Sony WH-1000XM5 review: The best over-ear headphones get better

The Sony WH-1000XM4 has long been our pick for best over-ear headphones thanks to impeccable sound quality, battery life, and active noise cancellation. So how do you improve near perfection? It’s a tall order, but one that the new Sony WH-1000XM5 manages.

Sony’s latest flagship wireless headphones offer some notable improvements in noise-cancelling, call quality and charging speeds, all wrapped up in a slimmer frame that’s sure to last for days. But is that enough to justify the higher $399 price tag? I spent a week working, walking and commuting with the Sony WH-1000XM5 – and listening to one much of the music. Here’s what you should know.

What we liked

Outstanding comfort, style and sound

The Sony WH-1000XM5 have been on my head for most of the past week and I won’t be taking them off anytime soon. I’m not a huge fan of over-ear headphones, but the Mark 5’s supple, roomy leatherette earcups and lightweight frame make them a pleasure to wear on walks, tube rides, and full workdays in my home office.

They also look great, with a subtle black or silver design that slims down the previous model’s headband. It’s only a fraction of a pound lighter, but the overall design is much slimmer overall. I particularly like the cans’ stylish and slim mesh carrying case, which keeps the WH-1000XM5 safe in my bag without taking up too much space.

But attractive headphones are useless without great sound, and it’s no surprise that Sony continues to hit that mark. Listening to music was an absolute delight on the WH-1000XM5, which delivered rich, balanced sound that highlighted the smallest details of my favorite songs across a range of genres.

The powerfully distorted guitars and guttural screams of Silverstein’s latest album sounded appropriately immersive on Sony’s headphones, and I could hear every tiny guitar pluck and string arrangement floating around my head in stereo as I listened to Phoebe Bridger’s soft indie rock. The WH-1000XM5 consistently delivered head-shakingly satisfying bass, but never to the point where it was overwhelming. As an earbud user, I kept noticing new sonic detail in songs I’d listened to dozens of times — especially when listening to Hi-Res audio on apps like Tidal. It will be very difficult to go back.

Sony’s latest headphones sound great out of the box, but you can customize them to your liking via the Sony headphones app for iOS or Android. The app’s equalizer lets you choose from a range of presets (boosting the bass or delivering a quieter mix, for example), and those ready to get down to the nitty gritty can also create their own sound profiles. You can also experience immersive 360 ​​Reality Audio – Sony’s proprietary spatial audio technology that places sound around you – on supported apps like Tidal, Deezer and Amazon Music.

Excellent noise cancellation and transparency

Sony has held the top spot in our ranking of best noise-cancelling headphones for years, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. The WH-1000XM5’s active noise cancellation (ANC) continues to be among the best around, turning most of the audible chaos of everyday life into a delightfully low buzz.

Chatty subway cars, crowded grocery stores, noisy construction sites and my dog’s piercing bark were nothing for the Sony headphones, which made it easy to tune out the outside world while I got lost in a great album or engaged in podcasts. And if I did Since I need to hear the outside world during my daily dog ​​walks, the Mark 5’s excellent ambient sound feature did a great job of amplifying the sounds of nearby cars and pedestrians without completely drowning out my music. But the real magic of Sony’s headphones is in how these two features work together.

If you enable Adaptive Sound Control in the app, the WH-1000XM5 can automatically switch between active noise cancellation and ambient noise, using a variety of sensors (as well as your location) to work out what you’re up to. For example, the headphones stay in noise-cancelling mode when the app detects you’re sitting or riding the subway, but can automatically turn on ambient noise when you’re out for a walk. This worked seamlessly in my testing, with the headphones automatically switching to ANC if I stood on a train for a while before quickly reverting to ambient noise as soon as I exited my car. And when I needed to switch sound modes manually, I just had to click a single button on the left earcup.

I also appreciate the optional speak-to-chat feature, which automatically pauses your music and activates ambient sounds as soon as you start speaking. This allowed me to quickly chat up a friend on the street and get right back to my music afterwards without having to grab my phone or fiddle with any on-ear controls.

In addition to excellent noise cancellation and transparency, Sony’s latest headphones continue to support multipoint connectivity for simultaneous pairing with two devices. This came in handy for seamlessly transitioning from listening to music from my phone to watching a YouTube video on my Windows desktop, and the feature is very useful for any work-from-home work.

Great battery life

You also get great battery life, with enough juice to last a weekend trip (or multiple days at the office) on a single charge. The WH-1000XM5 gave me five days of intensive use – including long hours of work, commutes and calls with a mix of sound modes – before the battery finally died.

According to the headphones app, I got about 34 hours of total listening time before needing a charge, which puts the 30 hours they’re rated for to shame. That’s about the same as what we got from the previous-gen WH-1000XM4, and still significantly better than Sony’s close competitor in the Bose 700. The XM5s also charge quickly, with fast-charge capabilities that last around three hours can listen time from a three-minute charge.

What we didn’t like

Touch controls, recognition, and call quality are hit-or-miss

The WH-1000XM5’s on-ear touch controls are simple – just double-tap the right earcup to pause and play, and perform various swipes to skip tracks or adjust volume, for example. But as someone relatively new to Sony’s headphones, these took a bit of getting used to. My double taps didn’t register on occasion, and it took me a couple of days to get used to using hold and swipe to navigate my playlists. It wasn’t a deal breaker, but it did result in me pulling out my phone more times than I would have liked.

Another minor gripe I have is the headphones’ wear detection, which is supposed to automatically pause your music when you take them off. While this worked reliably about 90% of the time, there were a few frustrating instances where my music kept playing when I put the headphones around my neck or placed them on a table.

The WH-1000XM5 got me through many phone calls and work meetings well, although one person pointed out that there was a slight echo in my voice – something I also noticed in my voice recordings. You can still rely on them or for everyday calls, but those who want to sound as clear as possible during an important video conference might still want to reach for headphones with a dedicated microphone.

They are more expensive than before

Sony’s top-notch noise-cancellation and great sound has never come cheap, and that’s especially true with the WH-1000XM5. These headphones retail for a whopping $399, which is a $50 price increase over the previous generation WH-1000XM4. What’s even more confusing is that the Mark 4 model remains in Sony’s lineup and doesn’t get a price cut (yet).

So what do you get for the extra $50? The main advantages of the XM5 are an improved processor and microphone set for active noise cancellation, improved call quality, slightly faster loading time, automatic ANC optimization and a slightly slimmer design. But you still get the same core audio experience, special features, and great noise-cancellation found in the more affordable Mark 4 models – which we’ve often retailed for as little as $248.

bottom line

The Sony WH-1000XM5 brings useful improvements to what have long been the best over-ear headphones money can buy. The audio quality, battery life, and noise-cancellation of these cans continue to be in a class of their own, and all in a slimmer design with slightly better noise-cancellation, faster charging, and smarter, adaptive ANC.

But at $399, Sony’s flagship headphones are more expensive than ever. The previous generation WH-1000XM4’s are still available for a cheaper $349 (and go on sale often), and considering you’re getting similarly great sound, ANC, and special features, they’re still a good buy . And if you already own Sony’s Mark 4 headphones, there aren’t many reasons to upgrade. But if you want the best of the best – and are willing to pay for it – the $399 Sony WH-1000XM5 is well worth the premium price.

How it compares to other headphones we’ve tested