- Sony has a new set of flagship noise canceling headphones.
These are the WH-1000XM5s.
And I know, we've made fun of Sony's awful product names
for years now,
but I think when it comes to the 1000 X series,
people get it.
These are among the very best noise canceling headphones
you can buy today.
Sony's been competing for years against Bose
and more recently Apple
to win over frequent flyers and commuters,
and everyone else who can't live without
active noise cancellation
and as more jobs move to this hybrid work model,
I think noise canceling headphones are essential
for peace and quiet, whether it's your real office
or your home office.
Sony's 1000 XM5s have a fresh design, cleaner sound
and even better ANC,
but they're also 50 bucks more expensive
than the M4s, which are staying in the lineup.
Are they worth that upgrade?
Potentially, but it's not a slam dunk.
So let's get into it.
For the first time in many years,
Sony's overhauled the entire design.
These 1000 XM5s look totally distinct
from their predecessors.
The headband is thinner for one,
and instead of arms that cradle the ear cups at both sides
there's now a stem that runs down the middle.
If you look at some of Sony's competition
like Apple's AirPods max
or Bose's noise counseling headphones 700,
I think you can see where they got some inspiration.
This new style definitely looks cleaner
with fewer obvious seams and such,
but I'm not convinced, it looks very premium.
The 1000 XM4s had some metal
on their ratcheting ear cup sliders
but everything you can see or touch
on the 1000 XM5s is all plastic.
That's not to say they're not durable.
I twisted the hell outta these headphones
and they held up perfectly fine,
but for $400, I would've appreciated some nicer materials.
My Sennheiser Momentum 3 are just on a different level
of fit and finish, but you can also overdo it.
Some people would say the AirPods Max are way too heavy.
So clearly Sony favors comfort over a lavish design.
Both air cups still pivot and turn just like always,
so you're not losing anything there.
But one thing Sony's new headphones can't do anymore
is fold.
This is one of my biggest disappointments
with the 1000 XM5s
instead of folding down for a convenient portability,
these headphones just lay flat in their case.
And as a result, that case is large.
Whereas I had no issue putting the old case
for the 1000 XM4s in my bag,
the 1000 XM5s would not fit in that same slot.
So they had to go in the main compartment in my bag.
That's not ideal.
Look, this case is just too bulky.
And I think Sony could have done better,
even Bose's case for the noise counseling headphones 700,
which can't fold up either is smaller
and makes better use of space.
People travel with noise canceling headphones all the time.
And so I think Sony's ginormous case
is gonna cost some frustration,
but it is at least a functional case
with storage for the USBC and headphone cables.
One thing you won't find in the box anymore
is the dual prong airline adapter,
which feels a bit stingy for 400 bucks
but it is what it is.
Now let's talk about sound
and there are bigger changes here than you might expect.
Sony switched from 40 millimeter drivers
in the 1000 XM4s to 30 millimeter drivers
in these new headphones.
Now driver size isn't everything.
But I can't think of the last time a pair of Sony headphones
sounded this different from their direct predecessors.
Based on my time with them so far,
I'd say that 1000 XM5s are tighter,
more detailed and cleanup that sometimes muddy base
of the 1000 XM4s
but they also have less oomph to them.
They're less in your face and less potent out of the box.
Now those are not audio file terms, obviously
but I hope it makes sense.
I've been doing a lot of comparisons with the same songs
on both headphones.
And in most cases, I do prefer the new ones.
When I put on Spoon's new record, for example,
the M5s just sound more crisp and detailed.
But if I put on hip hop or dance or soul music
there are times when I do lean towards the older M4s.
And so I think it's inevitable
that some people are gonna prefer the sound
of the previous headphones,
and maybe that's part of why Sony is keeping them around.
Take your pick if you want cleaner and tighter sound
go for the M5s.
If you need that boom factor and the powerful excitement
maybe the M4s are more your style.
As for noise cancellation,
these actually have the same QN1 chip
that was in the M4s,
only now there are two of them.
And so Sony says the ANC performs similarly on a plane
but should be better at handling street noise
and cutting down on nearby voices.
And that's all been true in my experience so far.
It's still not enough to give you a private bubble
of absolute silence if you're in a coffee shop
but it's an improvement over what was already fantastic
noise cancellation.
One tiny thing to note on the hardware,
past Sony headphones had an optimized button
that would adjust the ANC based
on factors like air pressure and fit your hairstyle
if you wear glasses and so on,
now, the button is gone
and that all happens in the background automatically
says Sony.
And while part of me does miss the button,
it was a fun trick and who doesn't love buttons?
This does make a lot more sense for simplicity sake.
Now we come to voice calls
and my friends, Sony is going for broke.
The 1000 XM5s have eight microphones in total
and four of them are used for voice.
So when you combine that with supposed AI noise reduction
algorithm improvements, the results should be good.
But the only way to know is to put the M5
through a voice test.
So shall we?
Okay, so we're starting out with a 1000 XM5s,
they have more microphones and various AI enhancements,
like I said so.
This is pretty ideal scenario.
We're in a quiet office,
but should give you a good sense of how they sound,
voice quality.
Are you impressed?
Are you meh?
Either way, this is the best Sony's managed to do so far.
Okay, now we're going back in time
to the 1000 XM4s, Sony's older headphones,
their last gen model.
Some people liked these for voice.
I was never really that impressed,
but again, we're an ideal circumstances a quiet office.
So if you're working somewhere, trying to get on a meeting
and talk to folks,
this is how the M4s perform.
And so now we've got the AirPods max,
even more expensive than the M5s,
these are Apple's flagship headphones.
They've gotten good marks for voice quality.
So tell me what you think.
Do you prefer these or Sony's?
But these are a lot more money.
So gotta factor that in too.
And these are Bose's noise canceling headphones 700,
like the Sony, they've got a lot of mics.
They've gotten good reviews for their voice quality.
They look similar too.
So it's up to you to decide whether Sony sounds better
or if Bose has a leg up,
again, we're in a very quiet office.
So I think all these are gonna sound pretty good
but it does come down to the details.
So let me know what you think in the comments.
Last stuff are Sennheiser Momentum 3 wireless.
I love how these headphones feel and sound and look
but they don't have the best mic.
So I'm sure they're not quite as good as the AirPods max
or the Sony, but just another comparison for you to hear
and see how they come out.
1000 XM5s still support LDAC,
Sony's Kodak for higher quality wireless audio.
So if you can't plug in,
LDAC is the next best thing for hearing high music
from Apple music, Amazon music and other services,
but only on Android, mind you
if you've got an iPhone,
you're stuck with the good old lower quality AAC and SPC
for Bluetooth.
These headphones also support multipoint.
So you can pair them up with two devices at once
say your phone and your laptop.
Unfortunately, Sony still makes you choose one or the other.
You can enable either LDAC or multipoint
but you can't do both at the same time.
The 1000 XM4s had the same restriction
and it's back again here.
Battery life is still the same 30 hours,
which is more than enough to cover pretty much
any long haul flight.
If you turn off all the bells and whistles
you can stretch it out even long.
Last, I wanna talk about missed opportunities.
All of those things
I was hoping Sony might add this time around
but still hasn't.
First, it's getting silly
that these headphones can't work wirelessly
with the PlayStation five.
They're both Sony products.
What are we doing here?
Second, the USBC port is still just for charging
and a number of other headphones
let me use it for audio as well.
There's also still a complete lack
of water or sweat resistance.
So keep that in mind.
I know these aren't workout headphones
but some progress would be nice.
Maybe by the time the 1000 XM6s roll along in two years,
some of these points will be addressed
but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
And so all of that in a nutshell is Sony's 1000 XM5s,
they've got a new sleeker design
that still doesn't rise up to their $400 price.
The active noise cancellation is better than it's ever been.
They sound way different
which might prove somewhat divisive.
For anyone that already has the 1000 XM4s,
there is zero reason to run out and upgrade to these.
Your headphones can do everything these can
but if you're on older Sony's, like the M3s S or M2s,
then it starts to make more sense.
You're getting multipoint
and the best ANC Sony's pulled off yet.
I don't love that the price has gone up
and I have no idea what Sony was thinking with this case.
For those reasons, take a look at the M4s
and maybe save yourself some money.
I feel like Sony might have gotten confused
about what it wanted the M5s to be,
they're like the strange half step
between the M4s and even more expensive headphones
like the AirPods Max,
but at the end of the day
there's still a damn good set of noise canceling headphones.
Hey there everybody,
thank you a ton for watching this always.
Right now I'm outside of a coffee shop in New York city.
So we hear how the empire sound
in a much louder environment,
but for the whole review go to the verge.com
and for more videos like this,
youtube.com/the British.