I never thought these Sony headphones would ever be this cheap – not even on Prime Day

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My former favourites have hit a new low price

Sony WH-1000XM4 on a desk next to a laptop
(Image credit: Sony)

I have to say, I'm pretty surprised to see the Sony WH-1000XM4 hit a new all-time low price of £180 at Amazon.

I thought the £197 price they dropped to last year would be their lowest before they left shelves for good. After all, they started life at £350 and have been knocking around for four years now. I honestly thought the best Sony WH-1000XM4 deal was behind us, but I'm glad I was wrong!

If you are looking for wireless noise-cancelling over-ears but cannot afford the newer Sony WH-1000XM5 (currently £260 at Amazon), you would do well to snap up Sony's former flagships at this unprecedented price.

They may be considered veterans in today's ever-evolving headphone space, but they still boast modern features and a sound and ANC performance that are very rare to come by in the mid-price market. That is why they have our best October Amazon Prime Day headphones and wireless earbuds deals list.

Sony WH-1000XM4
Sony WH-1000XM4: was £350 now £180 at Amazon UK

I thought these Sonys had already seen their final and lowest deal price, but I was wrong: the XM4 are only £180 for October Prime Day and well worth snapping up if you want solid premium all-rounders but cannot afford the extra £80-120 newer models from Sony, Bose and Sennheiser cost. The deal price is only on the black pair, but the navy and beige finishes only cost £18 more.

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The five-star WH-1000XM4 were, until the launch of their WH-1000XM5 successors in 2022, Sony's top-of-the-range wireless noise-cancelling over-ear headphones. The former What Hi-Fi? Award winners may no longer be the best-sounding over-ears in the market due to the arrival of such newer competition, but we can't think of another pair that costs £180 and sounds as good as them. The same goes for their noise-cancelling performance. In fact, during our testing of the new XM5, our review experts noted that while the new model "adds more mics and some clever tech "in certain day-to-day environments we would still choose the XM4".

Throw in a 30-hour battery life (38 hours without ANC on) and a design and comfort factor that also remain competitive today, and the XM4 are hard to beat at this discounted price.

You get useful features that elevate the user experience, too, such as ‘Speak to Chat’, which allows you to talk to someone while the headphones are still on your head. Bluetooth Multipoint lets you connect two Bluetooth devices to them so you can switch between them easily, while ‘Wearing Detection’ automatically pauses playback when you remove the headphones, and then automatically starts again when you put them back on.

All in all, it's a well-rounded spec sheet that doesn't give away their age. The fact you can get that as well as competitive sound and ANC quality for just £180 at Amazon is, quite frankly, staggering.

MORE:

See all the best Prime Day in October deals on TVs, headphones and hi-fi

Read our Sony WH-1000XM4 review

See how they compare: Sony WH-1000XM5 vs WH-1000XM4

Here's what we can expect from the next Sony WH-1000XM6

Becky Roberts
Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.