WH-1000XM5 Hard Case Premium Noise Cancelling Wireless Over-Ear Headphones, Bluetooth, Clear Call Quality, Hi-Res Audio, Up to 30hr Battery Life, Includes Hard Case, iOS & Android - Black

i already had the app to connect the headphones to my phone but the set ups really straight forward, as for the actual headphone it comes with a leaflet of what the sensory pads do and the 2 buttons on the side (you get a tutorial on the app aswell) i got this on black friday sale for my birthday for £150 but either way you are definitely getting your moneys worth battery life is insane - i used them for about 5 hours at work and they only went down 10% they also recharge quickly and only take about 10 minutes to fully charge if im remembering right the only minor issue i've had is to use the volume touch sensor on the right headphone you kind of have to spam swiping since it goes up/down little by little, it isnt a huge problem though since it doesnt take much effort to pull your phone out it recognises when you're talking so it automatically mutes while someones speaking to you and plays again when you're done same goes for when you move the headphones off your head it automatically mutes and plays again when you're put them back on, it also has an option to track your daily commute to work etc which i believe is to play recommended songs you've listed to in the past but that may be slightly off? really comfortable, i've used these basically every day for 4+ hours and havent gotten a headphone dent or any pain the touch sensor on the right side to play or pause a song is really sensitive, if its windy and my hair touches the sensor it thinks im pausing it but again not a huge problem since i can just tuck my hair sound quality is really clear, there is some minor bleed out on high volume but you'll get that with any headphones and its only hearable if its quiet pads on the ears are really comfortable and breathable - feel good quality over all the actual colour of the headphones is as advertised and hasnt chipped off theres a lot of other features to these headphones but overall really good value for money and definitely worth it if you're thinking about upgrading since the issues i've found so far are fixable and nothing to write home about hopefully i covered as much as i can & hope you found this helpful

The Sony WH-1000XM5 are the latest wireless headphones since the debut of the MDR100X in 2017. The flagship product of the Japanese corporation has changed over the years and each generation has been recommended by satisfied users. The fifth generation continues this trend, offering great noise reduction and high sound quality enclosed in a comfortable design. The design is the first of the noticeable changes, which also changed the case. The rest of the fixes make the latest model perform better than its predecessor. Cost? Higher compared to the XM4, so keep that in mind. The WH-1000XM5s are different from the previous model in the series and may look down-to-earth at first. Over time, I began to appreciate their minimalist design. They may not stand out from the crowd, but in my opinion they look very good. Adjusting the size is trivial and everything happens quickly. The whole is perfectly combined with each other and looks like a one-piece construction. Controlling the headphones is limited to a minimum, on the left side there is a power/pairing button, ANC/contact mode button and a standard headphone jack. The outer surface of the right earcup allows you to use gestures. Their operation is a mish-mash, once they come in from the arrow, and sometimes you have to repeat them, especially double-click to start or pause playback. The minimalist design is designed to improve the ANC, hence the dramatic change in appearance. The ear cups don't look impressive, but when you put the headphones on, they fit great and have good passive noise reduction. Sony headphones are not the lightest (they weigh 250g), but they are so comfortable that you can listen to music for hours. The biggest problem caused by the new appearance is the thought in the back of my mind that the adjustment system will break. It often crossed my mind, even when removing the headphones from the case. Sony packed all the features known from the previous generation, so when you change to a newer model you will feel at home. Speak to Chat pauses when it detects user speech. Thanks to this, you can carry on a conversation, and then return to listening to your favorite piece. There was also a sensor responsible for detecting the headphones, it was placed inside the left earcup. It works very well and pauses the music as soon as you remove the headphones, and resumes it shortly after putting them on. Spotify Tap can be useful if you use this app to listen to music. When you double or triple tap on the right earcup, the app will launch and start playing. Sony's active noise cancellation is one of the best. This time there was a slight change, because ANC works automatically based on the location of the headphone user. Most outside sounds are muffled, but you can still hear cars driving past the pavement, people, unless you're listening to music at the moment. Contact mode is also top shelf, has a 20-point scale and can be changed manually. The maximum level makes you hear everything as if you didn't have headphones. The sound coming from the outside is natural and does not undergo digital corrections. Fans from all over the world turn their noses up at the implementation of active noise cancellation, because it is automatic and you cannot set it yourself. It works based on the user's location and activity. You can even add additional places where noise reduction will be activated. The WH-1000XM5 never once had a problem recognizing my location and activity. If I went for a walk, it was visible in the dedicated application. ANC is the highest shelf, so in the case of listening it should be similar, and it is. All thanks to the new 30 mm drivers capable of creating a wider soundstage and extracting more details from each piece. The music genre doesn't matter much, because pieces with strong bass "play" great. The low tones are emphasized and each of the instruments used is easy to recognize. The vocals have also improved, they are cleaner and you can hear them well, even when the background music is louder than them. The default EQ settings are enough for most, but you can change them at any time after installing the dedicated application. The Sony WH-1000XM5 aren't reinventing the wheel, but they're great headphones. Improved a lot compared to the previous version, these fit great, they fit well in the ears, the ANC and sound quality have also been improved. The changes are not dramatic, but you can see that the bar is set high. I really like the new design and I don't feel like it lags behind because it doesn't fold like the XM4. I didn't have the previous model and I don't see a problem with it, although there will be complainers. The price is not the lowest, but you have to pay the same or more for competing models.

I have been using the Sony XM5 headphones in silver for a little while now and I am really impressed. The sound quality is fantastic with clear highs, rich mids and deep bass that does not feel overpowering. Whether I am listening to music, watching a film or taking a call, the audio is consistently excellent. The noise cancelling is some of the best I have experienced. It blocks out background noise really well and makes a huge difference when working in busy environments or travelling. The ambient sound mode is also very useful when I need to hear what is going on around me without taking the headphones off. Comfort wise, they are great. The ear cups are soft and light and I can wear them for hours without any discomfort. The silver colour looks clean and modern and adds a nice touch of style without being too flashy. That said, the touch controls can be a bit finicky. They usually work but sometimes feel unresponsive, especially when I am walking or if my hands are damp. I also find the physical buttons hard to distinguish when I am wearing the headphones, and I occasionally struggle to tell whether they are actually switched on or not, which can be a bit annoying. Battery life is excellent though and I rarely need to charge them. Overall, despite a few minor frustrations, I would still highly recommend the XM5s. They are well made, sound fantastic and look great too.

The Sony WH-1000XM5 are outstanding headphones with best-in-class sound quality and noise cancellation. The audio is rich, balanced, and highly customisable through the excellent Sony Headphones Connect app, which makes EQ tuning, device switching, and connectivity seamless. I also love the modern, minimal design they look premium and clean compared to older bulkier models. Comfort is good overall despite the slightly chunky weight, though extended sessions can cause some discomfort. Battery life is exceptional, with around a full day of use from just a 5-minute charge. Features like gesture controls and microphone quality add to the premium experience. At £260, they felt like great value for money. The main issue is DURABILITY. I deliberately waited a year before reviewing, as Sony headphones have a history of hinge problems and unfortunately, this continues here. While there were a few normal, everyday drops (nothing extreme or careless literally they should be purposely design to handle this with the adequate material), the hinge still cracked, which should not happen on £200+ headphones. This feels less like accidental neglect and more like a purposeful serious design flaw, raising questions about whether durability was intentionally compromised by a multi-billion-pound company to milk more money. Replacement hinges are expensive (£70–£100) and often could fail again, forcing me to buy a 3rd Party Hinge protector. Microphone is amazing, would be nice if it was foldable maybe this could’ve tackled the weak hinge however it’s already been answered in the XM6. Verdict: Phenomenal sound, ANC, features, and design but only recommended on sale and with caution. The hinge is a known weak point and is likely to fail even with careful, normal use. Without this flaw, these would be close to perfect.

One of the most comfortable premium headsets available at the moment. It does not fold away like its predecessors but still manages to sound and feel amazing. The Sony WH-1000XM5s are a fantastic pair of headphones that offer exceptional noise cancellation, impressive sound quality, and all-day comfort. What I love: * Noise Cancellation: The noise cancellation on these headphones is top-notch. It effectively blocks out ambient noise, making them perfect for working from home, traveling, or simply enjoying your music without distractions. * Sound Quality: The sound quality is excellent, with clear highs, rich midtones, and deep bass. Whether you're listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks, you'll be impressed with the audio experience. * Comfort: The XM5s are incredibly comfortable to wear for extended periods. The soft ear cushions and lightweight design make them a pleasure to use. * Battery Life: The battery life is impressive, providing up to 30 hours of playback on a single charge. What to consider: * Bulkiness: While comfortable, the XM5s are a bit bulkier than some other headphones on the market. * Price: They are a premium product, and the price tag reflects that. Apart from arguably the Bowers and Wilkins PX8, there few headsets that will provide more satisfaction and listening pleasure. Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM5s are an excellent choice for anyone looking for high-quality noise-canceling headphones. They offer a great balance of comfort, sound quality, and noise cancellation.

TL;DR I wish I never bought them. These headphones have a poor design which is not designed to last years. Many cases of these headphones having issues with earcups popping out of the headphone band, which will not pop back in. The noise cancelling improvement is negligible from the older models, and if you have a smaller head, you may have a poor NC seal due smallest adjustment still being rather large. ----------------------- I upgraded from my WH-1000XM3's, which I bought in 2019. They still work fine after 5 years of much love, other than some extensive leather wear on the earcups and headband. I thought I'd treat myself to an upgrade with the new design and "better" noise cancelling. However, I have been deeply unimpressed with this new set that I have had for 5 months. The biggest issue is the defective design. The bar where the swivel cups attach to the headphones is a well-documented point of failure. Search "wh-1000xm5 swivel broken", and you will find many cases where the headphone earcups have popped out at this point. Unfortunately, you cannot simply pop it back in. Analysing the joint, the earcup swivel has a grippy metal component, which appears to friction fit into the plastic headphone cylinder. However, this only has approximately 2mm of area to grip to. Since this version of the WH-1000s do not include folding hinges, whenever you put on these headphones, you are placing extensive pressure on this one point. Given the metal component fits into a plastic tube, this over time will wear. Mine developed a tiny hairline crack, which continued to become looser until a few days later the crack became too big and the earcup will not stay attached. Any weakness in the plastic here will become worse due to this design. This issue becomes worse when it comes to repairs. As I discovered with my previous WH1000s, Sony parts are egregiously expensive. To replace one worn earpad on my M3s would cost £80 just for one pad (I figured buying two wouldn't be much less than buying the M5s...) . These are no different, however while this small sliding cylinder of plastic appears to relatively a small component to replace, the headphones have been designed in such a way that the ENTIRE HEADBAND must be replaced, which Sony charge over £160, nearly half the price of the headphones. I don't know whether there is a quality control issue, where there are issues with only some batches, or if it is solely a defective design. Regardless, my M3s were used heavily; slept in, used in the rain, at the gym and probably dropped many times. They survived, with just a few scuffs. These M5s were used at my desk, sitting on the bus and around the house, yet ended up popping out one day when taking them off. Another issue is the way they sit. With the M3s, my ears fit inside the cups, and the hinge adjustments allowed for a comfy but secure grip on my head. The grip is important for a good NC seal, and comfort. These M5s instead rest ON the ears, as they have smaller earcups. This, in conjunction with the new style offering less headband grip/adjustment, means my headphones have a pretty poor seal and will slide off my head if I lean forward or back. I've read others have struggled with this online, and tried the suggested padding the headphone top to try shift the headphones into a "grippier" tensioned spot, but the improvement is minimal. My last issue is the automatic pressure adjustment. With the M3s, you would hold down on the NC button to repressurise the headphones, while the M5s automatically do this. This sounds great in theory, however I would notice it randomly adjusting the pressure when on the bus. I assume this is from the movement, but it's pretty annoying where it would be good NC then suddenly I can hear certain noises and voices, and if I rotate my head a little, it would NC good again. Before they broke, I had updated to the newest Sony Connect app, and there was no option to disable the auto-pressurise functionality. Maybe this will change in the future, as they still get updates.

These Sony XM5s are constructed beautifully. I am not an audiophile, but I appreciate good sounds, and these deliver strongly. The basses in mid-range are deep and clear, and the treble gives a defined sound that is usually hard to pinpoint in other brands. Battery life is very good, quoted approximately 30 hours. Charge times are also very quick, with a quick charge function where you get around 10 hours for a 15-20 minute charge. The noise cancelling is active, and I took these on board a plane, full of people, long haul, and it cut out at least 70% of the noise. Granted, it doesn't cut out everything, but the drone from the engines and people talking were more or less subdued to a point where it was comfortable enabling peaceful rest and sleep. It's constructed well. The ear muffs give enough space so your ears are breathable, and the headband is comfortable enough so that you can wear it for long sessions without major discomfort. My head is average size, and I can wear these for hours each stretch without issues. The headphones come with a well made carrying case, great for travelling, and it's not too heavy. Pairing is very straightforward. You press the power button, and you keep the button depressed for approximately 5 seconds to be in Bluetooth mode. It connected to my Android phone very easily, and without any hiccups. You download the Sony app, and from there you can tweak the equaliser settings. I usually increase the bass to around plus 5, and I go max on the treble. With that set, the sound is amazing. The clarity is crisp, and the music sounds amazing. All in all, these headphones are superb value compared to others in the market just now. The active noise cancelling is perhaps the best offered by Sony. Do I recommend these headphones? 100% yes. Although I would advise waiting for special deals as these often come down in price, for example during Black Friday. Highly recommended.

Of all the noise cancelling headphones I’ve tried, the Sony WH1000XM5 (I’ll be referring to them as the XM5 from this point) are by far the most life changing of all headphones. As an autistic person with an intense auditory processing sensitivity these headphones gave me so much relief the second I turned them on and the active noise cancelling turned the volume of the world right down to almost nothing. Felt like the sensory pain my brain was experiencing had been lifted away from me & my body was able to relax - something I don’t often get to experience otherwise. Playing music with the active noise cancellation uses a little more power does take the battery life time down a bit but not by much. I find that I only need to charge these every couple of days & I’d describe myself as a heavy user of these headphones. There is an ANC button under the left ear cup next to the power on button. This allows you to switch from ANC to Ambient, in case you need to hear the environment around you whilst listening to music. Taking calls whilst active noise cancellation is on is incredible because the person you’re calling cannot hear any noises that are around you either. It’s a crisp clear call. The headphones are made of a lightweight material, making it comfortable to wear them for many hours or a whole day if you wanted. The ear cups are a soft leather material which feels gentle on the skin, the headband is also made of soft leather material on the underside. The headphones are a tubular adjustment which is a smooth glide and they stay in position during use. The carry case they come in is firm and foldable. I was surprised to see a firm pocket with a flip lid, and inside there is an aux cable and a small charging wire that is USBC. The headphones are suitable for fast charging and there are widget available on iPhone that show battery level. By pressing the power off button briefly a voice will speak in the headphones telling you what your battery level is. You can also get the battery level from the app made for the XM5 which you will need to download to set up your headphones. The XM5’s charging being USBC allows for fast charging too, so it doesn’t my take too long to recharge to a full level. Another feature of the XM5 is the touch pad on the right ear cup. You can use the app to set the taps to mean what you want them to. For axample I can tap twice to pause and twice again to replay. Swipe forwards to skip a song, swipe back to play the last song again, swipe up to turn up the volume, swipe down to turn it down. If a call comes in, I can tap the middle once to accept the call, and tap again to hang up. There is also the option of voice activation, however, if like me you live to sing along to your fave songs, you won’t be able to if that feature is on as it will assume you’re talking with someone and pause the music, or it will be paused for a command. Personally I’m not a fan of that feature anyway, so I keep that turned off. Though you can Bluetooth link the headphones to a number of devices, the app has the option to link to two devices as your primary devices that will allow you to switch between the two. I have mine linked to my iPhone and my Apple TV box as I live in an area where there is heavy traffic and that noise makes it hard to watch and enjoy TV or listen to music. Having the headphones able to switch on command to the device means I can take a call during watching a TV show, and the TV show will automatically pause. The headphones also pause music if you lift them off your head for a few minutes, and return to playing automatically when you put them back on. They will automatically switch off if left off the head for a prolonged period in order to conserve battery. The app also allows for 360 listening which is a whole new experience. The option for the music to alter int he headphones in alignment when you in movement is also a pretty cool feature. Should you choose the safe listening option which does require access to your location, the data the headphones collect is to do with the volume levels of the world around you, so they will automatically adjust the level of sound and ANC so that your ears aren’t damaged listening to music louder in a noisy environment. With my old headphones I had to turn up the volume to drown out noise and hear my music, which isn’t healthy for ears in general, the ANC and music being automatically when in busy noisy environments is doing my ears some good as I don’t need to risk hearing loss and it helps with the sensory processing issues I have. My only irritation with the headphones really is personal preference - as much as a cushioned headband is so comfy, I would prefer a flatter style. But as they are the are pretty effective. Maybe not suitable for the head banging motion some metal rock fans enjoy doing, but on the whole, the XM5’s are by far the best headphones I’ve ever owned.