Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Industry Leading Headphones with Auto Noise Canceling Optimizer, Crystal Clear Hands-Free Calling, and Alexa Voice Control, Silver

Bought these for my partner, who adores them for their light weight, comfortable fit, good touch controls, good quality voice pickup for video calls, and excellent noise-cancelling ability. I like them because we can talk - they just palm the right earcup to activate pass-through mode. Or, if we need a longer chat, they can pull off the headphones which automatically pauses the music. This has drastically reduced the number of annoyed looks I get. Win-win! Out of the box, the sound quality on these cans is decent but the headphones are more bass-heavy. The low end sounds a little “muddy”. There is an EQ adjustment in the accompanying Sony app, but after downloading it, quickly uninstalled it because the software demanded a lot of personal information. Wed rather rather live with the just-tolerable sound profile than give up all that information to Sony. One star off, Sony, for being just a bit too greedy and not respecting privacy; the app should come with no strings attached, especially given the cost of these headphones.

My boyfriend loved them as a gift.

To preface, I did not own the previous iteration of these headphones, the XM4. I did however have the XM3. So most of this review will be a comparisom from the 3 to the 5. That being said, here are my thoughts. Noise Canceling: As always, sony headphones are excellent at Canceling out noise. These headphones have 2 of the noise Canceling chips in them and double the microphones as the XM4. When listening to music the outside world is almost completely silent. Especially lower tones like the running of an engine, whether that be plane or car. Higher, fast tones slip through occasionally but not to any degree thats distracting. I find for the higher tones these headphones are much better than the XM3. Overall the noise Canceling is wonderful and definitely wont disappoint. Sound Quality: I am by no means a professional when it comes to audio. In my own experience I find that these headphones have great sound quality. Better than the XM3 infact. It feels more clear and crisp and the bass has a bit more oomph to it in my opinion. Overall its great sound and definitely an improvement from the XM3. As said before, I cant compare to the XM4 since Ive never had them. Build Quality: This is where the headphones fall a little short. The design, although incredibly comfortable, is rather plastic feeling. Its not cheap feeling plastic, but its definitely a plastic feeling. They are quite comfortable and I wore them for several hours at a time and never got any pain from them. In addition to the plastic feeling, these headphones also dont fold in on themselves like the previous iterations did. The cups flip over so the headphones can be laid flat but thats it. Subsequently, the included carry case is slightly larger than before. I personally havent had any qualms with its size but I think its something to keep in mind. Overall I think these are a fantastic pair of headphones and definitely worth the price if youre coming from the XM3 or earlier. Sound quality, noise Canceling capability, and comfort of the XM5s is just fantastic and its really a premium experience. Although its kinda plastic feeling I still feel it deserves five stars especially since the only time I notice the plastic is when theyre in my hands and not on my head.

Cumbersome when compared to other noise cancelling headphones as well as HUGE case. The WH-1000XM4 case is very slim, sleek, and compact - something easily carried on a plane where one would expect to use it most. The WH-1000XM5 case is BULKY, oddly shaped, and definitely not something that can be easily carried on a plane and utilized. The main reason for this is that the headphones dont fold like the XM4s do which is a HUGE disadvantage in my opinion. I personally dont care for the on/off button either. Many other higher-end noise cancelling headphones utilize the tilting headphone as the on/off activation which is easy, efficient, and preserves the battery. And an app ... why on earth does one need an APP in order to use the headphones. The only thing these headphones really have going for them is their noise cancelling ability and battery life are good. The negatives far outweigh the positives for the XM5s. Save your money and buy the XM4s or even another brand if truly looking for an exceptional set of headphones as these definitely are not in my humble opinion.

Had to return to sony for a replacement. Super inconvenient.

Truly the best headphones I ever had. Couldnt recommend these more! I had been debating between these and the new Apple AirPods Max and so elated I went with these for multiple reasons (battery life, price, NC, bass, and more).

You probably already know that these days, all the flagship noise cancellation headphones are awesome. It’s truly splitting hairs comparing these to those from Apple and Bose. They’re all just so good. I chose these these over Apple, even as an iPhone user. My main reason was wanting USB C, and the vastly superior battery life. It’s insane, I’ve been using them weeks and still am at 60% power. You can use them every day and charge like once a month. No regrets.

I really like the headphones but the band is a bit big (trust me my heads not small) so anytime I’m doing a work out on my back or stomach down they fall off and it get annoying. In addition to this any work outs that your arms go above your head will trigger the touch feature and skip your tracks

These really are amazing headphones! They are soft and comfortable, great sound quality, and the noise cancellation is unmatched. I dont use them to take calls but I am okay with that personally.

Overall a good bluetooth headset. I own the XM4 and other Sony, Bose Quitecomfort, Sennheiser HD 600-800 devices. Comfort is a little better than the XM4. Wearing glasses I still have discomfort within an hour. Without glasses they dont overheat my ears for longer periods of time. The headband is slightly less comfortable than the XM4. Sound quality is an improvement that was noticeable. I did dropped down the 16khz to hear vocals better. The 360 on Tidal was barely noticeable in the difference. I would not pay for this feature alone when picking a streaming provider (my opinion). I use my wired open back Sennheiser HDs when at the computer, dac, etc.. Portable the XM4 shines. The way these collapse around your neck could have been designed to at least flip the ears down vs up. Case is nice, but similar to the bulky Bose. The do feel more durable than the XM4s, but not by much. Assistant - Google doesnt play well with the iphone, so Alexa is your best option for IOS users. I also have a pixel 6 pro and it worked as expected with both. Battery - Same as the xm4 which is great. Noise cancellation - Great and slightly better than the XM4s. Overall I think Sony sacrificed portability which is where I put these headphones purpose. Ill keep them, but the XM4 I personally wouldnt upgrade to the XM5 for the slightly better sound and cancellation.