Price at the time of review: $299.99 / £299.99
Audio Quality: Spacious Excellence
Normally when I review headphones, I’ve got several words floating around my head to describe how they sound. With the WH-1000XM5 from Sony, I have one: Versatile.
There is very little these headphones can’t do, and they’re one of the few sets of cans that sound great without the need for an equalizer, although to get even more out of these you’ll want to play around to see the true depth of their capabilities.
Bass can be tweaked from a fine hum to something more pounding; guitars ring out fully — from the first strum to the end of a twang; vocals are clear and concise; and keyboards or synth sounds have space to breathe.
It’s the expert tuning of the bass that surprises me the most. A lot of audio manufacturers tend to think the more bass, the better. In reality, bass is a punctuation mark. It’s there to add a calm to sound or emphasize a point, not rattle eardrums for the sake of it. Sony understands this, and whether you’re listening to rock, pop, classical, or an offshoot of house, you’ll feel the bass without ever feeling overwhelmed by it.
One great example of what the WH-1000XM5 can do is Soundgarden’s classic Black Hole Sun. Bass boosts the melancholic vibe, while lead singer Chris Cornell’s minor split-second vocal changes come out clean free of any added distortion. Not just that, but the binaural audio backing vocals feel further at the forefront, making them as enjoyable as they are haunting.
Going more modern, Chappell Roan’s Fall of a Midwest Princess is a must if you want to hear upbeat synth as close to the original recording as possible. Thanks to the breadth of space the WH-1000XM5 offers, sound doesn’t feel like it’s having the top or bottom sliced off due to lesser internals. You’ll hear the sound start, build, then finish. It’s how music is meant to be heard.
Comfort that Works
I say this a lot, but as someone with a lot of ear piercings, headphones need to offer up a level of padding that doesn’t crush my ears. The WH-1000XM5 feel lightweight, and the padding on each cup rests against the ear without pressing. And I should note, the set I’m using are a loan pair, meaning they’ve been used by other people and still, even after travelling around the country, feel great to wear.
Overall, the design has the looks, but the lack of foldable ear cups may put some off. That said, they do swivel from side to side, so adjusting them to get them resting naturally is simple.
Features Are Mostly a Win
The WH-1000XM5 boasts a number of worthwhile features, some of which raise the experience, others that need turning off right away.
One of the standouts is the excellent noise-cancelling tech. No company has perfected noise-cancelation, but Sony is, in my mind, the closest. Other people talking can be heard, though not clearly, while minor sounds — road works, loud annoying bass from a nearby building, cars — all disappear in an instant, leaving wearers free to enjoy music without interruption.
I’ve been rattling my brain to think of another set of headphones that come within slapping distance of the WH-1000XM5 for noise-cancelation and even my personal pick, the S3 from Edifier, doesn’t come close. It really is a shock just how effortlessly it works.
Speaking of Edifier, much like the NeoDots, the instant pause — where you take the headphones off and the music stops, then put them back on to resume — works well. The speak-to-chat, however, is an annoyance. If you find yourself singing, the headphones will pause because they think you’re talking. Other people can also activate it if they’re close enough, which can be frustrating during a bus ride. Thankfully, you can turn this feature off by holding two fingers to the right ear cup.
So, yes, it’s not great, but as you can turn it off, it’s not a massive hindrance.
Alternatives to Consider
Normally this is where I’d recommend other headphones to take a look at, but if I took all of my previous reviews and stacked them up, the WH-1000XM5 would fall at the top. It’s a close race between the Sony cans and the Edifier S3, but the more dynamic audio quality and extra features offered by the WH-1000XM5 win out overall for me.
Verdict
It’s the sheer versatility of the WH-1000XM5 that makes these headphones so easy to recommend. They are pricey, sure, but the fact they aren’t made for one specific genre means everything you throw at the WH-1000XM5 will sound crisp and varied. And when you pair it with a solid equalizer (I use PowerAmp on Android), you’ve got something that justifies the cost tenfold.
Disclosure: Review unit provided on loan by Sony PR | To learn more about our review policy click here. | Alternatively, click here to find out why you can trust me.
How I Tested
I’ve been using the Sony WH-1000XM5 for the better half of two weeks across a range of different devices (Android phone, Chromebook, and PC) to get an idea of how they act. I didn’t find much of an issue switching between devices, though the quality of the original audio stream and which codes are available will affect how it sounds if you’re an audiophile. Most people, I think, won’t be able to tell the difference, though.
I’ve also charged and discharged the device several times to make sure the battery works as it should. No issues were found, and it’s worth noting as these are a loan unit, other people have used them before me, indicating the battery works over a longer period of time.
Some factors to consider: Different features drain the battery faster. Using the LDAC codec, DSEE, and noise cancelation drain the battery faster than if they were turned off. To give you a rough idea, I’d peg it as roughly 15 hours of usage with features turned on, or 30 hours with everything off.
It’s also worth noting, I had a problem where my headphones would randomly disconnect from the device I was using. It didn’t happen on PC, but did a few times on my Android phone and Chromebook. This could be isolated to my specific headphones, but as others online have had the same issue, I recommend keeping your receipt just in case or clicking here to reach out to Sony direct for assistance.
