When checking out Black Friday deals, it’s tempting to look for discounts on the latest tech releases. That’s not always the best way to save money. For instance, right now, you can buy the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones from Best Buy for just $250 down from $350. The key thing that makes the $100 saving even more tempting is that the newer WH-1000XM5 are only enjoying a $70 price cut which means they’re down to $330. In reality, there isn’t $80 worth of improvements between the two. Sure, if you want the newest tech possible, pay the extra, but in my experience, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are more than good enough and one of the Black Friday headphone deals to pay attention to. Let’s dive into just how good they are.
Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones
If you check out our look at the best headphones, you’ll see the Sony WH-1000XM5 up top. They’re great cans but before them, the Sony WH-1000XM4 were ruling the roost. Weirdly, while you’d think the WH-1000XM5 are superior in every way, they actually miss out on some pivotal features like how they only fold flat rather than up which is awkward for traveling with them.
Also, the Sony WH-1000XM5 don’t offer the same clamping force as the Sony WH-1000XM4 which is a particular issue for smaller heads like mine. Ultimately though, there’s surprisingly little difference between the two and some people actually believe the Sony WH-1000XM4 pack more of a punch aurally. That includes me. As a fan of bass-heavy headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM4 feel much more powerful. Crucially, that power comes at a lower price than going for the latest model so it’s a win-win regardless. Alongside the great audio quality with DSEE Extreme technology and Edge AI support, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are fantastic for avoiding the world. The ANC is near unrivalled and I’ve found it works brilliantly, even when I’m walking near a busy road or contending with my neighbours’ never-ending construction work.
Any time I do want to interact with the world again, I can use Speak-to-Chat which automatically stops the music the moment I start speaking to anyone who enters the room or says hi on my walk. In a similar vein, wear detection is perfect as it genuinely works well and means I don’t have to worry about digging out my phone to turn things off manually.
Among all these great features, the Sony headphones app is a delight too. It’s smart enough to provide you with adaptive sound control which is fancy talk for adapting according to your regular wanders. It knows if you’re walking or if you’re commuting and adapts accordingly. It’s those effortless little things that make the Sony WH-1000XM4 a delight to use and the kind of headphones I rarely talk off (because, of course, they’re super comfy too).
It’s tempting to buy the latest Sony WH-1000XM5 but you really don’t need to while the Sony WH-1000XM4 are still around. Down to $250 from $350 at Best Buy, you save $100 off the usual price and buy them for a substantially lower price than any other headphones that could possibly rival them. I use them every day especially when relaxing at home. They’re just that good.
