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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jun 14, 2023 03:36 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:40 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
Variants
- WH-1000XM2 (Black)
- WH-1000XM2 (White)
- WH-1000XM3 (Black)
- WH-1000XM3 (White)
Our Verdict
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
The Sony WH-1000XM3 are a better headset than the Sony WH-1000XM2, although not by much. The XM3 have a more comfortable over-ear fit thanks to the headband redesign and softer ear cup pads. They also have better noise cancellation, mostly due to their lower self-noise, and a better battery life performance, with a customizable auto-off timer and a quick charging USB type C connector. This makes them a bit more convenient in case you forget to charge them overnight. On the other hand, the XM2 now offer a better value for your money since they are now at a lower price point than the XM3. They also have a great noise isolation performance and a decently well-balanced sound quality that's not very different from the XM3. Their metal headband also feels slightly more unique than that of the XM3 and gives them a slightly more classy look and feel.
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WH-1000XM2
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WH-1000XM3
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WH-1000XM2
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WH-1000XM3
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Finding storeNotice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable.
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Main Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.4
7.4
Mid Accuracy
7.8
9.4
Bass Accuracy
8.0
7.2
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
7.5
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.61 lbs
0.6 lbs
Clamping Force
0.9 lbs
0.8 lbs
Controls
7.2
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Okay
Good
Feedback
Okay
Decent
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
No
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.4
6.5
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
6 °C
5.8 °C
Portability
6.1
6.0
Portability Picture
L
4.9" (12.4 cm)
5.6" (14.2 cm)
W
6.0" (15.2 cm)
6.0" (15.2 cm)
H
3.3" (8.4 cm)
3.2" (8.1 cm)
Volume
96.00 in³ (1,573.15 cm³)
108.00 in³ (1,769.80 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
7.1" (18.0 cm)
7.1" (18.0 cm)
W
8.1" (20.6 cm)
8.1" (20.6 cm)
H
2.4" (6.1 cm)
2.4" (6.1 cm)
Volume
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
1.85 dB
3.25 dB
Treble Amount
-2.22 dB
-3.05 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
8.0
8.3
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.4 dB
0.34 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
8.0
7.2
Std. Err.
2.8 dB
4.28 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10.15 Hz
10 Hz
Low-Bass
1.94 dB
3.82 dB
Mid-Bass
2.49 dB
5.09 dB
High-Bass
4.21 dB
4.87 dB
Mid Accuracy
7.8
9.4
Std. Err.
2.94 dB
0.85 dB
Low-Mid
1.32 dB
0.4 dB
Mid-Mid
-2.89 dB
-0.09 dB
High-Mid
1.58 dB
-0.01 dB
Treble Accuracy
8.4
7.9
Std. Err.
2.38 dB
3.25 dB
Low-Treble
1.38 dB
-1.83 dB
Mid-Treble
-0.31 dB
0.21 dB
High-Treble
-12.79 dB
-12.11 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.0
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.97 dB
1.84 dB
Dips
1.56 dB
0.8 dB
Imaging
8.7
7.8
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.15
0.23
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.94
8.24
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.79
1.86
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.79
1.77
Passive Soundstage
3.9
3.7
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
5.03 dB
2.68 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
10 dB
9.23 dB
PRTF Distance
9.17 dB
5.13 dB
Openness
0.7
0.2
Acoustic Space Excitation
3.4
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
6.4
6.4
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
Presets
Presets
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
360 Reality Audio
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.3
7.3
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.337
0.380
WHD @ 100
0.246
0.198
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
Unknown
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Unknown
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Off
Off
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
9.1
9.8
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-28.14 dB
-29.9 dB
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Bass
-18.8 dB
-23.03 dB
Mid
-26.11 dB
-27.24 dB
Treble
-40.11 dB
-39.7 dB
Leakage
7.0
7.4
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.63 dB
37.09 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.3
6.3
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
273 Hz
226.27 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
4.35 dB
3.65 dB
HFE
3,272.31 Hz
3,044.37 Hz
Weighted THD
13.969
27.163
Gain
43.08 dB
29.6 dB
Noise Handling
6.3
6.5
SpNR
6.61 dB
19.65 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.0
6.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.4
7.6
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
28 hrs
27 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
28 hrs
27 hrs
Charge Time
3.6 hrs
2.2 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
micro-USB
USB-C
App Support
8.5
8.5
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
Sony| Headphones Connect
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
Yes
Yes
Playback Control
Yes
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
Yes
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.5
9.8
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.4 ms
Latency - USB
0 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
7.4
7.1
Bluetooth Version
4.1
4.2
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
Yes
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
172.00 ft (52.43 m)
185.00 ft (56.39 m)
Latency - SBC
304 ms
225 ms
Latency - aptX
230 ms
201 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
232 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
PC Latency (aptX HD)
299 ms
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
13 ms
Android Latency
70 ms
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
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WH-1000XM2
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WH-1000XM3
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WH-1000XM2
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WH-1000XM3
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Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Comments
Sony WH-1000XM2 Wireless vs Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless: Main Discussion
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