Sony WH-1000XM4 vs Sony WH-CH520

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Only show differences

Better figure, where one is clearly better

Share comparison

WH-1000XM4 compared with WH-CH520

	SonyWH-1000XM4	SonyWH-CH520
Overview
Released
Released	August 2020	March 2023
Sound
Type
Type	Over-ear	On-ear
Noise cancelling
Noise cancelling	Yes	No
Transparency mode
Transparency mode	Yes	No
Driver size
Driver size	40 mm	30 mm
Back
Back	–	Closed
Bluetooth codecs
Bluetooth codecs	SBC, AAC and LDAC	SBC and AAC
Lossless over USB-C
Lossless over USB-C	No	No
Chip
Chip	QN1	–
Drivers
Drivers	40 mm dome-type driver with an aluminium-coated LCP diaphragm, CCAW voice coil and neodymium magnet; 4 Hz to 40,000 Hz (JEITA); sensitivity 105 dB/mW switched on, 101 dB/mW switched off; impedance 40 Ω switched on, 16 Ω switched off (1 kHz, wired)	Bluetooth response 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz at 44.1 kHz sampling
Chip
Chip	HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 (with an integrated analogue amplifier) and a Bluetooth Audio SoC	–
Noise cancelling detail
Noise cancelling detail	Dual Noise Sensor technology, with two noise-cancelling microphones on each ear cup (one outside, one inside); Personal NC Optimizer and Atmospheric Pressure Optimising; Ambient Sound Mode with Voice focus; Adaptive Sound Control; Quick Attention Mode; Speak-to-Chat	–
Audio features
Audio features	LDAC up to 990 kbps (Hi-Res Audio Wireless); High-Resolution Audio over the headphone cable; DSEE Extreme upscaling; 360 Reality Audio certified; equaliser in the app	DSEE upscaling and customisable equaliser in Sony | Sound Connect (formerly Headphones Connect)
Battery
Listening time (maker's claim)
Listening time (maker's claim)	Up to 30 hours	Up to 50 hours
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Up to 38 hours with noise cancelling off (AAC or SBC); with LDAC, 24 hours with noise cancelling on or 30 hours off; with DSEE Extreme on, 18 hours with noise cancelling on (16 hours with LDAC); Speak-to-Chat shortens battery life by about 30%; talk time up to 24 hours (30 hours with noise cancelling off); standby up to 30 hours with noise cancelling on (200 hours off); up to 22 hours on the headphone cable with noise cancelling on (36 hours off); can't be used while charging	Up to 40 hours of calls and 200 hours on standby; no passive operation or wired playback
Fast charging
Fast charging	10 minutes gives about 5 hours of playback with a 1.5 A or higher USB adaptor; full charge in about 3 hours	3 minutes gives up to 1.5 hours; full charge approximately 3 hours
Design
Weight
Weight	254 g	147 g (better)
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	5.2
Two devices at once
Two devices at once	Yes	Yes
Headphone cable
Headphone cable	Yes	No
Controls
Controls	Touch sensor control panel on the right ear cup (double-tap to play, pause or answer calls; swipe forwards or backwards to skip; swipe up or down for volume; hold for the voice assistant; cover with your hand for Quick Attention Mode); power and CUSTOM buttons; a proximity sensor and two acceleration sensors pause music when the headphones are taken off and switch them off after 15 minutes; NFC one-touch pairing	Physical buttons for playback, calls, volume and track selection; press the play/call button to use the connected phone's Siri or Google voice assistant
Microphones
Microphones	Five microphones for calls and Speak-to-Chat (Precise Voice Pickup Technology); MEMS, omnidirectional, 50 Hz to 8,000 Hz	Built-in call microphone with noise suppression processing
Fit and ear tips
Fit and ear tips	Closed, circumaural; foamed urethane earpads; stepless slider; ear cups swivel and fold inwards for the carrying case	Adjustable padded headband, soft earpads and swivelling earcups
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	No water resistance rating; Sony says the headphones are not waterproof	No water resistance rating published
Works with
Works with	Sony | Sound Connect app (formerly Headphones Connect) for iOS and Android; multipoint connection to two devices (AAC or SBC only while connected to two); Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built in; Google Fast Pair; Bluetooth 5.0 Class 1, about 10 m range; A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP	Two-device multipoint, Fast Pair and Swift Pair; approximately 10 m range, profiles A2DP, AVRCP, HFP and HSP; USB-C is charging-only (SoundGuys)
Colours
Colours	Black, Platinum Silver; limited-edition Silent White sold in Europe from May 2021	Black, Blue, White, Beige; Pink and Yellow added in March 2025; One Piece Black and One Piece White limited editions on the current UK page
In the box
In the box	Headphones, USB-C cable (USB-A to USB-C, about 20 cm), headphone cable (about 1.2 m, gold-plated L-shaped stereo mini plug), plug adaptor for in-flight use, carrying case	Headphones and USB charging cable; no carrying case listed