Sony WH-1000XM5 headphone review

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Sony has been on an almost perfect home run. The WH over the ear noise canceling headphones have been flying off the shelves, and since around version 3 onwards, also been dominating the market.

The combination of comfort, good sound and very importantly in the modern video conferencing world, tip top noise cancelation and microphone performance. Now as the world opens up, the timely release of version five will also see buyers see if this makes a good airplane headphones for their trips too.

In fact, in the world before video conferencing took over, the main reason for noise cancellation was for suppressing the aircraft noises. Then the other needs also came into play and now it's back to the original game of flying, so let's see how it performs.

Some blurbs and tech info off their website:

The Sony joins a bunch of other phones that have decided not to offer folding, so the case is more bulky and the cans do take up a bit more space than before.

The materials have also changed, with a certain plastic touch that only time can tell if it lasts as long. The outer surface of the cans now become part of the control panel, and I did enjoy the cupping action to get an immediately access to listen to external conversation. Neat. The case is tough and should withstand abuse on long flights. But it is more bulky than the older MK 4. 

Another really cool feature is the wonderful battery life. I recently flew to New Zealand, Sydney and back and by my calculations, that would have around 30 hours, plus a few more in the lounge for the entire loop, so I would have been able to survive that trip on a single charge. Now that's impressive. 

The litmus test is the noise cancelation and if you're here to find one single fact to make you buy this then look no further. I owned the MK IV, and that was one of the best in the business, with a good microphone to boot, but the noise cancellation here is on an even higher level. You can run down to the stores now, thanks. The simplicity of use, and the ability to noise cancelling turn off when you speak or when you take off the cans is a nice touch.

As for sound, it tends to be biased towards bass, with some smoothening of the top end, and also a polite mid. It was more polite than the MK IV, but it was good for all kinds of music. This balance makes for an easy listen for long sessions and also for long zoom chats. Using them for back to back zoom sessions was no chore. Bear in mind they don't support AptX and use their own LDAC codec. 

Which bring me to the comfort level. In my opinion it is also a step up on the older Sonys, with less tight clamping despite a superior noise isolation. They were also as comfortable as my older Senneiser Momentums. 

It was not too hot to wear them for hours and I have larger ears, but they say nicely around my ears, and I did check for leak, there was minimal noise outside of the cans. 



So should you get a pair?
If you own the MK 4, you will be ok, and just keep using your pair unless you must have the latest. If you own an earlier version of any brand, you can seriously look to this to replace the old cans. As to whether you like the sound as compared to the latest offerings from Sennheiser and Bose, I think there is a personal element and the Sennheiser have a more neutral tone, whereas the bass fiends and beat music fans will enjoy the Sonys very much. But you cannot really go wrong with any of the latest brands.

I would definitely recommend this for those who want top drawer music playback and desire the highest level of noise cancellation and conference performance. 


** I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.

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