Sony WH1000XM2 Wireless Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones

First and foremost I hope this review those who have been thinking about these headphones to make a good decision whether these headphones are really for you and not compulsively buy the Sony WH1000XM2. So this review will be pretty detailed concerning these headphones. To get it out of the way, yes, these are the best sounding headphones with the most potential on the average consumer flagship market right now. After reading many reviews, I find that not everyone is a tech enthusiast or know holistically about these. So I will address the problems then get into what I like. Do these suffer from the same cracking issue as the mdr?: From my experience, they have not. The hinges are mostly a plastic finish with some metallic bands encircling the arch of the headphone and no these are not water resistant. This makes the headphones sturdy, however, with a sufficient enough stress, you can crack the hinges on the headphones. You can also hurt the overall durability but stretching the headphone to far constantly. Jimmy reviews did a stress test but that was mainly the outside arch and not the inside hinges, which are durable so far. Why do these sound different across phones?: Sony really pushes advertising for LDAC, if you do not own a Sony phone or own an android phone with android oreo (any phone that came out before 2017 barring the google pixel). Do not worry, most 2016 flagships will be getting android oreo later this year which will come LDAC. If you do not own an LDAC compatible device then you will notice a DRASTIC change in sound quality. Not to say that phones without LDAC will not sound good but the older your phone, the less bit rates it can transfer to the headphones which affects the quality. Those who own android 8 (or those that are sony fans in general) are the ones touting how amazing these headphones are. I noticed that those with older phones were the ones complaining how they were not up to par, typically, there are some who talked about how they were great but not on Bose level with android oreo 8 phones and sony phones but it was very few. Are these bass heavy?: These are bass heavy depending on your sound stage and your EQ settings. The Sony's have Arena, Club, Concert, Outside stage or off (neutral sound). Also depends on whether you have DSEE HX active on auto or not (mainly CD quality or not). By the way, in order to customize the sound you need to have an emphasis on stable connection. An emphasis on sound quality will mean that your headphones will optimize the song for you. You will need to use the Sony app (this is not compatible with the MDR as it is a software limnitation). There are two more aps such as the sony music app that you really do not need and another app called smart connect. Essentially controlling what your headphones do at a certain time. Such as noting that at 4:00 you can call a friend that time. Or playing a certain song at a time (which I assumed is where the music center comes into play) Club: The most bass heavy soundstage of the four. It sounds as if you are right in front of the stereo that is playing. In short, this works with bass dominant EQ settings with high volumes. It can work with mellow songs but it is more geared towards bass. Arena: Ever been at a music festival or hardstyle's Qlimax? It sounds like you are in the middle. So the music is farther away and this sound stage places an emphasis on vocals and bass (with a far away reverb effect) so you there are 3 drivers that work to create this. This is primarily good for mid bass emphasis and treble heavy songs. Vocals also go well with this but can go with another sound stage. Concert: As the name implies, as if you at a music concert. Vocal heavy sounds are recommended moreso than bass heavy songs. There is a lot of reverb with this sound stage so prepare to hear a lot of echo which actually sounds wonderful. Bass heavy songs are hit or miss. Beethoven, thomas bergusen, mark petrie, other choir songs work. Treble is nice here too. Outside stage. Combine club and arena. Good amount of bass and vocals, This can essentially work with any song, it is kind of like off but the best for average optimization as the music feels more "alive" so to speak. if you have a balance enough amount of bass and treble with a bit more emphasis on vocals in your EQ, then you will get the most out of this sound stage. The song still sounds less in your face as the club sound stage but still great nonetheless. Off: How you would listen to any headphone really without any additives and just your EQ. Are these better than the beats studio 3, Bose QC II, Senheiser px550: IT really depends on your taste.each produce their own sound, some people like the bose for the comfort, if you are comfortable while listing to music, your music naturally sounds better. They are definitely better than beats though, but between senheiser, bose, and these pair, you will not really be disappointed. The willikans are also amazing but their comfortably is abysmal in my opinion. I mainly chose the Sony because it is not a one trick pony and actually offers a variety of options and features that makes these headphones great. What blows you away is really up to how you customize your headphones, how loud the volume is, your EQ, your sound stage. It never distorts which is nice. You can control the direction of where the sound comes from as well. This is useful if you are in an area where you need to talk to someone but change the a hip-hop song to feel like it is coming from behind you so you can still hear the person talking. On that note, it is important to mention that using this option, automatically shuts off any sound stage you are using and reverts it back to off. Your EQ will be fine though and DSSE HX will be fine. The best feature is probably how you can change your noise cancellation in 20 levels and whether you want a focus on voice, not only that, you can have it automatically adjust depending on what you are doing. These are not the first to do this, the nuhera earbuds did this but the technology was early and thus it was not really all that good. Dare I say that Sony has perfected it. At 0 you cannot hear anything while music is playing and you only really hear someone if they are shouting at the top of their lungs or if you get hit by a cup by one of your coworkers to get your attention. At 20, you can hear all your surrounding or you can place your hand over the right earcup to block out sound and lowers the volume (if the volume was high, you still hear the song but it is still faint). Best in ANC right now You can also activate the assistent by long pressing the right earcup then just speak. It is a bit better than cheaper earphones as you need to wait for awhile. Not as good as bose though as that is near instant but nice enough. The main bad thing is the comfortability, while these are decent to wear, not as comfortable as Bose but after awhile, your ears can feel pressured by the earcup. You have to adjust the earcup to your ears manually (It is kind of odd to explain) but it fits that way. Even then, you can feel uncomfortable after about an 1 or 3 hours if you're used to them. Overall, these are wonderful headphones for the money right now. If you do not have a phone that has LDAC then these will still sound great but you may feel as if "maybe these can do a bit more". You will not be dsappointed, any additional feature is already in description and features. The atomospheric pressure just makes your song slow down as the altitude gets higher, it solves a problem nobody had but is nice none the less. You will not be disappointed by this pair but still surf around. If you okay with headphones with moderate comfortably but with amazing sound and a variety of features then these will do the job.