Sony Announces WF-1000XM3 Noise Canceling In-Ear Headphones
Sony has announced a new wireless, in-ear headphones with noise canceling. According to the manufacturer, the WF-1000XM3 mainly offers better noise reduction by using Dual Noise Sensor technology and a new processor. The ears come out in August.
The WF-1000XM3 features Sony’s new HD Noise Canceling Processor, the QN1e. This is a variant of the QN1 of the WH-1000XM3. In combination with the Dual Noise Sensor technology, the headphones can thus capture and filter out even more disturbing ambient noise than before, according to the manufacturer. Each earpiece is therefore equipped with two microphones on the outside; one for feed-forward and one for feed-back.
The QN1e processor supports 24-bit audio processing and, according to Sony, is also more energy-efficient, allowing the earphones to last longer. The WF-1000XM3’s battery should now last up to six hours with noise canceling on, and up to eight hours with the feature turned off. Afterwards, the user can charge the headphones three more times via the supplied storage case, for a maximum autonomy of 24 and 32 hours respectively. There is also a quick charge function; after ten minutes of charging, the earphones last another hour and a half.
Like some other Sony headphones, the WF-1000XM3 features DSEE HX, an engine that attempts to upscale the quality of compressed digital music files such as MP3s to ‘near High Resolution Audio quality’. Furthermore, the WF-1000XM3, just like Sony’s over-ear model WH-1000XM3, has the Quick Attention mode. Touching the touchpad on the right earpiece temporarily disables noise canceling and activates the microphones. This allows the user to have a conversation or listen to announcements without having to remove the earphones. The music player can also be operated via the touchpad, and the headphones can also be controlled with voice commands via the Google Assistant.
Sony also provided the WF-1000XM3 with a newly developed bluetooth chip. This would ensure that both earphones receive audio content at the same time, in contrast to the conventional left-to-right switching Bluetooth transmission. In combination with the improved antenna structure, Sony believes that would provide a more stable connection.
The WF-1000XM3 will be available in the Benelux from mid-August in black and silver. The suggested retail price is 250 euros.