Sony WH-1000XM3

The two sibling comments were good suggestions. I have Sony XM3s that have been going strong for 6 years, sound superb, and have IMHO better noise cancellation than Bose. For my kids I got Anker Soundcores, and for the price they are astonishingly good. Ignore the thing about open-backs though, I have some extremely high end Grado open-backs and barely use them. My primary hobby outside of work is making music and I have a dedicated studio at home with expensive sound damping / proofing - the only reason to ever wear the Grados is if I'm going to be wearing them for hours on end. Even then, the Sonys are comfortable enough that I've never reached a fatigue point in them.

I own Sony 1000XM3s, and have since they were released. I've really enjoyed them. However, I like my AirPods Max much better, mostly because of their better UX around pairing/multiple devices and better onboard controls (digital crown vs. touch gestures). I also own older Sony Bluetooth headphones, Sennheiser HD-650s, a pair of Bose QC-20i, and several other headphones ranging from cheap to mid-range. I'm confident I can judge what I personally prefer.

Oof. I'm sorry. My XM3s have been going strong connecting to Android and Windows devices for 2 years. I have the Sony app on my phone, but it doesn't launch when I connect. I never use it. I just use the system Bluetooth with LDAC.

I've had the XM3 for a year. It's a great set of headphones and the noise canceling works great. It does have a few peculiarities to be aware of. My biggest issue is you can't use the noise cancelling or the bluetooth connectivity while it's charging. You either have to wait for it to charge (which is absurdly fast. 10m will give you at least 4-6 hours) or you have to plug in an 1/8th inch audio cable. The touch controls are kind of odd. If the headphones are tilted slightly forward or backward and you try to increase the volume, you can accidentally trigger backward or forward. It also doesn't trigger consistently. Sometimes, I have to try once or twice before it recognizes the gesture. However, Cupping the hand over the right headphone to hear what's going on around you works every time and is priceless in an office environment. The built in microphone is terrible. Don't use it. I use either the built in microphone in my 2015 macbook pro or the Antlion ModMic Wireless. If you live in an area where winter is a thing and like going for walks while listening to podcasts, then don't use the gestures at all. Once the temperature dips below 32F, touching the touch-sensitive controls even once will cause the headphones to switch to "ambient sound" mode, where it pipes in the sounds around you. You can't switch it off and you can barely hear the podcast. To sony's credit, this isn't permanent. You can reboot the headphones and it works perfectly again, provided you avoid those touc

A couple months ago, the battery in my Sony wh1000xm3’s failed to hold any charge at all. Was an easy replacement tho and they’re as good as new.

Actually, a week ahead of the BBC, my sister informed me wired headphones are making a comeback. With a smug grin I told her, "Comeback? It never left my side." I've had to ally myself with a brand I've once sworn off just to get a flagship model Android with a headphone jack. Killing Reader is a greedy betrayal (they were pushing us onto Plus, the whole social web thing) but removing headphone jacks from Pixels is a cowardly betrayal! Eyeing you too there, Samsung. You and Google both have made it extremely difficult to maintain a modicum of principle in today's consumer landscape! You made me justify my purchase with a utilitarian "Better the jacked devil than the blue-toothed one". (And before you ask, I only generally buy flagships because I upgrade my phone like, every five years, and in my experience flagships are just more bang for buck. YMMV tho.) Anyway, honestly, wired is not perfect. Wired and wireless each have their inconveniences it's just that I'm more willing to put up with the inconveniences of wired. Wired connections have known failure modes , something which I really value in tech. I have a Sony WH-1000XM3 which can work both as wired and wireless and I love it for that. Long live wired connections! Here's to a future with cheaper flagship models with a headphone jack!

It is not an either-or. Many bluetooth headphones (not earbuds) also have an audio jack to be used wired. I use my bluetooth headphones (sony wh-1000xm3) through bluetooth when I am on the go, and wired when I am at home, especially if I want low latency. If anything, I would rather be able to replace a simple jack cable if it breaks, as it would consistently happen back when I was using wired earphones. I find using all these cables when I am on the go inconvenient, and I cannot imagine going back there. Especially with earbuds, I have probably changed over 10 or sth over the years due to cables failing (but I hate earbuds now anyway regardless). On the other hand, eg when gaming I definitely notice latency issues, especially if I compare them with wired, so I prefer to use them wired.

The two brands that could have a claim to producing "the model that everyone says are the best" are Bose and Sony. For Bose, the QuietComfort Ultra are the top of the line, but the cheaper/older QuietComfort 45 and 35 are both good too. For Sony, the WH-1000XM4 is the consensus favorite, even though the XM5 is newer. I own the XM4 and the older XM3 and I prefer the XM3 because I like the way it sounds with nothing playing better. I don't know how to describe it but the "silence" of the XM4 with ANC on but nothing playing feels too artificial for me. For office use, though, I prefer the XM4 since it has bluetooth multipoint and I can use them easily with both my laptop and phone without mucking around in settings. I'm changing jobs and going from having my own office to hoteling desks, so I imagine I'll be wearing the Sony's a lot more and I'm not sure if they'll be comfortable enough for all day use. At home or on a plane, I usually need to give my ears a rest every hour or so. I'll give one of the Bose a shot if I can't deal with the Sony's all day. Apple is also very popular. I haven't tried the new AirPods with ANC, but I love the Pros. I have to fuss with them a bit to get a good seal, and they don't stand up to city or airplane use, but they're fine in a relatively quiet environment, and they're so small I pretty much always have them on me. I have no experience with the Max, but from what I've read they can be uncomfortable for some people.

That's actually how my headphones (sony 1000xm3 I think they are) can be paired, there's an nfc chip on one of the sides which if you tap your phone to will turn on bluetooth, turn on the headphones, connect, and the headphones will beep and say bluetooth connected. It's the most seamless wireless connection I've had with bluetooth

In my experience my Airpod Pros and Huawei Freebud Pros achieve 95% of the audio and noise cancellation quality of my Sony XM3s that I just barely use the big headset anymore. I understand that they are technically different categories of products but for me and a lot of other non-audiophiles I know switched to TWS earbuds once they got half decent ANC.

I avoided phones without a headphone jack for a while for similar reasons. I didn't want to use a dongle or buy new wired headphones, and I didn't want to use a 1-to-2 USB-C/lightning dongle to listen to music and charge at the same time. Then I invested on a Sony WH-1000XM3 and suddenly battery life wasn't a problem anymore. That was a big change from the cheap bluetooth earphones I had used until that point, which had terrible battery life. I could use them for a full day, maybe forget to charge them, and it never ran out of battery. So I stopped using wired headphones. The downside was the price... the WH-1000XM3 wasn't cheap, but things have changed. Last year I wanted something smaller, so I bough the Anker Liberty 4 NC. Much cheaper, good noise cancelling, good enough sound quality, and from time to time use them for 8 hours straight (AAC mode) without putting them in the case. The earphones + case can last a week without charging them (with my usage of course). It wouldn't be a problem even if I was in hospital for a while, like in OP's case. So I'd say that the list of downsides is getting shorter as good bluetooth headphones get cheaper. It's still more expensive, but it's a different world compared to 5 years ago. If you still want to use wired headphones, then yeah, nothing has changed and losing the headphone jack is bad. But if you're willing to try wireless, then it's not as bad as it used to be.

A big knob passive (not powered), which can toggle audio independently between two inputs (laptop and pc), and two outputs (speakers, and bluetooth transmitter) using tactile toggle buttons with immediate response, and it also has a big volume knob, and a button to turn stereo into mono which has turned out useful for some badly encoded videos having audio in only one channel. The Bluetooth transmitter is used with sony WH-1000XM3 using the aptx standard and latency this way is good enough for gaming (I know what bad Bluetooth latency is like, and this setup does not have it) The fact that pc and laptop output to audio jack and don't know I use wireless headphones (or which input or output I use at all) is a feature, not a bug, since I actually don't want the headphones to be able to change state of music players or volume on the pc as it's buggy and annoying if it does that. The only thing the big knob passive lacks imho is an ability to mix both input sources together passively.

I had the Sony WH1000XM3s and found similar - I still loved them but it was cutting out low droning noises etc that they shone at and voices definitely cut though quite a bit. Recently though I got the Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds 2 (in ears), and the noise cancelling on them is next-level. So much better at cutting out higher pitches and I love them. I often use them in a room with a loud television and people speaking and they cut out a lot of speech and general noise It still doesn't create silence in those conditions admittedly, but it's very impressive

*Phone:* Galaxy S21 that I got very recently. It's styled with KLWP and makes the interface look Cyberpunk-ish. *Laptop:* Macbook Pro that I use for work. Its touch bar is nice to have, but not necessary. *PC:* Windows PC that I built in 2017. The last time I upgraded it was last year, when I added another SSD and another HD. Unlike an old laptop that I used to use, I haven't noticed a decrease in performance at all. If there's been one, it's been minuscule. *Headphones:* The noise canceling and bluetooth Sony WH1000-XM3. Incredible to listen to and quite comfy. I used to use the XM2s (gave to SO) and although those were great the XM3 is better in every regard. *Mic:* Samson Q2U that's XLR and USB compatible. Even though I love the XM3s, its built in mic isn't the best and I wanted something better.

I loved my XM3. They eventually broke, and I replaced them with the AirPod Max as I’m all-in on Apple gear. Returned those within a week. The weight, the size, and the ANC side effects made it unusable for all-day wear. Some people love them, but I was disappointed. I’m back to XM, with newfound appreciation. You can try both for a week, and return the set that doesn’t fit into your life. Both Apple and Sony can handle a refund.

I also bought the Sony 1000X-M3 headphones, and they have indeed been a game changer. My work puts me in "war room" situations several times a year, and having noise-cancelling headphones allows me to continue deep work even when there's a crowd of people.

Everyone once in a while I'll realise I've still not listened to some favourite song on my pair of WH-1000XM3s, and it brings me new joy every time.

- Squat Rack Ass to grass. - Samsung S6 Lite to digitize note taking. Never thought I'd use so many colors and actually refer to the notes I've taken. For all you die-hard paper and pen fans out there I was one too, but it really is a game-changer! - Sony WM1000xm3 headphones to easily enter flow state. Before it would take me at least 30 minutes to get in the zone, now it's a matter of a few songs. - Oura Ring to be more mindful of rest. Observing my sleep score every morning made it easier to prioritize it.

I disagree with your disagreement! I've had good closed headphones before, and they're... okay... but nothing like a good active noise cancelling headphones. For example, the Sony WH-1000XM3 is already a relatively good closed headphone! If you put one on with the noise cancelling disabled, it still provides a quite decent amount of isolation. But then instant you press that little switch... near total silence. I used to tell people that first class tickets on planes are a waste of money because: You're still on a plane, it's still noisy, you just get better food. But now with my Sony headphones, cattle class feels like first class. It's bliss: I can sleep. I can watch movies and actually understand what people are saying. I can read a book without feeling like there's a running hair dryer behind my head the whole time. The cries of babies are completely inaudible.

I am fervently glad that I'm happy with my WH-1000XM3 in its stock configuration. I took one look at what the permissions they wanted for the app, and said "No effing way." I shouldn't have been too surprised, though, given that it was Sony that brought us rootkits on music CDs.

I use the sony WH-1000XM3 and love them. Game changer for noisy work environments.

Hey, I'm using WH-1000XM3. I bought it couple of months ago. I think it is good. But, it also depends on your music taste. I mean if you are bass-heavy, WH-1000XM3 might not be enough for you.