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Sony WF-1000XM3 Officially Launched in Malaysia for RM949
August 28, 2019 Andrew Cheng

Announced globally just last month, the Sony WF-1000XM3 has just been launched in Malaysia. Retailing at RM949, these are not exactly affordable wireless earbuds, but you are getting quite a number of features, including very good active noise cancellation performance.

Looking at the WF-1000XM3’s feature set, the active noise cancellation is one of its biggest selling points. I managed to try it out for a bit at the launch event, and it’s really quite impressive. On its own, the noise cancellation does feel quite “deafening.” But once I start playing some songs, this effect is reduced, and I can barely hear the outside world.

As for the audio quality, I can’t really say with certainty how good – or bad – these earbuds sound; I only spent a brief time with the WF-1000XM3. However, I do notice a good amount of bass, and it doesn’t sound muddled at all, even in more complicated sections of a song.

I’m also particularly impressed with the fit of these wireless earbuds. It’s a little bit difficult to put them into my ears, but once they do, the fit is very snug and secure. I have absolutely no fear of them falling off, which is a great thing for truly wireless earbuds such as these.

If you’re concerned you won’t get a good fit, don’t worry: they come with different tip sizes to accommodate a wide range of users.

There are, however, a couple of things that I don’t quite like about the WF-1000XM3. For one, the earbuds feel quite…cheap. The plastic build material doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, and the lack of heft doesn’t help either. Granted, you’d want them to be lightweight, but they certainly don’t feel like a RM949 product.

And then we have the carrying case, which also doubles as the charger. The case, when fully charged, has enough juice to charge the earbuds three times, so needless to say, it is quite chunky. This, in turn, makes it difficult to keep in my pocket, especially when I’m wearing jeans.

That being said, the case does feel solid. I also love the fact that it’s magnetised, so the lid closes with a satisfying thud, and even the earbuds just fall into place when I place them inside the case.

Previous iteration of the WF-1000XM3 – the WF-1000X, which was released back in 2017 – suffered from connection issues and audio delay, but I didn’t notice either of these with the new generation earbuds. Thanks to a new Bluetooth chip, the two earbuds connect independently to a paired device, so audio delay is minimal, and there wasn’t any connection dropout.

So what else is there to know about the WF-1000XM3? Well, it has up to eight hours of battery life (six if you switch on the active noise cancellation), it’s able to offer up to 90 minutes of play time within only 10 minutes of charging, and…it doesn’t have water or dust resistance.

Yes, the WF-1000XM3 doesn’t have any form of water resistance, which is a little bit disheartening for truly wireless earbuds like these. If you plan to hit the gym or go on a jogging session with the earbuds, take extra precaution; there’s no telling how prone they are to water damage.

The Sony WF-1000XM3 truly wireless earbuds are now available for purchase in Malaysia for RM949. While that’s not a particularly affordable price tag, you’re getting a great pair of earbuds with impressive active noise cancellation performance, among other things.

At least, that’s my takeaway based on my brief time with the WF-1000XM3. If you’re interested to pick it up, it’s best to try it out for yourself first.

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