Sony Prices the XM4C Reboot Above a Sale XM5

Sony is selling a 2020 flagship again, the WH-1000XM4C, at $299.99, while its own store lists the 2022 WH-1000XM5 at $199.99. The M4 2nd Gen cans keep the fold, the QN1 chip, and four microphones from the old WH-1000XM4, with new sound tuning, a 10-band equalizer, and Lavender, Black, and Platinum Silver finishes.

That $100 gap is the whole pitch. Sony wants a 1000X badge under the WH-1000XM6 without cutting the current flagship, and it is using a six-year-old chassis to do it.

Sony Is Selling the 2020 Flagship Again

Sony Electronics Inc. used Sony’s September 7 headphone announcement to put the WH-1000XM4C, also called M4 2nd Gen, in the middle of a three-model refresh. U.S. shoppers can pre-order the WH-1000XM4C for $299.99, or $429.99 in Canada, with estimated delivery on September 23-24. Black and Platinum Silver go to Sony, Amazon, Best Buy, and other dealers. Lavender is listed only at Sony and Amazon.

Masaaki Hori, vice president of personal entertainment at Sony Electronics, did not pretend this is a new flagship. He framed it as demand that never left the 2020 shape.

The release of the WH-1000XM4C reflects continued consumer interest in a headphone model recognized globally for its combination of noise cancelling performance, sound quality, and comfort.

Masaaki Hori, Vice President of personal entertainment, Sony Electronics

The same note also introduced the WH-CH730N at $179.99 and the WH-CH530 at $69.99. Those two are the volume models. All three get Fast Pair on Android, Swift Pair, multipoint, and LE Audio. Sony Store Nagoya already had the CH730N on a demo table on September 8, a day after the U.S. note, while the XM4C is still a pre-order.

The XM5 Is $199.99 on Sony’s Own Site

Call the XM4C a cheaper 1000X and you run into Sony’s own price list. The silver WH-1000XM5 for $199.99 is marked down from $399.99 on the same store, a $200 cut. The WH-1000XM6, the live performance model, is $399.99, down $60 from $459.99. The 1000X THE COLLEXION luxury pair is $599.99, down from $649.99. The original XM4 page is still sitting there at $349.99.

So the “affordable” 1000X costs $100 more than the 2022 model Sony is clearing, $100 less than the XM6 on sale, and $160 less than the XM6 at its $459.99 list. The reboot is a $50 cut from the 2020 list, which is not a clearance price. It is a new sticker on an old platform.

SONY’S U.S. HEADPHONE LADDER

The XM5 dump is not a secret second market. It is on Sony.com, with delivery listed for September 9-10, two weeks ahead of the XM4C. Anyone who just wants a 1000X badge can walk out with last year’s hardware for less money, as long as they accept the XM5’s non-folding cups and the hinge reputation that followed that design.

What the XM4C Changes After Six Years

The hardware that made the XM4 famous is still the hardware. Sony kept the 40mm drivers, the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1, and four microphones. The XM5 used eight mics on the same QN1 generation. The XM6 moved to 12 mics and the QN3 chip. Noise cancelling on the XM4C is the 2020 kit, retuned in software, not the current flagship stack.

Launch notes put the cans on Bluetooth 6.0, up from Bluetooth 5.0 on the original, and they add a gaming EQ preset plus Quick Access gestures that open a music app from the headband. Weight is about 253 grams. Rated play with noise cancelling on is 27 hours, three hours short of the 2020 claim of 30. Sony’s U.S. product page also lists a carrying case and the same fold that made the old pair easy to pack.

WHAT CHANGED ON THE XM4C

• Equalizer: The Headphones app now has a 10-band EQ, up from five bands on the 2020 model, plus a gaming preset.
• Radio: Bluetooth moves to 6.0, and the trio also gets LE Audio, Fast Pair, Swift Pair, and multipoint.
• Tune: Sony says the 40mm drivers keep the old ANC kit but use “latest sound tuning” aimed at current playlists.
• Colors: Lavender is new; Black and Platinum Silver repeat the old palette, with Lavender limited to Sony and Amazon.
• Battery: Rated life with noise cancelling on falls from 30 hours to 27 hours on a pack designed to be swapped.

The name is doing a lot of work. WH-1000XM4C and M4 2nd Gen both try to sound like a sequel, and they still describe a QN1, four-mic platform Sony has already replaced twice. People who heard “better ANC” from the first social posts are buying a chip Sony shipped in 2020. The 10-band EQ and the new tune are the actual software story.

Folding Came Back After Sony Dropped It

Sony launched the WH-1000XM4 at $349.99 on August 6, 2020, with 30 hours of noise-cancelling play, USB-C, Fast Pair, and a hinge that folded the cups flat into a small case. That pair sat on best-of lists for years. Sony stopped it in 2025, after new stock dried up and used prices stayed high enough that a refurb listing could still ask $260.

The WH-1000XM5, in 2022, dropped that fold. The cups no longer tucked away, the case got bigger, and the hinge became the thing owners complained about. The WH-1000XM6 in 2025 brought folding back, with a stiffer hinge, 12 microphones, and the QN3 processor, and Sony still wants $459.99 for it when it is not on a $60 cut. The XM4C is the compact 2020 fold with a 2026 paint job, sold in the hole between a clearance XM5 and a sale XM6.

THE 1000X LINE FROM 2016

1. 2016: Sony starts the 1000X over-ear line with the MDR-1000X.
2. August 6, 2020: The WH-1000XM4 goes on sale at $349.99 with a 30-hour ANC rating and a folding hinge.
3. 2022: The WH-1000XM5 arrives without the fold and with eight microphones on the QN1 chip.
4. 2025: Sony discontinues the XM4 and ships the WH-1000XM6 with 12 microphones, the QN3 chip, and folding cups again.
5. September 7, 2026: The WH-1000XM4C returns the 2020 fold at $299.99 as M4 2nd Gen.

Sony now splits the top of the range in three labels: 1000X THE COLLEXION as Luxury, the XM6 as Performance, and the XM4C as Classic Standard. Classic, in this case, means the cups still fold, the case still fits in a bag, and the noise-cancelling brain is the one from 2020. The people who never took the XM4 off the hook of a desk already knew that shape won.

The $179.99 Pair Lasts 50 Hours

The two cheaper models are not 1000X products, and they are the ones Sony can actually put in a shop this week. The WH-CH730N is $179.99, about 207 grams, and folds. Sony rates it at 50 hours with noise cancelling on, using Dual Noise Sensor mics in each cup, Ambient Sound with 20 steps, DSEE, and 360 Reality Audio. A three-minute charge is rated for one hour of play. U.S. delivery on Sony’s store is September 9-10. Colors are black, white, pink, and blue, with Oat limited to Sony and Amazon.

The WH-CH530 is $69.99, an on-ear pair with no ANC, up to 55 hours of play, and a three-minute charge rated for 1.5 hours. It adds a five-step max volume cap in the Sound Connect app, AI noise reduction on calls, and six colors: Black, Cobalt, Mint, White, Pink, and Coral, with Coral and Mint limited to Sony and Amazon. It is the first-wireless, school-and-commute SKU, and it is already in the cart flow, not a fall pre-order.

The predecessor WH-CH720N is $99.99 on the same store, down from $179.99, which is $80 under the new CH730N. Sony is asking full price for the folding refresh while the old mid ANC pair is half off. If the XM4C is a 1000X name at a mid price, the CH730N is the opposite move: a mid name at the old CH720N list, sold next to a clearance unit that still does noise cancelling.

The Battery Swap Costs Three Hours of Play

The one 2026 hardware change that is not a color or an EQ slider is the cell. Launch briefings describe a battery the owner can replace, which is how Sony is getting this chassis ready for EU law. Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 11, products with portable batteries must make those packs portable batteries removable from February 2027 by the end user, and spare packs have to stay on sale for five years after the last unit ships. The XM4C arrives more than a year early on that clock.

The cost is the 27-hour rating. Sony has not posted a U.S. price for a spare cell. The original XM4 could take a 10-minute charge to about five hours; the new CH730N and CH530 quotes are three minutes for one hour and 1.5 hours. The XM4C page leads on the 27-hour figure and the 253-gram weight, which is how you know the swap did not add a brick to the headband.

That is also why a used 2020 XM4 is a worse long bet even when the hammer price looks kind. The old pack is glued in. The new one is built for a 2027 rule. Sony is not selling nostalgia so much as a chassis that can legally stay on EU shelves after the original XM4 cannot.

Nothing Priced Its First Over-Ears at $299

The $299 slot was not empty. Nothing Headphone (1) launched at $299, with a 40mm driver, LDAC, and a much longer battery claim (35 hours with ANC on, 80 hours with it off). Street prices have already run under that list. Sony’s note put the XM4C in that band on purpose, then kept the XM6 on a $459.99 ticket so the flagship does not have to take the haircut.

Hori’s second sentence in the same statement listed the WH-CH730N, the WH-CH530, 1000X THE COLLEXION, and the WH-1000XM6 as one ladder. The XM4C is the rung that lets Sony print a 1000X logo at $299.99 without moving the XM6. The awkward part is the rung below it on the same site, where the XM5 is $100 cheaper and ships two weeks sooner.

U.S. XM4C orders are still a September 23-24 delivery. The CH730N and CH530 can show up on September 9-10. The Lavender pair is the photo Sony wants. The receipt is a 2020 hinge, a 27-hour pack, and a price that sits above a sale XM5 Sony is already happy to sell.