These 5-star ANC headphones now have a bargain price tag

The Sony WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones are one of our favourite sets ever and, just because they’ve been replaced by the XM5, it doesn’t make them any less great.

Which is why we’re delighted Amazon has discounted the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones for £199.99, which is way down on the original £350 price.

The XM4 cans, renowned for their noise cancelling nous, have been out since 2020 so they have been around the block for a while. “From the moment we first listened to the WH-1000XM4 we knew Sony was onto a winner,” our reviewer wrote.

We gave the cans a five-star review originally and that has been retained even since the XM5 cans arrived a couple of years back. Our reviewer said the sound delivers smooth and articulate performance, with confident low-end sounds and detailed and subtle mid-range.

Our reviewer says: “All this adds up to a more cohesive performance. The XM4 exhibit a better sense of control: dynamically they’re more impactful in registering the difference loud and quiet, and they achieve a better rhythmic precision, timing and attack for a more exciting listen. Everything feels tighter, clearer and knitted together better.”

As well as the superb audio, we love the impressive active noise cancellation, lightweight and comfortable design, and useful smart features. There’s support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and speak-to-chat tech that pauses music playback when you’re having a conversation (but, you know, you could just take them off). There’s also support for high quality music playback with LDAC too.

Our reviewer said: “From the comfortable, lightweight fit, to the thorough noise cancellation, intuitive smart features and the refined audio performance, Sony has knocked it out of the park with the WH-1000XM4. They’re beaten by the WH-1000XM5 but at their lower price, I’d struggle to think of a reason not to invest in one of the best-sounding ANC headphones. Well, unless you have the money to the latest model of course.”