Sony WH-1000XM5 Review: Still the One to Beat
A year on from launch, Sony's flagship is the headphone every rival is still measured against.
By Malcolm Ortiz · 11 May 2023
Pros
- Class-leading noise cancelling
- All-day comfort
- Excellent call clarity
Cons
- No longer foldable
- Premium price
If you buy one pair of premium over-ears and never think about it again, make it these. The WH-1000XM5 landed in May 2022 at $399, and the test bench has not found a convincing reason to dethrone them since.
The noise cancelling remains the headline: on a long-haul flight the cabin drone simply evaporates, and the adaptive modes are smart enough that you rarely reach for the app. Call quality, often the weak point on big cans, is genuinely excellent here.
The compromises are minor. Sony dropped the folding hinge, so the case is bigger than it needs to be, and at this price you are paying for the badge as well as the bench results. But if your priority is silence and comfort over a long day, this is the safe, boring, correct answer.
FieldLens verdict: the default recommendation in premium noise cancelling, and likely to stay there until Sony itself replaces it.
The facts
Sony's WH-1000XM5 arrived in May 2022 at $399 with a redesigned, lighter frame and Sony's updated noise-cancelling processors.