This is another amazing premium wireless headphone made by Sony, it is highly regarded by both headphone enthusiasts and reputable critics. The Sony WH1000XM4 has a heftier price tag than the world-renowned WH1000XM3 but it also has better sonic performance over the latter. If you want a high-quality wireless headphones then the WH1000XM4 is most certainly one of the top choices.
What you need next will be a matching DAC for your Sony WH1000XM4. A D/A converter which will fit your digital music listening requirement and have complementary effects when paired with the WH1000XM4 wireless headphones. To find the right DAC for the job, we must first learn more about the wireless headphones’ sonic performance and their characteristics. With the right set of data, we will be able to prepare a list of the best DACs to match with the Sony WH1000XM4 for you.
Table of Contents
Sonic Characteristics and Strengths of Sony WH1000XM4
Sony WH1000XM4 is a stylish and sleek-looking wireless headphone with a touch of elegance. It looks so clean and has that high-end feel to it, we definitely have no qualms wearing them out in the public. Furthermore, the Sony WH1000XM4 has noise-canceling features to block out unwanted environmental noises, allowing you to enjoy listening to your music when commuting or in an outdoor environment while looking good at the same time. The noise isolation is really incredible, but the sound leakage is not as impressive though. If you are playing music at moderate listening levels in a normal outdoor environment, it should not cause a nuisance to others near you.
It is very comfortable to wear the Sony WH1000XM4 and you should be able to wear them for hours without feeling discomfort. They are lightweight and would be ideal for traveling, not to mention, this wireless headphone has nice stability as well. It can be folded and be carried around using the provided carrying case, making this headphone rather portable. Other than the superior noise-canceling function, there is another notable feature which will be the Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connection and it supports SBC, AAC, and LDAC. The DSEE Extreme is a really neat feature as well especially if you listen to compressed music files.
More Details at Amazon – Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones
As expected from a high-quality closed-back design headphone, the bass performance of the Sony WH1000XM4 is incredible and has the impact to boot. The bass performance is certainly punchy and has plenty of weight but it is not tight enough as we wanted it to be. The Sony WH1000XM4 bass accuracy is okay though and is entertaining to listen to them. Surprisingly, the hefty bass performance of the WH1000XM4 doesn’t really muddle the overall sound reproduction by too much and we can still hear loads of music details. The soundstage is wider and more spacious than expected but cannot be compared to open-back design headphones.
It has remarkable stereo imaging and has equally impressive separation. As mentioned earlier, the Sony WH1000XM4 is entertaining to hear partly due to its wide dynamic range and impeccable music handling. When it lands an impact, the WH1000XM4 will go all out on it and quiets down when the music calls for it. The treble is pretty bright but it never reaches the level of cringe which is great. This helps to provide more clarity in the highs. The midrange reproduction is expressive and clear-sounding too, the accuracy is good and probably better than the lows when it comes to precision.
The WH1000XM4 wireless headphone has that enthusiastic and entertaining house sound of Sony. They may lack some music refinement but they are still enjoyable to listen to. For noise-canceling wireless headphones at this price range, the sound quality of the Sony WH1000XM4 is considered one of the better options currently on the market. The built-in DAC/Amp of this Sony headphone is rather brilliant but if you want to slightly improve the overall sound quality, then please check out the list of the best DACs we have prepared for you. These D/A converters are some of the best choices to match with the Sony WH1000XM4 wireless headphone.
Sony WH1000XM4 Specifications
- Type: Closed-Back, Dynamic
- Driver: 40mm, dome type
- Frequency Response: 4Hz-40kHz
- Frequency Response (Active Operation): 4Hz-40kHz
- Frequency Response (Bluetooth Communication): 20Hz-20kHz (44.1kHz Sampling) / 20Hz-40kHz (LDAC 96kHz Sampling, 990kbps)
- Inputs: Stereo Mini Jack
- Cable Length: 1.2 meters (3.9 feet)
- Weight: 254g (0.56lbs)
Best DACs to match with Sony WH1000XM4
The award-winning Chord Mojo is one of the best DACs to match with the Sony WH1000XM4 wireless headphone. It is an alacrity performer and is very informative where it will dig out a massive amount of music details. This does help to provide a more detailed music presentation without losing enthusiasm in the delivery. Chord Mojo is a very portable DAC to tag along with your Sony WH1000XM4 as you can easily carry it via your pocket. Making it a suitable D/A converter for long travels and will provide you with an energetic high-resolution music presentation of your favorite tunes.
More Information at Amazon – Chord Mojo Black DAC
The AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt is another amazing portable DAC to pair with the Sony WH1000XM4 and it is so compact that you can easily slot it into your pocket. It is a talented USB DAC that will deliver a clean overall sound reproduction and provide a very low noise background. This helps to produce a higher-resolution music presentation with clearer sound quality. The expressiveness and rhythmic drive of the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt are very well-matched with the Sony WH1000XM4 wireless headphone. Giving us an enjoyable and lively musical performance while we are traveling.
More Information at Amazon – AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt USB DAC
The Topping E30 is one of the best DACs to go with your Sony WH1000XM4. It is a desktop D/A converter with a small footprint, allowing us to fit it nicely into most listening rooms and desktops. The E30 DAC supports up to 32-bit/768kHz resolution and DSD512 (Native), an ideal choice for listeners who listen to a lot of high-res audio files. For a digital-to-analog converter at this price point, the Topping E30 has incredible clarity and pleasing sound quality which helps to slightly smoothen the edges of the Sony WH1000XM4. All in all, it is a natural-sounding DAC and doesn’t really hinder the overall sound reproduction with its sonic characteristics.
More Details at Amazon – TOPPING E30 DAC Hi-Res AK4493
The Schiit Audio Modius will be one of the best DACs to pair up with the Sony WH1000XM4 headphones. It has a modest price tag and packs plenty of sonic performance for the money. Schiit Audio Modius has an innate ability to project a wide soundstage which will work nicely with the Sony WH1000XM energetic performance and opens up the sound field by a little. The laid-back nature of the Modius DAC does provide a toned-down music delivery, enabling us to relax a bit more while listening to our music. This will also help to control the bass performance of the Sony WH1000XM4 wireless headphone.
More Details at Amazon – Schiit Audio Modius Balanced DAC (Silver)
If you are still in search of a portable DAC then the iFi Hip-dac is an excellent choice to go with your Sony WH1000XM4. It is flat and compact, allowing you to slide the iFi Hip-dac into your front pocket. This is a highly-rated D/A converter and is very well-received by its users. The overall sound reproduction of this DAC is easy on the ears and will help to lower down the overall harshness by a little, giving us long hours of music listening sessions without fatigue. The iFi Hip-dac D/A converter can still be quite engaging when it comes to music delivery and will throw a rhythmic punch with agility when it needs to.
More Details at Amazon – iFi Hip-dac Portable Balanced DAC
For listeners who are looking for a sleek-looking and compact headphone DAC with a built-in amplifier, the Aurender Flow DAC is an exemplary option to go for. It has a built-in ESS9018K2M DAC chip and you can use the mSATA slot (optional) to store up to 1 terabyte of music which is really convenient. Aurender Flow DAC is brilliant for listeners who just want to enjoy listening to their music and will be a suitable match with your Sony WH1000XM4. It also ensures the high frequencies are not too hard sounding and could dish out an energetic musical performance. The Aurender Flow DAC is pretty balanced as well.
More Details at Amazon – Aurender Flow DAC
To Sum It Up
These are high-quality DACs that are worthy of your time and effort to hear them out. You can select the ones which fit your requirements and from there you can arrange an appointment to see if you will like what you are hearing. Doing a side-by-side comparison of the D/A converters may help to differentiate the sound quality a lot easier but do use your own Sony WH1000XM4 wireless headphone and favorite music during the auditioning of the shortlisted DACs.
