Sony revives its most iconic headphones ever – the WH-1000XM4 lives on
But now it's called the WH-1000XM4C
Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit when you've made a device so good that retiring it makes no sense. Sony's basically doing that by acknowledging that its flagship headphones from two generations ago, the WH-1000XM4, remains its most popular model ever. Now it's bringing them back.
The WH-1000XM4 has apparently sold over 10 million units by Sony's own reckoning, which is a fairly huge threshold for some headphones that were really quite premium in price for much of their shelf-life. As a result of the enduring popularity of the design (since modernised in the XM5 and XM6 models), Sony's now launching the WH-1000XM4C, which changes very little about the older cans.
Sony says the new model is "based on" the older one, but in truth it's almost identical, featuring the same sound and noise-cancelling from back in 2016. You will now get 10-band EQ control, though, which could be welcome, and a new RRP accompanies the launch – £219.
It'll be fascinating to see whether bringing in this newer tier of essentially an older headphone will undercut the momentum of the XM5 and XM6s, but maybe this is a sign that said momentum wasn't all that powerful in the first place.
It's not the only set of headphones Sony is putting out this month, either. It's also launching the £100 WH-CH730N, a revision that puts a surprisingly lovely design on some affordable over-ears. Then there's the £50 WH-CH530, an on-ear option that similarly refreshes an existing model.
This all adds up to mean Sony's headphone lineup covers pretty much every price bracket from the very high-end (represented by the super-premium WH-1000XX The Collexion) right down to the very entry-level, and it's hard to argue with the idea behind that move.
At a time when people are watching prices get hiked on all manner of tech devices and launches, having options for those who want to spend less is hard to argue with. That said, this is also the first time I've seen a big tech brand bring out a new version of a 10-year-old product like this, so it'll be fascinating to see whether the XM4's popularity waxes or wanes as a result.
All of these headphones will be available later this month, according to Sony's estimates.
