Sony WH-1000XM5 review
What is the Sony WH-1000XM5 like to use?
The WH-1000XM5 comes with lot of bells and whistles, and Sony still gets most of the fundamentals right. There are a few foibles, but the WH-1000XM5 is an ambitious set of headphones. For example, these cans take aim at a few features that have proven popular on other headsets, like Find My Device support via Android and Fast Pair.
Though 250g is not exactly featherweight compared to other ANC headphones the WH-1000XM5 is light enough to spare your noggin from extreme pressure in conjunction with the padding on the headband. The band itself has a friction rod design like the Grado Labs SR60x, instead of the notched track of the older Sony wireless headphones. While it’s not exactly a huge deal, it means there’s no setting you can just remember to fit: you just adjust on the fly.
After you’ve been using your headphones for a while, you may start noticing they handle a lot of things you don’t think about. The ear sensor is quite good at pausing music once you’ve removed the headphones from your head. Creature comforts like the option to enable ambient noise passthrough by cupping your hand over the right ear cup also make a return. It’s nice being able to keep the cans on while someone dumps something off on your desk, rather than taking them off and putting them back on a hundred times as they stop and start a disjointed conversation.
For those looking for gym buddies or those who live in rainy climes: these may not be the headphones for you.
How do you control the Sony WH-1000XM5?
Action | Function |
---|---|
Swipe up |
Volume up |
Swipe down |
Volume down |
Swipe forward |
Track forward |
Swipe back |
Track back |
Hold (center) |
Voice assistant |
Double tap center |
Pause / resume |
Cup hand |
Ambient sound passthrough |
On the WH-1000XM5’s left ear cup there are two buttons: a power button and an ANC mode button. Holding down the power button will turn the headphones on, and after three seconds will start pairing mode. From there, you can pair the usual way with your phone, or follow the pairing process for your computer.
Pressing the NC/AMB button will toggle the ANC mode. You can select either ANC, ANC off, or Ambient sound modes—the latter of which allows you to hear everything going on around you by piping in outside noise recorded by the microphone array.
How do you connect the Sony WH-1000XM5?
Like many other Bluetooth headphones, you can connect the WH-1000XM5 to your source device via wireless connection or TRS cable. If you are listening with a wired connection, you can turn the headphones on to enable ANC, or you can leave them off to forgo that feature (although they will sound quite a bit different in passive mode).
Should you get the Sony Headphones Connect app?
If you want to get the most out of your headphones, you should definitely get the Sony Headphones Connect App (iOS/Android) for your phone. I say that because not only is it required for features like ANC optimization, 360 Reality Audio, and a custom equalizer that saves the settings directly to the headset, but it’s also the main vehicle for Sony to get you updates to your headphones.
How good is the battery life of the Sony WH-1000XM5?
Though we haven’t yet run our battery tests yet, the advertised battery life of the Sony WH-1000XM5 is slightly less than its predecessor at 30 hours. However, we should point out that this target is still well beyond a normal week’s worth of commuting, or a long-haul flight. If you’re in a bind, just three minutes of charging will supply 180 minutes of playback. Of course, if you find yourself without a USB-C cable, you can always use the handy 3.5mm cable for analog playback.
How well does the Sony WH-1000XM5 cancel noise?
The Sony WH-1000XM5 represent a pretty big improvement in overall attenuation, and not just in ANC performance. It’s much better at isolating your ears from noise than previous iterations, meaning the offending blasts of incidental sound are physically blocked from reaching your ears. ANC can only do so much, so it’s almost always preferable to block out sound than cancel it.
How does the Sony WH-1000XM5 sound?
Like most consumer ANC headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM5 boosts bass probably a little too much, and definitely to the detriment of the midrange. We’re used to seeing this by now, but compared to more “high-end” headphones, you’ll notice the very strong bass emphasis right away. The comparatively subdued midrange (from 300Hz to around 1050Hz) might sound a bit off as it gets drowned out by the much louder highs and lows. Without any equalization, you may find that stringed instruments, horns, woodwinds, and even higher vocals can get dulled in your favorite tunes.
Over time your ear will attune itself to the bass emphasis, and switching to a saner, more subdued equalization will sound off at first. We encourage you to play around with the options in the Headphones Connect app if you can, because there’s a fair bit of adjustment that can be done in that regard. I highly suggest nudging the “clear bass” setting down two notches at least.
On the other end of the frequency range is the highs—and those too are a little over-emphasized compared to our target curve. While it doesn’t look so bad on the chart, the under-emphasis in the mids means the swing in volume will make things like cymbal shimmer, hi-hats, and the attack on snares stand out in a mix. One area where there is a pronounced difference from its immediate predecessor is the steep rolloff after 10kHz, though. This will be most pronounced on tracks that rely heavily on uncrowded mixes, and lots of instrumentation like in An Evening with Silk Sonic, by Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars.
Without any equalization, you may find that stringed instruments, horns, woodwinds, and even higher vocals get dulled in your favorite tunes.
Wired, the Sony WH-1000XM5 sounds near identical to its performance in wireless mode, but only when the headset is active (powered on). If you choose passive listening, the performance is less than stellar. It works fine, it just doesn’t sound like a $400 headphone in that state. To be completely fair, this is very common and expected with headphones that have both active and passive wired connection options.
How to equalize the Sony WH-1000XM5
While the boost to the bass and low mids are what some may deem a little extreme, equalizing it out will be a little bit of a pain. Not to worry though, we can offer some suggested settings for you to try out with either the Sony Headphones Connect App or a third-party option like Wavelet (if you like how this works, please consider buying the pro version of the app).
Alternatively, you could load this text file into the Android app Wavelet to see how you like the sound. Pay attention to the chart (or screen-shot it) so you know roughly how to adjust the sliders in the Sony app, if you decide that we’ve missed the mark for you personally. Once you’ve done this, you can experiment on your own using our target as a starting point!
How does the Sony WH-1000XM5’s microphone sound?
Sporting an eight microphones array and an AI (I can only assume it’s actually machine learning) noise rejection algorithm, the call quality of the Sony WH-1000XM5 is quite good. While it’s not going to stand in for a dedicated condenser mic or anything, this is going to knock the socks off any Zoom call or phone meeting.
Sony WH-1000XM5 mic demo (Ideal):
Sony WH-1000XM5 mic demo (Office):
Sony WH-1000XM5 mic demo (Street):
Sony WH-1000XM5 mic demo (Wind):
How does the microphone sound to you?
1 votes
How does the microphone compare to the Sony WH-1000XM4?
The Sony WH-1000XM4 microphone is very good but it can’t compare to that of the WH-1000XM5. Listen below.
Sony WH-1000XM4 mic demo (Ideal):
Sony WH-1000XM4 mic demo (Office):
Sony WH-1000XM4 mic demo (Street):
Sony WH-1000XM4 mic demo (Wind):
Should you get the Sony WH-1000XM5?
If you’re looking for headphones that can go with you to the office, on your next trip, or handle working from home: the Sony WH-1000XM5 is an excellent buy. Of course, your needs will dictate what’s worth the money to you, but $400 USD is a lot of money to gamble on—this is as close to a sure thing as you can get in the headphone world.
Excellent ANC performance, decent sound quality, and a host of modern features like Find My Device support in Android make for a very capable set of cans. While it’s disappointing that NFC and an IP rating aren’t present on the Sony WH-1000XM5 spec sheet, it’s a tradeoff I think most will be perfectly fine with making. The positives clearly outweigh the negatives in the lab and in real life.
All prices listed in USD unless otherwise specified. Prices may change over time, and vary by region. Unfortunately, we cannot list Amazon prices on the site, as they vary greatly by currency.
How does the Sony WH-1000XM5 compare to the Sony WH-1000XM4?
With more emphasized highs, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is a slightly worse commuter companion.
Our main concern with the Sony WH-1000XM4 is the fact that it’s a lot harder to EQ well, even though its sound quality is similar in many ways to that of the WH-1000XM5. That high-end over-emphasis is really easy to hear in your music, and can be a bit grating if you don’t tone it down with a preset or adjustment.
How does the Bose QuietComfort 45 compare to the Sony WH-1000XM5?
With more emphasized highs, the Sony WH-1000XM4 is a slightly worse commuter companion.
Of course, firmware updates could improve either set of headphones, so this one’s a little less cut and dry. However, dollar for dollar the Sony WH-1000XM5 is a clear winner at the time of publication.
Frequently asked questions about the Sony WH-1000XM5
Noise cancelling headphones can quiet your commute and make it easier to concentrate once you arrive at the office. We like ANC tech because it can also reduce your risk of noise-induced hearing loss. The best ANC headphones attenuate frequencies across the spectrum and with the isolation and ANC offered by a headset like the WH-1000XM5, you’re unlikely to increase the volume to dangerous levels in order to combat external sounds that make it hard to hear your music.