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Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones Review: New Design, New Superpower
Sony’s fifth-gen flagship noise-canceling headphones have been redesigned on the outside and inside, with new drivers and a new sound profile, plus improved noise canceling. But there’s one upgrade that gives them an important advantage over the WH-1000XM4, as well as some competitors. Find the headphones in this video here👇: Sony WH-1000XM5 – Sony WH-1000XM4…
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Canturk Civelek
May 12, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Great Review! Thank You!
Donald Maynor
May 12, 2022 at 5:52 pm
I don’t know how I feel about the design and me personally I’m still sticking with my bose qc 45
Lola Morocho
May 12, 2022 at 10:06 pm
What are your thoughts on the QC 45? I’m eyeing on them heavily just waiting for a sale price on Amazon
Lex X
May 12, 2022 at 5:52 pm
2:53
“How you doin’?”
W Ww
May 12, 2022 at 6:00 pm
How is the tension?
ALEX PINTU
May 12, 2022 at 6:00 pm
When it will be available in India ???
Phewphew
May 12, 2022 at 6:11 pm
glad to know my XM4 still perfect for me, this XM5’s design is weird….
Sepandar Moeeni
May 12, 2022 at 6:19 pm
same here, i just got my xm4 a month a go and I’m very happy with it. even after this weird predecessor
Phewphew
May 12, 2022 at 6:34 pm
@Sepandar Moeeni ikr!!! and i love the fact that xm4 is foldable too, more convenient…
NO GOD BUT ALLAH!!!!
May 12, 2022 at 7:21 pm
@Phewphew Thats absolutely true
Mike Clemets
May 12, 2022 at 8:37 pm
Look like the Microsoft n Jabra headphones had a baby
LazyCrazyGuy
May 12, 2022 at 9:46 pm
@Sepandar Moeeni successor?
Alex B
May 12, 2022 at 6:11 pm
I’ve got a pair of 1000xm3’s and I’m looking to upgrade. Should I go for the xm4 or the xm5?
Sepandar Moeeni
May 12, 2022 at 6:20 pm
4 is great. lower price, foldable, great tech. ultimately ur choice
Jacky
May 12, 2022 at 7:19 pm
I wouldn’t call an upgrade if you go from xm3 to xm4. I have the xm3 and tried the xm4 before and I didn’t notice a lot of difference. I would wait until xm5 is on sale
LazyCrazyGuy
May 12, 2022 at 10:14 pm
@Jacky I disagree, there was a sizable difference between the XM3 and XM4. Everyone always talks about the sound being tuneable but only when paired with a phone and the Sony Connect app. If you use the headset like I do with Xbox or PS. The speakers on the XM3 have way too much bass and muddies everything up. The XM4’s do not suffer in this regard, they just sound great out of the box. Also the noise cancelling on XM3’s we’re the worst of all the generations because they got better in the mid but really bad in the low end compared to the First and Second gen. The XM4 took noise cancelling to the next level by getting better ANC across the spectrum. I returned my XM3 because of how disappointed I was but kept every other iteration that has released. The XM4 is better across the board in every regard. If the XM5 has gotten even better in ANC, I would absolutely buy it. Nothing better than peace and quiet.
Ross MK
May 12, 2022 at 6:41 pm
I still have my Mark 3’s lol
Daniel Barakat
May 12, 2022 at 7:00 pm
can you play over USB C? Or is it only charging?
David Carnoy
May 13, 2022 at 12:42 am
Only charging.
Daniel Barakat
May 13, 2022 at 12:50 am
@David Carnoy damn. That’s almost a deal breaker for me since I use my headphones also as a work from home headset and gaming. Bluetooth is too unreliable on windows. Thanks for responding David. I always look out for your headphone reviews on CNET
Sue Doe
May 12, 2022 at 7:06 pm
If you think that call audio quality at the end sounds good, I hope I never have a phone call with you.
Mr Silverio
May 12, 2022 at 7:07 pm
Amazing how Sony copies Bose’ s style and technology since day 1, lol
_ Azezal _
May 12, 2022 at 7:17 pm
ah awesome. good thing i just bought xm4’s about three months ago
Millennial Math
May 12, 2022 at 7:17 pm
for those wondering about how they hold up on windy days 6:46 and they’re amazing that’s the selling point for me… I’ll be upgrading (mx3) to these once they hit a sale even if it’s $50 off
Adam Macias
May 12, 2022 at 7:28 pm
Sony nailed the design. Man this is definitely the best they’ve done so far. Finally, the mics sound great enough for calls and not so muffled.
Kirk Lewis
May 12, 2022 at 7:45 pm
The call quality test did it for me. I was seriously considering the version 4 until I saw that. Thanks!
rubenrar1
May 12, 2022 at 8:45 pm
I will not upgrade because it took Sony a long time to fix the 2 listening device setup to be fixed. Then I took a gamble on there nice cancelation ear bud version and they were so buggy that the earbuds could not tell the difference between ambient and cancelation mode. And Sony recently rolled out 2 software updates but it took forever. The products are finally working as advertised. Because I felt like I got ripped off.
Prajwal Pai
May 12, 2022 at 9:13 pm
Are these better than AirPods max?
Chocoretto
May 12, 2022 at 9:16 pm
Would be nice to throw up a frequency response graph so we can see how it is tuned
Jacob Perez
May 12, 2022 at 9:43 pm
I am excited for this new model. I wished these folded up like the XM3/XM4s but it is what it is. I am happy with my XM3s but i can’t wait to pick these up and try them out when black friday comes around.
Bruce Neuman
May 12, 2022 at 9:45 pm
Call quality still seemed iffy to me. Voice sounded a bit robotic, almost garbled at times. Still no weather resistance? After two years, Sony could have done better.
David Corbett
May 12, 2022 at 9:50 pm
Still cheaper than APMs. Worth a look.
Brutus M.
May 12, 2022 at 9:55 pm
I’m so disappointed that they don’t fold, but I need to upgrade from my QC35 2 and will probably buy them if the price lowers a bit.
Torrance Tyson
May 12, 2022 at 10:42 pm
not going to dump my xm4 but I will be getting the xm5 headphones.
Benjamin Bidlack
May 13, 2022 at 12:14 am
No one does better headphone reviews than David Carnoy. Everything you want, nothing you don’t, all in an engaging informative style. And the XM5 are absolutely are now on my shopping list. Thanks David and CNET.
David Carnoy
May 13, 2022 at 12:41 am
Thanks for the support. Much appreciated!
Brett the Behemoth
May 13, 2022 at 1:05 am
The noise elimination on calls is kinda nice, but the inability to fold and the 25% smaller drivers were red flags for me.
Ramesh Kumar
May 13, 2022 at 1:29 am
I didn’t like this. Looks very bulky rounds & dosent look good compared to the previous model.
GAMERLIVESMATTER
May 13, 2022 at 2:03 am
Xm3 sounds better than xm4 IMO more bass, a deeper, fuller sound. i dont expect these to be better. they also look uglier IMO not sure what sony was thinking with the design of these
Sander de Boer
May 13, 2022 at 2:03 am
I feel the biggest competition of the XM5 is the ….. XM4! Prices for the 5 in the EU are around 440 euro’s while the XM4 can now be bought for around 230/240 euro’s. So 200 euro’s less for almost the same product. And the major advantage of the XM4 is its portability because of the fact you can swiffel the earphones. This also makes it easier to wear around your neck.
I feel in recent years this has been a trend with many new products. The previous products already have so much quality but often a much lower price. For me a great example is the Samsung galaxy series. From the S20 onwards the changes are incremental and for me not worth the additional cost. I have now been buying last years model (new) with a huge discount. Software support can be an issue, but recently this has improved significantly.
MegaUnavailableusern
May 13, 2022 at 9:19 am
sometimes you want a newer and better product even if the old one is a bit cheaper
Omer Khan
May 13, 2022 at 2:22 am
David, you are the King of headphones reviewer, and to consistently stay on the throne you always go the extra mile when reviewing headphones. Thank you for the phone call example, job well done!
Rajat Mishra
May 13, 2022 at 5:10 am
Can they connect in more than 2 devices? (Not talking about automatic switching or simultaneous connections but in general will they support connection in more than 2 devices)
JP Gaming
May 13, 2022 at 5:24 am
Yes. They can pair up to 9 devices
Ravage
May 13, 2022 at 5:17 am
Very impressed with the call quality
YouTube Sans
May 13, 2022 at 8:38 am
ShortCircuit just review ut
John Packard
May 13, 2022 at 9:05 am
I’m not feeling the design. I wish the cups weren’t so bulky. They look thicker than the XM4s
0ptimusbibIe
May 13, 2022 at 9:25 am
doesn’t fold !! WTF sony !
Jovy Rivera
May 13, 2022 at 10:07 am
for $400 it made it more difficult to choose between sony vs sennheisers
yutsuneki
May 13, 2022 at 10:36 am
I love the new design
TechGuy
May 13, 2022 at 10:43 am
I bought the mark 4’s almost as soon as they came out and have been using them since. I was very disappointed with call quality to the point I can’t use them in my daily environments for calls. They are hopeless in wind on my way to my ferry and absolutely useless on the ferry, so much so I have to bring the headphones that came with my iPhone or people complain when I am on a call. They can’t hear me, and often I can’t hear myself as well as I should. I really thought they would be ok after all the reviews I listened to. My environments are challenging, as in exceptionally noisey while on commute. They do a decent job of cancelling commuter noise when the music is playing but there is plenty of room for improvement. Sound quality is good and base focus is practical for someone like me that wears them in these noisey environments. I even use them mowing the lawn. I use them for 1.5 hours a day. I no like they fold down and are really comfortable. I am not sure if the new design was a good choice ability to fold down is good. I don’t know if I can shell out big cash for an upgrade after the disappointing upgrade from much older noise cancelling Sony XB950N1 headphones. I admit most people won’t challenge the capabilities like I will but come on Sony.
Rod M
May 13, 2022 at 11:21 am
Prefer my AirPods Max thanks- superior build quality and obviously built better considering the massive chunky ear cups of the Sony. I do not support $400 plus headphones being made of plastic and being lightweight. I go for build quality / metal / heft / weight / design / and sound quality. Anything else is unacceptable for this price range or higher. I do not and will not ever use wireless headphones to answer a phone call – complete overkill. I have a phone to answer phone calls and don’t care about folding because I don’t go on overseas trips.
xers
May 13, 2022 at 4:18 pm
why would you want heavy headphones
Rod M
May 14, 2022 at 12:28 am
@xers they are not heavy to me and anyone that complains about it to justify poor quality is a fool. If anyone finds the AirPods Max too heavy then obviously they have physical issues
Caesar
May 13, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Look alot like an Apples product. It doesn’t look as good as the XM4, no fold, bigger case. I don’t think it’s worth to upgrade if you’re having XM3 or 4 atm. I’d wait XM6, the upgrade I’m seeing is not enough for me to make a jump.
Tim W
May 13, 2022 at 5:35 pm
I still have the XM3 and it’s still going strong. I don’t make a lot of phone calls with them and they sound pretty great. I didn’t have much of an incentive to get the XM4’s and, other than the physical design differences, I wouldn’t see a reason to get the XM5 either. In fact, I’ll continue to suggest to people just to get the XM3 if you can still find it. Save the money! There’s no justification for the $400 price tag on the XM5.
Shevili Habibi
May 13, 2022 at 5:52 pm
Big head aproved ?
Tactic Le
May 13, 2022 at 7:47 pm
I need them to fold in order to buy them. XM4s ftw.
Rick P
May 13, 2022 at 8:32 pm
Wait until you hear the Camerton Audio Binom-ER Headphones
Felipâö Díaz
May 13, 2022 at 9:00 pm
Mr. Carnoy, do you think sony will unveil the WF-1000XM5 by this year also?
Santiago Gandolfo
May 13, 2022 at 10:06 pm
Do they remember the last mode they were at before you turned them off? (I’d rather them turning on without ANC or Ambient Mode and enter those modes when I want to with the button on the side)
Roland Dobbins
May 14, 2022 at 12:49 am
The voice quality during the call was actually pretty awful, with intermittent dropouts & crackling. I noticed the same issue in another review, & it’s a deal-breaker, for me.
It’s astonishing that Sony released these with such a glaring flaw.
Also, you didn’t compare the ambient mode to that of the Airpods Max. None of the other reviewers have, either. Unless traveling, I almost always have transparency mode enabled on the Airpods Max, & Apple’s surprisingly good implementation has really spoiled me.
Larry HL
May 14, 2022 at 3:46 am
Agree. Voice quality is really bad. It seems Sony is focusing on how to eliminate background noise (which Sony is doing an AMAZING job), but ignoring the quality of the human voice. Sony, please make some improvements in the next generation.
Neil
May 14, 2022 at 12:54 am
Noise cancelling is unbelievably good.
ChuyIsTheShiz
May 14, 2022 at 1:06 am
Damn 400 bucks o. O
MozartificeR
May 14, 2022 at 2:24 am
Making the driver smaller means less bass. This is the wrong direction.
Ryan H
May 14, 2022 at 3:13 am
bought this as i dont have any noise cancellation headphone. but if you are using XM4, i dont see a reason to upgrade.
Cons Mercado
May 14, 2022 at 3:14 am
Are the earcups replaceable? Because those ruin over time for longer use
ColtsFan4Life 35
May 14, 2022 at 3:26 am
If these drop in price around Black Friday I’ll definitely buy them.
Albert Lamberte
May 14, 2022 at 3:38 am
Hi David! Just curious what your iphone’s case is. :p
Keng Yuan Chang
May 14, 2022 at 4:11 am
How much latency LDAC has? The 220ms audio latency really makes the headphones music only…
DontFuckWitDreDay
May 14, 2022 at 7:46 am
I got my XM4 a week ago for less than $200 in like new condition. Heck no I won’t be upgrading. I AM LOVING THESE!!!
MacGyver
May 14, 2022 at 9:15 am
The music in the background is annoying. Should take that off.
Krezzyj
May 14, 2022 at 10:59 am
Take my money!
yup
May 14, 2022 at 12:28 pm
I love it
kenrik Valenzuela Romero
May 14, 2022 at 12:49 pm
Nice call test but what about using apps like WebEx calling, Microsoft teams or maybe just Whatsapp? Did you test the Sony using any of these apps?
Rudie Obias
May 14, 2022 at 2:24 pm
Wait to buy on Prime Day or Black Friday
Najee GHANIM
May 14, 2022 at 3:06 pm
This what happens when Apple makes a bad design for a thing, then everyone else follow just because Apple did it !!!
Jamie Headey
May 14, 2022 at 3:07 pm
The noise cancellation is amazing. However, the quality of the microphone is not very good.
Hoàng Minh Long Lê
May 14, 2022 at 3:32 pm
Sir, if you compare the old Xm4 vs this version, which one has better breathability? I would love to buy this but i am very skeptical, the old ones burn my ear in just 1 hours even with A/C
isaachaze1
May 14, 2022 at 10:11 pm
It seems like bose and sony are kind of stuck right now. Neither one of them are offering big improvements any more in their new models. No reasons to upgrade that I can see
The Gold Lions
May 14, 2022 at 10:41 pm
Black model definitely shows fingerprints. I’ve seen it in many reviews.
elck3
May 14, 2022 at 11:25 pm
No fold. Smaller drivers. What’s the killer feature that warrants 50 bucks extra?
DroidLocks6971
May 14, 2022 at 11:51 pm
I returned the XM4s as the bass seemed Subdued compared to my XM3s
Ben Jammin
May 15, 2022 at 1:04 am
heard a set today and im staying with my xm4 for better audio quality and better build quality
Guy Sharon
May 15, 2022 at 2:09 am
Good review thanks!
T HOFF
May 15, 2022 at 3:29 am
They look horrible
Clive Baumann
May 15, 2022 at 4:07 am
how about the unit not charging due to a moist atmosphere like the Sony WH-1000XM4’s are prone to?
Stan Lee
May 15, 2022 at 5:00 am
I have the Bose NC 700. I feel like Sony made these changes to mimic the strong points of the Bose, which for me was better build quality with fewer plastic bits at sliding points, and great call quality.
Frank Wu
May 16, 2022 at 7:04 am
I really wonder how much better the Mark 5 is better than the Bose NC700 since I’ve been owning the Bose for a quite a while
Stan Lee
May 16, 2022 at 7:15 am
@Frank Wu I just got the 700 this year. We’re going to see comparison videos soon.
Steve C.
May 15, 2022 at 5:24 am
No changeable ear cups, still!!!
Eternal
May 15, 2022 at 7:55 am
These look comfy! I returned the XM4’s because they weren’t comfy to wear for hours and the looks gave me old school Beats vibes. Sound was great though on the XM4s. The XM5’s seems to be a fine tuned better iteration of the XM4s. Super excited to replace my Bose QuietComfort’s!
Micha de Vries
May 15, 2022 at 2:34 pm
3:00 problem with this feature is that it also pauses when you sign the song yourself which I really often do xd
rhymingbecktionary
May 15, 2022 at 6:25 pm
Avoiding these like the plague as the last two iterations of this headphone that I bought (the XM2 and XM4) developed a deafening feedback just after the warranty expired (one year). Just check reviews on Amazon for “screech” or “feedback”.
Jhonatan
May 16, 2022 at 12:44 am
xm4 are 200 USD in my country
Jhonatan
May 16, 2022 at 12:46 am
If the headphones has bluetooth 5.2 but your phone has 5.0 wouldn’t you end up using bluetooth 5.0 to pair up with the one you’ve got on your phone? So, any extra adventage of a higher version wouldnb0t be lost?
AT
May 16, 2022 at 1:16 pm
CNET, you are doing a headphones review, get a real microphone.
Joshua Canny
May 16, 2022 at 2:17 pm
I’m sad they went to 30mm driver . I hope with the EQ their will be great bass with no distortion
Phillip Bailey
May 16, 2022 at 2:23 pm
I love the bass on my wh-x910n. I wish someone would test the noise cancellation against the x910n and xm5.
Joe King
May 16, 2022 at 4:36 pm
An 8 hour flight in business class. Nice. What did that cost you? I have XM3s so re. dumping them for XM5, I’m not convinced to spend another £400, because obviously whatever Dollar price you pay in the US, we pay the same number of Pounds in England, which is a scam but we all seem to accept it.
Din Mk Photography
May 16, 2022 at 8:47 pm
Sound like a dalek at the end voice calling?
Zhong Xina
May 16, 2022 at 9:02 pm
For almost the same performance as the XM4’s it costs double (In Europe), so no, would not recommend.
Poehee77
May 16, 2022 at 10:23 pm
Still own the xm3😱 and the in eat m4. I will wait for a price drop to upgrade
Cherokee Fox
May 17, 2022 at 12:12 am
I currently have the XM4 headset. Based on the more clear music sounds and the improved call 📞 quality, I’m “thinking” of getting the XM5 headset. However is it worth the money 💰 🤑 💸? Should I just wait a month or two 🤔 so the price can go down?