VITALSTATS
Sony WF-1000XM
£220 / sony.co.ukTHE BUDS
OF SUBURBIA
If you’re not a huge fan
of people, the benefits
of active noise-cancelling
(ANC) headphones are
obvious; but not everyone
wants to look like a sound
engineer while rejecting
humanity, so Sony has
crammed the tech into a
pair of wireless earbuds...OTyrannosaurus X
It’s not quite on the Jurassic Park
scale, but Sony has been doing
a bit of DNA-splicing by taking
a dash of design from its lauded
WF-1000X in-ear predecessors
and pairing it with the QN1e
HD noise-cancelling chip from
Stuff’s No1 over-ears, the
WH-1000XM3s. Add in Dual
Noise Sensor Technology –
forward and rear-facing mics
to pick up ambient noise – and
there’s a claimed 40% bump
in blocking out background
commotion.OVelocirapture
The 24-bit QN1e chip powers
Digital Sound Enhancement
Engine HX tech for upscaling
compressed music files, plus
smarty-pants features such
as Adaptive Sound Control,
which detects what you’re doing
and adjusts settings to suit the
situation; Quick Attention mode,
for momentarily lowering the
volume and letting ambient noise
in; and Wearing Detection, which
pauses your music when a bud
is removed.OTricerapops
To keep each bud in place, a
‘tri-hold structure’ makes contact
with three points of your ear,
while a downward ear-canal
entry locks things further in
place. Battery life is 6 hours with
ANC and 8 hours without, while
the chunky charging case (in
matching black or platinum
silver) increases playing time
to 24 hours with ANC or 32 hours
without. A 10-minute fast charge
offers 90 minutes of music for
Celine Dion emergencies.SONY’S EXTRA
MICS BRING A
CLAIMED 40%
BUMP IN NOISE
CANCELLING
There’s an app,
but these circular
pads house
touch-sensitive
tap controls.