Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones Smoky Pink
Enjoy your audio with zero distractions using Sony's WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones! Active noise cancellation uses two processors and eight mics to filter out more sound. Four of the mics are beamforming and use Precise Voice Pickup technology to better isolate your voice for pristine hands-free calls. Stunning sound quality is thanks to Hi-Res Audio support via a newly developed 30mm driver. Add in a lightweight design, additional convenience features, and up to 30 hours of power, and you have a pair of headphones that you can wear all day.
Enjoy your audio with zero distractions using Sony's WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones! Active noise cancellation uses two processors and eight mics to filter out more sound. Four of the mics are beamforming and use Precise Voice Pickup technology to better isolate your voice for pristine hands-free calls. Stunning sound quality is thanks to Hi-Res Audio support via a newly developed 30mm driver. Add in a lightweight design, additional convenience features, and up to 30 hours of power, and you have a pair of headphones that you can wear all day.
Enjoy your audio with zero distractions using Sony's WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones! Active noise cancellation uses two processors and eight mics to filter out more sound. Four of the mics are beamforming and use Precise Voice Pickup technology to better isolate your voice for pristine hands-free calls. Stunning sound quality is thanks to Hi-Res Audio support via a newly developed 30mm driver. Add in a lightweight design, additional convenience features, and up to 30 hours of power, and you have a pair of headphones that you can wear all day.
Enjoy your audio with zero distractions using Sony's WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones! Active noise cancellation uses two processors and eight mics to filter out more sound. Four of the mics are beamforming and use Precise Voice Pickup technology to better isolate your voice for pristine hands-free calls. Stunning sound quality is thanks to Hi-Res Audio support via a newly developed 30mm driver. Add in a lightweight design, additional convenience features, and up to 30 hours of power, and you have a pair of headphones that you can wear all day.
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The lowest price for Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones Smoky Pink right now is $288.17 at Big Apple Buddy, compared across 10 retailers.
The all-time low was $281.97 on 2 Nov 2026 — today's price is 2% above the lowest ever. This is at or near its all-time low — a good time to buy.
Prices last updated 7 Nov 2026.
Last updated at 07/11/2026 22:25:55
Sony WH1000XM5/P Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones – Smoky Pink
Delivery $94.61
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery between 12–20 Nov
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery between 12–20 Nov
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery
Sony WH-1000X M5 Wireless NC Headphone Smoky Pink at Etoren
Delivery $60
Sony WH-1000XM5 Noise-Canceling Wireless Over-Ear Headphones - Smoky Pink
Free delivery between Mon – Wed
Sony Wh-1000xm5 Noise Cancelling Wireless Over-ear Headphones (smoky
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Sony WH-1000XM5 Premium Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Smoky Pink
Delivery between 12–16 Nov $41
WH-1000XM5 Premium Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Smoky Pink
Free delivery between 17–20 Nov
WH-1000XM5 Premium Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones, Smoky Pink
Delivery between 14–17 Nov $29
originally posted on sony.co.uk
I'm probably not a typical owner in that I’ve become hard of hearing and struggle to hear TV dialogue, especially with so many actors adopting "grating, gravelly" voices at the bottom of their registers. I also have a lifelong interest in hifi and good quality sound so I wanted headphones that would help me listen to TV and Radio, be east to connect and disconnect via Bluetooth and have decent musical quality.So, they certainly help the TV and Radio dialogue problem. Wonderful as he is, Hugh Laurie’s accent for House as the series progress is still a challenge but, generally, I can now follow most screenplays very well. Bluetooth connectivity is excellent, especially the support for two concurrent devices and the ease of disconnecting one device to connect a ... MoreI'm probably not a typical owner in that I’ve become hard of hearing and struggle to hear TV dialogue, especially with so many actors adopting "grating, gravelly" voices at the bottom of their registers. I also have a lifelong interest in hifi and good quality sound so I wanted headphones that would help me listen to TV and Radio, be east to connect and disconnect via Bluetooth and have decent musical quality.So, they certainly help the TV and Radio dialogue problem. Wonderful as he is, Hugh Laurie’s accent for House as the series progress is still a challenge but, generally, I can now follow most screenplays very well. Bluetooth connectivity is excellent, especially the support for two concurrent devices and the ease of disconnecting one device to connect a third. Music playback is very good, too. You’d need to pay many times more to get true high fidelity but, at this price point they’re better than I expected and very good for easy listening.Downsides? There are two, for me. Cupping the right ear interrupts play to allow conversation but so does any inadvertent gesture or touch of that side. I find it a pain and would rather manually switch off when interruptied. Secondly, I find the headband uncomfortable. I wish it was a true flat band rather than the rolled thing it is. In that sense, I wish I'd bought the WH-1000XM4 but I did want the latest sound processor, wind deflection and Bluetooth….Overall, they’re excellent and a very safe purchase - if any of the qualities worry you, buy from an outlet where you can try them against competition.
originally posted on sony.co.uk
Sound quality - Don’t be disappointed by the initial ‘hard’ sound, I reckon it took 15+ hours of break-in, before they eased up. The sound then becoming, punchy, sweet and nicely detailed. I have +1 clear bass, and a very slight lean into the treble, starting at 2.5kh, in the custom EQ. At this, the midrange is clear and open, low bass is tight and has texture, the upper mid and treble give excellent detail, with just a hint of brittleness at high level. For reference: source is Tidal hi-fi, and my ears are 64 y/o, so not perfect. There’s very occasional dropout, but I think the LDAC codec must be pushing the boundary of bluetooth bandwidth, especially as I have it set to ‘optimise for sound quality’.NB. Using the LDAC codec really lifts the sound if you’re using ... MoreSound quality - Don’t be disappointed by the initial ‘hard’ sound, I reckon it took 15+ hours of break-in, before they eased up. The sound then becoming, punchy, sweet and nicely detailed. I have +1 clear bass, and a very slight lean into the treble, starting at 2.5kh, in the custom EQ. At this, the midrange is clear and open, low bass is tight and has texture, the upper mid and treble give excellent detail, with just a hint of brittleness at high level. For reference: source is Tidal hi-fi, and my ears are 64 y/o, so not perfect. There’s very occasional dropout, but I think the LDAC codec must be pushing the boundary of bluetooth bandwidth, especially as I have it set to ‘optimise for sound quality’.NB. Using the LDAC codec really lifts the sound if you’re using non-lossy music, some phones may not use it by default, the switch is in ‘developer options’ on Android phones, I don’t know about i-phones.Foldability/pack away size - pretty poor, they don’t really fold up, and the protective box takes a big chunk of space out of a small cabin bag.Comfort - very good, easy to wear for extended periods, but earpieces get hot and sweaty when exercising/walking quickly (as do all over-ear H/P’s)Touch controls - all work as they should and are fairly positive in use..Noise canceling - effective, with no perceived suck-out effect, not fatiguing. The ambient sound feed-through is a good idea when out and about, to keep you aware of traffic etc. The auto-detect state, soon works out where you are, and switches between noise canceling and ambient feed through, accordingly.Speak to chat - ducks the music if you speak, or cough or make any sound at all: I’ve turned it off as it interrupts the music too often. Cupping the RH earpiece with your hand, also ducks the music and opens the mic’s, which is more practical for me.Phone calls - easy to take and to make, using (google) voice commands. Speech is clear at both ends.There’s a few other features such as DSEE, to boost sound quality on low bitrate content (I haven’t tested so can’t comment), and neat touches such as pausing the music, when you take the h/phones off your head.In the round, these are excellent sounding and very functional, wireless headphones.
originally posted on sony.co.uk
Bought this in 2022 November and have daily driven it until now ( 24/02/2024). I will talk about the pros/cons and the nasty side of these headphones. Now i upgraded from beats solo 3, which btw cannot be compared with this, however they were extremely reliable and got the job done no significant features expect for being wireless(standard now lol). Now less talk about those and more on the xm5 ill start with the good side of them.I don't remeber anything going wrong with the shipping, so i assume that went smoothly. But the main things that stand out: noise cancelation, ambient mode, thin headband and not being foldable. noise cancelation is great don't expect the higher pitch noises to be cancelled aka voices but like background noise like on planes these are ... MoreBought this in 2022 November and have daily driven it until now ( 24/02/2024). I will talk about the pros/cons and the nasty side of these headphones. Now i upgraded from beats solo 3, which btw cannot be compared with this, however they were extremely reliable and got the job done no significant features expect for being wireless(standard now lol). Now less talk about those and more on the xm5 ill start with the good side of them.I don't remeber anything going wrong with the shipping, so i assume that went smoothly. But the main things that stand out: noise cancelation, ambient mode, thin headband and not being foldable. noise cancelation is great don't expect the higher pitch noises to be cancelled aka voices but like background noise like on planes these are magical haven't had any problem with that. As for ambient mode also fantastic WHEN IT WORKS (will mention later) almost as if i had them off but a little bit muffled if you actually try to compare them on and off, else you wont notice. Everyone thinks these things are one with me or something and as someone to had worn these for the majority of day time I can say that you wont notice the headband unless you actually try to but over all comfort wise 10/10. As for being not foldable coming from beats solo 3 which were i just adapted the only loss was not being able to tuck them in my jacket pocket(big) and honestly that's a W for me cause my old headphones broke after I yanked it out of the jacket pocket and broke the headband so hey at least that ain't happening again XD. battery life great if you have them on 12 hours straight with music, 25% volume expect to use 50% so basically 2 days no prob and if you use them less than 12 hours then a whole week parps. Also the ear cups are removable just need a butter knife for prying and yea it can survive multiple falls ( from chest height), i know this from experience :/ . Also audio quality? its blooming £300, what you expect it to be mid???Now onto the cons bad stuff. I am either extremely unlucky or this is normal but i have a list of these. Starting with my very first issue random touch censor beeping noises(also known as ghost touch or phantom touch), these are extremely irritating and have no solution(as far as i know) , this pretty much deems the touch censors as useless and have to be switched off in the settings as they will randomly stop/ change volume or skip songs, i believe it has to do with moisture building up in the right ear cup. speaking of moisture for some reason once removing the ear cups moisture only built up in the right ear cup (touch censor side) however once clearing the ghost touch issue still remains :( however a quick on and off usually deals with it. Now onto next issue I ran into was the ambient mode stuff, avoid moist places (shower room or any wet gassy area) cause i swear these headphones are allergic to that, ooh wait i forgot they are not water resistant... but still no moist air ambient mode in the right ear will have fuzzy sounds and sometimes it might randomly just sound clearer as if your ear unblocked when on a flight. And finally the smell, when i first got these they were fantastic great smell in the earcups(probably harmful to inhaul) anyways left ear seems to always be fine but where as right ear one day it just started to smell bad, gave it a clean (inside foam/ earcup) still didn't solve it, turns out it was the great solid foam thing in the headphone (i did not take it apart)all i did was take a cotton bud and lightly tap the grey thing and ooh god that thing 100% absorbs anything that touches it because it was horrific. however after a few more taps with the cotton bud the smell left???? idk how that works but if it works it works.AND FINALLY the conclusion. in conclusion if you live in a dry place(air wise) and want a headphone with great noise cancelling these are the one, However you live in a more moist place issues you will face: touch censor spamming the touch noises randomly, fuzzy ambient mode in the right earcup, and bad smell (just be clean should solve that) overall great headphones but would i recommend these to family/ friends/ others? probably not the touch censor randomly picking up stuff is a BIG issue extremely irritating and no one seemed to talk about it when i bought these but if your fine with that then nothing else too bad tbh, this is not a comparison review more of a review on the cons/issues (in my opinion this is extremely important when buying something you plan to use on the long run), as for spelling mistakes/ grammar i just wanted to type on my new keyboard just went ahead and typed stuff that i experienced with these. BUT if i was to go back in time with my current knowledge on these id still get the xm5s.
| Brand | Sony |
| Use | Studio |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes |
| Form | Over-ear |
| Type | Headphones |
Sony WH1000XM5/P Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones – Smoky Pink
Delivery $94.61
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery between 12–20 Nov
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery between 12–20 Nov
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Cancelling – Good Refurbished
Free delivery
Sony WH-1000X M5 Wireless NC Headphone Smoky Pink at Etoren
Delivery $60
I'm probably not a typical owner in that I’ve become hard of hearing and struggle to hear TV dialogue, especially with so many actors adopting "grating, gravelly" voices at the bottom of their registers. I also have a lifelong interest in hifi and good quality sound so I wanted headphones that would help me listen to TV and Radio, be east to connect and disconnect via Bluetooth and have decent musical quality.So, they certainly help the TV and Radio dialogue problem. Wonderful as he is, Hugh Laurie’s accent for House as the series progress is still a challenge but, generally, I can now follow most screenplays very well. Bluetooth connectivity is excellent, especially the support for two concurrent devices and the ease of disconnecting one device to connect a ... MoreI'm probably not a typical owner in that I’ve become hard of hearing and struggle to hear TV dialogue, especially with so many actors adopting "grating, gravelly" voices at the bottom of their registers. I also have a lifelong interest in hifi and good quality sound so I wanted headphones that would help me listen to TV and Radio, be east to connect and disconnect via Bluetooth and have decent musical quality.So, they certainly help the TV and Radio dialogue problem. Wonderful as he is, Hugh Laurie’s accent for House as the series progress is still a challenge but, generally, I can now follow most screenplays very well. Bluetooth connectivity is excellent, especially the support for two concurrent devices and the ease of disconnecting one device to connect a third. Music playback is very good, too. You’d need to pay many times more to get true high fidelity but, at this price point they’re better than I expected and very good for easy listening.Downsides? There are two, for me. Cupping the right ear interrupts play to allow conversation but so does any inadvertent gesture or touch of that side. I find it a pain and would rather manually switch off when interruptied. Secondly, I find the headband uncomfortable. I wish it was a true flat band rather than the rolled thing it is. In that sense, I wish I'd bought the WH-1000XM4 but I did want the latest sound processor, wind deflection and Bluetooth….Overall, they’re excellent and a very safe purchase - if any of the qualities worry you, buy from an outlet where you can try them against competition.
Sound quality - Don’t be disappointed by the initial ‘hard’ sound, I reckon it took 15+ hours of break-in, before they eased up. The sound then becoming, punchy, sweet and nicely detailed. I have +1 clear bass, and a very slight lean into the treble, starting at 2.5kh, in the custom EQ. At this, the midrange is clear and open, low bass is tight and has texture, the upper mid and treble give excellent detail, with just a hint of brittleness at high level. For reference: source is Tidal hi-fi, and my ears are 64 y/o, so not perfect. There’s very occasional dropout, but I think the LDAC codec must be pushing the boundary of bluetooth bandwidth, especially as I have it set to ‘optimise for sound quality’.NB. Using the LDAC codec really lifts the sound if you’re using ... MoreSound quality - Don’t be disappointed by the initial ‘hard’ sound, I reckon it took 15+ hours of break-in, before they eased up. The sound then becoming, punchy, sweet and nicely detailed. I have +1 clear bass, and a very slight lean into the treble, starting at 2.5kh, in the custom EQ. At this, the midrange is clear and open, low bass is tight and has texture, the upper mid and treble give excellent detail, with just a hint of brittleness at high level. For reference: source is Tidal hi-fi, and my ears are 64 y/o, so not perfect. There’s very occasional dropout, but I think the LDAC codec must be pushing the boundary of bluetooth bandwidth, especially as I have it set to ‘optimise for sound quality’.NB. Using the LDAC codec really lifts the sound if you’re using non-lossy music, some phones may not use it by default, the switch is in ‘developer options’ on Android phones, I don’t know about i-phones.Foldability/pack away size - pretty poor, they don’t really fold up, and the protective box takes a big chunk of space out of a small cabin bag.Comfort - very good, easy to wear for extended periods, but earpieces get hot and sweaty when exercising/walking quickly (as do all over-ear H/P’s)Touch controls - all work as they should and are fairly positive in use..Noise canceling - effective, with no perceived suck-out effect, not fatiguing. The ambient sound feed-through is a good idea when out and about, to keep you aware of traffic etc. The auto-detect state, soon works out where you are, and switches between noise canceling and ambient feed through, accordingly.Speak to chat - ducks the music if you speak, or cough or make any sound at all: I’ve turned it off as it interrupts the music too often. Cupping the RH earpiece with your hand, also ducks the music and opens the mic’s, which is more practical for me.Phone calls - easy to take and to make, using (google) voice commands. Speech is clear at both ends.There’s a few other features such as DSEE, to boost sound quality on low bitrate content (I haven’t tested so can’t comment), and neat touches such as pausing the music, when you take the h/phones off your head.In the round, these are excellent sounding and very functional, wireless headphones.
Bought this in 2022 November and have daily driven it until now ( 24/02/2024). I will talk about the pros/cons and the nasty side of these headphones. Now i upgraded from beats solo 3, which btw cannot be compared with this, however they were extremely reliable and got the job done no significant features expect for being wireless(standard now lol). Now less talk about those and more on the xm5 ill start with the good side of them.I don't remeber anything going wrong with the shipping, so i assume that went smoothly. But the main things that stand out: noise cancelation, ambient mode, thin headband and not being foldable. noise cancelation is great don't expect the higher pitch noises to be cancelled aka voices but like background noise like on planes these are ... MoreBought this in 2022 November and have daily driven it until now ( 24/02/2024). I will talk about the pros/cons and the nasty side of these headphones. Now i upgraded from beats solo 3, which btw cannot be compared with this, however they were extremely reliable and got the job done no significant features expect for being wireless(standard now lol). Now less talk about those and more on the xm5 ill start with the good side of them.I don't remeber anything going wrong with the shipping, so i assume that went smoothly. But the main things that stand out: noise cancelation, ambient mode, thin headband and not being foldable. noise cancelation is great don't expect the higher pitch noises to be cancelled aka voices but like background noise like on planes these are magical haven't had any problem with that. As for ambient mode also fantastic WHEN IT WORKS (will mention later) almost as if i had them off but a little bit muffled if you actually try to compare them on and off, else you wont notice. Everyone thinks these things are one with me or something and as someone to had worn these for the majority of day time I can say that you wont notice the headband unless you actually try to but over all comfort wise 10/10. As for being not foldable coming from beats solo 3 which were i just adapted the only loss was not being able to tuck them in my jacket pocket(big) and honestly that's a W for me cause my old headphones broke after I yanked it out of the jacket pocket and broke the headband so hey at least that ain't happening again XD. battery life great if you have them on 12 hours straight with music, 25% volume expect to use 50% so basically 2 days no prob and if you use them less than 12 hours then a whole week parps. Also the ear cups are removable just need a butter knife for prying and yea it can survive multiple falls ( from chest height), i know this from experience :/ . Also audio quality? its blooming £300, what you expect it to be mid???Now onto the cons bad stuff. I am either extremely unlucky or this is normal but i have a list of these. Starting with my very first issue random touch censor beeping noises(also known as ghost touch or phantom touch), these are extremely irritating and have no solution(as far as i know) , this pretty much deems the touch censors as useless and have to be switched off in the settings as they will randomly stop/ change volume or skip songs, i believe it has to do with moisture building up in the right ear cup. speaking of moisture for some reason once removing the ear cups moisture only built up in the right ear cup (touch censor side) however once clearing the ghost touch issue still remains :( however a quick on and off usually deals with it. Now onto next issue I ran into was the ambient mode stuff, avoid moist places (shower room or any wet gassy area) cause i swear these headphones are allergic to that, ooh wait i forgot they are not water resistant... but still no moist air ambient mode in the right ear will have fuzzy sounds and sometimes it might randomly just sound clearer as if your ear unblocked when on a flight. And finally the smell, when i first got these they were fantastic great smell in the earcups(probably harmful to inhaul) anyways left ear seems to always be fine but where as right ear one day it just started to smell bad, gave it a clean (inside foam/ earcup) still didn't solve it, turns out it was the great solid foam thing in the headphone (i did not take it apart)all i did was take a cotton bud and lightly tap the grey thing and ooh god that thing 100% absorbs anything that touches it because it was horrific. however after a few more taps with the cotton bud the smell left???? idk how that works but if it works it works.AND FINALLY the conclusion. in conclusion if you live in a dry place(air wise) and want a headphone with great noise cancelling these are the one, However you live in a more moist place issues you will face: touch censor spamming the touch noises randomly, fuzzy ambient mode in the right earcup, and bad smell (just be clean should solve that) overall great headphones but would i recommend these to family/ friends/ others? probably not the touch censor randomly picking up stuff is a BIG issue extremely irritating and no one seemed to talk about it when i bought these but if your fine with that then nothing else too bad tbh, this is not a comparison review more of a review on the cons/issues (in my opinion this is extremely important when buying something you plan to use on the long run), as for spelling mistakes/ grammar i just wanted to type on my new keyboard just went ahead and typed stuff that i experienced with these. BUT if i was to go back in time with my current knowledge on these id still get the xm5s.
I bought these last year before a 9 hour flight and I'm very pleased with them. They have excellent sound quality for both audio and speech and don't bury any flaws in overwrought bass. The battery life is long (enough for a nine hour flight, five hours layover and an hour on a turboprop). The noise cancelling is superb and deals with jet and turboprop engines with ease. Tapping a small control switches the headphones to pass through so you can hear speech and cabin announcements.The UI is fine. I don't like the move to touch controls on everything but it mostly works here. The only exception is that the touch is a bit sensitive so if you doze off onto a seat it can activate the touch controls. The speak to chat function sounds good, disabling the noise ... MoreI bought these last year before a 9 hour flight and I'm very pleased with them. They have excellent sound quality for both audio and speech and don't bury any flaws in overwrought bass. The battery life is long (enough for a nine hour flight, five hours layover and an hour on a turboprop). The noise cancelling is superb and deals with jet and turboprop engines with ease. Tapping a small control switches the headphones to pass through so you can hear speech and cabin announcements.The UI is fine. I don't like the move to touch controls on everything but it mostly works here. The only exception is that the touch is a bit sensitive so if you doze off onto a seat it can activate the touch controls. The speak to chat function sounds good, disabling the noise cancellation when you speak, but it mostly isn't useful since it turns off after a while if you don't speak and cuts off your conversation partner.Software wise, the app isn't brilliant but is necessary to adjust the Bluetooth settings, which you can't do on a laptop. For the most part the iOS sound drivers do a fine job of working with them. They will occasionally get into a strange conflict state with Windows drivers for some reason and will need a factory reset to clear the faulty setting. I've also noticed they misbehave with apps like Discord, entering some sort of tin-can telephone mode when being used as a headset. I'd not use them as my primary set of PC cans but they're mostly fine.The only place I have any real hesitation is in the fit. They're very tight with limited adjustment at the cans. That improves the cancellation but along with a non-breathable pad cover it irritates my ears when I wear them for a long time. Someone with different ears to me wouldn't have an issue but try them on before buying. They also sometimes catch on glasses, compromising the noise cancelling.Overall though they're great and saved a lot of stress and sonic misery on long flights.
Do not buy these headphones "WH1000XM5", the physical quality of these headphones do not match the high price. I got the Sony - WH1000XM5 6 months ago and the sound quality was always great though the headphones themselves felt flimsy when compared to WH1000XM4. That is, up until recently when the plastic of the right swivel piece cracked and a piece fell off, rendering the headphones unusable. I would understand if this was due to rough handling, this was from normal use leading to the right swivel breaking and the right speaker being left dangling by the wire (please see the attached pictures). Many others who’ve purchased this product have had the exact same issue with the exact same piece, suggesting a definite manufacturing defect. But Sony refuses to either ... MoreDo not buy these headphones "WH1000XM5", the physical quality of these headphones do not match the high price. I got the Sony - WH1000XM5 6 months ago and the sound quality was always great though the headphones themselves felt flimsy when compared to WH1000XM4. That is, up until recently when the plastic of the right swivel piece cracked and a piece fell off, rendering the headphones unusable. I would understand if this was due to rough handling, this was from normal use leading to the right swivel breaking and the right speaker being left dangling by the wire (please see the attached pictures). Many others who’ve purchased this product have had the exact same issue with the exact same piece, suggesting a definite manufacturing defect. But Sony refuses to either recall or cover the damages, despite the headphones being under warranty, just a simple google search "wh1000xm5 broken hinge issue" will show the exact same issue occurring all across the globe. When contacting customer support they simply referred me to a separate repair shop and said there was nothing they could do. All in all a terrible experience and would not purchase headphones from Sony again, you’re much better off purchasing from a brand such as Bose or Apple where the product is sturdy and they stand behind their products whether it is good or bad, providing ample and just customer support. Being a loyal Sony customer, purchasing everything from their Sound System, to TV's to Playstation, my expectation is that Sony, as a flagship product, needs to step up and do a recall. This will set the right brand image for Sony backing their reputation.
I bought these to replace a much older pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones. I was actually going to buy another set of new Bose headphones until I read professional reviews comparing the Sony XM5 to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Both are top tier in noise cancelling, sound quality, comfort, and build quality. In every review, however, the Sony XM5's got the edge. I've always been very satisfied with other Sony products I've purchased over the years going all the way back to the 1970's, so I decided to switch teams on this purchase.I have to say, I am definitely very pleased with my choice. Using the Sony Headphones iOS app, I spent some time tweaking the EQ to get the sound to my liking. For me, the magic combination was selecting the Bright option and then ... MoreI bought these to replace a much older pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones. I was actually going to buy another set of new Bose headphones until I read professional reviews comparing the Sony XM5 to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Both are top tier in noise cancelling, sound quality, comfort, and build quality. In every review, however, the Sony XM5's got the edge. I've always been very satisfied with other Sony products I've purchased over the years going all the way back to the 1970's, so I decided to switch teams on this purchase.I have to say, I am definitely very pleased with my choice. Using the Sony Headphones iOS app, I spent some time tweaking the EQ to get the sound to my liking. For me, the magic combination was selecting the Bright option and then bringing the Clear Bass up to +5. That said, with the EQ off right out of the box, these have a nice mellow, even tone that is very pleasing as well and probably closer to audio perfection than my choice. For my older ears, though, my tweaks help me hear my tunes the way I was able to without EQ when I was in my 20's.Last, but not least, I'd like to respond to some of the negative build quality comments I've read. I really have no idea how anyone ends up with broken headphones other than to completely abuse these bad boys. They are solidly built yet very light weight. All products have their limits, of course, but after several months of continuous use, I can't see how any of the components would fail without serious mishandling by the user.So yeah, with over 2,000 five-star reviews do I really need to add one more? No, but when you find something that's worth a positive review, it never hurts to put it out there. Enjoy!
My AirPod Max had died recently or unable to charge or pair it to any device. I was in the market looking for quality headphones with noise cancelling and sound. I tried Beats Studio Pro and was good with decent features and a plus was being able to use usb c as a source for Atmos sound quality and charging, but I also wasn’t too satisfy with sound quality and I wanted to try something new other than pay a lot for another AirPod Max or wait it out until the newer model comes out. I got these Sony headphones after reading a lot of reviews and I will say it has excellent sound, build and noise cancellation. Set up wasn’t as intuitive or my pride ignored reading the instructions first and I began tinkering with the headphones by trying to pair it and hoped it would ... MoreMy AirPod Max had died recently or unable to charge or pair it to any device. I was in the market looking for quality headphones with noise cancelling and sound. I tried Beats Studio Pro and was good with decent features and a plus was being able to use usb c as a source for Atmos sound quality and charging, but I also wasn’t too satisfy with sound quality and I wanted to try something new other than pay a lot for another AirPod Max or wait it out until the newer model comes out. I got these Sony headphones after reading a lot of reviews and I will say it has excellent sound, build and noise cancellation. Set up wasn’t as intuitive or my pride ignored reading the instructions first and I began tinkering with the headphones by trying to pair it and hoped it would work immediately but ran into some minor connection issues. It’s also necessary to download the app for your phone prior to pairing and for accessing the equalizer. Also having to unpair and pair to a device requires you to read to understand how to listen to high quality audio with and without noise cancellation on or that listening to music is still possible through the aux cable and your device if there’s a port when there’s no charge left. But after the minor inconvenience and the learning curve with using and pairing a non Apple device, sound and noice cancellation is superb. Can’t use USB c for both high quality audio and charging, unless it’s because of the device it’s connected to which was a MacBook Pro M2 Max but I’ve had the aux cable and usb c plugged in at the same time but a loud hissing sound or noise is heard while you use it to watch or listen to music. It’s probably best not to charge and use aux cable and have noice cancellation on or defeats the purpose of trying to block noise out but hearing noise directly out of the headphones. Also could be a firmware update that it needs but I haven’t gone that far yet but if you’re using Bluetooth or just aux cable with noise cancellation on, hissing sound isn’t there and sound quality and noise cancellation works great.
I gave these 3 stars on the retailers website after 6 weeks of use when the headset was still causing me tremendous pain, however after 3 months they are now almost as comfortable as the XM4s. The thin headband still causes strong discomfort at times, but I sometimes think I'm wearing the XM4s and vice versa, so they are almost on a par.There are a lot of negatives when it comes to the tech, however the sound quality is for the most part so much better than the XM4s, which were already fantastic. The sound is so smooth, for the first few days I found myself rocking from side to side in enjoyment (until the pain of the headband offset this after 30 mins of listening).Most noticeable is the midrange; vocals sound so much more authentic and detailed, whilst backing ... MoreI gave these 3 stars on the retailers website after 6 weeks of use when the headset was still causing me tremendous pain, however after 3 months they are now almost as comfortable as the XM4s. The thin headband still causes strong discomfort at times, but I sometimes think I'm wearing the XM4s and vice versa, so they are almost on a par.There are a lot of negatives when it comes to the tech, however the sound quality is for the most part so much better than the XM4s, which were already fantastic. The sound is so smooth, for the first few days I found myself rocking from side to side in enjoyment (until the pain of the headband offset this after 30 mins of listening).Most noticeable is the midrange; vocals sound so much more authentic and detailed, whilst backing vocals really come to the fore, making these ideal for worship music. Most classical music benefits from these headphones as well, with violins in particular sounding natural, whilst piano notes are reproduced cleanly and with full pleasing resonance. However, I was at first concerned with energetic classical music such as Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, which just sounded incredibly flat with the XM5s but was one of the best performing pieces on the XM4s. Yet now that the headphones are burnt in, they almost match the energy of the XM4s. I think the remaining slight discrepancy is due to the greater clarity, as this often removes an artificially exaggerated sense of energetic presence. There are no issues with pace and energy in other types of music, such as rock and pop, as the bass is much tighter with the XM5s (if not as deep). There is also so much more detail revealed by the XM5s in general, which really contributes to synth music from the 80s and 90s, Duran Duran’s “Greatest” album for example being given a new lease of life with these headphones. Oddly, there is no noticeable difference from the XM4s with music by REM and U2, which must have something to do with the recording soundscapes for these artists. But the most noticeable difference I found was in music by Jack Savoretti, which with the XM4s is comparable to a glass of fine wine but with the XM5s is more like a thick glass of port, more rich and full.Now for the negatives. For the first few days I wanted to smash the headset against the wall and then jump up and down on it, it was causing me so much pain. A saner head had me almost returning them. Thank goodness I didn't, now that they have softened up and I have learnt to mostly ignore the pressure of the heaband. The material of the earcups was also noisy to the point of distraction if I dared to move my head or even clench my jaw at first. Out of the box, it sounded like someone was rustling sweet rappers in my ears. But these issues have now mostly gone.But the biggest issue of all has not changed one iota. The noise cancelling is adaptive, which is quite simply absolutely rubbish. Move or tilt your head with an extractor fan on, either in the kitchen or when sitting on the toilet, and the noise cancelling loses the ability to cancel the noise of the fan - I've found that if I shake my head it restores it, which is odd to say the least. Or if a motorbike goes by my house (which they very often do on the ringroad I live by), the "noise cancelling" creates a ton of windy static for about 10 seconds that is worse than the actual noise it's trying to cancel. And unlike the XM4s, where you can turn off the adaptive noise cancelling (which I did very early on), the XM5s make it mandatory. Absolutely ridiculous and very arrogant of Sony to no longer offer the choice to their customers.The rest of the tech is just bad. The touch controls, unlike the XM4s, are terrible. Most of the time they are unresponsive, which means you can no longer swiftly turn down the volume when, say, YouTube switches to noisy adverts, leaving you with deafening sound until you manage to slowly bring the volume down. I’ve never been a fan of touch controls, they cause so many issues when your arm accidentally brushes them, so hopefully Sony will incorporate physical controls on future models, as many other manufacturers have already learnt to do.The command sounds are more intrusive than the XM4s. You now get a double blip instead of a single blip when changing volume - why we need a blip at all when we can already hear the volume is changing is beyond me. At least the “low power” notification is now much shorter, so that you don't miss 5 seconds of dialogue during a film. But where it would be useful and non-intrusive to have dialogue, now there isn't any; you get the same notification sound for Bluetooth connection as you do for switching the device on or off. However I do like the soft orange charge-light compared to the red light on the XM4s (a small detail but one I appreciate).The headphone sensors are still next to useless for pausing playback when you remove the headphones, just as inconsistent as they are on the XM4s. Sometimes they pause, sometimes they don't, but if you pause before taking them off they ALWAYS start again, which means that the only effective way to pause if you're away from the sound source is to turn off the power.It would be nice if Sony could produce an audiophile's pair of headphones that strips out most of the tech and just focuses on the sound, because that's what they are brilliant at. I love the sound of these headphones and it seems to be improving all the time, I just wish the headset didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of it. So I find myself alternating between the XM4s and XM5s depending on the circumstances, which is a nice luxury to have but not ideal.
o preface, I had the XM-3 & XM-4 and was ecstatic when I heard I heard the next generation was going to come out. I had great experience with the previous two headphones and the new design looked phenomenal. It just past my birthday and I decided to upgrade, so I purchased the XM-5 in the navy color way. The performance is incredible and I love how well the new noise cancellation works. Now I barely used them due to having no time with work and life. Recently I started to use them a little more, now that I have some free time and I found a big flaw. I just took them out my drawer and put them on my head like normal and the hinge that allows the headphones to go up and down broke. Mind you, I have no more than 10 hours on these headphones since I like to rotate with ... Moreo preface, I had the XM-3 & XM-4 and was ecstatic when I heard I heard the next generation was going to come out. I had great experience with the previous two headphones and the new design looked phenomenal. It just past my birthday and I decided to upgrade, so I purchased the XM-5 in the navy color way. The performance is incredible and I love how well the new noise cancellation works. Now I barely used them due to having no time with work and life. Recently I started to use them a little more, now that I have some free time and I found a big flaw. I just took them out my drawer and put them on my head like normal and the hinge that allows the headphones to go up and down broke. Mind you, I have no more than 10 hours on these headphones since I like to rotate with some other ones I have. I felt devastated since these headphones did feel a little bit more delicate than the previous generations. After some research I found this was quite common and a big issue with this model. I reached out to sony customer service and was told there was nothing they could do even with this being a common issue. For more context, I have had them for less then a year and fall under the warranty period. This tarnished the image I had of this model & company since I was such a big fan and couldn't recommend these headphones enough to all my peers. I have reach out to a few of my friends that recently purchase a pair and warned them of this issue. I wish Sony would revise this design and fix this flaw with any up and coming models. Unfortunately I will be switching over to a different brand, since I felt that Sony didn't care about its consumer. After having 3 generations of their headphones, they have finally started to degrade their products.
| Brand | Sony |
| Use | Studio |
| Noise Cancelling | Yes |
| Form | Over-ear |
| Type | Headphones |
