Why the Sony WH-1000XM5 Is Still the King of Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Two years in, this flagship still beats the newcomers. Here's exactly why it remains our top pick — and where to find it on sale right now.
The market for premium wireless headphones is brutal. Every six months, a new contender promises to dethrone Sony's flagship. And every six months, we put them through the same battery of tests — flights, open-plan offices, late-night listening — and come back to the same conclusion. The Sony WH-1000XM5 is still the headphone to beat.
A redesign that finally got it right
The biggest change from the XM4 wasn't internal — it was the chassis. Sony moved away from the foldable hinge design that defined the line for nearly a decade and replaced it with a sleek, slip-cast cup that sits flatter against the head. Some early reviewers complained about losing the fold-flat travel form factor. After two years of carrying these everywhere, that complaint feels overblown. The included case is barely larger than the previous one, and the new design is genuinely more comfortable for long sessions.
The headband is wider and softer. The earpads use a synthetic leather that breathes better than the older model. After a six-hour transatlantic flight, my ears were not burning — a low bar, but one most over-ear headphones still fail to clear.
The noise cancellation gap is real
Bose has spent two product cycles trying to close the gap. They haven't. The WH-1000XM5 uses eight microphones — four for ANC, four for calls — paired with two dedicated processors. The result is the cleanest cancellation of low-frequency drone we've measured outside of professional pilot headsets. Engine hum on a 737 disappears. Office HVAC noise vanishes. The murmur of a coffee shop becomes a soft pillow you can ignore.
Where Sony pulled ahead is in the mid-range. Voices, keyboards, the clatter of dishes — historically the hardest frequencies to cancel — are dramatically reduced. Not eliminated, but reduced enough that you can focus through them.
Sound that respects the source
We were skeptical of Sony's tuning philosophy a few years ago. The XM3 leaned heavy on bass; the XM4 over-corrected toward neutral. The XM5 finally hits a balance. Out of the box, the sound is warm without being muddy, with a treble that has air without sibilance. Acoustic recordings sound like recordings of acoustic instruments, not glossy reproductions of them.
For listeners who want to tweak, the companion app's EQ is one of the best in the business. The presets are useful (the "Bright" setting is excellent for podcasts), and the custom EQ saves per-source if you want different profiles for music and calls.
Battery, calls, and the small details
Sony rates the XM5 at 30 hours with ANC on. Real-world usage hits about 28, which is more than enough for a long-haul trip with cancellation maxed out. Three minutes of charging via USB-C buys you three hours of playback — the kind of fast-charge that has saved me twice.
Call quality is the most improved area. The XM4 was passable for calls; the XM5 is genuinely good. The beamforming microphones isolate your voice well even on a windy street, and the active noise reduction on incoming audio means you can actually hear the other person in a noisy environment.
Multipoint Bluetooth lets you connect to two devices simultaneously. Switching from a laptop call to a phone call is seamless. This single feature has eliminated more daily friction than any other update.
Where they fall short
No headphone is perfect. The touch controls on the right cup are still a touch over-sensitive — a stray adjustment of your sunglasses can pause your music. The headphones don't fold, which matters if your bag is small. And while the case is well-made, it's larger than competing models from Bose and Apple.
There is no IPX rating. These are not workout headphones, and Sony has never pretended otherwise. If you sweat during commutes, look elsewhere.
Should you buy them now?
The XM5 launched at $399 and now regularly drops to $279 during sales. At that price, nothing in the over-ear category is close on the combination of ANC, sound, and call quality. The rumored XM6 is expected later this year, but unless Sony makes a generational leap, the XM5 will remain the smart buy through the next product cycle.
If you fly more than four times a year, take meetings on the go, or simply want the best background noise blocker money can buy without going to a custom in-ear, the Sony WH-1000XM5 is the headphone to get. We've recommended hundreds of these. The complaints have been vanishingly few.
