Sony WH-1000XM4 Review: 4+ Years of Real-World Use
I bought the Sony WH-1000XM4 in black on August 24, 2022 for 2,190 DKK (about US$294 at the August 2022 exchange rate) with my own money, and I have now used them for more than four years. My main use has been in the gym about three to four times per week, usually around six to eight hours per week in total. Allowing for roughly 12 weeks where I did not use them at all, that works out to an estimated 1,200–1,600 hours of real use.
I have also used them at home when I need to block out noise and focus on studying, plus on buses, trains and flights. After all that time, the three things I still like most are the sound quality, noise cancelling and battery life. The biggest drawbacks are the price and the fact that Sony does not rate them as waterproof.
Affiliate disclosure: This review contains a paid Amazon link. If you buy through it, Jon Tests may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I bought my Sony WH-1000XM4 myself at full price and received no free product, discount or compensation. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Full disclosure.
Sony WH-1000XM4 — 4.7/5
Quick verdict: After more than four years, these are still one of the easiest products I own to recommend to someone who will genuinely use premium over-ear headphones a lot. The sound is excellent, the noise cancelling is extremely effective, they are comfortable for long sessions and nothing has broken despite heavy gym use.
Best for: frequent listeners, gym users doing controlled strength/cardio work, travelers and students who value strong noise cancelling.
Skip if: you only use headphones occasionally, need a water-resistant sports design or do sports with lots of fast head movement.
- Excellent sound with strong bass and good detail
- Extremely effective noise cancelling
- Very comfortable even for long sessions
- Good real-world battery life even after more than four years
- Reliable Bluetooth with no recurring dropouts
- Call microphone has worked well for me
- Still fully functional after roughly 1,200–1,600 hours of estimated use
- Works very well for my normal gym sessions
- Expensive — especially if you only use headphones occasionally
- Not waterproof or officially sweat-resistant
- Not my first choice for running or sports with rapid head movement
- I do not use many of the app/touch/smart features, so some features add little value for me
How I tested the Sony WH-1000XM4
- Purchased: August 24, 2022
- Price paid: 2,190 DKK (about US$294 at the August 2022 exchange rate), fully self-funded
- Ownership: more than four years
- Typical use: 3–4 gym sessions per week
- Weekly use: roughly 6–8 hours
- Estimated total use: roughly 1,200–1,600 hours after subtracting about 12 weeks with no use
- Other use: home/study, walking, trains, buses and flights
- Replaced parts: none
- Failures: none
The 1,200–1,600-hour figure is an estimate, not an hour-meter reading. It is based on my normal weekly use and the periods where I know I did not use the headphones. My subjective scores are based on that long-term ownership rather than lab measurements.
Sound quality is still the first thing I notice
I have never felt a need to change the EQ. To my ears, the WH-1000XM4 already gives me strong bass, plenty of detail and more maximum volume than I would ever want to use.
I have owned cheaper gaming headsets that cost a few hundred kroner, and the difference is obvious to me. I am not naming those as direct competitors because I do not have exact models and they were not in the same category, but the Sony sounds substantially more refined.
Sony specifies a 40 mm driver, support for SBC, AAC and LDAC, plus a Bluetooth frequency response up to 20 Hz–40 kHz when using LDAC at the relevant settings. Those are manufacturer specifications rather than measurements I made myself. Sony’s official WH-1000XM4 specifications list the details.
Noise cancelling is the feature that changes where I can focus
The noise cancelling is excellent. I use it in the gym, on public transport, on flights and at home when I need to study while my girlfriend is on the phone or there is other noise around me.
It is good enough that it has helped me sleep in noisy places such as airplanes. That is probably the biggest real-life benefit beyond the music itself: the headphones can turn an environment I find distracting into somewhere I can read, study or rest.
Sony describes the XM4 as using Dual Noise Sensor technology and also includes an Ambient Sound mode. I have not meaningfully used the Ambient Sound/transparency feature, so I do not score or evaluate that part from firsthand experience. Sony’s specification page confirms both noise cancelling and Ambient Sound functionality.
They have been genuinely good gym headphones for me
This needs a bit of nuance. The gym is actually where I have used the WH-1000XM4 most: around three to four sessions per week for more than four years. For strength training and normal gym movement, I find them comfortable, stable and not excessively sweaty.
I would not personally choose them for a sport where I move my head quickly or unpredictably, because an over-ear headset this size could shift or fall. Noise cancelling can also reduce awareness of what is happening around you, which is not ideal for every sport or environment.
The other caveat is official water protection. Sony explicitly states that the WH-1000XM4 is not waterproof and advises care when using it while perspiring. My pair has survived years of normal gym sweat without a problem, but that is my experience — not evidence of an IP rating or a reason to ignore Sony’s warning. Sony’s official precautions explain the moisture warning.
Comfort has held up over long sessions
I find the headphones very comfortable. They do not press painfully on my head or ears, and the ear cups keep my ears warm without making me feel excessively sweaty in normal use.
I have a relatively large head and the fit is very good for me. The adjustment range is generous enough that I expect it to fit many adults, but I have not tested the fit on children and would not make a claim about children’s sizing.
Battery life is still good after more than four years
I have not done a controlled battery rundown test. Today, I would confidently estimate that I still get around 7–8 hours or more from a charge in the way I use them. It may be higher — I simply do not normally run the battery from 100% to zero while timing it.
Because of that, I cannot say how much battery capacity my pair has actually lost since 2022. What I can say is that battery life has never become a practical annoyance for me.
Sony’s original specification is up to 30 hours with noise cancelling on and up to 38 hours with it off, with actual performance depending on settings and conditions. Sony’s official specification page lists those figures. My current 7–8+ hour observation should therefore be read as a conservative real-use estimate, not a measured capacity test.
Bluetooth and call quality have been trouble-free
Bluetooth has been very reliable. I do not remember recurring dropouts or pairing problems, and I have never had to treat connectivity as something I need to troubleshoot.
I have also used the built-in microphones for phone calls. People on the other end have told me they can hear me clearly, so call quality has been good enough that I am happy to use the headphones for conversations.
The XM4 supports Bluetooth 5.0 and multipoint connection to two compatible devices. I have not made multipoint a major part of my own use, so the score here is based mainly on the stability of my normal phone connection rather than intensive phone-plus-laptop testing. Sony’s product page confirms multipoint support.
Touch controls and app features matter less to me
The headphones have touch controls, Speak-to-Chat, wearing detection and app-based settings, but I mostly control music and calls from my phone. I have not used the Sony app enough to give it a meaningful long-term score.
That is not a complaint so much as a reminder that a product can be good even when you ignore half the feature list. The basics — sound, ANC, comfort, battery and Bluetooth — are what have kept me using the XM4 for years.
Four-year durability has been excellent
Nothing has broken. I have not replaced the ear pads, headband, battery or any other part. There is some visible wear on the cushions and a few small signs of age elsewhere, but much less than I would expect from something I have worn this often.
This is one of the biggest reasons I am comfortable giving the XM4 a high score. Sound quality can impress in the first week; surviving years of frequent gym, home and travel use without a repair tells me much more about whether an expensive product was worth buying.
Value in 2026: check XM4 pricing against XM5 and XM6
I paid 2,190 DKK (about US$294 at the August 2022 exchange rate) in 2022. I thought that was expensive, but after more than four years I also think it was worth it. If I were shopping for an XM4 today in Denmark, I would personally hope to find it closer to roughly 1,500 DKK before getting excited about the deal.
For U.S. buyers, current model pricing makes the comparison more complicated. On October 1, 2026, Sony’s U.S. store listed the original WH-1000XM4 Black at $349.99, the WH-1000XM5 Black at a promotional $299.99, and the WH-1000XM6 Black at $459.99. Prices and promotions can change, so these figures are dated context rather than permanent recommendations.
That means I would not automatically buy the XM4 just because I know and like it. I have not personally tested the XM5 or XM6, so I cannot tell you from firsthand experience that either sounds or feels better. But if a newer XM5 is genuinely cheaper than the XM4 when you shop, it deserves serious consideration.
| Model | Sony U.S. price checked Oct. 1, 2026 | What Sony highlights | My experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| WH-1000XM4 | $349.99 | Premium ANC, up to 30-hour battery, foldable design, multipoint | 4+ years firsthand; the model reviewed here |
| WH-1000XM5 | $299.99 sale ($399.99 regular) | 2 processors, 8 microphones, premium ANC, up to 30-hour battery | Not personally tested |
| WH-1000XM6 | $459.99 | Newer QN3 processor, 12-microphone system, up to 30-hour battery | Not personally tested |
Current U.S. price/spec sources: WH-1000XM4, WH-1000XM5, and WH-1000XM6. Retail pricing changes frequently.
Why I rate the Sony WH-1000XM4 4.7/5
My overall rating is 4.7/5. I use the public Jon Tests rating method: each category gets a weight, all weights total 100%, and the final result is rounded to one decimal place.
| Criterion | Weight | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sound quality | 20% | 4.9/5 | Excellent detail, strong bass and more volume than I need without changing EQ. |
| Noise cancelling | 20% | 5.0/5 | Excellent for gym, study, trains, buses and flights; it has even helped me sleep while traveling. |
| Comfort & fit | 15% | 4.8/5 | Very comfortable on my relatively large head and good for long sessions. |
| Battery | 15% | 4.6/5 | Still easily useful after 4+ years; my conservative current estimate is around 7–8 hours or more. |
| Bluetooth & calls | 10% | 4.8/5 | No recurring dropouts and callers have generally found the microphone clear. |
| Durability | 10% | 4.6/5 | No failures or replaced parts after an estimated 1,200–1,600 hours. |
| Gym & active use | 5% | 4.0/5 | Excellent for my normal gym sessions, but not waterproof and not ideal for high-movement sports. |
| Value for money | 5% | 4.0/5 | Expensive, but the long service life has made my purchase feel worthwhile. |
| Weighted rating | 4.7/5 | 4.73 before rounding. | |
Who should buy the WH-1000XM4?
- Good fit: people who use headphones several times per week and value sound and ANC.
- Good fit: gym users doing strength training, machines, steady cardio or similar controlled movement.
- Good fit: students and remote workers who need to block distracting noise.
- Good fit: frequent train, bus and air travelers.
- Look elsewhere: runners or athletes who need a secure sports-specific fit.
- Look elsewhere: anyone who needs an IP-rated sweat/water-resistant headphone.
- Consider cheaper options: if you only use headphones once per week and do not care much about ANC.
Would I buy them again?
Yes — at the right price. The WH-1000XM4 has proven itself to me over years, and I would still consider it a safe choice. But in 2026, I would compare the live XM4 price directly with the XM5 and XM6 instead of buying the older model automatically.
If the XM4 were around the price I personally hope for — roughly 1,500 DKK in Denmark — I would be very comfortable buying it again. If the XM5 were cheaper at the time, I would research the newer model before deciding because I have not personally tested it.
Check the current Sony WH-1000XM4 price on Amazon (paid link) →
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Sony WH-1000XM4 good for the gym?
They have been very good for my normal gym sessions. I have used them around three to four times per week for years. I would not choose them for high-movement sports, and Sony states that the headphones are not waterproof and should be protected from sweat/moisture.
How good is the noise cancelling?
Excellent in my experience. I use it for the gym, studying, buses, trains and flights, and it has been good enough to help me rest or sleep in noisy travel environments.
How is the battery after more than four years?
Still good. I estimate at least around 7–8 hours in my current use and possibly more, but I have not performed a controlled full-discharge test, so I do not claim a measured remaining battery capacity.
Have I replaced the ear pads?
No. The pads show some wear, but I have not replaced the ear pads or any other part since buying the headphones in August 2022.
Are the WH-1000XM4 waterproof?
No. Sony explicitly says the WH-1000XM4 is not waterproof. Mine has handled years of normal gym use without a problem, but that does not create a water-resistance rating.
Should I buy XM4, XM5 or XM6?
I can only give a firsthand verdict on the XM4. In 2026 I would compare live prices carefully because newer models can sometimes be discounted below the XM4. I have not personally tested the XM5 or XM6, so I do not rank their sound or ANC against my XM4.
Sources and review method
- My August 24, 2022 purchase, more than four years of ownership, estimated 1,200–1,600 hours of use and the original photos shown in this review.
- Sony — WH-1000XM4 official specifications for drivers, Bluetooth, noise cancelling and battery specifications.
- Sony — WH-1000XM4 precautions for the official water/sweat warning.
- Sony — WH-1000XM4 U.S. product page for current positioning and dated U.S. price context.
- Sony — WH-1000XM5 U.S. product page and Sony — WH-1000XM6 U.S. product page for the current alternative-model comparison.
- Jon Tests — How I Test for the public rating methodology.
