So on February 8th, a new FCC filing for a pair of sony ANC headphones went up… and
some people are starting to speculate that these are the new Sony WH-1000XM5’s.
And given at just how competitive the premium ANC headphones market is… and given that
the ANC on the Airpods Max block out the most of noise now… albeit with a ton a cabin
pressure…
I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony would want to rush out their new WH-1000XM5’s… but
personally, I don’t think these are the 1000XM5’s.
Now first I want to give credit to the walkman blog… they did a really good write up about
this new FCC filling and they even found some import listings regarding this headset.
Now this is the FCC filing in question.
We’re not getting an actual look of the design of this headset… just a general representation.
Now one of the reasons why people are speculating that we are going to get a 1000XM5 with an
all new design is because the FCC label has moved from the side of the headband to inside
the ear cup.
Now I fully agree that we are going to get a 1000XM5 with an all new design language.
And you can already get a preview of it if you simply look at the Sony XB910N’s…
and personally I am not excited about this.
I really don’t want the 1000XM5 to have the same design language as the XB910N’s
cause the XB910’s have a very bulbous headband.
I want a low profile headband like the 1000XM3 and 1000XM4’s have.
And beisdes, if we were to look at Sony’s track record with their 1000X’s… the Mark
1 and Mark 2 shared the same design language…
except the Mark 2’s got some performance upgrades… then we got a design refresh with
the mark 3’s, and mark 4’s got additional features and slightly roomier ear pads.
And I think that we’re going to see a design refresh with the 1000XM5 that is going to
be similar to the XB910N.
But one of the reasons why I don’t think this FCC filing is for the 1000XM5’s is
cause of the FCC label placement.
If I am correct, and if the 1000XM5’s share the same design language of as the XB910N…
I think the FCC label would go on the headband just like with the XB910N, XB900N, 1000XM4
and 1000XM3…
Now there are some people speculating that Sony is changing the location of this FCC
label on the 1000XM5’s cause they will be adding metal to their headband to make the
1000XM5’s look and feel more premium and to combat the headband cracking issue that
will might happen on some sony headphones.
But I don’t think Sony will be adding metal plating to their headphones.
First off, I think sony will want to continue to reduce the weight of their headphones…
cause the 1000XM4’s, 1000XM3’s, XB910N’s and XB900N’s are all relatively light weight.
So I don’t think they will want to go in the opposite direction with the 1000XM5’s.
And also, I am just being blunt here…
I have never had any headband cracking issues with any of my Sony headphones… that’s
a you thing.
Personally, I think that it is more likely that we are looking at the successors of the
Sony WH-CH710N’s… from an FCC label stand point… sony has had no issue moving the
label around on this model from design to design.
Cause the WH-CH700N had it on the exterior headband, and the WH-CH710N has it on the
interior headband.
Where as with all of Sony’s other headphones…
they consistently keep the FCC label on the exterior headband.
So I am just trying to follow a pattern here.
But also, if we were to look at upgrade cycle for Sony’s headphones… the WH-CH710N’s
are next in line… and they are in dire need of an upgrade… both on the outside and inside.
Sony’s most recent release cycle for their ANC headphones has gone WH-CH700N, then came
the 1000XM3, then the XB900N, then came the H.ear On 3, then came the WH-CH710N’s, then
came the 1000XM4, and the most recent ANC headphones to launch are the XB910N’s.
Now if we were to follow this pattern, the H.ear On 4’s should be next.
But personally I don’t know what sony is doing with the H.ear On 3’s.
You barely see the H.ear On 3’s in marketing materials and they aren’t the easiest headphones
to get.
They’re usually only available through Costco.
And plus for me, it is hard to recommend the H.ear On 3’s.
Either go with the 1000XM4’s or XB910N’s.
And I personally wouldn’t be surprised if sony quietly killed off their H.ear On line
up.
And I think Sony’s streamlining their headphone lineup would be good as well.
Now the Walkman blog also mentions that this headset is going to be using a new bluetooth
chip… and if this is the successors to the WH-CH710N’s… then I would except this
headset to be able to be connected to 2 device at the same time… just like how both the
1000XM4 and XB910N’s can do now.
Cause this is a feature that is missing on the WH-CH710N’s and its a very common feature
now… even for its direct entry level competitors.
And also, the walkman blog mentions that this headset is going to have better fast charging…
which is another feature the WH-CH710N’s is really lacking in… cause right now a
10 minute charge will only get you one hour of playback time.
Which is pretty weak in 2022.
Even for entry level headphones.
And finally the walkman blog also mentioned some import logs concerning this headset.
And the important logs talk about a black color way and a silver color way.
Now black and silver color ways are very common for almost every pair of headphones… but
the fact that we only have black and silver color ways gives me more reason to think that
these are the successors to the WH-CH710N’s and not the H.ear On 4’.
I feel that if these were the H.ear on 4’s sony would be trying to push bolder colors
like Red, blue, green, and orange like they did
for the H.ear On 3’s.
So let’s say you’re not heart broken that these aren’t the Sony 1000XM5’s… and
lets say you’re actually interested in the the successors of the WH-CH710N’s… cause
they actually make great headphones for the gym… when can we expect them to actually
release?
Well given the import logs and the short term confidentiality agreement… and given Sony’s
past release cycle…
mid July to early August seem like a good bet for these headphones.
Sony does like to put in FCC applications well in advance before their products actually
release.
Plus, just given supply chain issues and cargo ship delays…
I wouldn’t expect these headphones right away.
So with all of that being said, I think it is very unlikely that these are the Sony 1000XM5’s.
I think it is too soon and it doesn’t line up to Sony’s headphones refresh cycle.
I really think these are the successors to the WH-CH710N’s… and I really hope so
cause these headphones are a huge let down from the WH-CH700N.
I need sony to bring back app support for the WH-CH710N successors, I need them to pair
to 2 devices at them same time, and please…
can we get better leatherette on these new headphones?
The leatherette on the WH-CH710N is course and rough and it gets everywhere.