Sony WH-1000XM XM4

I used to obsess over audio quality. But then I reached my 40s, and it started to become clear that my ageing ears were becoming the limiting factor. Now I just embrace the convenience of Bluetooth and usefulness of noise cancelling. (But then again, even my AirPods or Sony XM4s are high fidelity compared to what many of the kids these days are listening with, small mono bluetooth speakers or playing music out of their phone speakers)

I've had these before and can confirm they're great, noticeably lighter than my current Airpods Max. FYI: I believe the XM4 is still vulnerable to CVE-2025-20700/20701/20702 if that's a concern for you.

It seems that most of the people who suffer from loud voices in public spaces tend not to confront those scoundrels, and instead eat it up and wonder endlessly how they can be so mindless and rude to others. I am sometimes like that as well, but I would rather "fix" it myself because I just don't know of any practical ways to bring about a proper public commute etiquette. That's not my job. Today I went to Munich on public transportation — with a mix of transfers on trams and regional trains. I think I read about 50 pages, all the while traveling. It may sound like an ad, but it's not; I really appreciate my Sony XM4 — would not have been possible to focus on reading without it — which I've been using for years now. I put it on with ANC, and play a non-distracting focus music. This helps quite a lot!