Urban survival tool, WI-1000XM2 or QuietControl 30 noise reduction is better?

Noise-cancelling headphones have become a standard for travelers. Whether you are waking up early in the morning for a run, commuting to work, or on a business trip, put on your headphones and enjoy the beautiful and peaceful time brought by music. The soothing music slowly comes from the headphones, soothing the restless heart in the hustle and bustle of the city.

Listening to music is a very enjoyable thing. Without any conditions, if you want to listen, you can put on headphones and feel the comfort of music hitting the eardrum. In response to this, various new products have emerged to remove the constraints, such as Bluetooth headphones, true wireless headphones, etc. In addition to removing the constraints of headphones on the human body from a physical perspective, active noise reduction products have also emerged, aiming to eliminate external interference from the perspective of music, improve sound quality, and create a perfect auditory feast.

As a giant in the music market, Sony is never afraid of new challenges. With the impressive performance of WI-1000XM, Sony has further broken through and released WI-1000XM2 high-resolution wireless noise-cancelling stereo headphones. On the other hand, the newcomer QuietControl 30 also stands out with its powerful strength. So how will the two strong teams spark a collision? Let's take a look at it.

From the overall packaging point of view, the packaging of WI-1000XM2 is relatively slim, still using the technological style that Sony products have always used. The blank space in the middle of the packaging box highlights the overall appearance of the product. In terms of appearance, WI-1000XM2 is still quite good. However, QuietControl 30 goes the other way. The packaging is "giant". The entire picture is used to show the earphone part, exposing all the details of the earphone, showing extra confidence.

Unpacking the box, the packaging of WI-1000XM2 is more compact than similar products released by Sony before. A soft packaging box that is easy to carry when going out, and the earphones can be folded and stored in it. The long earplug storage box contains six sets of replacement earplugs for various needs of various groups of people, which can be switched freely to maximize the noise reduction and sound quality effects. The bottom of the box also contains charging cables, dual 3.5mm airplane adapters, 3.5mm audio cables, etc., which can be said to have everything and are fully configured. On the other side, QuietControl 30 adopts an all-black tone, with a sense of mystery brought by technology. The round storage box of QuietControl 30, with the earphone neckband entrenched in it, leaves the space in the middle for the earplug part. QuietControl 30 is equipped with three earplugs of different sizes for users to choose from.

From the appearance, WI-1000XM2 adopts neck-style suspension, and the material used is silicone, which can reduce the trouble caused by sweating even in the hot summer. The soft feature is easy to fit the user's skin, and can be folded and placed at will, which is convenient to carry. The overall weight of only 58g will not bring extra burden to the neck. Small and light are its synonyms.

The QuietControl 30 neckband has a larger curvature, leaving more room for the neck to move, ensuring comfort when worn for long periods of time, but it is not very convenient to store.

Sony WI-1000XM2's high-tech allows you to be at ease in any occasion. Outdoors, WI-1000XM2 uses the front and rear dual feedback microphones on the earbuds with the HD noise reduction processor QN1 to achieve high-precision reverse sound waves and noise cancellation. In addition, WI-1000XM2 also has AI intelligent noise reduction function. Through Headphones Connect, the adaptive sound control function is turned on, and the noise reduction scheme is automatically switched according to the user's activity status, blocking the noisy background sound in the environment outside the ear, seriously interpreting the true meaning of the saying that what suits you is the best.

In contrast, QuietControl 30 is also not inferior in noise reduction. QuietControl 30 uses an equal and opposite signal to neutralize noise in active noise reduction, thereby achieving the effect of noise reduction, and further expands the noise reduction effect through the sealed StayHear+ QC earplugs, which means that QuietControl 30 focuses on external shielding. It is worth mentioning that QuietControl 30 can adjust the noise reduction in eleven levels through the line control button. Users can choose according to their actual needs, which is simple and convenient. But compared with the 20-level noise reduction level of WF-1000XM3, it is slightly inferior.

In order to make a detailed comparison, we took advantage of the rush hour to conduct field tests on the two headphones. As it is rush hour after get off work, the road is filled with a lot of human voices, music background sounds, and car horns along the way, which is a prerequisite for meeting the need for noise reduction in daily life. After a round of testing, let me first say the conclusion. I personally think that the overall noise reduction of WI-1000XM2 is more prominent than that of QuietControl 30. QuietControl 30 gives people the feeling that it is a one-size-fits-all noise reduction regardless of the external environment. When I just walked out of the building after work, in the continuous "mid-frequency noise" environment with a lot of people, the WI-1000XM2's 20-level noise reduction level combined with the dual effects of 9mm dynamic unit + moving iron unit can eliminate most of the noise under both software and hardware measures. QuietControl 30 uses a soft and sealed StayHear + QC earplug structure for physical noise blocking, and the noise reduction level is only 11. In addition, when there is a lot of wind noise during cycling, WI-1000XM2 also provides a solution. The front and rear dual feedback microphones and the powerful noise reduction processor QN1 can reduce the wind noise generated during cycling by about 80%, which can not only ensure that the cycling process is free from noise troubles, but also ensure road safety during cycling. The wind noise filtering ability of QuietControl 30 is relatively weak. The tilted earplug design of WI-1000XM2 can penetrate deep into the ear canal, which not only improves stability during exercise and is not easy to fall off, but also has a noise reduction effect to a certain extent.

In terms of use, we conducted various tests. When playing games such as Honor of Kings and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds on the phone, the two headphones basically did not feel any delay, which can provide you with a good gaming experience. There was no sound delay when opening videos and playing movies. During the boring journey, we tested the noise reduction functions of WI-1000XM2 and QuietControl 30 respectively. WI-1000XM2 tends to be smart noise reduction, while QuietControl tends to be smart and manual noise reduction, and you can freely adjust the music environment you want. Turn on the noise reduction function, and you can immerse yourself in your own entertainment world without being disturbed by the outside world.

WI-1000XM2

QuietControl 30

In terms of leisure applications, both WI-1000XM2 and QuietControl 30 work very well. However, a good headset can only show its true strength in terms of sound quality. Here, I choose the classic song "Butter-Fly" that I like to test and feel the performance of the two headsets in each frequency band.

WI-1000XM2

QuietControl 30

At the beginning of the song, the vocals presented by Koji Wada in the a cappella part are relatively smooth and natural, with a full sense of hearing and a distinct sense of layering. However, the WI-1000XM2 is more delicate in details, including the subtle breathing sound, which makes the audience feel as if they are on the scene. With the subsequent addition of instruments, the low-frequency dive of the WI-1000XM2 after the drum sound appears is deeper than that of the QuietControl 30, and the sense of percussion of the instruments presented is also more impactful. In the rhythm of continuous and frequent drum sounds, the volume of the WI-1000XM2 is better, and there is no low-frequency head-banging of the QuietControl 30. In the middle part of the song "Butter-Fly", during the electric guitar solo stage, the WI-1000XM2 has made achievements in the low, medium and high frequency parts. The high frequency stage restores the distorted part of the electric guitar in the song, without the common problem of intelligent correction, and presents the original flavor of the song to the audience. In terms of high frequencies, both WI-1000XM2 and QuietControl 30 performed well. The high frequencies were not harsh and there was no divergence. They performed relatively steadily, and the types of instruments could be clearly distinguished from them.

When it comes to Sony, the first thing that comes to mind is black technology. Yes, especially in the field of audio, Sony's black technology shines even more. Sony has long been involved in the noise-canceling headphone category, and even the three forms of noise-canceling headphones, namely head-mounted, true wireless, and neck-hanging, have been updated. At the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, when the noise-canceling headphone market was just beginning to show its edge, various brands, especially domestic brands, gradually began to get involved, but at this time, Sony had already firmly grasped the initiative.

As wireless headphones used in daily life, WI-1000XM2 and QuietControl 30 have excellent performance in listening to music, watching videos, playing games, etc. They can also eliminate noise through noise reduction function during travel and commuting, creating your own music world, which are both good choices. In terms of value, the two are not much different. The official price of WI-1000XM2 is 2499 yuan, and the official price of QuietControl 30 is 2498 yuan. Whether you are a music lover or an entry-level user, these two headphones are enough to meet most of your daily needs, and they can be said to be representatives of good quality and low price.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.