Get Them Here
So the new Sony WF-1000XM4’s have an all new design to them which I personally really love mainly cause they have a much smaller case this time around. These earbuds also have very impressive active noise cancellation and a phenomenal battery life. But naturally we’ve gotta see how they stack up to the AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds Pro, Jabra Elite 85T’s, and my personally favorite sounding earbuds the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s.
Regarding pricing, we’ve got a bit of a range here. The Galaxy Buds Pro retail for $200, the Jabra’s retail for $230, the AirPods Pro retail for $250, the Sony’s retail for $280 and the Momentum 2’s retail for $300. However all of these earbuds do like to go on sale from time to time. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these earbuds up they’ll be linked down below and if you want to learn more about any of these earbuds please watch their full reviews cause we’re only going over the main differences here.
Now first we’ve got to go over cases here cause for me this can be a deal break when im looking at everyday carry truly wireless earbuds and this is one of the biggest upgrades for the WF-1000XM4’s. Now the AirPods Pro still have the smallest case here. It has a very small foot print and its the thinnest case here. The Galaxy Buds Pro aren’t too far behind cause they also have a small foot print but this case is a little thicker than the AirPods Pro’s. But then Jabra’s and Sony’s cases which I do have to correct myself. The Sony’s have a slightly smaller foot print than the Jabra’s, but the Jabra’s is a little thinner than Sony’s. Overall case size its a real toss up between the jabra’s and the Sony’s but both of these cases are perfectly fine for every day carry. But then there’s the Momentum 2’s case which is the largest case here and its the largest that I’ll say is acceptable. You can daily carry these but this case is rather noticeable when its in your pocket. So for the future momentum 3’s we’ve definitely gotta see a smaller case here and I think its coming. Cause the CX400BT’s case is mush smaller and the Momentum 2’s actually fit in here. Nonetheless if you’re an iPhone user looking for maximum convenience then the AirPods Pro still have the smallest case and if you’re an Android user then the Galaxy Buds Pro have the smallest case here.
However when it comes to wireless charging, all of these cases have wireless charging except for Momentum 2’s. Which is a little ironic given that they have the largest case here. So besides having to shrink their case down Sennheiser also needs to add wireless charging cause the Momentum 2’s are starting to show their age here.
Now when it comes to battery life, keep in mind if you use these earbuds with their ANC turned off then you’ll be able to extend their battery life. And if you’re looking for max battery life then you’ll might want to go with the Sony’s cause they can go for as long as 36 hours with their ANC turned off. Where as the Jabra’s are good for up to 31 hours, the AirPods Pro are good for up to 30 hours and both the Galaxy Buds Pro and Momentum 2’s top out at 28 hours with their ANC turned off.
But with their ANC turned on the AirPods Pro, Jabra, and Sony’s are good for about 24 hours where as both the Galaxy Buds pro and Momentum 2’s are good for a little less than 18 hours. But nonetheless all of these earbuds have respectable battery lives for earbuds in 2021. But the Sony’s do come out on top here.
But now lets talk about fit and we’re really going to have to dive deep here cause we do have a spectrum here and fit really is subjective. Now all of the earbuds are in ear ear buds. But only the momentum 2’s and Sony’s fit like your standard pair of in ear earbuds as in they actually go into your ear canal a decent amount. However the Sony’s do go into your ear canal a little deeper than the Momentum 2’s. Where as both the AirPods Pro and Jabra’s are a pair of shallow fitting in ear ear buds as in they don’t go in super deep into your ear canal making them feel a little more natural. However, shallow fitting in ear earbuds might not offer as much lock down as a pair of standard fitting in ear earbuds like the Momentum 2 or Sony’s. And this really goes for the AirPods Pro’s cause these things really like to wiggle out a lot, where as with the Jabra’s not as much. But then there are the Galaxy Buds Pro which go in a little deeper than your shallow in ear earbuds but they don’t go in as deep as standard in ear ear buds. The result is that the Galaxy Buds Pro feel natural while still offering good lock down. Personally for me fit wise its a real toss up between Jabra’s and Galaxy Buds Pro. They both feel comfortable while still offering great lock down.
However one really important thing that we’ve got to address here are the ear tips. All of these earbuds come included with silicon ear tips except the Sony’s. The Sony’s only come included with foam ear tips. Now these foam ear tips have their advantages, since they better conform to the shape of your ear they offer the most lock down here and they also passively block out the most amount of noise here which is both great for sound quality and it does give them an edge when it comes to Active Noise cancelation. However these foam ear tips are not for everybody. For starters for some people these foam ear tips can get itchy after a short while like me. I can usually only go like 20 minutes with these things in my ears before I gotta rip them out and take a break. Where as that isn’t an issue with the silicon ear tips found on these other earbuds. But then there’s also size, I usually gotta use the small ear tips that come included with my earbuds… but even the smallest ear tips that come included with the Sony’s is still a little to big for me. So if you’re someone that has smaller ear canals then the Sony’s will might not work for you, period. So overall even though the Foam ear tips on the Sony’s does have its advantages… they’re not for everyone. And I do wish the Sony’s also came included with a pair of silicon ear tips like their predecessors. But if you are looking for the best fitting earbuds here then I would recommend either the Jabra’s or the Galaxy Buds Pro.
But now lets talk about connectivity cause there are some important nuances to take into consideration here. The earbuds on the AirPods Pro, Galaxy Buds Pro, and Sony’s all each establish a connection with your phone. So if you just want to use one earbud at a time you can use either one it doesn’t matter. And this is the type of connection set up that we expect to see from our earbuds now days.
Where as both the Sennheiser’s and Jabra’s are using a hero and sidekick set up meaning that one earbud, the hero earbud, in this case the right earbud actually establishes a connection with you phone and then relays that connection to the other earbud. So if you just want to use one earbud at a time you gotta use the correct earbud. In this case the right earbud.
Now earbuds that still use a hero and sidekick do feel rather gen. However the Jabra’s justify their use of a hero and side kick cause they can be simultaneously connected to any two device regardless of operating system. So if you’re a power user with lets say an iPhone and a windows machine then you’ll might want to go with the Jabra’s.
Now both the AirPods Pro and Galaxy Bud Pro also allow to hot swap between multiple devices but only in their respective eco systems. So if youre and Apple power user than AirPods are great. Of if you’re a Samsung power user then Galaxy Buds are great. But the Jabra’s play nice with everybody.
But more importantly when it comes to watching movies or videos on your phone all of these earbuds have zero latency across the board whether you’re using an iPhone or an android device. And when it comes to audio codecs the AirPods, Galaxy Buds and Jabra’s all only have support for SBC and AAC… where as the sennheiser’s have support for SBC, AAC, and APTX… and the Sony’s have support for SBC, AAC, and Sony’s own LDAC instead of APTX.
But now let's talk about listing to music with these earbuds. If sound quality is a priority for you then the AirPods Pro are the last earbuds you wanna be looking at here. Compared to these other earbuds the AirPods Pro sound very narrow, they put an emphasis on the mids, and their bass does not resonate what so ever. Personally for me I never use my AirPods Pro to listen to music. For me I only use AirPods Pro to watch videos or listen to podcasts. But then there are the Jabra Elite 85T’s that sound much more open than the AirPods Pro and they also have hard hitting bass that does resonate a little bit. Now even though these earbuds do have a fully customizable EQ these ear buds are better suited for people who like a warmer EQ cause these earbuds just don’t sound as open as the Galaxy Buds Pro or the Momentum 2’s. But then there are the Sony WF-1000XM4’s which I feel are an upgraded version of the Jabra’s. Now like the Jabra’s I would also mostly recommend these earbuds to people who prefer a warmer EQ cause these earbuds also have a lot bass to them. However the bass on these earbuds does hit the hardest here but more importantly the Sony’s does sound a little more open the Jabra’s. Now like I said I would recommend the Sony’s more to someone who like a bass heavy EQ but if you like a more neutral or vocals focused EQ then the Sony’s can get the job done if you’ve got them in the right EQ settings. But if you are looking for the best sound quality here then I would recommend either the Momentum 2’s or Galaxy Buds Pro. Both of these earbuds have much better instrument separation and sound much more open than either the AirPods Pro, Jabra’s or Sony’s. And they both have rich hard hitting bass that also resonates a little bit. However I do gotta say that the Sennheiser’s manage to inch out a head here cause they sound little more open than the Galaxy Buds Pro, their bass resonates a little deeper and they don’t put as much of an emphasis on the highs than the Galaxy Buds Pro.
However one crucial thing to point out here is that if you want to get the most out of the Galaxy Buds Pro… either you want to select from a few of their pre made EQ settings, play around with their other settings or just even update your earbuds… you’re better off using them with an android device. Cause as of June 2021, Samsung still hasn’t updated their Galaxy Buds iOS app to support these earbuds. Where as all of these other earbuds that have an app work on both operating systems.
Now when it comes to your media controls the Sennheiser’s, Sony’s and Galaxy Buds are all using touch pads where as the Jabra’s are using physical buttons and the AirPods Pro have these force sensitive stems. Now the touch pads on the Sennheiser’s, Sony’s and Galaxy Buds are all easy enough to use and they’re all fairly accurate… but if you want maximum accuracy then you’ll either want to go with the Jabra’s or AirPods Pro.
Now when its comes to voice activated voice assistants… if you use AirPods Pro with an iPhone you get Hey Siri Support, if you use Galaxy Buds Pro with a Galaxy Device you get Hi Bixby support, if you use the Sony’s with an Android Device you get Hey Google support. So you can use your voice assistant with just your voice… or you can always just tap and hold. But the important thing is that with both the Momentum 2’s and Jabra’s you can only activate your voice assistant by pressing and holding.
But now lets talk about the active noise cancelation on these earbuds. Now first I do want to tapper expectations here. The ANC on earbuds isn’t going to block out as much noise as a proper pair of over ear ANC headphones like either the Bose NC 700, Sony 1000XM4’s and especially the AirPods Max… However I will say the WF-1000XM4’s are getting really close to blocking out as much noise as the Sony 1000XM4’s headphones.
Now the ANC on WF-1000XM4’s mostly focuses on lower frequency sounds like road noise where as the headphones can block out constant lower frequency sounds and they also do a better job of blocking out random higher frequency sounds allowing them to block out more chatter than the earbuds. Overall yes the headphones block out more noise than the earbuds, but these earbuds aren’t too far behind.
And when it comes to ranking… I gotta say the Sony WF-1000XM4’s are my new number ones, followed by the Jabra Elite 85T’s, then there are the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s and AirPods Pro which I feel are neck and below them are the Galaxy Buds Pro.
But something to point out here is that yes the foam ear tips on the Sony’s are giving them an advantage cause they passively block out more noise than the silicon ear tips found on these other earbuds. But out of curiosity I did try them out with silicon ear tips are well. Now with silicon ear tips these earbuds aren’t going to block out as much noise… but they still block out a little more noise than the Jabra’s. So yeah I don’t think Sony’s new Integrated Processor V1 is just marketing fluff. So if you are looking for the earbuds here with the best active noise cancellation then you’ll might want to go with the Sony’s. But just keep in mind those foam ear tips will might not be for everyone.
But like I’ve mentioned in the past, I only use the ANC on my earbuds when I have to and what’s really important to me is the quality of their ambient mode. Now all of these earbuds have decent sounding ambient modes but the AirPods Pro continue to have the best sounding and best performing ambient mode here. It sound the most natural and their microphone array does the best job here of blocking out wind noise when walking out doors.
However, another important thing to point out here is I don’t know when the AirPods Pro got this… but they now have an active ambient mode. Meaning that if you’re walking out doors and if a siren rolls or if a dog starts barking the AirPods Pro will automatically turn off their ambient mode saving your ears from getting blasted. Now the Sony’s and galaxy Buds also have an active ambient mode… but the AirPods Pro are much faster to react and go back to normal after that loud sound has gone away.
But finally here’s the microphone test and unfortunately I gotta say the Sony’s have the worst performing microphone here. Even in a quite room I sound a little shallow and there’s some static in the background.
Now the jabra’s also sound a little shallow but I feel they have better clarity than the Sony’s.
Then there’s the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s which have a ton of amplification to them.
Now the Galaxy Buds Pro also have a lot of amplification to them but not as much as the Momentum 2’s.
And finally there’s the AirPods Pro which I feel have the best sounding microphone in this line up. Specifically they do a good job of focusing on my voice.
And when it comes to blocking out road noise the AirPods Pro do a decent job of lifting my voice. So even though there is a noticeable amount of road noise in the back ground my voice is the main focus here.
Now the Galaxy Buds Pro also try to focus on just my voice… but since they do have more amplification than the AirPods Pro they let in more road noise and your voice can get a little choppy from time to time.
And then there’s the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s that let in even more noise than the Galaxy Buds Pro which have even more amplification and they also sound even more choppy.
But then there’s the Jabra’s which really don’t block out and road noise at all…
And finally there’s the Sonys which let in a noticeable amount of road noise but more importantly there’s a lot of static in the back ground when I talk.
And the same thing can be said about chatter. There’s a decent amount of noise pollution getting in, and there’s a decent amount of static when I start talking.
Where as even though the Jabra’s also let in noise pollution… they do have better clarity then the Sony.
But surprisingly enough, even though the Momentum 2’s have more amplification than the Galaxy Buds Pro… they do a really good job of blocking out chatter.
Cause for comparison sake these are the Galaxy Buds Pro under the same circumstances and id say its a toss up.
But finally here are the AirPods Pro which yes do let in a noticeable amount of chatter… but they do the best job of focusing on just your voice. But over all if you’re planning on taking lots and lots of phone calls id either recommend the AirPods Pro or the Galaxy Buds Pro.
But with all that being said, the new Sony WF-1000XM4’s are a formidable pair of Premium ANC earbuds and there’s a lot to like about them. First off the ANC on these earbuds are now leading the pack when it comes to the amount of noise blocked. The WF-1000XM4’s also have a very impressive battery life even with a relatively small case and they have a lot of of bass which some people will really enjoy. However their fit isn’t for everybody… their foam ear tips can get itchy or they can just be too big for some people. And then there’s their microphone… it really needs work. Now iPhone you’re iPhone user AirPods Pro are still a great option to consider, they offer maximum convenience. They have the smallest case here, solid battery life, the best ambient mode which is now active by the way, you’ve got hey Siri support and they have a decent sounding microphone for phone calls. Now the Jabra’s are great for power users cause they can be simultaneously connected to any two devices regardless of operating system. Or if Active Noise Cancellation is very important to you then the Jabra Elite 85T’s are a more comfortable alternative to the Sony WF-1000XM4’s. Now if sound is your main priority then I still highly recommend the Sennheiser Momentum 2’s. These things truly do sound amazing. Now the Galaxy Buds pro also sound amazing while being a little more affordable then the Momentum 2’s and they’re also super convenient just like the AirPods Pro… but if you want to get the most out of the earbuds then you do want to use them with an Android device.