Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Industry Leading Headphones with Auto Noise Canceling Optimizer, Crystal Clear Hands-Free Calling, and Alexa Voice Control, Silver

My only challenge is navigating controller.

Sometime from someone who wears these for work and person they are great. It’s amazing you can connect to 2 devices. Purchases for noise cancellation due to returning to workplace and anxiety.. I have raved to all my co workers about these

I ordered these and they came late. I ordered the SILVER colored ones but the black one was what was shipped. I was mad but then I put them on and loved them. They sound really good

I don’t notice any exceptional sound quality with these headphones (to my disappointment). However, I do have an aggravating problem with the headphones cutting out while listening. The headphones cut out an average of every 10 or 15 minutes, which kind of ruins the whole listening experience.

I loved my MX3s. I still have them and when I got the MX5s I tested them. The equalizer and sound is better. The ANC, though? No. Its not great at all, and the app does not help make it any easier--like all of Sonys stuff, they overdo the app and make it hard to easily use, tiny buttons, and slow slow slow response on my iPhone 14 pro. The worst part is the case and lack of foldability. While I love how light these are, they dont fold like my MX3, making them bulky and hard to pack. I will not use the case it weighs almost as much as the headphones. Why they dont fold is beyond me and poor design. While I love the pause when you take them off, if you wear them around your neck theyll restart again immediately and the touch buttons are too sensitive and do the same thing. I was willing to live with them until I tried a friends Airpod Max. While those are way pricier, Im sold on those--way more comfy and the sound is better, plus they fold. I was hoping for much better for these, but not it. The reviews with all the audiophiles gushing over the ANC are horsehockey--simply not that great. The bulkiness and the poor app design (an ongoing reason Sony lost the phone and electronics battle) dont help, either.

I have used Bose NC700 for the past year, but saw these on sale for a great price and decided to try them. I had the XM4’s for a short time but had to return them because they were too creaky while wearing them. Luckily I have not had that same issue so far with the XM5’s. My biggest priorities for headphones is comfort, sound quality (both for music and phone calls), and noise cancellation. Comfort The XM5’s have ear cups that are slightly larger than the XM4s and they also look slightly larger than the NC700s. This helps them go over the ears better. However, the NC700s have slightly thicker padding which makes the inside of the cup a little deeper. For this reason, I would say that the NC700s are a bit more comfortable for long periods. The XM5s are very comfortable, but after a couple of hours, I definitely start to feel them more than the NC700s. But both are great. Sound Quality This is a matter of preference, but I prefer the deeper bass and fuller sound of the XM5s. I would say the NC700s have a more balanced sound, with far less low end. The XM5s really give a nice full bass, without it being over-bearing. I do prefer a bit more lower end than what the Bose provides. So for me, I prefer the sound quality of the XM5s quite a bit more than the NC700s. Call Quality I use my headphones for work calls several hours a day. Both the XM5 and the NC700 have great call quality and will work really well if you use them for phone calls or Zoom meetings a lot. I think I’d give the edge to the XM5s because they block out ambient noise slightly better than the NC700s, but the difference is negligible. Noise Cancellation I mean, these are high end headphones and both do a great job with noise cancellation. I will say, I was surprised at how much noise the XM5s can block out. They block out voices and medium pitched noises better than the NC700s. They are both great with lower pitched things like plane noise. But I think the XM5s do a better job overall. Build Quality and Design This is where the Bose NC700s are just better than the XM5s. The build of the NC700s is just beautiful. They feel substantial without being too heavy, and there isn’t a seam anywhere. I also think they just look amazing. The XM5s do have seams around the ear cups and they feel much more plasticky. The XM5s are not bad, but they just are not as good as the NC700s as far as design and build quality. Battery Life The battery on the NC700 lasts me around 13 or 14 hours. The XM5s last around 25 hours. So it’s a pretty big difference. Charging speed seems about the same with both. Odds and Ends Features of each are similar. They both offer pass through audio and it works well on both. Touch controls work equally well on both. The case of the XM5s is a little bigger than the NC700s, if that matters to you. One small difference that may make a difference to some is that if you want to use the cord to plug them into a 3.5mm headphone jack, the end the plugs into the NC700s is 2.5mm. So if you lose the included cord, you will need a specific type of aux cord to replace it (2.5mm to 3.5mm). Whereas the XM5 uses a regular 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux cord. Overall I do like these Sonys better. I just wish they had the comfort and build quality of the Bose. But because of the superior noise cancellation and sound quality, I’m going to be using the Sonys from now on.

The sound quality is considerably better than previous WH-1000XM4, no joke. I purchased XM5 without much expectations but it turns out the sound quality is far, I mean far, better than XM4. For some reasons, it wasnt noticeable difference when its paired with my PC but when its paired with my Galaxy S23+, it produces unbelievably crisp sound with rich low to high fq enhancement, especially when the sound source is high fidelity and high bit rate. Maybe its some sort of codec issue, I dont know but I am unexpectedly surprised. The fit is also more comfortable if you have wide skull or large ears. I havent weighted this one but it feels lighter than XM4. I have Jabra, Arctis Pro and many other top tier headsets but so far this is the best sound headsets by far.

I fly often. I use noise cancelling headphones to make my plane time more peaceful and enjoyable. I owned the M4s for a while and loved them, so when Sony brought the M5 to market, I couldnt wait. I was hesitant to pay this kind of money, of course, but I read several professional reviews that raved about them. I will say right up front, I just couldnt hear any difference in the noise cancelling from my M4s. I gave my M4s to my partnerer who travels with me most of the time, so I am able to switch with her for comparison. I just cant hear a difference. But, Im that guy who always wants the latest and the best in tech, so I thought I would be happy. Heres the thing. My new M5s are constantly shifting the noise canceling. Im sitting on the plane listening to relaxing music and it is like they shift from canceling to ambient noise. It lasts for 5-10 seconds, then they shift back. It happend every 5 minutes or so. I have tried turning off adaptive sound control, but it doesnt make a difference. Unfortunately, I went a while without traveling right after I purchased these and so didnt really start experiencing this until a while after purchasing. It is probably to late to return, but I will try. My advice would be to save the money and buy the M4s. They are certainly cheaper and in my experience, much better.

I have the WH-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM4. The noise cancellation is far, far better in the M5 version. I miss the voice prompts of the M4. Both sound similar. I gave away the M4s.

Noise cancelling, wireless, long lasting battery life, easy and great bluetooth connection, comfortable, sounds great. Price is definitely not affordable, but worth the buy. A great investment. Highly recommended.