Sony WH-1000XM5 Guide

It can be tricky for a manufacturer to push the sound performance of a product consistently from generation to generation; but that is what Sony has managed to do with the WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones. Not only that, it has been achieved while executing a major redesign. The Sony XM5 headphones might feel a little less premium than before, but the jump in sound quality from the previous generation is a big one, and rivals could once again have their work cut out. If you are looking for a new pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones, your auditioning should start here.

In recent years, Sony has struck upon a winning formula that has seen it build some of the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market. Each iteration has looked pretty similar to the last but it has been the gradual improvements in sound quality, noise-cancelling and call quality that have kept the WH-1000 line of headphones one step ahead of the competition.

So, when we saw the official pictures of the Sony WH-1000XM5, we were more than a bit surprised. We wondered whether it was a wise move to give one of Sony’s biggest success stories in recent memory a major redesign.

The drawing board has been well and truly dusted off for the latest iteration of its premium wireless ANC over-ears. It’s a brave decision, but now that we've spent time with a pair, has Sony broken something that didn’t really need fixing?

With the current market conditions, we have seen quite a few price rises across the industry, and the Sony WH-1000XM5 haven’t managed to escape a slight increase, coming in at £380 / $399 / AU$549.

The previous-generation WH-1000XM4 arrived on the scene in August 2020 for £350 / $350 / AU$550. The Sony’s closest current rivals are the Bose 700 (£350/ $399 / AU$599), Bose QuietComfort 45 £320 / $329 / AU$499 and Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless (£350, $400) although all these pairs have been out for a little while now and you can find them cheaper if you shop around.

The design changes made to the Sony WH-1000XM5 are significant. Sony refers to the new look as a “noiseless design” which has seen the company attempt to create a slimmer, more seamless pair of headphones by reworking those areas that can contribute to wind noise. This has led to smoother, sweeping lines and less aggressive edges. Importantly, a number of the joints and hinges that allow the XM4’s earcups to be folded away have also been given the boot.

As a result, the Sony XM5 headphones simply fold flat, like the Bose Noise Cancelling Heaphones 700, but don't fold any smaller. It’s bad news to those of us who like to fold their headphones into a ball and fling them in a rucksack without a second thought. Immediately the Sonys feel a bit more vulnerable, and we feel obliged to use the supplied carry case, which, even though it has also been revamped, still takes up valuable space.

Not only do the WH-1000XM5 look very different (and, dare we say, cheaper) than previous generations, they also feel different. In-hand they feel lighter although the scales suggest there are only four grams between them and the XM4s (254g vs 250g).

The plastics used are nice to touch, even if the older model still feels a bit more premium. They are made predominantly from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a material formed by taking certain car parts made in the US and Japan, recycling and refining them and blending them with mica to get that final finish. It’s a material that was first used on Sony’s innovative LinkBuds wireless earbuds.

The headband section now employs ABS sliders instead of metal bands to adjust the fit which we think work rather well. The way the sliders kick out at the bottom means they do protrude a little, and we wonder if Sony could have trimmed a little off the edges just to smooth out their profile. But that’s a minor thing.