Sony WH-1000XM5 · The Gold Standard of ANC Headphones

Design & Comfort

Sony made a decisive break from the XM4’s folding architecture. The XM5 doesn’t fold flat — a trade-off that frustrated frequent travellers but produced a dramatically sleeker silhouette. The headband is a single continuous arc of matte plastic with a soft-touch finish, and the oval earcups pivot on a single-axis hinge rather than the previous multi-point joint. It weighs 250 g, meaningfully lighter than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra at 254 g and significantly lighter than the AirPods Max at 385 g.

The memory foam earpads are wrapped in a synthetic protein leather that stays comfortable for three to four hours without pressure hotspots. The clamp force is moderate — secure enough for light movement, not so tight as to fatigue after an hour. For glasses wearers, the soft rim helps, though some light leakage around the temples is unavoidable. Build quality is high-quality plastic throughout: no metal headband, which keeps weight low but gives the XM5 a less premium tactile feel than the AirPods Max’s aluminium construction.

Controls are touch-based on the right earcup — swipe to adjust volume, tap to play/pause, hold to cycle noise modes. The right cup also has a Quick Attention mode: hold your palm over it and the mics pipe ambient audio through instantly for conversations. A physical power slider sits on the left. Pairing is via NFC (tap a compatible Android device) or manual Bluetooth multi-point, which supports two simultaneous connections.

Sound Quality

The XM5 uses new 30 mm carbon-fibre composite drivers, smaller than the XM4’s 40 mm units but with meaningfully lower distortion at high frequencies. The default tuning is warm-tilted: bass is elevated, mid-range is recessed around the upper vocal range (~2–4 kHz), and treble extends to roughly 20 kHz without harshness. It’s a consumer-friendly V-curve, pleasant for casual listening but not analytically neutral.

The Sony Headphones Connect app provides a fully parametric equaliser, and dialling the bass down by 2 dB and boosting 3 kHz by 1 dB transforms the presentation into something closer to a balanced monitor response. DSEE Extreme, Sony’s upscaling algorithm for compressed audio, adds subtle harmonic recovery that makes 128 kbps Spotify streams sound more open — it’s not audiophile wizardry, but it’s audibly effective. LDAC codec support over Bluetooth is the headline wireless spec: up to 990 kbps, which approaches wired-quality transparency on 24-bit/96 kHz source material when the connection is stable.

Soundstage is moderate — intimate rather than expansive, which suits podcasts and vocal-heavy music well. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra’s CustomTune spatial audio pushes a slightly wider presentation, though at the cost of some driver directness. Apple’s AirPods Max remains the clear leader in resolution and spatial processing when used with an Apple device, but at more than double the price of a discounted XM5.

Noise Cancelling

Eight microphones — four on the exterior, four feeding back internally — feed Sony’s QN2 HD processor, which runs an adaptive ANC algorithm that adjusts for changes in seal and ambient spectrum in real time. The practical result: low-frequency drone (aircraft cabin, HVAC, train motors) is suppressed to near inaudibility. Conversation-band noise at 500–3000 Hz is reduced substantially, though not eliminated. Street-level wind noise at speed introduces some turbulence, which is a common weakness across all passive-seal ANC designs.

The Bose QuietComfort Ultra is competitive at all frequencies, occasionally edging the XM5 on mid-frequency speech. Sony retains the lead in raw low-frequency attenuation by a measurable margin. AirPods Max is slightly behind both in outright ANC, though its implementation is notably less affected by seal variation. Transparency mode on the XM5 is natural at low gain settings but can sound processed at maximum ambient amplification — voices become slightly synthetic above 10 dB of boost.

Speak-to-Chat works reliably: pause music and pipe in ambient audio when it detects speech from the wearer. False triggers from short bursts of singing along are occasional. The sensitivity window can be adjusted in the app.

Battery & Features

Sony rates the WH-1000XM5 at 30 h with ANC active and 40 h with ANC off. In testing at moderate volume (~60 dB) with LDAC active, ANC on, and Speak-to-Chat enabled, real-world runtime lands closer to 26–28 h — still best-in-class for over-ears at this price. The 3-minute Quick Charge top-up provides 3 h of playback; a full charge from flat takes approximately 3.5 h via USB-C.

Multi-point Bluetooth connects simultaneously to two devices — a laptop and a phone, for instance — and switches audio source automatically when a call comes in. This works reliably, though switching can introduce a 1–2 second gap. Wired listening is supported via a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm cable (included), with passive audio available even when the battery is dead.

The microphone system for calls uses a beamforming arrangement that performs well in quiet environments but struggles to suppress background noise in noisy venues — adequate for office calls, not ideal for street-side phone conversations. This has been a consistent Sony weakness across the XM4 and XM5 generations.

Verdict

Three years on the market have brought the WH-1000XM5 down to a price where its weaknesses — non-folding design, average call mic quality, plasticky build — are easier to accept. The strengths remain undiminished: ANC that leads its class in real-world low-frequency performance, 27-plus hours of practical battery life, LDAC wireless quality, and a software ecosystem (Sony Headphones Connect) that is genuinely comprehensive without being overwhelming.

If you are buying AirPods Max at $549+, you are paying primarily for Apple ecosystem integration and build quality, not proportionally better acoustics. If you are considering the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, it is a closer call — the Bose wins slightly on comfort and mid-frequency ANC, Sony wins on battery life and bass extension. For most buyers prioritising noise cancellation and endurance over bragging rights, the XM5 remains the correct recommendation.