The new Sony WH-1000XM5 Active Noise Canceling Bluetooth headphones are not the typical looks that grace the hallowed pages of PC Gamer. They’re not gaming headphones, they don’t have 2.4GHz wireless or any kind of RGB bling. But for most, few headphones are as comprehensive and capable as the XM5’s.
They are very comfortable, sound great and have the best noise cancellation that no gaming headset can match. At $400 they aren’t cheap, but they do offer a surprising amount of usability and versatility that many a gamer would appreciate. As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed WH-1000XM4s, which are the gold standard for ANC headphones, the XM5 improves upon the XM4 in many ways but stumbles in others.
For starters, there’s the design: Sony has renounced the classic foldable headband design that allowed the XM4s to shrink into a travel-friendly pouch. Instead, the XM5 gets a thinner, fixed headband with rotating earcups that stop at a 90-degree turn. This means that the XM5 has a larger (albeit flatter) case that isn’t quite as travel-friendly.
Plus, Sony has rolled back the aesthetics of the XM5 to the point where it’s characterless. If not for the Sony logo on the earcup arms, this is essentially a bland and generic looking headset. That’s a surprising move when headsets like the Master & Dynamic MW75 or the Bowers & Wilkins P7X are so damn stylish and easily recognizable.
Other than that, I can’t deny how comfortable and sturdy the XM5s are. The soft memory foam ear cups completely cover my ears and the headband has the right clamping force. Even with glasses I have never felt uncomfortable. The headband, while thinner, is also no less comfortable than that of the XM4.
Sony WH-1000XM5 Specifications
Drivers: 40mm neodymium
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, 3.5mm wired
Style: over the ear
Frequency Response: 4Hz–40,000Hz
Functions: Adaptive ANC, DSEE Extreme, LDAC, Beam Forming Microphone, touch sensitive controls
Supported audio formats: SBC, AAC, LDAC
Weight: 250g
Battery life: Max 30 hours (ANC ON), 40 hours (ANC OFF)
Price: $399 (opens in new tab) | £379 (opens in new tab)
The XM5 has upgraded 30mm drivers that sound much more powerful than larger drivers found in many gaming headsets. Sony has also added an LDAC and its own DSEE Extreme smart processing, giving you upscaled audio, Hi-Res audio and 360 spatial audio; all over Bluetooth. The XM5s thus produce a luxurious, rich sound with powerful bass and crystal clear mids and highs. So whether I was listening to classic opera, watching Netflix, or firing off hordes of aliens in Destiny 2, the XM5s sound absolutely fantastic.
Then, of course, there’s the option to completely eliminate distracting background noise that would otherwise interfere with your listening pleasure. The XM5s comfortably retain their crown as the ANC kings. It’s disturbing how well they ignore ordinary white noise around us, such as our PCs, air conditioning, road traffic and airplane noise.
Sony has doubled the number of ANC microphones to eight and has two audio processors that constantly monitor and adjust the ambient noise. It works wonderfully and you quickly hear what a difference it makes, for example from when you are in the house to when you step outside in traffic. The smarts continue with the four beamforming microphones that do a great job for phone calls and chats. I sounded perfectly clear to callers, even on noisy roadsides.
Sony has a handy Android and IOS app that lets you change your ANC settings, EQ profiles, touch controls, and more. The touch controls are really intuitive too, with a combination of swipes and taps to manage your media. My favorite is the right earcup to enable temporary transparency mode so you can hear what’s going on around you without taking the headset off. Even better is the speak-to-chat feature that does the same thing without hands, but becomes problematic if you like to sing along or talk to yourself a lot.
The XM5s use multi-point Bluetooth 5.2 to connect to two devices at the same time. This means you can game on your PC and still make calls. Pairing is a breeze thanks to the support of Google Fast Pair and Windows Swift Pair. And if you’ve lost them, the Google Find My Device app will point you to them.
The XM5’s battery life is an acceptable 30 hours with ANC and 40 without, but competitors like Sennheiser’s new Momentum 4s double that. However, it is enough to take you through a transatlantic flight or a streaming marathon and a half. Sony has introduced fast charging that can deliver 3 hours of use in just three minutes of charging via USB Type-C.
In any case, you can also use the headphones with a 3.5 mm cable connection flat. This is also the preferred way for gamers to use the XM5s. You lose all smart features and noise canceling, but the XM5 sounds just as fantastic. So connecting to your console controller or audio jack to your PC will still deliver a premium audio experience.
The Sony WH-1000XM5s are the total package and one of the best Bluetooth headphones for most people. While the updated aesthetics don’t appeal to me, I’m happy with the overall performance. However, it’s seriously worth considering the WH-1000XM4s, which are very close in performance but significantly cheaper.
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