“Really?!” That was my initial reaction when I heard the first rumours that Sony was readying the WH-1000XM4C.
The use of two punctuation marks indicates it was a reaction of both excitement and confusion. I was excited because the original WH-1000XM4 are a classic. They’re one of the models that’s made the biggest impression on me out of all the pairs of wireless headphones I’ve tested over the years.
They took performance to a whole new level when they launched back in 2020 – look around online, and there’s still a lot of love shown to this particular pair.
The confused part of me wondered where Sony would place them in its current range, since it already has the XM4’s successor, the WH-1000XM5 (pictured above). And this is a pair which is already pretty well discounted.
Following Sony’s official WH-1000XM4C unveiling (pictured below), though, the picture has become clearer. Or has it?
We know the new headphones cost £219 / $300 / AU$449.95, which is actually close to where the WH-1000XM5 headphones sit right now.
We also know that the WH-1000XM5 will go end of life in February next year, as they aren’t compliant with EU battery regulation 2023/1542 (which stipulates that portable batteries need to be able to be removed by the end user), which comes into effect at the same time, unlike XM4C. So, I’m left wondering where the incentive is for people to go out and buy the XM5?
In our WH-1000XM5 review, we found them to feel less premium than the XM4, and they also don’t have the folding design of that model, which was a big selling point back at the time.
They still sound great, though, and at the time of our original WH-1000XM5 vs WH-1000XM4 comparison, we felt the newer model sounded “clearer and more open” and that the headphones were “more precise in the low-end, making the XM4 sound a little thick by comparison”.
We do know Sony has retuned the sound of the XM4C, but this is only through DSP – the hardware remains the same.
The WH-1000XM5, by contrast, introduced a smaller 30 mm driver compared to the 40mm unit of XM4, so Sony will only be able to tweak the sound of the new model so far. We will, of course, let you know if/how the sound has changed once we get a pair into our test rooms.
I’m also intrigued to see how pricing looks over the next few months.
If retailers try to move all their existing XM5 stock with one eye on February next year, could they drop the price of those headphones below WH-1000XM4C? It could be an interesting few months that lie ahead, especially if you’re on the lookout for a new pair of wireless headphones at a great price.
It's not often we have two competing pairs of headphones from the same brand around the same price, but at least this should give an added element of choice for the consumer.
What do you think? Do you think there’s still a place for the WH-1000XM5 following Sony’s recent announcement? Would you consider a pair if they still sound better than the WH-1000XM4C? Let us know in the comments below.
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