I have the 1000XM2s bought 3 years ago and they are still going strong.
Agree with many of the points made already in the thread - their Raison d'être is ANC. I am not saying they shouldn't be tested for sound quality, but they should be compared to other headphones with ANC for sound quality
as well as ANC performance. Rtings does this.
1. These are great for commutes/air travel. Pre COVID I have gone on some long flights (12hr+) and the relief of wearing this to cancel out the engine's drone is very welcome..
2. The 1000XM2s are just ok at blocking out human voice but I've heard XM4 has improved in this regard.
3. Using these passively kinds of defeats the purpose. If you do want to use an amplifier, I would still leave it on so that ANC is kept active. The reduction in the noise floor in the room is helpful to hear music at lower volumes.
4. I find them quite comfortable in winter and air-conditioned spaces, but in summer outside they can get very hot on the ear.
Since I only use headphones for listening while traveling/commuting, these serve me perfectly. I had compared them to the Bowers & Wilkins PX when I bought it - I found the B&W ANC to not work as well, and they would get no kind of seal at all when wearing even the thinnest glasses.
Comparing Amir and Rtings tests for FR shows very similar results (though rtings uses a wider vertical scale causing things to look quite similar). One difference is that the peak seen in Amirs chart around 4k and 5k is pushed out to around 8k.
Rtings.
Amir