There was a time when the Sony 1000X headphones were a symbol of luxury. A pair of headphones that you aspired to, priced to make you pause before you hit the buy button, but safe in the knowledge that you were about to buy one of the best Bluetooth headphones available.
One side of that is still true: the 1000XM5 are some of the best headphones you can buy, but the price by modern standards, looks reasonable. Why? Because the likes of Apple, Sonos and Dyson have come wading in with headphones that are much more expensive.
I was at the launch of the 1000X range in 2016 and I’ve reviewed every pair since. For the past few months I’ve been travelling with the WH-1000XM5.
The Disconnekt Downlow
Pros
+ Sublime noise cancellation
+ Great sound performance
+ Loaded with features
Cons
– Headphones app feels prehistoric
– Less foldable than previous design
The Sony WH-1000XM5 are amongst the best headphones you can buy for travel or for daily use. They are light in weight and comfortable, the sound quality is exceptional and the noise cancellation is class leading.
They don’t fold as small as some and the app is a little dated, but the overall experience from these headphones is excellent. Best of all, they are considerably cheaper than some of the more recent rivals in this category. I would recommend these headphones without hesitation, and regularly do.
The reasons you should choose Sony WH-1000XM5
Sony’s WH-1000X are synonymous with travel. There was a time when you’d step onto an aeroplane and find the first few rows were full of people sporting the 1000X. That’s very much where Sony pitched these headphones, with noise cancellation being at their heart and robust sound quality backing up this proposition.
The 1000X in their fifth-generation very much continue that approach, but have changed their design for the first time since this popular series of headphones launched in 2016. On one hand it’s a shame that such an iconic look has been retired, but the new design is lightweight and comfortable – and that’s critical when it comes to wearing these headphones for a long time.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
I’ve worn these headphones on long flights, including sleeping wearing them, because even when not listening to music, I find that the noise cancellation they offer just makes air travel more comfortable. Basically, once I put them on, they’re on for the duration of the trip, whether that’s 1 hour or 15 hours.
And you’ll have no problem getting your WH-1000XM5 to last that long. Sony rates these headphones at 30 hours battery life for music listening with noise cancelling on. That means you can fly from London to Los Angeles and back again on a single charge. Not that I have, of course, because I’ll always pause to recharge rather than risk running short.
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I love the way these headphones will sit on your head without weighing you down, comfortable for long periods, with noise cancelling performance to let you listen at lower volumes.
There are various settings that will reduce this battery life. Essentially, the more you ask them to do, the more power you’ll use. So using LDAC for higher quality music (if your source device is compatible) will increase the battery demand, but I think that’s worth it. There’s also DSEE Extreme which upscales music to boost the quality, which is great if you’re streaming lower quality audio.
The sound quality of the Sony WH-1000XM5 is excellent (a big step above the Sony ULT Wear), with the redesign of these headphones being all about improving the performance. I love the way these headphones will sit on your head without weighing you down, comfortable for long periods, with noise cancelling performance to let you listen at lower volumes.
Of course, if you want to turn them up and delve into filthy D’n’B, they’re more than happy to oblige. It’s here that over ear headphones slay in-ear alternatives. While ear buds are wonderfully practical for daily use, if you’re spending any amount of time in a pair of headphones, then over ear is definitely recommended.
What the Sony WH-1000XM5 could do better
The Sony WH-1000XM5 ear cups offer touch controls, so you can easily tap and swipe to control music playback and volume, while press and hold will launch your assigned personal assistant. Placing a palm over the cup will engage ambient mode so you can listen temporarily. The power button will give you a spoken battery level report, while there’s a button to switch between ambient sound or noise cancelling.
While all these functions are setup by default, they can be customised and expanded on via the Headphones app. I’d go further and say you’re not getting the best out of the WH-1000XM5 if you don’t use the app – and I just don’t find the app that user friendly. It feels dated and I find it clunky to use.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
I mentioned that the design had changed with the headphones, but what I miss from the previous model is how they fold. On the WH-1000XM5, the cups fold flat, but the headband doesn’t fold, so these headphones take up more space than they used to. The redesign was to make these headphones quieter and I appreciate the focus on performance, but I still miss the more compact nature of the previous four iterations of these headphones.
Four essential Sony WH-1000XM5 specs
30mm
Drivers
There are new 30mm carbon composite drivers in the WH-1000XM5 that are stiffer than the 40mm drivers they replace.
30
Hours
You’ll get 30 hours of playback with ANC on – or 40 hours if you choose to turn the ANC off.
3.5
Hours
It takes 3.5 hours to fully charge the WH-1000XM5 via USB-C.
250g
Weight
At 250g, these headphones are lighter than much of their competition – and that’s a real bonus.
How do the Sony WH-1000XM5 compare to rivals?
Go back a few years and there were two over ear headphones that were generally considered the best you could buy when it came to travel and noise cancelling. One was the Sony 1000X and the other was the Bose QuietComfort. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra are excellent when it comes to performance and arguably fold better than the Sony for travelling, but both offer outstanding performance at around the same price.
The Apple AirPods Max take build quality to a different level with aluminium cups, but they weigh 385g compared to 250g for Sony (and 254g for Bose). So they are a 54 per cent heavier, but the performance is great. The AirPods Max have just been updated with USB-C, but they aren’t Apple’s most advanced headphones, lacking some of the features offered by normal AirPods.
Apple’s headphones are definitely popular with some buyers with the design more distinctive; that’s attracted younger buyers, making you look more like a social media influencer than a business traveller, which some might prefer. AirPods Max are also much more expensive at £549.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
Should you buy the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones?
I can recommend the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones without hesitation: I think these are the best headphones when it comes to sound quality, noise cancelling performance and comfort. I never thought I’d say it, but given the swathe of launches around the £500 mark recently, the Sony 1000XM5 are also better value for money than many recent additions to the market.
Perhaps the biggest barrier to Sony’s latest headphones is its last headphones. The Sony WH-1000XM4 offer a very similar experience and are likely to see bigger discounts, so they may be ever more affordable. Honestly, I wouldn’t judge you if you bought the previous edition – after all, they fold better and they still sound great.
IMAGE CREDIT: THE DISCONNEKT
FAQs
No. You can connect your headphones and access most of the main functions without using the Headphones app. However, you need it for customisation and to access some of the more advanced functions like Bluetooth multipoint and to enable higher-quality codec and performance. You also need the app to update the firmware.
Are the Sony WH-1000XM5 waterproof?
No, there is no IP rating on these headphones. They are not designed to be used in the rain or when sweating in the gym.
How to the Sony WH-1000XM5 compare to the 1000XM4?
The XM5 and XM4 have a different design, with the older headphones having a slightly more angular look, which folds into a more compact package. There’s also a new 30mm carbon composite driver in the XM5 that delivers better sound quality than the 40mm driver in the XM4. The feature set is otherwise very much the same – and both are outstanding headphones.
