Released in 2017, the Sony WH-1000xm2 are Sony’s premium noise cancelling headphones that compete with the Bose QuietComfort range. Have Sony created a great all round noise cancelling headphones?

Design

The Sony WH-1000xm2 has a soft cushioned headband that provides great comfort with a sleek black plastic finish. The earpiece provides soft padding when wearing the headphones with a black textured finish. The L and R lettering are finished in a red/orange colour, which is the only other colour on the headphones other than black. The buttons on the left earpiece are finished in the same black shiny material with orange/green LED’s indicating the headphones and the ambient noise cancelling are on. The micro USB port has a metal finish rounding off the whole premium design.

The carrying case comes with a solid matte hard shell material with an elastic pocket on the rear for wireless and adaptors. The inside is lined with a soft material with a thin layer of padding.

Functions

The WH-1000xm2 features noise-cancelling technology to eliminate external/environmental noises; the headphones also have the ability to optimise to atmospheric pressure and has the ability to adapt the sound settings according to your activity such as travelling, walking or sitting still. The Sony headphone app allows you to customise the sound to your preference as well as allowing you to adjust other settings within the app. The right ear cup is touch sensitive which allows you to select next/previous, pause, play and activate your voice assistant by gestures. When you cup your hand over the right ear cup you cancel the noise cancellation allowing you to hear external noises, this is beneficial when you need to briefly listen to someone talking to you before diving back into your music. The headphones also have NFC, which will enable you to connect your device by tapping the right ear cup. Pairing up the headphones is easy either via the settings on your smartphone or by NFC. However, pairing it with multiple devices is difficult as you have to pair the headphones again, which makes use the headphones with multiple devices a bit tricky.

Sound

The headphones provide brilliant rich sound quality that can deliver great natural bass and trebles. When listening to acoustic music, the instrumentals sound natural when listening on the Sony headphones. They provide a great experience as if you were in the same room especially with the noise-cancelling switch on, the whole world is turned off allowing you to be in your own world. Listening to more bassy genres such as rock, dance or rap, the headphones provide a more natural bass, however if you want to feel extra bass, you can change the presets in the app that will allow you to feel more bass and trebles to enhance your listening experience.

Noise Cancellation

The noise cancellation on the Sony WH-1000xm2 eliminates environmental sounds really well. Wearing the headphones on the motorway with noise cancellation turned on, the noise from the road, engine, passing cars and radio are eliminated. However, I could hear hints of the radio being played but faintly. Of course, if the volume of the radio was turned up then you will be able to hear the radio even though the noise cancelling is turned on.

Comfort

Thick padding on the headband and ear cups allows the headphones to be comfortable to wear. However, when listening to the headphones for long durations you will feel the headphones are digging in as they are a tight fit. This could be due to the fact that I haven’t worn the headphones long enough for the headphones to expand/stretch when wearing the headphones over a long period of time. So far I can only wear them for a maximum of 3 hours in one sitting before I need to take them off to get my ears a little break from the headphones.

Verdict

The Sony WH-1000xm2 provides a great overall listening experience with either the noise cancellation switched on or off. The sound quality coming from this headphone is amazing, providing a rich sound with authentic bass and trebles with brilliant highs and lows. The sleek design and finish gives the headphones a premium matching its price point. With added features such as NFC, touch controls and over ear cupping to cancel the noise cancellation. The Sony WH-1000xm2 is great for any music lover or frequent traveller who just wants to be in their own world while the real world just carries on. If you can prepared to cough up the cash then I would highly recommend the Sony WH-1000xm2. If you are willing to get the latest model of the headphones and are willing to cough up a bit more to get the latest model then I would go for it.