Sony WH-1000XM5 Premium Noise Canceling Headphones, Auto NC Optimizer, 30-Hour Battery, Alexa Voice Control, Silver

I thoroughly enjoy what Sony has to offer in their product line. I have the PlayStation 5, a Sony Bravia 4K TV and several other Sony products. Yes although I have owned a few of their product line I will not try to be biased here with the review. What got me into Sony products was really their earphones dating back to 2011! They have the best earphones you could get for $20 back at the time in 2011 and now the quality they still continue to put out never disappoints! Here's the pros and cons of the Sony WH-1000XM5.Update: I also picked up the XM4 Earbuds from Sony and take note that those are on a different level for listening to music compared to the XM5 Over the Ear headphones. Shares the same features like the XM5, not the same sound like over the ear obviously but also more marketed to those who goes to the gym and likes something more compact.Pros:Comfortable and lightweight!I don't ever have a complaint with what they have to offer when it comes to comfort. These are better than BOSE in regards as to comfort. I think the one thing that makes them comfortable also is that they are light. They weigh only about 0.56 pounds! People tend to have problems with headphones if they are heavy in my opinion! I also assume they use a low density memory foam for cushioning which is great but will eventually need to be replaced or tended to if left compressed or squished for too long.Unique featuresNoise Cancelling is top notch but not much different than their previous lines in my opinion! It is a standard these days to get noise cancelling and the headphones are great for drowning out noise if need be. They also tend to those who need to be aware of their surroundings by implementing a ambient mode like previous models. Works great and works like a charm by either taking the headphones off or covering the touch control panel. Also the Speak to Pause Music feature is insanely nice to have! Helps when your hands are busy and or you just don't want to adjust your headphones having to speak.Superb sound!The sound quality out of these are amazing! Does really well in all areas of music genres. Particularly really in low frequencies for bass! I get to enjoy these at a great volume and it pairs amazingly with my PS5 as a gaming headset! (Will mention the headphones does not come with a microphone for gaming when using a headphone jack.) As a pair of noise cancelling headphones, you can expect to hear a positively good detail in music, movies, gaming or even a phone call! They are clear and surprisingly really balanced. The microphone on these headphones for phone calls are great. Better than the previous versions.Fast charging!The charging rate of these headphones is incredible! I never knew how fast charging can be with this! There's times I have left this powered on overnight as I'm at work for my 10 hour job and it was drained by the time I wanted to use it again. In those times I left it charging and goodness greatness these were ready to go in a about 10-15 minutes! I enjoy these so much that I'm actually glad they have a 24-30 hour battery life.Cons:Cost.Its expensive! If you can get these on sale, it's worthwhile! If it's in your budget go for it! You pay for what you get in my opinion and these are worth their weight in gold!Fitment.They don't exactly fit around my short wide neck whenever I need to take it off and be present in a conversation or in my surroundings. Not exactly a big matter or deal breaker. More so it's a personal perspective. My neck size is 15 ¾ inches in circumference and that's pretty average I believe. I have to extend these in order to keep them around my neck without compromise. They also do not fold inward like the previous Sony headphone models but again never a issue.Cushion. Yes the ear cup cushions are comfortable but again when I place them around my neck it compresses the cushion to a point where it feels awkward after putting it back on. I'm looking at other options to replace their soft fit leather design.Update: There is different earcups that you can replace the OEM cups with but it comes at a cost of I believe $60 which is worth noting.Conclusion.Worthiness of $350+ (price as of 12/07/2022) during the holidays? Yes!Personal opinionated review:Sony WH-1000XM5 or other leading competition? Sony, easily Sony. I've never been unhappy about this purchase and I tell people that Sony is industrial leading company that continues to impress people when it comes to their headphones. Beats by Dre(Apple), Apple and Bose has always been great by popularity but Sony gets appraised by quality!I will update this review as I go until they put a new model out.

Searching for headphones is quite difficult for me. I was a bit iffy on picking up these XM5’s as I barely knew anything of them. As of 07/11, they were on a deal. Picked them up for a little under $250.In terms of sound quality, these ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. They sound so crisp. The cushions do sit on your ear a bit deep for the noise cancelling but it’s nothing uncomfortable. They don’t bother my head when using for more than 3 hours.They’re very lightweight which is absolutely perfect for me.For my Gamers, I did try these on my ps5. I won’t tell you they’re the perfect for gaming but they absolute work amazing. I could hear everything that was going around me. Foot steps, firing, people talking. It was great. Although my main priority for these are not for gaming, these are very well such a good pair of headphones.I do love the touch features on the side of the headphones it’s very convenient. Simple to understand. You can deactivate this feature in the app so that’s a plus.Now here comes the little downer for me. The bass. I’m a huge bass person when it comes to headphones. I came from the Skullcandy crusher evo. Comparing the bass from these two, Skullcandy takes the win. The bass isn’t the heaviest on the xm5, you can tweak with the EQ in the app and get some bass, which is fine, but don’t expect nothing HEAVY. For me, it’s a little downer BUT the sound makes up for it.Other than that, these headphones are absolutely worth it. Especially if you find them on a deal, they’re definitely a grab!

What can I say, these headphones are amazing. The noise cancelling ability is incredible and they are definitely audiophile quality in the sound department. They come in a plain but nice protective case that includes a small 3.5 mm male to male jack and a type c to usb cable that is very short. The Sony Connect app really helps get the most out of these headphones. I just recently set up the 360 degree sound feature for these which really improves the sound experience on songs recorded with that feature. I also really like the equalizer included in the app. I use these headphones via Bluetooth from an iPhone 14 and the Amazon Unlimited HD app. Most songs sound fantastic and the volume is for the greater part sufficient. The majority of well sonically engineered songs are reproduced with stunning bass , smooth/detailed mids and extended highs. There are some songs that just are not produced as well and those can sound a bit anemic even with the bass on the eq maxed out. But this is a matter of the sonic quality of the source material and not the headphones themselves. I think the Bluetooth quality is exceptional and I can’t tell the difference between wireless and hardwired. I also plugged the headphones into my computer for testing and the volume went way higher then with my iPhone. It was actually louder than I could stand so these headphones can handle high volumes without noticeable distortion. I would not recommend listening at high volumes for extended periods of time if you value your hearing in the long term. I have not really activated or played around with the adaptive environmental features yet on the Sony app. Also, the phones mute when I talk and it pauses the source I am listening to. When I am done talking it resumes automatically. I am really happy with these headphones and feel they are a great value considering what they are capable of doing. I might also add that they are very lightweight and surprisingly comfortable to wear even for extended listening sessions. I had them on last night for 4 hours straight and although I knew they were on my head, they never felt uncomfortable or obtrusive. As a final note, I like their plain, unassuming look. I don’t need fancy looks, just give me top tier music reproduction and I am happy.