George P.
DO NOT BUY: sound vs build quality is not worth your money!
I purchased the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones in March 2019. I treated them with kid gloves, always storing them in their hard case when not in use. In January 2020, I noticed that the left-hand slider was loose, and the ear cup would slide down as soon as I would try to fold them up. On close inspection, I saw that the sliders on both sides are cracked. When I then went online, I read about the issue, which seems to be very common for these headphones. The defect is not due to normal wear and tear. I bought these premium headphones expecting a very solid build which seemed to be the case at the time (I tried them out/inspected them in several stores before getting them online). For them to develop this issue after less than a year of careful and moderate use (primarily on my daily commute) is unacceptable at this price point. Sony disagrees. After I sent them the headphones for inspection, they wrote back to say that the defect is due to ‘physical damage’ and invoiced me £96.71 for replacement parts and labour costs. I decided not to repair them as there is no guarantee that they will not break again in the very near future. I still had to pay a £30 refusal fee. Altogether, these headphones have turned into a money pit. In my view, despite the decent sound quality and the good noise cancellation, they are a waste of money given the alternatives currently on the market. So, bottom line for me is, I will not buy anything Sony again. I have paid the price for it once and it is enough for me.