Products
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
Sonos Ace
Tested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Nov 24, 2025 05:58 PM
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Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jun 18, 2025 12:12 PM
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TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (5 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
MicYes
Sound Signature
Warm
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingYes
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
Our Verdict
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
Sonos Ace
Both the Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless and the Sonos Ace are top-of-the-line headphones. While both headphones have a premium build quality and first-class noise isolation performance, the Sony are a bit older but still offer good value as they're more customizable, thanks to their companion app, which has a graphic EQ and virtual soundstage at your fingertips. They also have a longer continuous battery life and can be used passively. They also support LDAC for high-quality audio via Bluetooth, although the Sonos have aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless, plus USB audio support. That said, the Sonos are more comfortable and have a TV Audio Swap feature that you can use with compatible Sonos soundbars to receive audio from your soundbar. Some users have reported issues using the app, which can be a dealbreaker, though.
Variants
- WH-1000XM4 (Black)
- WH-1000XM4 (Midnight Blue)
- WH-1000XM4 (Silver)
- Ace (Black)
- Ace (Soft White)
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM4
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Black
Ace
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Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM4
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Soft White
Ace
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Silver
WH-1000XM4
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.3
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
400 Hz
1,150 Hz
Bass Amount
2.8 dB
Bass Amount
Very Emphasized (5 dB)
Treble Amount
-1.5 dB
Treble Amount
Balanced (0 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
8.1
6.7
Consistency L
Consistency R
Std. Deviation
0.80 dB
0.69 dB
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.6
8.8
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
5.2 dB
3.2 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
4.49 dB
1.49 dB
Mid Bass
5.5 dB
4.29 dB
High Bass
5.6 dB
3.46 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.9
8.1
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.58 dB
1.88 dB
Low Mid
1.24 dB
1.87 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.07 dB
-0.78 dB
High Mid
-1.15 dB
-1.4 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
8.4
6.4
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
3.01 dB
3.77 dB
Low Treble
-1.71 dB
-2.95 dB
Mid Treble
1.38 dB
0.48 dB
High Treble
-2.88 dB
-6.66 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.9
7.4
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.2 dB
1.53 dB
Dips
1.46 dB
1.81 dB
Stereo Mismatch
8.7
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.03 dB
1.27
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.11 dB
1.45
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.5°
3.15
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
3.5
3.8
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.11 dB
3.55 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
8.34 dB
4.54 dB
PRTF Distance
1.8 dB
4.68 dB
Openness
0.5
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.6
Harmonic Distortion
7.7
Harmonics Levels
THD Ratio
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.23%
0.688
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.80%
0.226
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
115.1 dB SPL
Bluetooth Max SPL
104.6 dB
Virtual Soundstage
4.1
2.9
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
On/Off
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
Dolby Atmos
Test Settings
Firmware
2.6.0
3.1.4-e16e1c539
Power
On
On
Connection
Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Codec
SBC, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX HD, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Off
No EQ
ANC
On
On
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Imaging
8.6
Group Delay
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.14
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.5°
3.15
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.03 dB
1.27
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.11 dB
1.45
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
6.9
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.23%
0.688
WHD @ 100
0.80%
0.226
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Dynamic
Comfort
8.0
8.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.6 lbs
0.7 lbs
Clamping Force
1 lbs
0.9 lbs
Controls
7.6
7.9
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Great
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
On/Off
Talk-Through
On/Off
On/Off
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
6.1
6.1
Portability Picture
L
7.4" (18.8 cm)
7.9" (20.1 cm)
W
6.1" (15.5 cm)
7.2" (18.4 cm)
H
2.0" (5.1 cm)
1.7" (4.2 cm)
Volume
90.00 in³ (1,474.83 cm³)
94.79 in³ (1,553.33 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
7.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
8.3" (21.1 cm)
8.9" (22.5 cm)
W
6.6" (16.8 cm)
7.5" (19.1 cm)
H
2.3" (5.8 cm)
1.9" (4.9 cm)
Volume
126.00 in³ (2,064.76 cm³)
128.50 in³ (2,105.78 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
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
9.5
9.4
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
Yes
Yes
Overall Attenuation
-27.13 dB
-26.43 dB
Bass
-24.80 dB
-23.54 dB
Mid
-25.37 dB
-24.82 dB
Treble
-31.92 dB
-31.71 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
9.7
9.6
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-23.51 dB
-23.27 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-22.93 dB
-22.71 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-26.02 dB
-23.80 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
Leakage
7.1
7.7
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
39.28 dB
35.16 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.1
7.0
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
269.09 Hz
281 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
2.11 dB
2.81 dB
HFE
3,726.47 Hz
6,267.15 Hz
Weighted THD
65.861
11.345
Gain
11.46 dB
27.95 dB
Noise Handling
5.6
6.6
SpNR
SpNR
11.47 dB
26.04 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.0
7.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
5.0
6.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
8.7
8.5
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
37.7 hrs
35.6 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
37.7 hrs
35.6 hrs
Charge Time
2.3 hrs
2.5 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
Auto-Off Timer
Standby mode
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
No
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.0
8.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
Sonos
iOS
Yes
Yes
Android
Yes
Yes
macOS
No
Yes
Windows
No
Yes
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
Two Band EQ
ANC Control
On/Off
On/Off
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
Yes
Yes
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
Yes
Yes
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.9
6.3
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB-C
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
4.00 ft (1.22 m)
3.87 ft (1.18 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
USB-C
Latency - Analog
0.3 ms
43.2 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
65.1 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
USB
Bluetooth Connection
8.6
7.8
Bluetooth Version
5.010
5.4
Multi-Device Pairing
2 Devices
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
No
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Yes
Line Of Sight Range
299.00 ft (91.14 m)
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
245 ms
272 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
265 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
353 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
75 ms
Latency - LDAC
237 ms
N/A
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
AAC Support
Yes
Yes
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
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Audio + Microphone
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
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Ace
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Midnight Blue
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Soft White
Ace
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Silver
WH-1000XM4
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
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Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless
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Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless vs Sonos Ace: Main Discussion
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