Sony WH-1000XM5 Industry Leading Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Hi-Res Audio, Best Phone Call Quality, 30 Hours Battery Life, Wearing…
$395.00
Last updated on May 31, 2023 4:38 pm
- Industry-leading noise cancellation using 8 microphones and Auto NC Optimizer
- All new lightweight design with soft fit leather
- Superlative sound with precision-engineered 30mm drivers
- Superior call quality with four beamforming microphones and AI-based noise reduction algorithm
- Speak-to-Chat automatically stops your music and lets in ambient sound
- 30 hours of battery life with quick charging (3 minute charge for 3 hours of playback)
- Alexa voice assistant built-in for hands-free use
Specification: Sony WH-1000XM5 Industry Leading Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Hi-Res Audio, Best Phone Call Quality, 30 Hours Battery Life, Wearing…
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13 reviews for Sony WH-1000XM5 Industry Leading Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Hi-Res Audio, Best Phone Call Quality, 30 Hours Battery Life, Wearing…
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Sony WH-1000XM5 Industry Leading Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Hi-Res Audio, Best Phone Call Quality, 30 Hours Battery Life, Wearing…
$395.00
JonRyan –
They work. Well!
Great quality and I would highly recommend them as a conf call headset.
The app is also intuitive and just works.
Good value and can’t say more than that.
I also have the Bose NC700 and these are better. But that’s my opinion others may say different.
Amitabh –
I was fairly disappointed with a few things. The noise cancelling is great for frequencies like those of a fan or jet engine. Absolutely dulls the sounds down and I actually fell asleep with how quiet my surroundings were. For voices? Not the same. Can definitely still hear what everyone is saying and it only dulls them down the slightest bit. Now my main reason for buying these was because I’m going on a plane next week and needed something that was noise cancelling as i have sensory issues but was also looking for a new daily over ear headphone. I’m sure these will have no issues to remove plane jet noise etc. Additionally, the microphones on these are fantastic and people on the other end didn’t even know I was wearing the headphones due to how clear they were.
Very disappointed with everything else. The sound quality is absolutely horrible compared to other headphones I’ve listened to. There is ZERO bass even after messing with equalizer settings and turning the bass to “10+” it was very flat and neutral. The volume also doesn’t get high enough in my opinion; also the higher you turn the volume the less “full” sounding the music is if listening to songs, especially if you have custom settings on the equalizer (makes it sound cheap). Never had that issue with others. Coming from Skullcandy crusher evos, i obviously understand these are geared towards being a noise cancelling headphone and not a bass headphone, however I expected more for $500 of my own money.
Additionally, these headphones don’t fold and come in a larger case than 90% of other headphones out there. Seriously Sony who thought of the no folding design?
While they’re very light and comfy, have great noise cancelling for certain frequencies, contain amazing call quality, have 30-40 hrs of battery and the touch sensors on the right ear cup are SUPER fun and easy to use, I would not buy these if you’re also expecting great sound. Definitely not for people looking for normal to decent bass at the very least.
I will say if you’re someone who listens to non-bassy music then the audio can actually be super good. But it definitely still doesn’t get loud enough. It’s also made out of that weird plasticy material that shows fingerprints VERY easily and makes it look like it’s dirty. Blah. Will be looking into boses or an alternative instead after my flight
Matthew Thyer –
These don’t fold into a ball like the WH-1000XM4, instead they fold flat which encourages one to use the included case for protection. This is OK if you use them at a desk like I do for sound from my PC. For on the go listening I prefer my, much more compact, wireless ear buds.
CJones –
By far the best Noise Cancelling Headphones I’ve ever had.
Luke –
Great noise cancellation, great sound, and much, much better voice quality for calls than the previous Sony noise cancelling headsets
Tyronne –
Sony’s again leaning on a one-two punch of both LDAC codec and DSEE Extreme support here to offer the best possible sound quality from your connected devices. LDAC is your hi-resolution audio option, compressing and decompressing tracks on the fly to deliver much greater wireless bandwidth than a standard Bluetooth connection could conjure. But even if you’re on a lowly standard-resolution streaming service over Bluetooth, DSEE Extreme ekes out a little more detail by using AI upscaling techniques to restore some of the audio data which would otherwise be lost. Both do a great job.
Amitabh –
Hello Fellow buyer’s!!
Many of you must have ended up being interested in this product after watching many reviews on the YouTube already, afterall below 25-30K isnts a small amount of money for a pair of Headphones right? So I will sum my experience about this pair in three major areas Comfort, ANC and Call quality and Sound quality.
1. Comfort:
These are very lightweight, people complain them for feeling cheap and plasticky thats obvious you dont get lightweight with metal constructions, having said that they provide enough coushioning you will ever need for long hours. But since they are not as flexible as their predecessors they have a bigger footpring which isnt very comfortable carrying always.
2. Coming to ANC and Call quality:
As many reviewers have already said, its amazing and Mind-blowing you will enjoy the ANC, I use in in Public Transport (Train) and when I have my volume level at 50-60% (recommend not to go beyond that for ear safety) you would barely even hear what the next person sitting to you is speaking unless you pay attention. Call quality is amazing outdoors and indoors it almost matches phone microphone reproduction when indoors but!! They struggle in windy situations so if you on the window seats try avoiding wind for calls.
3. Sound quality:
I have been using expensive earphones for quite a long time I have my audiophile 1more quad drivers, Sennheiser HD 202, Sennheiser Momentum wired earbuds, Oppo enco x and x2’s so I believe I now have some understanding about how a good pair should sound, having said that The default Audio quality is decent also it varies which device you are connected, I wud suggest that you should use them with LDAC enabled all the time!! Its pretty decent nothing mind-blowing but it can be tweaked for amazing soundgazmic experience using app, u can enjoy A.R. Rehman tracks such as Dil Se and experience a variety of instruments audible suddenly.
I woud not compare it with bose, Sennheiser Momentum 4, Airpod max, i believe sound is subjective and everyone has to adjust accordingly and be satisfied with their purchase after they have made an investment and not be disappointed due to subjective opinions other have.
Concluding this very long review, these are a value for Money pair of Headphones, I got them at a good discount and hence I went with xm5s rather than xm4s. If you want custom eq screenshot and settings I use for tweaking my Xm5s do let me know in reply section.
Happy Buying you have made a good decision 🙂
Ngonidzashe Francis Chingozho –
Love the comfortable fit and the noise cancelling feature..
yeah –
They feel quite cheap and flimsy. Barely any padding. Ear cushions remind me of plane headphones but not as bad
Fresh and Felicia –
I have used this product for around 6hrs with my iPhone (+apple music). A lot of reviews and videos are already out there on social media for its features, will not comment on those things.
•Sound quality out of the box (EQ) isn’t something wow on apple music or spotify premium!!
•The EQ customisation comes to rescue and improves sound staging drastically, m using a Custom EQ which I have attached in my review, it gives better sound staging. (For those like airpods pro user or who are finding bass too muffled can try this EQ, hope that will help)
•Silver colour isn’t attracting visible smudges as much as the black ones.
•Connectivity and touch functions are butter smooth.
•Call clarity with zooms or Microsoft teams is just amazing.
•Siri responses to input commands by long pressing right earcup. (However doesn’t automatically reads notifications or caller names like in airpods pro/Max)
•USB charging cable is too small.
Will not recommend to upgrade if you are already using Apple music with Airpods pro/Max as the spatial audio is best utilised there. Spotify or other users can go ahead, also if you can use this for your official WFH meetings then it’s a must buy.
Will update if I find something more helpful.
Vijay Tenneti –
Loads of reviews talking up the sound quality – but for an audiophile the sound is absolutely atrocious. I don’t really care a jot about the other so called ‘features’ – the sound is horribly muddy. Any amount of fiddling with the equalizer doesn’t fix the problem – just produces different flavours of muddy.
If you want crystal clear sound, just go with Bose.
Edit: After a whole weekend of fiddling with the equalizer settings, both using the Sony Headphone app and additional tweaking on the Equalizer settings on the Spotify app, I’ve got it to sound pretty good.
But it shouldn’t be so hard.
Truthful Reviewer –
Ready for the best in class noise cancelling headphones with incredible sound profiles completely customizable? I owned them all. AirPods Max, Sony XM3, XM4, Bose 700. The all new Sony XM5’s is the new king of NC headphones.
✔ Much Better Microphone (vs. XM4) – Tested with Zoom/Microsoft Teams business calls and family/personal calls. Performs much better than XM4 previous generation
✔ Long Term Comfort – I can wear them for long periods of time (several hours) without any discomfort while wearing my glasses. XM4’s felt warm/hot after long term use, XM5’s have more breathability.
✔ Touch Controls – Works flawlessly between swipes and tap. Feels like an upgrade with better sensitivity compared to previous generation.
✔Bluetooth & Connectivity – I take them off, music pauses, I put them back on, music resumes. I walk anywhere in my home while leaving my phone on my desk. Clear sound, no distortion whatsoever, signal transmission remains in-tact and stable at any given moment. I have them connected to my iPhone and MacBook Pro, I’m able to swap between both devices quickly.
✔Hard Case & Wire – The case is good quality, headphones fit perfectly with slot for USB C charging cable and audio aux cable, both included no extra charge.
✔Sony app is full of features. Can customize audio profiles or use presets. The presets are excellent for any genres of music and I often swap depending on my mood. Updates are done through the app. NC and transparency mode can be controlled in the app or by using a button on the headphones. Adaptive sound is nice, it auto detects my environment and changes from NC and transparency. It works in my favor, no complaints. Auto power off is an option, or manually turn them off using the button on the headphones.
I purchased 2 pairs of the new Sony XM5’s – one for my wife and one for myself. We absolutely love using the latest and greater wireless noise cancelling headphones – I can easily say that both Sony and Apple make the best out there. Because I own all the latest NC headphones, I created a comparison below between the 2 best: Sony XM5’ and how they compare with Apple’s Air Pods Max.
Sound Quality: Winner Tied
I tested the XM5’s using Tidal and Apple Music using both wired and wireless. I found the music quality on the XM5’s sound better on specific genres such as Jazz, Bossa Nova, Hip-Hop (90’s), Classical Rock, Symphony, and R&B.
The APM are ahead when it comes to EDM like House, Drum & Bass, along with Pop and other computerized music.
Both headphones are close for most genres, however the biggest difference I noticed between the two was Jazz like genres, with the XM5’s being leagues ahead.
This is a tie because it depends on the genre you prefer.
Audio Enhancements: Winner Air Pods Max
The XM5’s offer 360 Audio Reality which is only accessible to less popular streaming music apps like Tidal, while the APM offer Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio. The audio library for the sound enhancement is also smaller for Sony with limited selections.
Comfort: Winner Sony XM5
The XM5 can remain on your head for long periods of time (several hours) without any discomfort given its lightweight feel. When walking around the house, or outdoors, the XM5’s remains on your head without moving.
The APM on the other hand are heavier and begin causing some discomfort after 1-2 hours. When stationary, they’re fine, but when walking around and tilting your head, they begin to slip off.
Features: Winner Sony XM5
Sony offers an headphones app accessible from the App Store or Google Play Store which allows you to heavily customize your XM5’s, from building a sound profile, selecting audio pre-sets, adjusting noise cancelling, transparency modes and a great deal more.
The APM on the other hand, do not have an app of any kind, besides the ability to select audio pre-sets from the music app you subscribe to.
Transparency Mode: Winner Air Pods Max
The transparency mode on the APM is unlike anything else; I can have full conversations that sound natural. The XM5’s on the other hand are an upgrade from the XM4’s, but it doesn’t sound as natural as the APM.
Microphone: Winner Air Pods Max
The microphone on the APM is excellent; I’ve hosted hundreds of hours of business meetings and personal phone calls; the microphone is crystal clear and professional.
The XM5’s on the other hand is an upgrade from the XM4’s and noticeable a lot better, but the APM are noticeably better. I tested the XM5’s for calls and was satisfied with the results.
Noise Cancelling: Winner Sony XM5
When wearing the APM for a long period of time, my ears feel like they’re going to explode. When I first purchased the APM on the release date, I could use the noise cancelling option for hours however, after over a year, I can no longer handle noise cancellation beyond 15 minutes it gives me severe ear pain and I must switch to transparency mode or take them off and break.
The XM5’s on the other hand, do not cause me any pain, regardless of if I’m listening for 30 minutes or 2 hours. During testing, I listened to music for a long period of time and watched a YouTube for an hour.
I feel that prolonged listening to the APM using the noise cancelling feature caused my ears to become highly sensitive after using them for over a year, with a feeling of severe cabin pressure. This is also worse if using the Bose QC35’s, with pressure being too intense.
I can wear the XM5’s for long periods of time; they manage to block loud televisions and screaming babies. The biggest takeaway is being able to keep them on for several hours without discomfort or pain.
Build Quality: Winner Air Pods Max
The APM are built to look and feel luxurious. From the band, metal, and aluminum components, they feel like the Lamborghini of headphones. The XM5’s on the other hand are made out of sophisticated plastic. Also, the APM has magnetic interchangeable ear cushions that can be purchased separately, while the XM5’s do not.
Accessories & Costs: Winner Sony XM5
Sony offers a real carrying case that protects the headphones and its accessories from damage/drops. Apple has a bra-like case that doesn’t protect the headphones at all, forcing the user to purchase a third-party case online. Also, Sony offers a headphone cable, while Apple requires a separate purchase ($45). This means between the cable and the case; you’re looking at almost $100 of added expenses with the APM.
Moreover, the price at the time of this review is $499 for the XM5’s and $779.00 for the APM. The Sony’s offer a much better value.
Conclusion:
There are many factors to take into consideration between both brands, but ultimately, my heart is with the XM5’s because they sound better for the genres I listen to (Jazz) on a daily basis, and it puts me in the musical ‘zone’. Also, the noise cancelling feature from the XM5’s don’t give me the ‘cabin pressure’ feeling found from the APM. The price difference between both is also substantial given they are close in most categories.
Truthful Reviewer –
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I own Sony’s WH-1000 XM4s and the Bose 700s, two of the leading models in the industry. I had AirPods Max for a minute, but I rage-sold them. To me, the Sony and Bose are both awesome headsets. So I was psyched to hear Sony was releasing XM5s. Summer’s here, and these can get a little hot on hot days outdoors. It’s like wearing earmuffs on the beach. But, if you can get past a little sweaty ears, or if you use them indoors or on airplanes, you should be a little excited.
The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones feature, what Sony advertises, “industry-leading noise cancellation.” And they ain’t lyin. With Bluetooth 5.2 and Sony’s QN1 and V1 chips, the XM5s have DUAL processors – compared to the lonely single processor of the XM4. These two processors control 8 microphones for crazy accurate noise cancellation. Think – a little computer actually sampling noise from fans, airplane engines, air conditioners, motors, and consistent noise like that – and creates an identical but perfect opposite wave, so they kinda cancel each other out. And this time, the dual processors are capable of filtering higher frequency sounds, including some voices. It’s pretty cool tech. The first time you hear this, it’s like magic! In my video review, you can see my personal reaction.
With the XM5s, noise canceling is automatically optimized based on your wearing conditions and environment. You don’t have to do anything. It knows if you’re sitting, walking, in an airplane, et cetera.
No, noise reduction probably won’t completely cancel a very loud angry spouse, or a crying baby. But the over the ear closed design may help dull annoying sounds.
A very small cadre of people claim they become nauseous using noise cancelling headphones, and especially the old model XM4s. I’ve never experienced this personally, but be aware it could happen. You can disable it if you need to. Some people thought the WH-1000XM4s were too snug. I thought they felt great, but they’ve improved the fit with a new lightweight design with soft-fit leather. This material fits snugly but with less pressure on your ears while still keeping out the external sounds you don’t want to hear.
There were a few other design changes – the XM5s aren’t foldable like the XM4s, and there’s a redesigned case that’s collapsible to save room in your bag when you’re wearing your headphones.
With up to 30 hours of battery life, you’ll have enough power to travel halfway to the moon in one of Elon Musk’s rockets. But, in case you forgot to charge and you’re in a hurry, you can get 3 hours’ worth of charge after just 3 minutes with an optional AC adapter.
And unfortunately, the in-flight plug adapter is not included in the supplied accessories this time. But who uses that anyway? That’s so old school! Fortunately, there still is an aux-in for you old-school holdouts.
The touch controls survived, where you can pause/play/skip tracks, control volume, activate your voice assistant, and answer phone calls. And the speak to chat lives also, where as soon as you start a conversation, Speak-to-Chat automatically stops your music and lets in ambient sound. And wear detection knows when you take them off.
But – how do they sound?
Sony has popped new, more rigid, 30mm carbon fiber drivers in the XM5s. They have more of an audiophile sound profile with slightly more balanced sound, better clarity, and more accurate bass. That’s important if you listen to real music, you know, with actual instruments, like rock, jazz, r and b, country, classical, and music like that. The XM4s have 40mm drivers, which will probably be better for hip-hop. The XM5s will reproduce hip-hop very accurately, meaning the way the studio producer intended you to hear it, but they probably won’t have the head-vibrating tinnitus-inducing bass many people want. TBH that’s hard to find in any headphone due to physics.
The XM5s support LDAC and spatial 3D audio, whatever that is, and they have also upgraded their Sony Music Studios Edge-AI music algorithm, which somehow magically guesses what musical dynamics were lost during compression and tries to replace that, so everything sounds crisp and clean without losing the bass that’s necessary in most of today’s popular music.
I have heard some folks claimed the MX4s sounded “muddy” with some music. I didn’t notice that, but I’m a producer and I’m familiar with equalization. There are about 20 presets including several you can create yourself.
And even without the Qualcomm APTX Low Latency chip, both my XM4s and XM5s allowed me to watch a complete movie on Netflix on my 2022 Samsung Frame television, wirelessly, from 10-plus feet away, with ZERO loss in mouth synchronization. Plus, like my XM4s, the XM5s still have dual Bluetooth pairing so you can pair them with two devices at the same time and switch back and forth between them. It’s a pretty cool feature if you use them for your phone, but also want to use them to watch YouTube videos at work on your computer. But, you probably shouldn’t tell your boss about that.
And the XM5s work with Google Assist, Alexa, and Siri. You can even set up Spotify playback with a few taps. Try that on your Air Pods Max.
The big win seems to be a vast improvement in the sound of your voice during phone calls quality. They’re actually impressive when it comes to calling in louder rooms. I’ve made test calls on busy streets and on windy sidewalks, and my call-ee said she couldn’t tell I was actually outdoors. Apparently, the four beam-forming microphones and the dual-processor software can recognize your voice and somehow block a lot of background noise. I mean, you can still probably hear tire screeches, gunshots, and car alarms, things you’ll typically hear in the city. But a lot of the noise is just gone. Like magic!
Oh – and there’s Speak to Chat. You start speaking, and the XM5s automatically adjust noise cancellation to pick up the voices of other people. No buttons, no fumbling with your phone. That’s a pretty cool feature.
So are they worth the upgrade? If you have XM4s and you think your call quality is shaky, then grab some XM5s and sell your sweaty old XM4s on Craigslist. If you’re moving from Bose’s Noise Canceling 700 or QuietComfort 45s, the new dual processors and 8 microphone array will provide some noticeable improvements, plus the dual Bluetooth sync, so they’re probably worth looking into. If you’re done with your Air Pods Max and prefer better compatibility with non-Apple stuff including android phones, PCs, and Sony or Samsung Smart TVs, it’s a no-brainer.