Sony WF-1000XM5 The Best Truly Wireless Bluetooth Noise Canceling Earbuds & in-Ear Headphones

Form Factor

In-ear only

Model

1000XM5

Type

Earbud

The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are wireless headphones that feature noise cancellation and exceptional call quality. They have two processors that control eight microphones for noise cancellation and a newly developed driver for audio quality. They also support Hi-Res and DSEE Extreme audio. The Sony WH 1000XM5 headphones are an excellent all-arounder, but not quite perfect. The newer Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3 are the only headphones that can match its class-leading noise cancelling performance and all-day comfort. These headphones desperately need EQ to bring out the full sound potential, after which they are VERY FUN to listen to with excellent sound quality. The questionable build quality, especially around the hinges, worries me a little for a headphone of this price range. Home » Headphones » Sony WH 1000XM5 Review: WORTH IT in 2025? HeadphonesHeadphone Reviews Sony WH 1000XM5 Review: WORTH IT in 2025? My HONEST Sony WH 1000XM5 review with comparisons vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Apple AirPods Max, and Sennheiser Momentum 4 included! Odi Productions July 16, 2025 30989 In this article, I’m going to give my honest Sony WH 1000XM5 Review with comparisons vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Apple AirPods Max, XM4, and Sennheiser Momentum 4. I’m going to do my best to share whether these headphones are worth it, and ideally who these headphones are for. I’ve owned these headphones for a few months now and have quite a few thoughts. I’ll be sharing my critical opinion with 10 years of experience as a professional music producer, audio engineer, and tech journalist. Let’s dive right in! Sony WH 1000XM5 Headphones review in short The Sony WH 1000XM5 headphones are an excellent all-arounder, but not quite perfect. The newer Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Bowers and Wilkins Px7 S3 are the only headphones that can match its class-leading noise cancelling performance and all-day comfort. These headphones desperately need EQ to bring out the full sound potential, after which they are VERY FUN to listen to with excellent sound quality. The questionable build quality, especially around the hinges, worries me a little for a headphone of this price range. Watch this Review on YouTube! (Or keep scrolling to read) Sony WH 1000XM5 Pros and Cons 8.3 Sony WH 1000XM5 Headphones Check lowest prices PROS • Fun, excellent sound quality (after EQ) • All-day comfort and lightweight • Elite noise cancelling performance CONS • Stock sound without EQ is mediocre • Poor build quality on hinges • Expensive Order the LATEST VERSION for the LOWEST PRICE AVAILABLE (Do NOT pay retail): Sony WH 1000XM5 Headphones (Amazon) Want to save up to an additional $100? Sony WH 1000XM5 – USED (Amazon) Disclosure: These affiliate links may provide a discount and in return, give us a commission in order to keep this website 100% independent to ensure honest unfiltered reviews 🙂 Sound Quality My first listening impression of the XM5 was… a bit disappointing. I had fairly high expectations coming in, considering the XM5’s $400 pricetag and success of the previous-gen Sony WH 1000XM4. Well, the first thing that stuck out to me was how strange the stock sound signature was. Things sounded quite muffled and desperately needed more detail in the treble and airiness. I was really close to writing them off, until I decided to research some EQ settings (via Sony’s official “Sound Connect” app) that could perhaps improve things. And to my surprise, EQ not only improved things, it resulted in a night-and-day difference. I’m not exaggerating, it’s like EQ transformed these into an entirely different headphone! So my review will be with the EQ settings below, which I think is fair considering Sony’s official Sound Connect app is completely free and required to manage the headphones anyways. • Depending on the day and what sales are available, the Sony WH 1000XM5 currently sits between $328 to $399 market price currently. That is a pretty big range, so let’s call it $399 on average

Brand

Sony

Wireless Technology

Bluetooth