video on youtube (I find it it’s much better than 1000XM2). It may not noticeable for some people, my wife said that she didn’t feel any lag.
Coverage range is pretty good, still strong at 10 meters and dropping at around 12 meters. Sometimes the connection drop when you moved to a different room with a door shut. During my commute on train and bus, I don’t experience any drop in the connection.
On the right side of the band, there’s a button to allow the ambiance sound to be heard which is pretty useful if you want to hear an announcement in the public transport or want to speak with someone.
All the Sony wireless have the same application for three models called headphones connect. The adaptive technology required the apps to access your location and detect the movement. It?s a great feature, you can hear or stop the ambient sound when you walk / not moving automatically.
Whenever it switches mode, you?ll hear a short notification sound (bell sound) Sometimes it takes a while to notice, during my test from walking to standing up in the train it takes 35 seconds after the train moved to switch from walking to train mode. It could be annoying since every time it switches mode, there’s will be a little pause to what you are listening, notification and then resuming your music or whatever that you are hearing.
Using the apps to determine adaptive sound control is bad for the battery of your phone, I can see that it?s using the GPS in the background. Forcing the Sony app to close on my iPhone did indeed disable the adaptive sound. This would be an issue as well if you are moving around without your phone. During my testing, the app drained 5% with background activity for 1 hour of use in my new iPhone.
The atmospheric pressure optimization also is only useful if you are traveling a lot by plane. on the ground, I don’t hear any difference when I tested it on the bus or train.
Sound Impression.
Overall tonal balance is better than the big brother (WH-1000XM2), you can almost hear all from the bass to the treble with a crystal clear mids. This has a stronger bass presence. Listening to Tears in Heaven I can hear the bass which other earphones sometimes has difficulty to pick this up. The bass is punchy and accurate. the separation in the bass is good, it doesn’t produce any boomy bass.
The mid is crystal clear with good soundstage and space. Listening to Hotel California – Hell Freezes Over and All I Ask – Adele was great, the Mids are clear enough with a smooth texture. I like the crystal clear mids without sacrificing the rest. Normally to achieve a crystal clear mids, the earphone is tuned towards the bright side which sometimes creates a sharp treble and sibilance resulted in an aggressive earphone which at the end it will create fatigue to the hearer. I don’t hear this drawback for Sony WI-1000X, Sony tune this earphone very well. listening to All I Ask – Adele was great as well.
The treble was great as well, you can hear the layers between the mids and treble. it’s present and compliment well without overpowering the mids. The earphone is a dual driver, 9mm dynamic driver, and amateur balance driver. The 9mm driver drives force for the bass and clear mids, while the balanced amateur drives the treble.
SONY WI-1000X Wireless Review Summary.
This is one of the best earphones in my list. Crystal clear music with good bass, it’s fun to hear and I can listen to this for hours without any fatigue. I really like the sound produced by WI-1000X compared to the WH-1000XM2 but it also depends whether you like a headphone or earphone, WH-1000XM2 can produce a bigger sound and space and offers a better noise canceling.
The price is a little bit step, currently at USD 299. the adaptive sound is a good idea, but I don’t like the idea that it needs the apps to make it work. If only Sony can remove this feature and the atmospheric pressure optimization to bring down the price that would be great.
The control feels natural and responsive, within a day I’m already used to all the controls, the neckband is comfortable to wear with a smart design. I’m not really a fan of a wireless neckband, cause it still has some cable and extra things in your neck. there’s a possibility as well that you accidentally pull out the cable somehow and that’s the end of your earphone. I don’t suggest to do a workout with this earphone. At the end of the day I prefer a truly wireless experience without any cable but perhaps there’s still a room to do bargain considering the sound quality and extra battery life. I’m looking forward to reviewing the WF-1000X 🙂
Sony WI-1000X Wireless neckband it’s expensive, it will cost you $299 (RRP). For budget friendly wireless earphone, I’ll recommend Cobble Pro Wireless Bluetooth, take a look at the review here.
SONY WI-1000X Wireless Review
Product Name: SONY WI-1000X
Product Description: Sony Premium Noise Cancelling Wireless Behind-Neck In Ear Headphones. High-quality audio with DSEE HX, S-Master HX, LDAC and aptX HD. Battery life up to 10 hours (with wireless noise cancelling). Smart listening by smart auto-settings automatically adjusts ambient sound to your activity. Ambient Sound mode to hear essential sound without taking your headphones off.
Price: 228
Currency: USD
Availability: InStock
Overall
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ACCESSORIES
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BUILD & QUALITY
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CONNECTIVTY & FEATURE
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SOUND QUALITY
Summary
This is one of the best earphones in my list. Crystal clear music with good bass, it’s fun to hear and I can listen to this for hours without any fatigue. I really like the sound produced by WI-1000X compared to the WH-1000XM2 but it also depends whether you like a headphone or earphone, WH-1000XM2 can produce a bigger sound and space and offers a better noise canceling.
The price is a little bit step, currently at USD 299. the adaptive sound is a good idea, but I don’t like the idea that it needs the apps to make it work. If only Sony can remove this feature and the atmospheric pressure optimization to bring down the price that would be great.
