Since the end of last year, there have been more and more real wireless headphones on the market, and the maturity of the products has gradually improved. Two years ago, Sony tried to introduce WF- 1000X with active noise reduction function. At that time, due to the stability of chip connection, it failed to cause a market sensation. The focus of the market was still WH- 1000XM2, which was relatively strong at that time, and the real wireless products just started at that time.
▲ WF- 1000XM3 was completely renovated from appearance to technology.
Two years later, WF- 1000XM3 will also provide true wireless and active noise reduction. However, the purpose is to provide a more stable and better sound quality while providing the noise reduction performance equivalent to that of the earmuffs WH- 1000XM3 which are widely loved by consumers. Sony decided to adopt the model WH- 1000XM3. All core technologies are handled by the chip technology QN 1e independently developed. At the same time, in order to provide a more unrestricted Bluetooth experience, a new Bluetooth chip is jointly developed with a third-party Bluetooth chip factory.
Although many mid-to-high-end true wireless headsets in the market adopt the platform scheme from Qualcomm, and Qualcomm also provides the left and right ear independent true wireless connection technology named TRUE Wireless Plus (TWS+) to match the specific Snapdragon mobile phone chip platform. Although Sony's Xperia mobile phone also widely uses Qualcomm platform, only the models with mid-to-high-end chips can match it, and Sony has functional considerations, so Sony decided to adopt the non-Qualcomm Bluetooth platform.
▲ The bottom of the rechargeable storage box cannot stand on the plane.
Of course, the popularity of Qualcomm Bluetooth chips in high-end Bluetooth headsets is not without reason. Audio technology from CSR and aptX protocol are the biggest advantages of Qualcomm Bluetooth chip. When Sony chose a non-Qualcomm platform, it had to face the problem that it could not support the Qualcomm patent technology agreement. At the same time, although Sony has LDAC high-quality technical agreement, considering the small battery of real wireless headphones, Sony decided to use two connection technologies, namely Bluetooth SBC and AAC, which have low power consumption and high compatibility.
The advantage of Sony's adoption of a third-party chip is that it can realize independent true wireless connection through the collocation of app, and it does not need to specify hardware cooperation like TWS+ in Qualcomm. After installing the app, the left and right ears can receive the signals of the left and right channels respectively, which can make the power consumption on both sides more uniform, or can be used by one ear. For some users who need to talk, they don't need to confirm which is the host when making a call, and they can pick up the left ear or the right ear to answer the phone at will.
▲ QN 1e of WF-1000xm3 and QN 1 homology of WH- 1000XM3?
Unlike WF- 1000X receiving from Bluetooth, Sony decided to use more of its own technical elements in WF- 1000XM3. Bluetooth chip of WF- 1000XM3 only uses Bluetooth transceiver and digital signal conversion, and the subsequent signals will be transferred to QN 1e high-integration active noise reduction chip integrated with Sony technology.
▲ Sensors on the inside of headphones. Take off the headphones and pause the music.
Although the technology of QN 1e is the same as that of QN 1 000Xm3, considering the different conditions of true wireless headphones and earmuffs, it is changed to mono and step-down. After all, the left and right channels of a real wireless headset are played independently, and there is no need for stereo signal processing and amplification. So QN 1e uses mono instead, and then aims at the matched 6mm.
▲ Use a three-point charging point.
QN 1e has similar functions as QN1,including DA conversion, active noise reduction, DSEE HX audio processing technology and amplification. By directly inputting the audio signal into the active noise reduction architecture and then outputting it to the extended architecture, the loss of sound quality caused by the direct integration of the traditional audio signal and the noise reduction signal can be reduced. In order to make up for the distortion of standard Bluetooth and Bluetooth AAC, the information details can be corrected to 24bit by up-conversion technology, thus making the music information complete.
▲ WF- 1000XM3 has two sets of microphones for radio reception.
In order to improve the noise reduction performance of WF- 1000XM3, unlike WF- 1000XM3 which only receives external sound, WF- 1000 xm3 adopts the mode of connecting a microphone to one ear and a microphone to the nozzle, which can further complete noise reduction sampling by receiving internal and external noise like the current advanced active noise reduction earmuffs. However, due to the small size of WF- 1000XM3, the dynamic range of the microphone is not as large as WH- 1000XM3, which affects the sampling results to some extent.
▲ Although the earphones on both sides can be used independently, the touch pads on the left and right ears have different functions.
In addition, Sony also hopes that WF- 1000XM3 is very convenient. By installing a sensor inside, the earphone can detect whether it is worn on the ear. When it is taken off, it will immediately stop playing music, and it will automatically continue playing music after being put on for a short time. In addition, it can also correspond to Google Assistant, which means that in the pairing mode, if Google Assistant is turned on on the Android phone, a notification will pop up to remind you that there is a pairing device.
▲ There are two options: extended silicone earplugs and triple comfortable earplugs.
Special attention should be paid before use. Although the reverberation of the active noise-reducing earphone is not affected by whether the earphone is closed or not in theory, if the ear hole is not closed as far as possible through appropriate earplugs, the noise reduction effect on hearing will be discounted due to the inflow of external sound, so it is very important to choose earplugs with better closure. Even with the same size, because of the different characteristics of silicone earplugs and triple comfort earplugs, one of them may have poor sealing effect.
▲ SpinFit new earplug which is close to the shape of the author's ear, but its stability is worse than the original extended silicone earplug.
I happen to have a new type of SpinFit earplug at hand, and I tried it with WF- 1000XM3. Compared with the original silicone earplugs, I think SpinFit has better sealing performance, but unfortunately, because the silicone umbrella is shallow, the stability when walking is relatively poor, but I am not too worried about falling off when it is used in office chairs. However, the earplugs of in-ear headphones are more changeable than earmuffs because they invade the inner ear. I think users still need to try it in person, and don't buy it on impulse when they see online comments.
▲ WF- 1000XM3 provides two Bluetooth audio connection modes: SBC and AAC.
Although WF- 1000XM3 didn't adopt a unique method in monomer configuration and didn't provide audio such as aptX or LDAC, considering the factors such as volume, it chose a 6mm moving coil monomer, but Sony chose to use an exclusive QN 1e chip to drive it. This chip not only integrates noise reduction, DAC, signal amplification and other functions, but also is equipped with DSP signal processing technology, which will process the audio signal received by Bluetooth chip, thus making it more audible.
With suitable earplugs, the sound form of WF- 1000XM3 has the lighter and less cold style of typical Japanese headphones, and the low frequency sense is not too much, but listening to pop music can be said to be just right. Some of them are similar to Sony's style trend in MDR- 1 series. Personally, I think it is closer to MDR- 1M2, and the sound quality of headphones of the same level is better.
WF- 1000XM3 greatly improves the common delay problem of Android true wireless headphones. During a recent experience in Japan, Sony engineers explained why many real wireless headsets are delayed on Android devices. The conclusion is that the signal delay has been greatly improved after using the mechanism of independent transmission of left and right ears, which is 4 times lower than that of the previous generation. At present, watching Netflix movies and YouTube movies does not feel out of sync.
▲ Using bilateral independent connection, WF- 1000XM3, greatly improved the problem of video playback delay in Android.
Although the sound style of WF- 1000XM3 and its XB series headphones emphasizes low frequency, watching movies is quite good. Suitable low frequency and space are quite suitable even for watching large action movies. After all, the essence of WF- 1000XM3 is for most consumer groups, and it also retains Sony's feature of taking MDR- 1 series as the calibration benchmark.
However, I think the call experience is a pity. Although WF- 1000XM3 provides a good design, I tried to make a call in the airport lobby, Ximending Street and other noisy environments, but the other party said that the background noise drowned out our voice. It is speculated that it may be related to the arrangement of external microphone of WF- 1000XM3 and the noise reduction processing method of the call, and it may still be improved by firmware update algorithm in the future.
▲ WF- 1000XM3 is the only real wireless headset in the industry, which provides advanced active noise reduction function.
Thanks to the digital processing of QN 1e chip, the author thinks that the difference between Bluetooth mode selection connection priority and sound quality priority of WF- 1000XM3 is not obvious in most outdoor situations, but obviously the sound quality priority mode is still suitable for use in less interference environment. After all, Bluetooth in-ear headphones with neck hanging or true wireless design are not as stable as WH- 1000XM3 antenna earmuffs.
Sony hopes that WF- 1000XM3 can not only show Sony's tuning style, but also combine the powerful active noise reduction function of Sony 1000X family. As a result, WF-65438+