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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Wired Connection
    2. Bluetooth Connection
    3. Wireless Connection (Dongle)
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PlayStation Compatibility
    6. Xbox Compatibility
    7. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT

Tested using Methodology v1.6

Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:40 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Oct 26, 2023 06:45 PM

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Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Picture

Variants

  • WH-1000XM3 (Black)
  • WH-1000XM3 (White)
  • ATH-M50xBT (Black)

Our Verdict

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT

The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are better headphones than the Audio Technica ATH-M50xBT. The Sony have a great noise cancelling feature that is suitable for loud environments like your daily commute, and they are also more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The Sony also feel better-built than the Audio Technica and their sound profile can easily be EQ’ed inside their app, which the Audio Technica don’t have. You’ll also get more battery life out of the Sony. On the other hand, the Audio Technica have a better default sound profile right out-of-the-box and some may prefer their physical button control scheme to the touch-sensitive one of the Sony.

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WH-1000XM3
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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White
WH-1000XM3
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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ATH-M50xBT
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Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

7.4
7.3

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.4
7.0

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.2
8.4

Passive Soundstage 
 

3.7
5.6

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Design Picture 2
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Design Picture 2

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

Yes
Yes

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Comfort Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.6 lbs
0.7 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0.8 lbs
0.8 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

7.6
6.5

Controls Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Controls Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

Not OS specific
Not OS specific

Ease Of Use  

Good
Okay

Feedback  

Decent
Good

Call/Music Control  

Yes
Yes

Volume Control  

Yes
Yes

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

On/Off
No

Talk-Through 
 

On/Off
No

Additional Controls  

Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant

Show text

Breathability 
 

6.5
6.0

Breathability After Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Breathability After Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.8 °C
7.1 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

6.0
5.9

Portability Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Portability Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Portability Picture

 

5.6" (14.2 cm)
5.0" (12.6 cm)

 

6.0" (15.2 cm)
7.2" (18.4 cm)

 

3.2" (8.1 cm)
3.3" (8.5 cm)

Volume  

108.00 in³ (1,769.80 cm³)
119.51 in³ (1,958.40 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

8.0
6.5

Case Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Case Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Case Picture

Type  

Hard case
Pouch

 

7.1" (18.0 cm)
N/A

 

8.1" (20.6 cm)
N/A

 

2.4" (6.1 cm)
N/A

Volume  

136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Build Quality Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.0
6.5

Stability Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Stability Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Angled Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Side Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Front Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Rear Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Top Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless In The Box Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

3.25 dB
2.09 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-3.05 dB
-0.29 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.3
6.6

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.34 dB
0.72 dB

Show text

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.2
8.4

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

4.28 dB
2.27 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

10 Hz
10 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

3.82 dB
0.54 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

5.09 dB
1.99 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.87 dB
3.27 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

9.4
7.0

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

0.85 dB
3.96 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.4 dB
-4.6 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.09 dB
-4.18 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.01 dB
0.01 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

7.9
7.4

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

3.25 dB
3.83 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.83 dB
-0.49 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

0.21 dB
-3.3 dB

High-Treble 
 

-12.11 dB
-5.07 dB

Show text

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.5
6.8

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.84 dB
1.89 dB

Dips 
 

0.8 dB
2.19 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

7.8
8.4

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.23
0.36

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

8.24
5.54

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

1.86
0.72

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.77
1.81

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

3.7
5.6

PRTF  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.68 dB
1.98 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

9.23 dB
3.84 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

5.13 dB
8.37 dB

Openness 
 

0.2
4.9

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

2.9
4.1

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

6.4
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Virtual Soundstage
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

On/Off
No

Room Ambience 
 

Presets
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

360 Reality Audio
No

Show text

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.3
7.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.380
0.244

WHD @ 100 
 

0.198
0.136

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

Unknown
Unknown

Power 
 

On
On

Connection 
 

Unknown
Bluetooth 4.0

Codec 
 

aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

Off
No EQ

ANC 
 

On
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

Integrated
Integrated

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

9.8
4.5

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-29.9 dB
-12.75 dB

Noise Cancelling  

Yes
No

Bass 
 

-23.03 dB
0.27 dB

Mid 
 

-27.24 dB
-9.22 dB

Treble 
 

-39.7 dB
-30.07 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

7.4
6.4

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

37.09 dB
43.02 dB

Show text

Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

Yes
Yes

In-Line 
 

No
Yes

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

Yes
Yes

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

6.3
6.7

Microphone Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Recorded Speech 
 

LFE 
 

226.27 Hz
20 Hz

FR Std. Dev. 
 

3.65 dB
5.2 dB

HFE 
 

3,044.37 Hz
3,466.89 Hz

Weighted THD 
 

27.163
14.646

Gain 
 

29.6 dB
23.55 dB

Show text

Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.3

SpNR  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SpNR 
 

19.65 dB
11.5 dB

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.5

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

6.5
7.0

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.6
7.9

Battery Type 
 

Rechargable
Rechargable

Continuous Battery Life 
 

27 hrs
37.6 hrs

Additional Charges 
 

0.0
0.0

Total Battery Life 
 

27 hrs
37.6 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.2 hrs
5.3 hrs

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
Yes

Passive Playback 
 

Yes
Yes

Charging Port  

USB-C
micro-USB

Show text

App Support 
 

8.5
6.0

App Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless App Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT App Picture

App Name  

Sony| Headphones Connect
Audio-Technica Connect

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

Graphic + Presets
No

ANC Control 
 

On/Off
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

Yes
No

Playback Control 
 

Yes
Yes

Button Mapping  

Yes
No

Surround Support 
 

Yes
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired Connection 
 

9.8
9.5

Cable Picture  

Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Cable Picture
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable 
 

Yes
Yes

Length 
 

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.10 ft (1.25 m)

Connector 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS

Latency - Analog 
 

0.4 ms

Latency - USB 
 

N/A
0 ms

Recorded Latency 
 

Recorded Latency Connection  

Analog

Show text

Bluetooth Connection 
 

7.1
7.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

4.2
5.0

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No

Quick Pair (Android) 
 

Yes

Quick Pair (iOS) 
 

No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

185.00 ft (56.39 m)
209.32 ft (63.80 m)

Latency - SBC 
 

225 ms
180 ms

Latency - aptX 
 

201 ms
184 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) 
 

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A

iOS Latency 
 

131 ms

Android Latency 
 

29 ms

Show text

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

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio + Microphone

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Show text

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

Show text

Check Price

Black
WH-1000XM3
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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White
WH-1000XM3
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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Black
ATH-M50xBT
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Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless

Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT

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Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT: Main Discussion

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