Make Sony ULT WEAR sound like WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5? ☝🏻 (EQ Settings)
Many people are wondering if it’s possible to tune the ULT WEAR to sound as crisp as the XM4. If it’s possible, this could potentially save us money, right? In this review, I’m going to show you how to do it, and as a bonus, I’m going to tell you how to tweak it to sound closer to the current flagship XM5 headphones.
Frequency Response Chart
Make ULT WEAR sound like WH-1000XM4
Firstly, we'll talk about how to make the ULT WEAR sound similar to the XM4. On its default settings, the ULT WEAR will not sound as bright or crisp because it has a big rolloff over 15kHz and a considerably more v-shaped curve, as shown in this frequency response chart.
As a result, the vocals sound darker. It is also slightly heavier in the bass and lower mids. Therefore, So, if we want it to sound like the XM4, we'll have to decrease the bass and lower mids slightly, brighten the upper mids by hitting the 2-7 khz region, and aggressively push up the treble above 15 khz.
It's not possible to do this so precisely with the Sony Headphones Connect app, which only has 5 bands and a bass dial. But with this setting, I am able to approximate the sound of the WH-1000XM4.
That being said, while it will sound as crisp in the mids and highs, but it will not sound exactly like the XM4. The XM4 will still have better track separation, a wider soundstage, and you can hear more of the high frequencies, which means more air in the reverb.
Perhaps it's because the drivers can handle a higher frequency range of up to 40KHz than the ULT WEAR's 20KHz, or maybe because it has DSEE Extreme which is a far more capable audio upscaler than standard DSEE. Whatever the case, you can get the ULT WEAR to sound similar to the XM4's crispness, but it won't sound exactly like the XM4.
Make ULT WEAR sound like WH-1000XM5
XM5
What about the XM5? The ULT WEAR's default sound is actually more similar to the XM5. Its bass response is very similar, even the roll off in the high frequencies. However, it does not sound exactly the same because the ULT WEAR is darker in the upper mids, which impacts vocal tone.
So we're going to increase the ULT WEAR's upper-mids in strategic areas to sharpen the focus on voices, making it sound less V-shaped and more full. We'll also raise the highs slightly to regain some airiness in the soundstage by increasing the 400Hz band. Again, this will not make it sound exactly like the XM5. The XM5 still has better track separation in the mids and a wider soundstage compared to the ULT WEAR, but this setting sounds close to the signature of XM5 headphones.
So we have just seen how using the Headphones Connect app can make the ULT WEAR sound more like Sony's flagship products. The reason why I don’t use apps like Wavelet or Poweramp is because the settings do not carry over to other devices, whereas the settings on the Headphones Connect app do carry over. So if it’s set to sound a certain way on the iPhone, it’s going to sound the same on PC, Mac, my TV and so on.
If you’d like to check the latest prices of these headphones, click on the Amazon links below.
Check latest price:
Sony ULT WEAR - https://amzn.to/3VVR5TS
Sony WH-1000M4 - https://amzn.to/3UL9YID
Sony WH-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/4bIqJtZ
(Affiliate Links Disclosure)
When you make a purchase through the Affiliate Links on this site, the site earns a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!
